Page 82 of Terms + Conditions
Elizabeth turns to him. “That’s right, I’m so sorry. My weeks are starting to blur together more than I realized. How is Oliver?”
“Oh, you know…Oliver.” Finn chuckles and she huffs a small laugh, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Will you make it on Sunday?”
“Sunday?” She asks in genuine confusion before turning to look at me.
“The Coney Island event for the thing he’s been working on,” I answer with a little more annoyance than is probably necessary, but having to cover for her is starting to get old.
“Shit.” Elizabeth sighs, her shoulders falling. “Finn, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll make it. I have to be in Asheville for a shoot tomorrow and then Charleston on Monday for—”
“Don’t forget our appointment on Monday.”
Elizabeth’s glare whips toward me, but I’m not going to let her forget this appointment. She’s the one who was adamant we needed to sit down and talk with him. “I’m sorry, Finn.” She sighs. “Things are just extra crazy right now.”
“No sweat, Ellie.” Finn wraps his arm around her shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze. “As long as you make it to the big party next month. You gotta take a break and celebrate occasionally.”
Another sad smile. “I promise.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” I mumble.
Elizabeth glares at me again before excusing herself. She claims she had to pick up the dry cleaning because she needs one of the shirts for tomorrow. Finn’s eyes travel to the closet door outside the kitchen, where a plastic garment bag hangs filled with freshly pressed shirts. She doesn’t waste time grabbing her purse and running out the door.
When she’s gone, Finn turns to me, and without hesitation, he asks, “Dude, what was that?”
Pulling two beers from the fridge, I ignore his question.
“She didn’t even tell you goodbye. Elizabeth never leaves without telling someone goodbye, let alone her own husband. She didn’t even kiss you!”
I shrug. “Sure, she did.”
His eyes look like they’re about to jump out of his skull. We both know for a fact she did not tell me goodbyeorkiss me. “Josh—”
“Finn,” I snap. “Just drop it. Okay?”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
NOW
THE RECEPTIONIST OFFERS US a tight smile when I follow Elizabeth into the Winchester office of DV Designs. I haven’t been here much in the last few years. After Michaela moved to New York and Nina started spending more time opening other offices across the country, there wasn’t anything here for me. It’s crazy to think that only six years ago, I dragged Nick through the door to drop off some pies to Michaela and introduced him to Nina. Who would’ve imagined life would turn out the way it has? Nina taking him on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation? Sure. Them falling in love and having known each other longer than anyone knew? That wasn’t on the bingo card.
“She’s a little tense,” the brunette behind the desk says.
Great. That’sjustwhat we need walking into this conversation.
Elizabeth takes a deep breath and smiles at the receptionist before pushing down the hallway toward Nina’s office.
“Good luck,” the girl says to me before turning back to the ringing phone, but her words do little to comfort me. If anything, they make me more nervous.
From the hallway, I can see Nina pace the length of her office. I’m surprised there isn’t a wear stripe on the rug beneath herfeet. Her footsteps falter when she catches sight of me through the door. Elizabeth sits with her back to the door in one of the blue velvet chairs in front of the desk. Nina looks between us as I walk into her office and I can hear the person on the other end of the phone calling her name.
“I have to call you back.”
She hangs up without waiting for a response and looks between us once more before shaking her head with a scoff. She closes the office door but still doesn’t say anything, and right now, the silence is worse than whatever she’s about to say. She sits on the edge of her desk, directly in front of us, crossing her arms. “Does someone want to tell me what in the hell is going on?”
Isn’t it obvious?
“We’ve decided to stay together,” I say, beating Elizabeth to it.
“Just like that?” Her sharp green eyes bore into ours. “You’re just going to call off the divorce and…what? Go back to your pretend marriage and act like none of this ever happened? Act like you didn’t cause problems within the family.”
