“Oh.” Mom pursed her lips and set her knife down. Neil, pick it up. Get it out of her reach before she stabs you.
I’d have to smooth things over before anyone said anything else. “Yeah, well, you know. Neil has his assets, and I have mine. We’re doing a smart thing.”
“Please, Sophie. Do you really believe he’s doing this to protect your assets?”
I knew my mom’s opinion of prenups. They were for people who intended to get divorced and intended to screw each other out of a fair deal.
And Neil didn’t bother to defend himself. He was just trying to pick a fight.
“If Neil and I were to split up, I wouldn’t want much from him, anyway. We’ve got things divided up in a way that’s fair to me.” I bent my wrist and waved my arm in dismissal. “It’s not a big deal, because we’re not going to split up.”
“Then, why is it necessary?” Mom demanded.
Finally, Neil jumped in. “I’ve been divorced before, Rebecca. Without a prenup, it would have been far uglier than it was.”
Mom turned shocked eyes to me. “And you’re really okay with this, Sophie?”
“Of course I am. I’m marrying a guy who owns two media corporations. I own a magazine that he’s put a lot of money into, even if he’s not an official investor. I need to protect my interests, too.” I sighed in frustration. “And I don’t want people to think I’m in this just for the money—”
Mom threw up her hands. “So, if in five or ten years he leaves you, you’d just move out and get nothing?”
Neil made a lot more noise than necessary putting the roast in the oven. “There is a clause for spousal support in the agreement,” he said, his tone flat.
“Yeah. I’m not going to be hurting financially if we divorce. And I’d be hurting more emotionally, anyway.” My chest ached. Why the hell did Neil bring this up? Why now? We were supposed to be having a nice family Sunday, and he was picking a fight?
Mom was not moved. She made a disgusted noise and walked away from the island.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
She was at the back door before she answered. “I’m disappointed in you, Sophie. And, right now, I don’t want to be around him.”
After the door closed behind her, I expected Neil to say something. He just turned and rinsed his hands at the bar sink then dried them with a paper towel. He wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.
I could only stand my angry silence for so long. “What the hell was that?”
He shrugged and started dicing the peppers Mom had abandoned. “It was your mother, grossly overreacting.”
I shot to my feet. “It was you poking the badger! I told you, more than once, not to mention the prenup. It’s not something people back home do!”
“It’s not my fault that your mother can’t see the difference between a small-town marriage and the dissolution of a legal union wherein billions of dollars would be in dispute.” He had the nerve to sound frustrated with me.
?
??She knows the difference. It’s just taboo to some people still, okay?” I huffed. “I’m not saying it’s right, and I’m not saying I don’t want one. But you didn’t need to tell my mom our private business just because you wanted to drive her out.”
“I was not trying to drive her out,” he insisted emphatically.
“Oh, bullshit. You were totally annoyed that she was here.”
He put down the knife and braced his hands on the edge of the island. “Fine. I was annoyed that she was here. I realize that I agreed to her staying here, but I can’t take much more of this.”
“More of what? Mom being around? Did you think she was going to just live in the guest house and stop by for Christmas?” I demanded.
“I expected she would at least stop letting herself in once she moved out there. I’m tired of worrying that she’s going to walk in while I’m jerking off.” He pointed toward the door in accusation. “She came into our bedroom looking for you the other day, and I was practically naked.”
I rolled my eyes. “She said you left the door open. And you weren’t ‘practically naked’, you were shirtless.”
“It was more naked than I would have liked to be in front of your mother!” he shot back, raising his voice considerably. “I should be allowed to be fully nude in my bedroom with the door open if I want to be. What kind of a person just strolls into someone else’s bedroom? Your family has no boundaries!”