“I’d think you’d be glad I’m ending my marriage to a sinner like Rob,” I remarked. “He’s never been a member of any church. We got married at the county courthouse.”
“While I’m not happy that you didn’t marry in the church, your husband seems very nice, and he’s committed to making things work,” she stated.
“When did you talk to Rob?” I asked.
“He called us yesterday,” she replied.
“Why the hell is he calling you?” I demanded, and then I had to wonder how he’d even gotten their number.
“Don’t use that language,” my mom scolded. “What choice does your poor husband have when his own wife won’t answer his calls?”
“That smells great,” Ty called out as he walked into the kitchen. When he realized I was on the phone, he gave me a sheepish smile. Seeing my expression, his smile faded, and he looked concerned.
“Is that Luke?” my mother asked in an overly cheerful voice. “I’d like to meet my step-grandson. Put him on the line. Perhaps he can talk some sense into you about this divorce that’s tearing apart his family.”
“That isn’t Luke,” I told her.
“I see,” she snapped in a disapproving tone. “I’d ask why you have a man in your house at eight in the morning, but it seems obvious.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Just go ahead and call me whatever nasty names you want so I can get off this call with you.”
“I’m worried about you, Elizabeth,” she began, sounding almost concerned. “It seems you’re only confident about ending things with your husband because you have a new man to take his place. What makes you think this relationship will end any better than your last? Why get a divorce, only to begin another doomed relationship?”
“I need to go,” I said, ending the call before she could say anything more.
“Are you okay?” Ty asked from behind me.
I nodded and turned with a smile pasted on my face. “I’m fine,” I assured him, but I could tell he didn’t believe me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Maybe later,” I told him, having no intention of telling him about my conversation with my mom. I’d already told him enough about my insane family. He would never understand my mother’s call. I didn’t really understand my mom’s call, and I’d grown up with her. What he really wouldn’t understand is how she’d opened the door to so many doubts about my relationship with him.
“Who was on the phone?” he asked.
“No one,” I insisted. “I need to get ready for my conference call.”
When I tried to turn away, Ty’s arm snaked around my back to pull me close. The spicy scent of his cologne wrapped around me, and for a moment, I was able to forget the doubts my mother had awakened.
“Talk to me, sweetheart,” he urged. “Whatever it is, let me help.”
“No!” I snapped, suddenly angry. I wasn’t sure if I was angry with Ty for trying to pressure me into talking, angry at my mom for ruining my morning, or angry at myself for letting my past control my present. “I don’t want to talk to you about this, Ty. Why can’t you just let me have some space?”
When Ty’s hands fell away, I turned to face him. He nodded, looking down at his feet. “You’re right. You don’t have to tell me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m acting like a bitch.”
“Brook,” he began and waited until I met his gaze to continue. “I know the call upset you, and for whatever reason, you think you can’t talk to me about it. I also know you have a conference call and don’t have time to discuss this now, but we are going to talk later. I’m not going to pretend you aren’t upset.”
“It was my mom,” I admitted. “I don’t talk to her often. Actually, it’s been more than five years since we last spoke. She just gets to me, but I’ll be fine.”
The indecision in his eyes was obvious, but eventually, he nodded and took a step back. “I have to work late, but I’d really like to see you tonight. Do you mind if I stop by your place later? Otherwise, I could give you the key to mine.”
Part of me wanted to tell him I’d rather be alone. That part of me still let my mom get to me when we talked. Fighting her hold on me, I smiled at Ty. “I’d like that. It would be easier if you came by here. I’ll give you the spare key in case I’m already asleep.” My agreement seemed to help alleviate some of his worries about my strange mood.
Throughout breakfast, I tried to pretend nothing was bothering me, while wondering how one call from my mother could screw things up so quickly.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ty
Luke was waiting for me at the sandwich shop down the street from my office, looking at his phone with a perplexed expression.
I sat at the table across from him before ordering since the line was long at the moment. “Sorry I’m late.”
Looking up from his phone, Luke shrugged. “No worries. I was running late myself. I got to start setting up my classroom, which is taking longer than I’d expected. It seems the last biology instructor was a scary hoarder who left a bunch of stuff behind.”
“What kind of stuff?” I asked.
“There was a dead frog in the pen drawer,” Luke replied.
“You’re joking, right?” I asked, because no one would hoard dead animals. Maybe serial killers or taxidermists, but no one else would hoard dead animals.
“I wish I was,” Luke said with a humorless bark of laughter. “That’s not even the worst thing I’ve found so far. When I asked about having the janitorial staff come in and clean out the classroom, the principal laughed at me. Apparently, we don’t have the resources to clean up after crazy ex-teachers, so I get to do it on my own time. It’s either that or spend the year buried in his stuff.”
“Rethinking your career choice?” I asked.
“Nope,” he replied with a shake of his head. “While I’d rather not have to deal with this shit, I’m seriously looking forward to inspiring a love of science in kids. I may change my mind in five years, but we’ll have to see how it goes. Let’s order while there’s no line,” he suggested, and I looked over, surprised to see the line had disappeared so quickly.
