Page 33 of One Weekend in Seattle

“Confronted him. He made all sorts of excuses, and after that, I made sure to put only a small amount in the joint account.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I like to think so. He did try to get into my private account.”

“Ass.”

“Yeah. The bank wouldn’t let him access the account, thank goodness.” When the bank called her all those years ago, her heart had frozen. Luckily, they denied him access, and her money was safe. Of course they had a big fight about it when she got home from work that night. That’s when she told him she wanted a divorce. Gabby blew out a breath. “Believe it or not,we had a pre-nup that kept our assets separate. So, when we divorced, I was able to keep everything that was mine.”

“Thank goodness. Not everyone wants a pre-nup.”

“At the time, I thought it was a bit silly, but later, I was so grateful.” Lindsay was the one who’d suggested it. She had a sixth sense about those things.

“I remember you said your ex dragged his feet in the divorce.”

“Yes.” She tugged at her hands. “If we’re going to talk about it, let’s be a bit more comfortable and get you off your knees.”

Sawyer grinned. “You got it.” He stood, pulled her to her feet, and guided her over to the sofa.

Gabby sagged against the sofa, allowing it to encase her body. “My ex didn’t want to divorce me because he thought he’d continue to get money from me.” There, she said it.

“Alimony?”

“Probably, he figured if he never answered the divorce paperwork or anything else my lawyer sent to him, I’d continue to pay for things.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. While lawyers are not cheap, I had a really good one. Even the judge was good. Oh, my ex would answer one or two little things to look like he was responding.” Gabby shifted toward Sawyer. “I asked the court to grant me the right not to support a man I was not living with and who was able to work. The judge granted it.”

“How long did that take?”

“Six months after I moved out. Quick for California courts.”

“Last night you were celebrating your divorce. How long did that take?”

“Almost three years.” She sighed. “Like I said, he’d respond just enough to keep the court happy.”

“How did you finally get him to agree?”

“I didn’t. I was lucky. My lawyer found a loophole, and he got me a default judgment for divorce due to my ex’s nonresponse.”

“That was lucky.”

“In a way, it was. I call it a loophole, but there is an actual statute. I don’t fully understand it all, but it’s finally over.”

“I am too. And it does help me understand why you’re sensitive to me spending money.”

“Thank you. It’s hard. Even having Lindsay pick up the bill Friday night made me cringe.”

Sawyer nodded. “So, we’re back to the beginning of this conversation. What would you like to do today?”

“First, I think we need to clear away breakfast and do the dishes.”

“So practical.” He pushed up from the sofa.

“Yes.” Gabby stood. “I’ll text Lindsay and see if she wants to do anything. If she’s fine at home, I might be able to be talked into a movie.”

“Now that will be fun.”

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