Page 123 of My Wife
Him: custody.
Me: legal assistance.
“I’m loyal, Jessica. It’s hockey and family. That’s it. There won’t be anything else in my life.”
“You meananyoneelse? You don’t know that. You could meet someone tomorrow and fall in love.”
“I won’t.” His tone is firm, final.
“You can’t be sure.”
“I can.”
Silence stretches between us.
Liam adds, “If between now and the kid’s eighteenth birthday, you find someone else, you can leave me. I won’t hold it against you.”
“But your son might.” My shoulders drop. I won’t find someone else either. Somehow I know that with absolute certainty. There’s no sense in me even looking for love. I’m a romance and relationship wrecker. I walked away from one almost-marriage because my lot in life is loneliness, but maybe not alone …
I spin in a small circle as if winding myself up like an old mechanical toy. I may as well try a fake one and see how I fare.
Liam asks, “Can we do this?”
I hold up a finger. “They need to know that I’m not KJ’s biological mother.”
“Ingrid figured it out. They were discussing it last night. My parents are so embarrassed. My mom wants to apologize to you.”
“No, I’m the one who is humiliated. I let them think?—”
His expression hardens. “You are the mother the kid needs. End of story. You’re his mom.”
My chin wobbles because I love that little boy as much as I love Grandma Dolly. Maybe more.
“So you’ll fix the issue with the Coogans?” I ask, bringing us back to the nuts and bolts of the matter.
“Money is powerful and so are legal documents, so yes. It will all go away.”
“And we’ll go on with our lives. But I was going to move to Colorado.” I gasp.
“I can’t leave Cobbiton.”
“I know. I understand. I just thought—” I force away the building sadness of my failures, stacking one on top of the next. It’s easier for me to pretend they don’t exist when I can report back from a faraway place.
But that means I’ve been lying to myself … and everyone else. I let out a long exhale because I don’t want to hurt anyone or lose their trust, but a marriage of convenience would be the biggest lie of all.
I think of Cara and how badly I want her to be at the wedding if we’re really going through with it. I promise myself I’ll tell her the truth. Grandma Dolly must not have understood when I told her about the marriage of convenience.
“Does anyone know?” I ask.
“About our arrangement?” He shakes his head.
“Can I have one lifeline? One person to tell?”
Liam’s throat bobs on a swallow. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I owe it to my best friend.”
Liam’s eyes bulge. “Cara? My coach’s daughter?”