I nodded, and we headed up to get our sandwiches. “How are things going with Brook?” he asked when we returned to the table with our food.
I shrugged, not sure what to say after our conversation that morning. While she’d apologized for snapping at me and invited me over, something was still bothering her. I’d fought my instinct to push her on the subject, a decision I’d been regretting since leaving her house. Still, I figured Luke didn’t really want to hear about any of this. “Things have been going great. We’ve gone out almost every night for the last week.”
Luke knew me well enough to know I wasn’t telling him everything, and I was sure he’d text me for details later since that’s how Luke handled serious conversations. “What’s up with the busted knuckles?” he asked, gesturing to my hand holding the sandwich.
“Chelsea’s asshole ex-husband ran into my fist a few times.”
Luke chuckled. “Nice! I wish I’d been there to see that. I’m surprised you didn’t call me to bail your ass out. That whiny little prick seems like the type to press assault charges.”
“He tried, but it was hard to pull off when he’d violated the restraining order, broken her phone, and choked her.” I wanted to kick his ass all over again every time I thought about that bastard choking my sister.
“What the fuck!” Luke roared, drawing the attention of everyone in the sandwich shop. “I hope you broke that fucker’s jaw.”
“His nose,” I clarified. “Chels kicked him in the balls.”
Luke gave his nod of approval. “I always hated that useless piece of shit,” he muttered.
“How’s the online dating going?” I asked to take the attention away from Jason before Luke decided to hunt him down. Chelsea and Luke might not have gotten along, but I’d always gotten the
impression Luke thought of Chelsea as a sister.
“It’s definitely interesting,” Luke replied after some consideration.
“Any hot dates?” I asked.
“I’ve just been chatting with women on the dating site,” he explained. “It’s a good way to weed out the crazies.”
“They must be pretty crazy if you can tell just from chatting with them online,” I remarked.
“One woman asked me if she could see a picture of my dick,” he stated.
“I guess your conversation was going well,” I remarked, my lips twitching.
“That was her opening line,” Luke clarified.
“Did you send her a picture?” I asked, biting back my laughter.
“You are just hilarious,” he grumbled.
“I’m serious,” I assured him. It’s not like Luke had ever been the shy type.
“No, I did not send her a picture of my dick,” he insisted. “In fact, I told her I wasn’t going to send dick pics to a strange chick.”
“You sound like a perverted Dr. Seuss,” I remarked, and Luke responded by flipping me off. “How did she react when you refused?”
“That’s the nice thing about this online dating thing,” he began. “So far, everyone’s been fine with me not wanting to continue chatting with them. I guess there are plenty of guys for them to hook up with, so they don’t mind getting turned down. Enough about my failed attempts to find a woman. How do you feel about Brook?”
How did I feel about Brook? I’d been going over that question in my mind a lot lately, and the answer scared me a little.
“I’m falling in love with her,” I admitted, testing the words I’d been afraid to say out loud. “You think I’m crazy, right? I mean, it’s too soon for me to feel this way.”
Luke thought for a moment before responding. “I’ve never been in love, so I don’t have much personal experience to base my opinion on. It’s possible you’re falling in love with her, or maybe you just think you are because you had a crush on her all those years ago."
“It’s not the crush,” I argued with a shake of my head. “Yeah, that’s why I went after her, but it’s not why I’m with her. I gotta ask you something.”
“What’s that?” Luke asked.
“Why me? I mean, why encourage me to ask her out?”
Luke shrugged. “I knew you wanted to, and I know you won’t hurt her.”
“I’ve been fucking around with no commitments for years,” I pointed out. “What made you think I wasn’t going to just use her?”
Luke studied me. “Do you use women? What I mean to say is, do the women think you’re offering more?”
“No,” I answered right away. “I’m always honest from the beginning.”
“And did you think Brook would be some woman you just fucked when you asked her out?” Luke pushed.
“Never,” I replied quickly. “Fine, I get your point. She’s different.”
“If you marry her, can I call you Daddy?” Luke asked with a smirk.
“Fuck you,” I shot back with a laugh. “Did you really have to go and make this weird for me?”
“What are friends for?” Luke asked.
The alarm on my phone went off, reminding me I had a new client meeting in fifteen minutes. “Damn! I need to get back already.”
“Your uncle keeping you busy?” he asked.
“He’s been out of the office more the last couple of weeks,” I explained. “At the moment, he’s on a romantic getaway with my aunt.”
“I can’t believe he actually took a vacation,” Luke remarked, and I understood his surprise. My uncle was a workaholic.
“I don’t know if he’s starting to consider retiring, or if he’s trying to get me to take the business more seriously.”
“When are you going to tell him that’s not happening?” Luke asked.
“As soon as I can get a hold of him,” I told Luke. “The last few days, we’ve only communicated through email, and this seems like the sort of thing I need to tell him in person.”
