Page 88 of Mr Nice Guy

“What’s that?” Deacon asks.

“In New York a divorce can be granted without the second party’s approval if—”

“They fail to respond to the summons,” I finish for him. “Yeah, I know. Trust me, I’ve tried. She might be a bitch, but she’s not an idiot. She won’t ignore a summons. There’s too much at stake for her.”

Deacon’s expression turns thoughtful. “How does someone respond to a divorce summons? Can they just call a number and be like, “Got the summons, don’t want a divorce.’?”

Charlie lets out a soft chuckle. “It’s a bit more involved than that. There are whole bunch of forms that need to be lodged and notarized and stamped. It takes a bit of time to get it all done. ”

“And you need to do it in person?” Deacon asks curiously. “In New York?”

Charlie nods. “Yep.”

Deacon turns to me, suddenly looking hopeful. “How easy would it be for her to get back here from Bermuda in time to do all that?” he asks me, before his expression wavers a little. “Or do they have, like, a year to do it?”

“Thirty days if she’s not in New York when the notice is served,” Charlie says.

My mind starts whirring with possibilities I hadn’t considered before. The last time I tried filing was before she left the country. With only twenty days to get herself organized to contest the notice, I thought the likeliest scenario would be that she’d simply agree to the terms and accept the settlement and that would be that. But I vastly underestimated her, and with her threats of a custody battle hanging over my head after that I didn’t have much choice other than to withdraw the filing and accept the possibility that there may not be a way out.

But now…

“Her guard is down,” I murmur, thinking out loud. “And if she wasn’t able to easily access money, getting back here wouldn’t be that easy. She could manage it, I’m sure, but it wouldn’t be easy. And it’s not like her lawyers would be willing to work pro bono…” The thought of cutting off her cash supply and leaving her stranded on a ridiculously expensive Caribbean island makes me a little queasy, but if it could get me out of this mess…

“Do you know if she’s been saving any of it?” Deacon asks. “Rainy day money?”

I shrug. “I’d have to get it looked into. But she’s never been the most fiscally responsible type so I tend to doubt it.”

The edges of Deacon’s mouth curve up. “Well…I guess it’s something at least.”

I offer a soft smile in return. “It’s something.” Leaning closer, I brush a far-too-chaste kiss to his lips, acutely aware that his brother is still standing close by.

There’s a good chance this won’t pan out. I could be opening myself up to a world of hell if I go through with this and Natalia manages to contest the divorce and follow through on all her threats. But for the first time, the fear of that possibility isn’t crippling enough to force me to back down.

I want a life with Deacon. A future. And I’m not going to let fear and anxiety stop me from doing whatever I can to secure it.

EPILOGUE

DEACON

My brows crease in concern as I watch Tanner pace back and forth across the carpet of the plush waiting area in Leona Fisher’s offices. It’s not an entirely surprising sight; today was always going to be a rough day for him, but that doesn’t make me feel any less helpless right now.

He finally pauses for a moment, but it’s only so he can rub at his forehead and draw in several deep breaths. Not a good sign.

“Babe, come here,” I tell him, holding out my hand. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in your head.”

He turns to me, those sparkling sapphire eyes now dull with dread. “You don’t want to know what’s going on in my head.”

“I always want to know what’s in that head, Tanner,” I assure him. “Now, come here. Talk to me.”

He sighs and comes over to join me on the couch. I reach behind him and run gentle circles over his back, glad when I feel some of his tension ease. I know that one simple act won’t be enough, but it’s something.

“Talk to me, babe,” I say again.

He shakes his head. “What if this was a mistake? What if she goes back on her word and decides to fight me after all? She’s done it before, Deacon. She could waltz in here with a team of lawyers and make all kinds of threats, and I’ll be right back where I started. Or she could just skip past the threats and go straight to filing for custody.”

After months of being with Tanner, his tendency to catastrophize isn’t exactly foreign to me. He works really hard with all his behavioral techniques to keep these kinds of thoughts under control, but considering his history with Natalia, it’s understandable that his worst fears would all be bubbling to the surface today.

“Babe, we have the papers. It’s all taken care of,” I reminds him. “After today, it’ll all be over.”

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