Touch Me (You & Me 2)

“Is everything okay?” Ben asked, his hand moving to her knee and gently squeezing.

There was a huge lump in her throat. “Yes. I can’t believe this is really happening.”

He smiled. “It’s been a long time coming.”

With a deep breath, she scrawled her signature across the page, declaring from that moment forward she would no longer go by Marshall. She wanted zero connection to the man who had made her life a living hell.

She pushed the papers across the table. “Is that it?”

“That’s it. You’ve done your part. As of now, you are officially separated. The divorce is probably going to take a while. Remember, talk to no one. He’s probably going to bring up your relationship with Mr. O’Leary. Don’t talk to anyone about your relationship, not even the guy at the coffee stand. Lawyers are slick, trust us,” both attorneys laughed at the statement.

Katherine nodded her head. “Isn’t it more than obvious? I mean, I stay with him quite a bit and he’s at my place a lot.”

Meredith shrugged. “He’s a friend until proven otherwise, and let me tell you, it would be wise for you to stay at his place with the extra security. I know his type. He’s going to drag your name through the mud. He’s going to have a private investigator on your tail and looking for anything he can to discredit you.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Great, just what I need.”

“It’s all part of the dirty game of divorce.”

S

he nodded her head, fully understanding the arena she was stepping into. Tim would come at her guns blazing. She couldn’t run anymore. Divorce proceedings meant she had to be in touch with lawyers, showing up for court and signing papers. Her days of trying to run away from her problems were gone. It was time to face the music.

“If that’s all, we’ll go ahead and go now,” Ben said, standing and taking her hand.

“Thank you both for everything. I can’t believe this is finally happening.”

Meredith stood and walked them to the elevator. “I’m happy to help. You two watch your back. Remember, self-defense is the best defense in court. Let him get a few licks in next time,” she said with a wink before walking away.

Ben and Katherine stepped onto the elevator. She couldn’t believe it was finally official. She knew she wasn’t divorced, but having legal paperwork separating her from Tim was like having a huge burden lifted from her shoulders.

She kissed Ben once the elevator doors slid closed. “I’m free. I’m finally free.”

He kissed her back. “Yes, you are. You’re in the homestretch.”

She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d thought she’d been free before when she showed up in a new city and set up a new life, but she had constantly been looking over her shoulder. That was all about to change. There was a light at the end of the dark tunnel she had been trapped in for too long. Soon, she was going to be a single woman, free to date and marry as she pleased.

Ben’s hand held hers as they walked towards the parking garage. She wanted to celebrate the small victory.

“Are you going to work?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t have to.”

She shook her head. “No, you better. You’ve got stuff to do. I’m going to go home and start looking for a job.”

“Does that mean you’re staying?” he asked.

She smiled, nodding her head. “I am.”

He kissed her. The passion blooming between them. “I’ll drop you off,” he said.

He pulled into her complex, walked her to the door and did his usual inspection to make sure Tim wasn’t lying in wait. When he declared it was safe for her to enter, he gave her another kiss goodbye, promising to call her as soon as he was done with his meetings.

She kissed him goodbye and closed the door behind him, sliding both locks into place. Although she hadn’t seen Tim and was convinced he was back in LA, she wasn’t taking any chances. She turned and looked at her condo, excited to be home. Life was good. It was going to get better. She missed her job at the bakery but had managed to keep in touch with Talia. She’d started over more than once. She’d find a new job and build from there. Tim was not going to chase her out of the place she had decided she was going to call home.

He watched from the shadows. He’d become an excellent watcher of late. She thought she was going to walk away and live a life without him. Her and her boyfriend would not get that happy ending they were after. She was his. All his. He was not going to go down without a fight. He didn’t lose—especially to a woman who needed to learn her place.

He watched her move in front of the window and thought of the many ways he was going to make her pay for the humiliation. He was a man of means—his wife didn’t up and leave him and jump into another man’s bed. His friends and colleagues would think he was weak if he let her get away with it. The woman thought she had outsmarted him.