“Good luck with that,” Luke said. “Sounds like he’s avoiding you because he knows you’re going to leave.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” I agreed with a sigh. “Luckily, I’m a private investigator with the skills to track him down if he avoids me too long.”
Chapter Thirty
Brook
I’d been in a daze all morning after my call with my mom. It’s not that I put a huge amount of stock in what my mom said about marriage, but still, I found it hard to disregard her words, mostly because she might be right about one thing. What if I was using Ty to make it easier to move forward with the divorce? Even though Rob hadn’t been part of my life in more than a decade, I’d still had the crutch of being married. I never told people I was single, even though I honestly had been since the day Rob had walked out the door. Was Ty my new crutch? How would I know if I wanted him, or just the idea of a relationship, if I didn’t wait to start something with him until after my divorce was final? Those thoughts continued to plague me throughout the morning.
When I saw I had an incoming call from my attorney, something told me my day was about to get worse.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hi, Brook, it’s Simone Hardy. How are you today?” my attorney greeted me.
“I’m doing okay,” I lied. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she replied in a somewhat distracted voice. “I’m calling because we’ve run into a problem with your divorce.”
“What problem?” I asked, wondering how there could be a problem with something as simple as my divorce. I wasn’t asking Rob for money or property, and we had no children. My attorney had assured me it would be a simple matter.
“Your husband is demanding a share of your business,” she began.
“He’s what? How can he do that? Rob has never been involved with my business, and I didn’t use any of his money to start it,” I argued, even though I was sure we’d already covered that.
“According to his attorney, Mr. Robinson supported you while you were going to college and building your business. He’s claiming he has the right to a share of your business,” she explained. “Before you say anything, I know it’s ridiculous, and it’s very unlikely a judge will agree with his claim."
What concerned me was how she’d said it was unlikely a judge would give Rob a share of my business. She wasn’t convinced it was impossible.
“Why would he do this?” I was honestly baffled by the whole thing. Rob had money—lots of money—and he didn’t need a share of my business. My attorney had already told me I could request part of his property and alimony. My business was small in comparison to what Rob had to lose.
“I can only assume he’s trying to delay the divorce,” she replied. “Based on the response sent from his attorney, Mr. Robinson would like to meet with you in person. He’s even suggested seeking counseling. Has he tried contacting you again?”
“Several times,” I admitted. “He’s even contacted my mother, and based on what she said, I suppose you’re right about him not wanting the divorce. Do you think I should call him? Maybe I can talk some sense into him. There’s no reason for him to stay married to me.”
“Originally, I didn’t see any harm in you speaking to him. With the recent turn of events, I think it would be best if you don’t return any of his calls,” she advised.
“How will this impact my divorce?” I asked, needing to know how long Rob could delay this if he kept being a pain in the ass.
“Things will take longer,” she explained. “We’ll need to meet with him, and there will be court appearances.”
As my attorney spoke, I could already see my savings dwindling. The longer Rob delayed the divorce, the more money I’d have to spend on attorney’s fees.
“We should respond to his attorney with a request for alimony and half of his property,” my attorney advised. “It would also be wise to insist your
husband pay your attorney fees.”
“I don’t want his money,” I reminded her. “I just want out of this marriage so I can move on with my life.”
“We may be able to convince Mr. Robinson to be more reasonable if this is going to cost him a lot of money,” she explained.
“How long can he delay this?” I asked, needing a number.
“He could delay things another year, possibly longer,” she admitted, and my heart sank.
I listened to her plan for dealing with Rob for another fifteen minutes, only catching part of what she said. Honestly, I had no idea what to do. The idea of using threats of taking his money felt wrong, even though I was willing to admit Rob might not give me any other options. By the time I ended the call, I must have heard her refer to Rob as my husband at least fifty times, which felt really strange. Why he wanted to remain married, I had no clue, but I was tempted to call him to find out, despite my attorney’s recommendation.
It’s funny how quickly my day had gone downhill. I’d woken up with Ty, happy with the direction my life was heading. Then, I’d had to deal with my mom accusing me of using Ty as a crutch. After all that, I found out I might still be married to Rob a year from now. How was that fair to Ty? By continuing to see him, was I just letting him get his hopes up about a future when my life was stuck in limbo? Not only that, I might end up spending my savings on my divorce and possibly even losing my business. All of this left me wondering if I’d made a huge mistake in getting involved with Ty. My life was a mess, and there was no way I could truly date someone. I needed to end things soon. It was only fair to Ty.
Chapter Thirty-One
Ty
Brook was already asleep when I got to her place a little after ten, so I just undressed and climbed into bed with her. She had a rough night of tossing and turning, proving whatever had been bothering her yesterday was still affecting her.
When her eyes opened, she gave me a sleepy smile.
“Good morning,” I murmured.
“Good morning,” she replied. “I didn’t even hear you come in last night.”
Dirty at 30 (Love Without Batteries Book 1) Page 13
