Page 84 of Finding Forever

“Stop that.” The quiet command effectively halted her stuttering words immediately. “Firstly, it’s not my area of expertise. Secondly, representing you in this matter would be a conflict of interest. You need someone with no affiliation to me or my family or company. Someone to represent you alone and who will ensure that your estate is protected from both Abernathyandme.”

“But you wouldn’t…”

“Of course, I wouldn’t. That’s not the point, you still need to protect yourself against the possibility. It’s the sensible,responsiblething to do. Signing that prenup was a step in the right direction. Youshould’vehad an attorney look over it first though, or at the very least have given it more than a cursory glance.”

“Still sore about that, are you?”

He glared at her.

“It was irresponsible.” It was adorable how he didn’t recognize that his absolute outrage at her carelessness when it came to the prenup, only made her trust him more. “When you find an attorney, you can have them look over the prenup again and I’d be happy to agree to any amendments they might recommend.”

“Okay.”

He eyed her suspiciously, as if dubious about her easy acquiescence.

“I mean it, Fern,” he said.

“So do I,” she replied brightly. He looked befuddled and she wished she didn’t find his confusion so cute.

“Right,” he muttered, still eyeing her with a great deal of skepticism and wariness. “On Monday I’ll have my assistant send you a list of attorneys. We’ll take it from there.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded.

“Well.” She dropped her feet to the floor, preparing to get up. “I think I’ll leave you to your evening and?—”

“Why?”

The curt question flummoxed her and she stared at him in complete confusion.

“Uhm… I assumed you wanted your privacy.”

“As I said before, Fern, you live here too. You don’t have to ghost out of a room every time I enter it. It’s fucking unsettling. I’m not some kind of monster who’ll rage out at the mere sight of you.”

“I never assumed you were.” She lifted her feet back onto the sofa and sat there for a moment, rigid as a board, not sure what to do or say next. How did one pass the time with one’s reluctant husband, anyway?

She pursed her lips as she considered the question.

“What’s going on in that complicated mind of yours this time?” he asked, his voice mild.

“Just wondering how we’re going to fill the awkward silence,” she replied honestly and his lips quirked, while humor danced in those beautiful eyes.

“Why does it have to be awkward? Or silent, for that matter.”

She diverted her gaze to her e-reader, absently rubbing a thumb over the screen, as she worked on eliminating the faintest of smudges.

She lifted her shoulders uncomfortably.

“Honestly?”

He nodded.

“You may recall that you said—not too long ago, mind you—that you don’t want to be my friend, confidante, or crutch, which kind of limits any attempts at conversation with you. And if I dare ask you anything about your life or family, you’ll likely consider it prying, which leaves us with nothing to talk about. Which means we’ll be sitting in silence. And how can that silence be anything but awkward after everythingelsethat has happened between then and now?”

She snuck a peek at him, only to find him watching her with an arrested expression on his face. One long thumb stroking the darker patch of stubble that his razor couldn’t quite reach in the shallow indentation below the swell of his lower lip.

“Tell me about your friend,” he invited unexpectedly and her eyes flew to his in confusion. She wasn’t sure what had prompted this invitation.

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