‘My lawyer thinks they’ll agree to 70/30 custody,’ Juliet said. ‘That’s really all I want. Everything else is negotiable. Most of Thomas’s assets he had before we got married, and my business should make a profit next quarter. I’m hoping that we won’t be dependent on him for anything other than school fees and extras for Poppy by the end of next year.’ She opened her mouth to tell them about Ryan, and being spotted out with him for dinner, before shutting it firmly again. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t think about that, not until their negotiations on Wednesday.
‘The business is going well?’ Kitty asked. ‘Oh, I’m so happy for you. Cesca sent me some pictures, your flower arrangements are gorgeous.’
‘They really are,’ Cesca agreed. ?
??I want her to do my wedding flowers. We’ll get you and Poppy to England somehow.’
‘Cesca’s right, you’re doing so well. You’re a single mum, you’ve started up a business, and you’re standing up to your asshole ex. One day he’s going to wake up and realise what he’s thrown away, and I wish I could be there to witness it.’ Lucy grinned. ‘Because by that point, you won’t give a damn.’
‘Because she’ll be in the arms of a good man,’ Kitty added, always the romantic. ‘One who knows exactly how to take care of a woman.’
‘She’s already been in the arms of one,’ Cesca pointed out, then covered her mouth in horror. ‘Oh bugger. Sorry, Jules.’
‘What?’ Kitty asked loudly. ‘What man?’
‘Is there something you’re not telling us about?’ Lucy asked, leaning forward with interest. ‘Or someone?’
‘It’s nothing.’ Juliet shook her head. ‘Cesca’s exaggerating.’
‘Cesca doesn’t exaggerate.’ Lucy’s eyes were narrow. ‘So who is he?’
That question struck closer to home than Lucy realised. Because, really, who was Ryan? A neighbour? A friend? A man who could make her laugh and scream and swoon with lust.
A man she’d fallen for, without even knowing it?
The problem was, he was all those things, and yet none of them really mattered. He’d be leaving next year when the school year ended, and she’d be left here in Shaw Haven, dealing with everything the way she always had.
‘Nobody.’
‘Oh come on, he didn’t look much like a nobody to me,’ Cesca said. ‘Unless nobody means tall, hot, and with a massive crush on you.’
‘He’s just a friend.’ Juliet shrugged. ‘He lives next door.’
Kitty grinned. ‘The boy next door? Oh, I’m intrigued now. What’s his name?’
‘He’s definitely not a boy,’ Cesca said. ‘He was all man when I met him. I thought Sam was tall and muscled, but Ryan kinda dwarfed him. Is it wrong to say I wanted to lick his biceps?’
‘I don’t know who to be more annoyed with for keeping this a secret,’ Lucy said. ‘Jules, why haven’t you said anything? And Cesca, you are too guarded for your own good. I’m the eldest, you’re supposed to tell me everything.’
‘There isn’t anything to tell,’ Juliet said quietly. ‘Honestly, he’s a lovely guy, but he’s going to be leaving next summer. We’re friends, there can’t really be any more than that.’ She didn’t sound very convincing. And why should she? It was obvious there was no long-term future in it, but that didn’t mean she was okay with it.
‘What if he doesn’t leave?’ Lucy asked. ‘What if he decides to stay? How will you feel about that?’
Juliet rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, the pressure causing stars to explode against the black backdrop of her lids. When she opened them again, the stars remained in her vision for a moment, a shimmering veil that obscured the faces of her sisters.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied, her focus finally becoming sharp. ‘Because it won’t happen. He’ll leave town to move to New York, and I’ll be here sharing custody with Thomas.’ She took a breath in, trying to ignore the tightness inside her that always seemed to come when she thought of Ryan leaving. ‘It’s just a fling, that’s all.’ She didn’t sound convincing.
All three of her sisters were smiling sympathetically at her. They’d grown older since those days when the four of them roamed the house while their father hid himself away in his office, mumbling about writing a paper or doing some research, but they were still a gang of four. They were spread far and wide, but they were a family and it counted for a lot.
‘Would you be willing to agree to a 70/30 split in custody?’ Mary Reynolds, the divorce mediator turned from Juliet to look at Thomas. He was sat at the end of the table, his arms folded against his chest.
‘As long as the financial agreement is based on a 50/50 split, then yes,’ his lawyer interjected. Thomas’s face betrayed no emotion. ‘I don’t see why he should be penalised for being gracious.’ Thomas was wearing a new suit – or at least it had been bought since Juliet had moved out – another reminder of how their lives were moving on. ‘And we’d like any personal property that existed before the marriage to remain outside the agreement.’
In the months since Juliet had moved out of the Marshall Estate, they’d each met with the mediator four times. This final meeting was the first time all of them had been in the room together, with the aim of agreeing the terms of their separation. Once those terms formed part of their divorce, they would be legally binding.
‘Would you like some time to think about that?’ the mediator addressed Juliet.
Juliet glanced sideways at her own lawyer. They’d discussed this earlier, and her lawyer had been vehement in telling her to pursue more. But the settlement would still be generous – enough to not worry about paying the rent, or feeding her child, and that was all she needed. ‘I don’t need time,’ Juliet said. ‘I can agree to it now.’