“Then what’s it for?”
“I thought I’d take Derek up there. Or go by myself…”
“Well, can I take a babe up there to fuck all weekend?”
My eyes narrowed.
“I meant that as more of a joke…”
I thought about something else the second my brother mentioned his personal life, since that entailed Cleo now.
“When do you get the keys?”
“In a couple weeks.”
“Cool. Maybe the two of us could go fishing. I’ve never done it before.”
“I can teach you.”
“Sounds good.” He clinked his beer against mine. “So, things are good with Cleo. We went bowling the other night—”
“I told you I didn’t want to hear about her.”
He stilled at my outburst. “I thought you meant sexual stuff.”
Definitely didn’t want to hear about that. “I don’t want to hear about it at all.” I took a drink and looked at the TV in the corner.
“Well, we haven’t slept together…in case you were wondering.”
I didn’t pull my gaze away from the TV.
“Deacon.” Tucker stared at me.
I shifted my gaze back to him.
“It’s fine if you like her. Just tell me—”
“I don’t. She’s my friend, and I don’t want to hear about you grabbing her ass, looking down her top, shit like that.”
“Really?” he asked. “Because I’m starting to wonder otherwise.”
I turned my gaze away again. “I don’t see her like that.”
“Like what?”
“As a woman I pick up in a bar.”
“Well, maybe that’s true. Maybe that’s not how you see her.”
Good. The conversation was over.
“Maybe you see her as more than that.”
My eyes moved back to his. “Just be straight. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
He leaned forward. “You don’t want to sleep with her and never call her again, because she’s not a one-night stand. Maybe you want an actual relationship with her, like a girlfriend, a monogamous type of thing.”
After Valerie, that was the last thing I wanted. Marriage was brutal. I never wanted to go through that again, to watch someone suck all my joy away, watch someone take half my money when I couldn’t put up with it anymore. Money wasn’t important to me, but my wealth came from my hard word, my mind, my dedication, and she’d done nothing to earn it. It was like a partnered assignment we both got A’s on—but I did all the work. “I never, ever want to be in another relationship again.” I spoke clearly, concisely, plainly so my brother would not misunderstand a single word.
He gave a slight nod. “Alright. But I wouldn’t say ever…”
“Trust me, it’s ever.” I had been married to a woman I was completely indifferent to. I was indifferent to most people. All I valued out of that relationship was sex. Sex was all I needed. So, I went out into the real world and got it. But that was it. I didn’t need further companionship. I’d said I never wanted children and all that changed when Derek opened his eyes for the first time, but my stance on romantic relationships wouldn’t change.
“Alright. I really like Cleo, so that’s a relief. I haven’t been monogamous with a woman without getting sex in…forever.” He grabbed his beer and took a drink, his gaze shifting to the TV behind me.
I didn’t ask further questions, hoping he would drop the topic.
He did. “So, Mom is moving in about a month…the second the house closes escrow.”
Eventually, I would have to tell my family the truth about my situation with Valerie and Derek. They would be livid, turning a big problem into a bigger one. Maybe Valerie would come around in the meantime…but I had a feeling she wouldn’t.
Eighteen
Cleo
I stepped out of the elevator and walked to my apartment.
It’d been a really long day—and that burrito was calling my name.
I unlocked the door and almost tripped over the envelope on the floor. It was letter size and thick, as if it contained lots of documents. I locked the door behind me before I picked it up.
I didn’t give my address to clients, so I didn’t know who could have sent this to me. Deacon was the only one who knew where my apartment was. I assumed it was from him, and there was a bit of excitement in my pulse at the thought.
I opened it and examined the files.
They were divorce papers.
Jake’s divorce papers.
They’d been officially filed a week ago.
I sighed loudly and threw the envelope onto the table, wishing I had a fireplace to burn them. It’d been a while since I’d last spoke to Jake, and I’d hoped his silence meant he’d moved on. But these divorce papers proved otherwise, that he thought being married was the problem keeping us apart.
I wasn’t heartbroken over him anymore. I couldn’t even remember the last time I thought about him.
I unlocked the door for housekeeping with two bags of groceries in hand. Deacon preferred fish and seafood straight from the fishmonger, so it was fresh and never frozen. He also liked a lot of produce, and that required several bags to fit everything.