“Can we get dinner sometime this week?” he asks. “I’d like to talk things through.”
She hugs herself tighter. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
That fake fucking smile of his falls away even faster than it arrived. “Are our children nothing?” he snaps.
I quietly set the wrench down on the shelf behind me.
“Look,” he says, his voice calm by force, “I’ll admit it. I cheated. I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong.”
This motherfucker. Jesus Christ, Lucie. You married this guy? Why?
“It’s big of you to admit it,” she says, “now that I have it on film.”
His nostrils flare and his eyes narrow, but it’s followed by a small, condescending smile. “You aren’t blameless either. I made a mistake, but you were always so busy with the kids you stopped making time for me. I wanted to come first with you once in a while, but I should have let you know that instead of trying to find comfort elsewhere.”
“Comfort?” she asks. “Is that what we’re calling our babysitter’s vagina now?”
I’m inclined to laugh until he slams his hand against the roof of the BMW. It's not so much the action as it is the look on his face, the rage and loathing.
I’m already heading toward them when he turns to his car. “Fine, Lucie. I tried to give you a chance, but you aren’t capable of loving anyone but yourself. Enjoy these last few days with the kids. You’re about to lose them for good.”
She stands still as a statue with her shoulders back and watches him drive off as if she hasn't heard a word he said. And once he's out of view, her shoulders start to shake and she buries her face in her hands.
As Kate’s amply proven, I just make a bad situation worse, but here I am, walking outside to her anyway, though I should not.
She wipes her eyes and forces a smile. “It never fails. You witness every shitty thing that happens.”
My hand reaches out and falls uselessly back to my side. She’s still an employee, even if I’ve known her since we were kids. “A lot of shitty things happen because your ex is a fucking asshole. I don’t understand how you could have married him in the first place.”
She wipes her eyes again. “The fairy tale,” she says grimly, her voice slightly hoarse. “That’s why I married him.”
“What fairy tale?”
She hitches a shoulder. “The fairy tale. You know—you meet someone and it just feels meant to be, then the two of you get married and take your carload of children to Disney every summer and live happily ever after.”
“Interestingly, your idea of the fairy tale sounds like my idea of hell.”
That wins me a laugh.
“You’ll let me know if you need anything, right?” I ask.
She grins. “Apparently you’ll be right there when it happens, so you’ll definitely be the first to know.”
I wish to God she’d tell me how I could help. And it would really be better if it was help I could offer from far, far away.
I made excuses to get out of meeting my friends at Beck’s bar but decide to go after all. I wait until Liam’s walked off and Beck’s gone to refill our pitcher before I lean toward Harrison. “Hey, you do some family law, right? Like, you could handle a complicated divorce?”
He sets his glass down. “I thought I’d made that clear during the one million times I tried to get you to file for divorce, but I doubt yours will be that complicated.”
“It’s not me. It’s my neighbor.” I look around once more. The less Liam and Beck know about this conversation, the better. “She’s got kids and her ex is a dick. You should hear the shit he says to her. Anyway, she’s in a bad spot right now, financially. I was thinking you could tell her you were taking the case pro bono and send the bills to me.”
His eyes widen. “You like this girl so much you’d pay for her divorce?”
“I don’t like her. I’m just trying to help her out.”
Harrison lifts his glass and drains it. “Caleb, I’ll take it for free if it means that much to you. But do me a favor and ask yourself why it means so much to you, because what you’re doing isn’t sustainable.”
I regret ever broaching the topic. “And what is it I’m doing?”
“Remaining alone on the off chance Kate returns. It was never going to work, but with this girl living next door and you refusing to admit you’re borderline obsessed with her—”