Page 67 of When Morning Comes Around

“I hate to admit it, but after Dad and my mom split, I got it into my head that women were out for what they could get in a divorce. Sadie doesn’t strike me that way.”

“Far from it. It seems to me that she and her ex are like your mom and dad, but in reverse. He’s the one who’s out for what he can get. She just wants to put it all behind her.”

Jake folded his arms across his chest. “In that case, tell her that if she wants a job, she’s got one.”

Dom chuckled. “You should probably at least talk to her first, see if she’s going to be able to do what you need her to.”

Jake shrugged. “Think about it, she’s more than qualified. In fact, I reckon she’d be a big help to me. I’m figuring things out as I go along – from what Savannah’s told me, Sadie built a business from scratch. And she built it into a big success. Her ex was more of a hindrance than help.”

Dom cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Savannah’s told you a lot about her, then?”

Jake dropped his gaze. “Not a lot. It’s just… Okay, I’ll admit it. I was trying to find out what I could about Sadie. She seems nice enough, but I wanted to know what you were getting yourself into.”

Dom grasped his shoulder. “Thanks, bud.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? Are you meeting Dad at the gym?”

“No. We’re doing that tomorrow. I’m meeting Sadie this morning, taking her to see Leanne.”

Jake laughed. “Wow! Is that what you meant when you were talking about justice being served?”

“Yep.”

“Good. Sadie’s ex isn’t going to know what hit him.”

“If I know Leanne, he’s about to get his ass handed to him.”

“Good. I still feel uncomfortable when I think about how Mom treated Dad in their divorce. I hate that the nicest people usually get the roughest deal in life.”

“Yeah, that’s why I want Leanne on our side. I’d never describe her as nice…” He chuckled. “I don’t even feel bad about that because I know that she’d hate to be called nice. In her case, the word nice could never be considered a compliment.”

~ ~ ~

As they walked out of Leanne’s office, Dom offered Sadie his hand. She grabbed it and clung on tight.

“You okay?”

She nodded vigorously. “I am. I’m blown away. At first, I felt bad. I didn’t like to feel as though I was asking her for a favor. I thought she was a divorce lawyer. I didn’t realize…” She looked back over her shoulder at the Prometheus Security building. “She’s some kind of corporate lawyer. She’s not…”

Dom laughed and squeezed her hand. “She is, but I think you got the idea in there that she doesn’t see this as doing you a favor. In fact, I’d almost say that you’re the one doing her a favor – giving her the opportunity to take an asshole down. Shit! Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

She stopped walking and tugged on his hand. “Please don’t apologize. Hearing you call him an asshole doesn’t offend me – not in the least. If anything, it makes me feel better. I still have moments of doubt. Moments when I wonder if I was the one at fault – if I’d done things differently, been different somehow…”

“Don’t.”

His expression gentled when she looked up into his eyes. “I don’t mean to be bossy, but please don’t waste even a minute thinking that any of it was your fault. And if you think that’s just me being on your side because obviously, I’m kind of biased, think about it this way – no matter what else he had or hadn’t done, he cheated on you. I’m not even saying that everyone who cheats is bad. Not saying that sometimes it can’t be a wake-up call in a marriage. I’m just saying that before you go trying to take all the blame on yourself, you should step back and think about the part that he played.”

“Thanks.”

They’d reached his SUV, and he walked her to the passenger side. Just as he opened the door for her, she spotted two men coming out of the building. Two large men. In fact, they were the men who’d been with him the first time she saw him in the grocery store.

One of them, the gray-haired one, raised his hand in greeting. “Hey, Dom!”

“Hey, guys. Are you okay to say hi to them?” he asked Sadie in a low voice.

“Of course.” She didn’t add that she’dliketo meet them, even though that was the truth. She was thrilled that he’d asked. She was back to comparing him to Dale – Dale would leave her standing there like a spare part while he spoke to people who she didn’t know. She used to wonder if he didn’t introduce her because he didn’t want people to know that she was his wife.

She had no such concerns with Dom. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned at the two men as they came over to join them.

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