Page 43 of For the Promise

“My parents were coming to visit us two years ago for Christmas since Alan couldn’t get any time off for the holidays. There was a snowstorm. A driver of a semi-truck lost control and slid into their lane. They didn’t make it.”

Jaxon doesn’t hesitate. He gathers me into his arms and settles me on his lap. “Let it all out, Petal. Let it all out.”

I cling to his t-shirt as the tears I was holding back break through. Jaxon rubs his hand up and down my back and murmurs to me until I manage to get myself under control.

“I’m sorry you lost them,” he says.

“Me too,” I whisper. “But there’s more.”

“Tell me, Petal.”

“My parents left me a bit of money. When Alan found out, he contacted a contractor and had him draw up plans to expand our house. He didn’t tell me. I found out when the workers showed up to start work.”

Jaxon growls. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I asked him how we were going to pay for all the work. Our inheritance was his answer.Ourinheritance. I wasn’t planning on touching the money and he had already spent it. I walked out of the house and never came back. I was done.”

“And now he’s suing you for half of the money.”

“Asshole,” I mutter.

“But why does he think he’s entitled to the money?”

“Because he’s an asshole who claims we were married when I inherited the money.”

“Wouldn’t you know if you were married?”

“Colorado is a common law state. He claims we acted as husband and wife in public and therefore we were married.”

“And so you told him you were already married,” Jaxon guesses correctly.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I never presented myself as his wife. Did I use his last name to make dinner reservations? Sure. But if I had wanted to marry him, we would have discussed marriage.”

“You owned a home together, but you didn’t want to marry him?”

I shrug. I’m not explaining to him how I ignored all the red flags. How I was a foolish girl who wanted to be loved.

“Do you think Alan will drop the lawsuit if he thinks you’re married?”

“I’m hoping he will. I can’t stand the idea of him getting any money from my parents. How dare he demand half! He didn’t even attend their funeral because he had a ‘work project’. Work project my ass.” I snort. “Screwing your colleague isn’t a work project.”

Jaxon’s nostrils flare. “He was with his lover while you were at your parents’ funeral?”

“Yep. He denies it, but the used condoms in the waste basket proved him wrong.”

“I should have decked him.”

I blink. “What?”

“I wanted to punch him in the face but I held back. I shouldn’t have.”

“I hate to point this out because I would love to witness Alan getting married with a black eye, but violence isn’t going to help him drop the lawsuit.”

“Neither is pretending to be married,” he mutters before lifting me off his lap.

My stomach rolls. “You don’t want to pretend to be married this weekend after all?”

Sinking mermaids. Alan is never going to drop this lawsuit.

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