Page 15 of Worth the Fall

"I wish. He tried to sage my office the other day. Called it 'cleansing the negative vibrations.' I was shocked it didn’t set off the fire alarm; although, my poor assistant Linda almost had an asthma attack."

"Okay, you win. That beats my ex-wife running off with the neighbor."

I nearly choke on my coffee. "Seriously?"

"Well, technically he was the neighbor who used our pool without permission, but it has a better ring to it the other way." His eyes crinkle with amusement. "Though explaining to the HOA why several Adirondack chairs ended up in the pool was probably the low point."

There's hurt there, I can tell, but he talks about it with a kind of grace I'm still working toward. "How do you do that?" I ask before I can stop myself.

"Do what?"

"Talk about it so… easily."

He's quiet for a moment, considering. "I have a five-year-old daughter who thinks everything can be fixed with princess stickers and chocolate milk. Makes it hard to stay bitter when your life is full of glitter and sticky hugs."

The way his eyes soften when he mentions his daughter makes my heart do a complicated flip. "Is that why you have…" I gesture to his casual Saturday outfit, where tiny sparkles catch the light.

He grins, brushing at the glitter. "Fantasy Friday at preschool. I'm told it's a very important event. Though I have to admit, walking into a board meeting yesterday covered in glitter wasn't exactly how I planned to make my mark at the new job."

Just then, his phone starts buzzing with a video call. He glances at the screen and his expression shifts slightly. "I'm sorry, it's my ex-wife. I should probably take this—it might be about Felicity."

"Of course," I say, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in my chest at the mention of his ex-wife.

He answers the call, and I can hear a woman's voice coming through clearly. "Miguel, did you remember to pack Felicity's pink tutu? She's insisting she needs it for dance class."

"Celine, I packed everything on the list you sent," Miguel responds, his tone professional but with an edge I hadn't heard before. "Including the tutu."

"And her special hair clips? You know she won't wear any others."

"Yes, and the hair clips." He catches my eye and mouths 'sorry' with an apologetic smile.

I wave off his apology, trying to look understanding while my mind races. His ex-wife sounds stunning. I know it’s weird to say without seeing someone, but you can just hear the class and sophistication in her voice. I can’t help but picture one of those socialites who always has the newest designer bag and an impossibly thin frame that somehow looks good in everything.

"Who's that?" Celine suddenly asks.

"I'm in the middle of a meeting," Miguel says firmly. "Was there anything else about Felicity's things?"

"A meeting? On Saturday?" There's a pause. "Oh. OH. I see."

"Goodbye, Celine," Miguel says, ending the call. He turns back to me with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be," I say quickly. "She seems like a very involved mother."

"That's one word for it. Though I suppose I should be grateful she insists on triple-checking anything I do regarding our daughter. God knows I could use the help." He smiles and I catch a flick of tiredness in his expression. "Still, even after all of it, I’m more than happy to have multiple discussions about tutus instead of throwing more furniture in the pool."

The comment startles a laugh out of me, breaking the tension. "I have to admit, I'm really curious about this pool furniture story."

"It's a long story," he says with a grin. "Maybe for next time?"

My heart does that flip thing again at 'next time.' "I'd like that."

"Me too," he says softly, and suddenly the coffee shop feels very small and very warm.

"So," I say, trying to redirect my thoughts from how nice his smile is, "what's your most ridiculous case?"

He leans back, running a hand through his hair. "Oh, that's easy. Had a divorce case where both parties were fighting over custody of their social media accounts. Not the business ones—their joint personal Instagram. They'd been posting as a couple for so long, neither one wanted to give up the followers."

I laugh. "Please tell me you're joking."

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