Say Yes

Her arm was bent at a strange angle, holding her body up. She moved to try to stand again, and genuine worry made my heart jump. Between the suds and the shaving cream, I imagined she’d be more likely to slip and crack her skull open than make it out of the tub without assistance.

“It’s a little funny.” I chuckled, stepping forward. “You want help?”

“Yes, please.”

I strode over to her quickly and put a hand to her elbow, pulling her up and getting her—safely—settled back on the rim of the tub.

“Thanks.”

“Mm-hm.”

I stepped back, watching as she got her bearings again. When she finally did, she swallowed and looked up at me. There were questions in her eyes, and I could tell she was trying to figure out how best to word whatever was on her mind. Feeling like the world’s biggest asshole, I decided to break the ice for her.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I offered. “I don’t know what was wrong with me; I shouldn’t have been so… tense, I guess? I’m certainly not the first guy to have sex in his office, and there’s no denying it was hot as fuck. I’m glad that you came by. I’ve been spending a lot of time caught up with work…”

“Yeah… I just wanted to loosen you up a little.” Her wary eyes softened slightly. “It’s okay, Walker, it really is. I understand.”

We stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before I cleared out to let her finish her bath, leaving the door cracked just in case disaster struck again.

But as I walked back down the hallway, a knot settled into my stomach. I understand, she’d said.

What was it that she understood?

Was it the work? Or was it the fact that we weren’t going to be married for much longer?

* * *

One Week Later

My lawyer’s voice grated in my ears, and I pinched the bridge of my nose as I leaned my elbows on the desk in my home office, fighting back the migraine that threatened.

It wasn’t his fault every word he spoke pierced my brain—or my heart—like a dagger.

“It’ll be very quick,” he intoned. “Just signing a few documents, making sure that you’ve got copies of your marriage license and both your IDs, and then the inheritance in its entirety will be all yours.”

“Thanks Vincent.”

“Of course, Mr. Prince. Looking forward to seeing you later.”

I put my phone down and sighed. It was almost done—my inheritance was so close I could taste it.

That also meant my divorce was, too.

It was a strange thing to be facing. It left me in a place that had me reeling, back and forth. This had been my goal, the promised reward at the end of the line, and yet… I didn’t feel good about it. I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing something. If anything, what I felt in this moment that should’ve been full of triumph was instead a feeling of absolute, unequivocal loss.

My thoughts went to Mackenzie. I heard her walking around in the art room, but her movements sounded intentional, like she was hard at work on something. Only a single wall separated us, and wondered if she’d overheard my conversation with my lawyer.

Then I wondered which one of us was going to bring up the inevitable conversation first.

It didn’t help that we’d been distant since she’d visited the Royal Tech office that night. I couldn’t tell if it was because we’d had sex in the office, or the aftermath, or just a combination of all of it.

I sighed. Fucking hell, this was a thousand times more complicated than I’d thought it was going to be. Grant had warned me from the beginning, that insightful bastard. Even having spoken to him recently and gotten Mr. Love Doctor’s advice, I felt like I was no closer to understanding where I stood on the matter.

I knew what I should do.

What I wanted was far less clear.

I went to the kitchen and started digging around the liquor cabinet. A stiff drink sounded like the answer to at least half my problems right now.