Fair Lakes Series Box Set - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,2

her sniffle; I’ve gone and upset her. “Please,” she cries. “We have to stop doing this to each other. It’s over, Harrison.” The line goes dead. Balling my hand into a fist, I pound at the center of my chest to try and mask the pain. Swallowing back my emotions, I put my truck in drive and head to my empty, lonely apartment.

I slept like shit, barely falling into a slumber before my alarm was going off, reminding me that today is the day. The day the love of my life is no longer my wife. Rushing through a shower, I throw on a suit—something I have not done since our wedding day, ironically enough—and head to the courthouse.

I arrive a few minutes early, meeting my lawyer, Greg, in the lobby.

“Good morning.” He holds his hand out in greeting.

I take it. “Morning.”

“So, since neither of you are contesting, this is going to be a quick process. Just you and me, Gwendolyn, and her lawyer, the judge, and bailiff. We should be in and out in no time.”

“Yeah.” I follow him into a small room, which is not what I was expecting. Winnie and her lawyer are sitting on the opposite side of the table. “Hey,” I say, my eyes taking her in. She really is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Today, her long black hair is pulled back in a ponytail exposing her slender neck. The same neck I’ve spent hours kissing. Worshiping really.

“Hey, Harrison,” she replies. Sadness fills her green eyes.

I take the seat next to my lawyer and we wait for the judge. Awkward silence surrounds us, and I hate it. This isn’t us. We used to talk about everything and nothing at all. A few minutes pass, and finally, the judge enters the room taking her seat at the head of the table. She begins sifting through the papers and then finally looks up.

“Everything is in order. The alimony amount has been signed by both parties, assets have been divided.”

What she should say is that Winnie gets it all. I told her I didn’t want anything. Well, except for pictures, which she already made me copies of. Other than my clothes, I didn’t want anything to remind me of the failure I was at our marriage.

“Do we have any objections from either party?” she asks.

“No, your honor,” we reply at the same time.

“All right, looks like the only information I’m missing is from you, Gwendolyn. Do you plan on keeping your married name? If not, now is the time to change that.”

My eyes snap to Winnie. She’s biting down on her bottom lip and tears well in her eyes. I have to grip the edge of the table to keep from rushing to her. I always hated to see her upset.

When she looks up, she gives me a soft, sad smile. “I’d like to remain Gwendolyn Drake, your honor,” she says, never taking her eyes off me.

Fuck! I’ve never wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss the hell out of her more than I do this minute.

“Very well,” the judge says. She signs her name on the papers, the same ones we signed a few weeks ago. “As of today, your divorce is final. Best of luck to both of you.” She stands and leaves the room as if we were discussing the weather.

“It’s been a pleasure.” Greg holds his hand out for me to shake. On autopilot, I take it. He turns and walks out of the room, but I stay back. Waiting on her. I hear her lawyer ask if she wants her to stay and she tells her to go on.

“Hey,” I say when it’s finally just the two of us.

“Hey.”

We walk toward the door, and I rest my hand on the small of her back. I miss her so fucking much. “You going to work today?”

“No. You probably need to get going though.” She looks at her watch checking the time.

“I’m not going either,” I tell her, and I can see the shock on her face. “I’d be useless anyway.”

She nods. “I have some of your things. I was cleaning and found a few shirts, a pair of shorts. You can stop and pick them up if you want.”

It’s been two months, give or take a few days, since I’ve been there. The house we bought with big plans of making it our home, of raising our kids there. “Yeah, I can follow you if that’s okay.”

“Sure.”