Page 27 of Sugar Pie
I believed him. My lips tingled to kiss him. Our breaths were close, as we were inches apart, but my phone beeped.
Heat rushed into my face as I said, “Your brother texted.”
He opened the door and waved. “When you talk to him, tell him I said hi. I have to go. See you tonight.”
“See you.” My heart beat faster. I’d wanted to confide in Warren entirely because he was the best man I’d ever met. Soon, I would have to tell him everything.
12
Kerry
More than half a day later, I finally stood up from the laptop after completing my work to build Warren’s website. I made myself another pot of coffee before settling back to work, checking emails, bidding, confirming jobs, and keeping the schedule.
Warren’s current workload was a start, but he had a bigger goal, so I needed to figure out how to help his business grow.
Helping him was letting me prove to myself that my worth was more than just skin deep. The coffee percolated, and I stretched as I smelled the earthy, delicious scent. In a few minutes I would have a cup of heaven.
About an hour later, as I put my coffee cup down, my phone rang. For a second, I blinked as I’d not given out my new number yet, but then when I returned to the desk and saw Jeff the lawyer’s name on screen I answered, “Hello?”
“So I have news, and I wanted to call you, as you didn’t call me yesterday.”
The night before, I’d lived in a fantasy world where I might be Warren’s and he would kiss me then take all of me.
I’d pushed reality out of our evening. Jeff didn’t sound like Warren with that deep bass tone, but I didn’t care at the moment. I tensed. “What happened? Did Romeo refuse?”
He laughed. “The opposite. He took your deal, and since the marriage license was in Florida, it’s much easier to file for divorce since you both kept residency there. Connecticut would have taken months, but your tax haven worked in our favor. So I have the PDFs of his signature and will have the handwritten original when it arrives via courier tomorrow.”
Tears formed in my eyes. I hadn’t realized divorce could be so easy, and he’d threatened just days before to drag it out. Maybe it was just because Jeff filed and lawyers became involved. My heart thumped. “Really? That’s it?”
“I’ll file today, and if you want, I’ll speak to a judge friend to process it as soon as tomorrow.”
Good. His judge friend must be close.I took a deep breath. There was no reason to delay anything ever again. “So I’m really free?”
“There is no reason to fear. He agreed to sign in exchange for no alimony. Keeping you out of the workforce from college till now otherwise would have meant a significant loss to his monthly check, and his lawyers didn’t like the numbers I threatened with.”
My mind raced. Romeo was always cheap when he could be. Letting me go saved him cash and set me free. I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and asked, “How much did you tell him I was entitled to?”
“Ten thousand.”
My fingers tensed as I put the glass pitcher back. “That’s not much.”
“A month for the rest of your life.”
“I thought since the marriage was so short, that wasn’t possible…”
“I have a reputation for fighting for my clients and winning.”
“I want my freedom.”
“So I won.”
I uncurled my hands, which had almost fused to the mug. A long fight would have meant I would never truly be free from him. I picked up my cup, confident I could work again, and squared my shoulders. “I don’t want anything from him except to never see him again.”
“Well, consider yourself a free woman.”
My heart soared. I set my cup beside the computer. “Thank you.”
We said goodbye, and I texted the one man I wanted to see, with his reddish-blond hair and blue eyes that came alive in my dreams.Warren, call me.
