Wedded to a Wayne: A Finn World Holiday Romance

“No, I—” Ann comes in sets down two steaming cups of tea before disappearing again. My assistant has moves like a ninja. “Oh, I needed this.”

I take a sip and close my eyes,

letting the warm flavors of cardamom, cinnamon and ginger ease the tightness in my throat. There’s no reason for me to be nervous. This is just another business meeting, and I can do those in my sleep. I run a now bi-coastal, successful placement agency for nannies. I can handle lawyers, frustrated parents and yes, accountants in my sleep. I pick my teeth with the bones of my enemies…

That last bit is visually disturbing and untrue, but it’s helping to get me in the right mood. I set down my cup and straighten my spine while Emerson looks on with open curiosity.

“Is everything all right with you? You mentioned having a problem.”

Be professional. “I’ll tell you about that in a minute. First, I want you to know I took the liberty of consulting my lawyers about your custody situation.”

His lighthearted demeanor evaporates in an instant, eyes narrowing and broad shoulders tensing visibly beneath his navy sweater. “Why would you do that?”

“You asked me for my help not that long ago,” I remind him. “And so did a valued employee. I take a request like that seriously.”

“I asked Jae to get your advice on potential live-in childcare. That’s true enough. But that was a while ago. Before you moved here, in fact. And we’ve done a lot of talking since then, none of it with your lawyers. Why now?” He crosses his arms in a posture that’s more defensive than I’d like. “And what did they tell you?”

They told me that the situation didn’t look as good for him as it should. Despite the home he purchased with his children in mind, despite his steady job and financial solvency, despite his deep roots in the community and family connections. His ex-wife will still have priority over the children due to their previous arrangement and the fact that she is their mother.

“The main issue remains that the shared custody agreement you signed during your divorce—”

“Was skewed in her favor because I didn’t push for more?” He sighs in frustration. “I’m aware of that. It was a rough time for all of us, but she gave me her word that she’d never use it to keep me from our kids.”

She is Rowena Wayne. The ex. “But she did keep you from them, on multiple occasions and often without warning—until this last summer.” When she dropped the boys off with their father and disappeared.

Emerson told me that, other than a few short phone calls every other week and postcards from far off places, there’d been no real communication since she went on her trip to parts unknown.

I put my hand on the thick folder beside my laptop to remind myself to stay on track. “You didn’t approach a lawyer then. Not even after the new school year started. You could have brought her up on abandonment charges, but you didn’t. Why?”

He rubs a hand over his mouth and jaw, his brown eyes boring into mine. “What is this about, exactly? You sitting behind that desk makes me feel like I’m being called to the carpet. Have I upset you in some way I’m not aware of? The boys and I have been enjoying getting to know you over the last few weeks. I thought you were as well.”

You have?

Stay strong.

“I have. I am. Bear with me, Emerson. I’m almost finished, but this is salient to our conversation. Why didn’t you sue for sole custody before she came back?”

He doesn’t look that happy with me, but he answers anyway. “Statistics. A single father isn’t the ideal. I didn’t want to take the chance that it would backfire spectacularly, and I’d lose the rights I have in the process.”

I trace out designs on the folder with my fingertip to soothe my nerves. That isn’t the whole truth. “You didn’t realize she’d come back with a wealthy fiancé, a summons and a plan to move your children to Arizona, I know. But is that the only reason you hesitated? The statistics?”

“What other reason would there be?”

I look him squarely in the eye. Make-or-break time. “Is there a possibility that you wanted an excuse to maintain a relationship with her? There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve seen joint custody situations that have more to do with the parents than the children.”

Inwardly I’m cringing. I think I know the answer to this question, but I need to be sure. I’ve seen pictures of his ex, an ebony-skinned supermodel type, leggy and stunning, with a bonus set of curves I can only dream about. She looks like every man’s fantasy.

I’m not jealous. Not really. I think you’d have to be in the same league to be jealous.

Though it would complicate my whole destiny plan if he was still hung up on his ex.

Emerson scoffs and leans back in his chair. “Not in any reality.”

“Then why did you really agree to those terms and why haven’t you fought them until now?”

I stare at him in silence until he breaks eye contact. “Ro doesn’t have family, Tanisha. She’s harder than she needs to be because of it. At the time, she was worried my family would convince me to cut her out entirely. Take away all of her rights. I thought I could give her that peace of mind since…” He looks at me again, his jaw tightening. “Neither one of us put that much effort into our marriage. We both knew why we were there.”

Because she got pregnant, and he didn’t marry her for love.