Page 83 of Rook

“No. What did you do after the courthouse?” she asked, looking at Rook.

“We had a picnic. We should have the pictures back from it in a few days if you want to see.”

“You had a photographer?”

“Yes.”

I could tell by her pinched face that she wanted to be annoyed about that. But there was no rule that said we couldn’t hire a photographer, a baker, or party planners.

“Oh! I think we have a bit of wedding cake leftover, if you’d like to try it!” I said, feigning friendliness. Even if I really wanted to have that cake with my morning coffee.

“No. But I need to check the kitchen.”

“Of course,” I said, forcing a smile as I took Rook’s hand and moved over to the couch with him.

Rook reached for my legs, pulling them over his lap. And for a moment, we got to play the part of a happy, newly married couple.

“You looked like your heart was being ripped out when you offered her the cake.”

“I plan to eat it for breakfast. And, no, I don’t care how bad for me that is.”

“I once ate half a cold pizza for breakfast, so I’m not judging.”

“Everything seems alright here,” Nancy said, her tone suggesting she was disappointed by that fact. “I don’t need to remind you that you are not to leave town without permission.”

Emboldened by her antagonism toward Rook, I snuggled closer to him. “That’s totally fine. We don’t plan to leave the apartment. Or, well, the bed, for a week.”

The twinkling in Rook’s eyes said he appreciated the assist. And maybe even that he would be happy to make that claim a reality.

Nancy sniffed, but had nothing to say to that. Instead, she reiterated a few more of her rules to Rook—as if he could possibly forget them at this point—then made her way out.

“It always feels like a trip to the principal’s office each time I see her,” Rook said. “Even after all this time.”

“I honestly thought when you came up with this little plan that you were exaggerating about how bad she is. But it’s like someone sucked all the joy out of her, so now she has to do it to everyone else. She must have really loved that husband of hers…”

“That’s the thing,” Rook said, shaking his head.

“What is?”

“When he woke up from the coma, he divorced her.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Yeah. I got curious a few months back, so I looked into the case. One thing led to another, and now I know the whole sordid thing.”

“Well, obviously, you have to tell me. But let me get cake and coffee first.” I rushed to do just that before I came back. “Okay. Spill.”

“Well, apparently, a young Nancy married well for herself. Her husband was a wealthy real estate investor. They were rolling in cash. Country clubs, charity galas, and keeping up with the Joneses.”

“Fancy. I can see it. It explains the way her nose is always up in the air.”

“Yep,” Rook agreed, grabbing my hand as I was about to put the fork in my mouth, and bringing it to his instead.

“Hey!”

“Anyway, it seems like Nancy really liked to portray her marriage as the perfect one. No cracks.”

“Oh, those are always the most broken ones.”

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