Page 103 of Not the Plan

“ ‘Sweetie’? Are you serious?”

“You aren’t my sweetie anymore?” The memory of the pout that went with that tone set his teeth on edge.

“What do you want?” he asked. “I’ve been satisfied communicating with your lawyer through mine, there’s no reason for us to speak directly.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not really sure this whole divorce thing is such a good idea.”

There was a nerve under his right eye that had only twitched on a few occasions in his life. All those occasions had to do withLaila. The nerve fluttered with an electric buzz as he tried to form an answer without shouting. He failed.

“You’ve got an awful lot of—”

“Hey! Watch it!” she said. “Who do you think you’re talking to like—”

“I’ll talk to you however I want. You’re lucky I’m speaking to you at all.”

A brief clatter drew him out of the call and back to Sacramento. Isadora was in the kitchen, moving the bacon from the hot burner to a cool one. Laila’s voice faded away. Isadora, graceful as always and dead sexy in one of his dress shirts, went up on tiptoe to leave the kitchen. She had to walk past the patio door he’d failed to close.Is she trying not to disturb me? She’s thoughtful even—

“You don’t expect me to just let my husband—” Laila’s voice broke back into his consciousness.

“Your husband? Yourhusband? You mean the husband you walked out on? The husband you’ve ignored for the past two years?”

Isadora jumped when he raised his voice and her eyes met his.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed at her.

She shook her head. “Don’t be,” she mouthed back.

“Don’t go?” he mouthed. He didn’t try to hide the emotions that were bubbling up. He knew his anger was going to burn itself out soon, and it would help to have her nearby. She nodded, curling her legs under herself as she sat on the couch. Laila’s background blather faded. He let himself fall into Isadora’s eyes, that deep, dark brown abyss he’d fallen into so many times as she brought him to another mind-bending climax, or in moments like this one, where he felt safe and important and…loved? He’d barely recognized the thought when Laila intruded again.

“…you’re seeing someone. Who is she?Youbelong tome,Karim. How do you think it makes me look—”

“This conversation is over,” he snapped. “There is nothing for us to discuss anymore. You call me again—you, or anyone else inyour family—and I will have my lawyer request alimony. I’ll demand half ofeverything.The townhouse in Harrisburg, the condo in Barbados—ourwedding present. All the assets I was just going to let slide so I could be done.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he said. “This conversation is finished.Weare finished. Do not contact me again.” He hung up, exhaled, and stepped back into the apartment, sliding the door closed. Isadora reached out to him. He put his phone down on the table and went over to sit next to her on the couch.

“I’m sorry you had to—”

She cut him off, shaking her head. “Don’t apologize for anything. Are you okay?”

He shrugged.

“Come here,” she said, pulling him to her. He put his head in her lap, shuffling a little because of his glasses. “What did she want?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair.

“I don’t really know. She asked about you, though.”

“She knows about me?” she asked.

“Not your name. Just that I’m seeing someone. She doesn’t like it.”

“But…how?”

He shrugged again, snuggling closer, his eyes closed.

“If I had to guess, my mom. I told her about you. She’s probably been shouting it from the rooftops, or at least said something to her hairdresser, who knows everyone back home.”

“You told your mom about me?” Her voice was frail. He peeked an eye open to smile up at her.

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