Beware Falling Rocks Read online

  Lynn deserved to have all of him. She’d suffered enough.

  He wanted to make sure she spent the rest of their lives together not doubting her choice to give him another chance.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  After a sexy shower together that ended up with Paul going down on her and getting her off before he turned her around and fucked her from behind, she made them breakfast.

  She’d really hoped to coax him into spanking her, but he’d resisted that, telling her maybe later that night, when there wasn’t any rush.

  That he wanted her to get her to-do list done, because her anticipation would make things that much better. He also reminded her that when she was preoccupied by things she needed to get done, she never enjoyed a spanking anyway.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t argue with his logic. He still knew her pretty well.

  Even about a little fact that she’d never expected him to remember.

  I should have known better. Of course he’d remember.

  Old, familiar fears trickled through her veins as she watched him pick up his cell phone, glance at it, and set it down again.

  “She texted me.”

  “I know. I looked earlier.”

  “Did you read them?”

  “No. I wanted to wait for you.”

  Frowning, and seeming reluctant, he picked the phone up and unlocked it, swiping through to the texts.

  She heard his disappointed sigh as he read them. After a moment, he passed it to her.

  I’m not going to let you ignore me.

  You owe me a response.

  This game isn’t funny anymore.

  She handed the phone back to him. “What are you going to tell her?”

  “Nothing.” He deleted the texts and set the phone down on the counter. “I don’t owe her any explanation. The only thing I need to have contact with her about is our income taxes next year. I plan on handling that through Ed and Derrick.”

  “You could block her.”

  “Is that a request?”

  She forced herself not to demand it. She did trust Paul.

  If she didn’t trust him, she had no business being with him.

  “No,” she softly said.

  He walked over to her and slipped his arms around her. “If you tell me to block her, I will.”

  “I don’t want to be that woman, though. I’m bigger than that. I’m damn sure more mature than that.”

  Than her.

  He didn’t reply.

  A frustrated sigh escaped her. “Don’t block her. Yet. Maybe she’ll settle down.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Do me a favor, please? When I say something, don’t question me on it. Okay? I’m not going to play games with you like she did.”

  She heard the venom in her tone and clamped her mouth shut against anything else she might want to say.

  There was a whole hell of a lot of things she wanted to say.

  “And this, pet, is why I’m not moving in today. Not because I don’t want to but because I know that you rightfully have a lot of emotions to work through.”

  “How can you stay so fucking calm?”

  “It’s a survival tactic,” he admitted. “Because staying calm might not make things worse. Might not make them better, but losing my temper damn sure makes them worse.”

  * * * *

  An hour later, Paul had stopped by his apartment to drop his stuff off and had checked his mailbox, started a load of laundry, and headed north on his way to Clearwater in the rental car. Before he’d left Lynn’s, she’d called Ed and would be going to his office at noon to go over the paperwork.

  On his way back, Paul could stop in and sign it.

  He was making good time up I-75, the radio nothing but background noise when his phone rang. He almost didn’t answer it until he saw it was his brother, Jim.

  Frowning, he took the call. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “I was going to ask you that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Sarah’s been blowing up my phone today with texts wanting to know what’s going on with you.”

  “Shit. I’m sorry.”

  “I finally texted her back I didn’t know, I hadn’t talked to you in several weeks, and to leave me the hell alone. Then I had to block her number. Dude, what the hell?”

  “It’s…complicated.”

  “Well deal with her, please? If she does that shit to Elaine, it’s going to be World War III.”

  “I know.” Sarah hadn’t gotten along with his brother or sister. Most of the time he’d spent seeing them in the past couple of years had been alone. She’d always come up with excuses why she couldn’t be around them, from that she imagined they hated her to that they were obnoxious.

  With hindsight, Paul realized that Sarah had done that with a lot of people who’d been his friends for years, people he’d known before her.

  The pattern became clearer. The isolation.

  A form of abuse.

  “So what the hell is so complicated?” Jim asked.

  He hadn’t really talked about the circumstances of their divorce to his two siblings. As far as he knew, Sarah hadn’t talked to anyone about Lynn and the situation. From Sarah’s end of things to her coworkers, church friends, and distant relatives, he was probably being portrayed as a horrible husband who didn’t support his wife in her time of need.

  If she’d even told them they were divorced. Based on the blowup over the Facebook account, there was a good likelihood she hadn’t even told a lot of people about it yet.

  “I’m in a relationship with someone, and she doesn’t know about it yet. I took time off this week from work, and when I refused to tell her why, she went a little nuts.”

  “She did get the memo you’re divorced, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Dude, you can’t be friends with your ex. Trust me on this one. I have four of them. Thankfully, no kids with them. You try to be friends with them it’ll give you nothing but a headache. Tell her to fuck off.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Yeah? Well, if she remembers my work number and tries calling me here and bugging me, I’m going to tell her for you. So you handle it, or I will.”

  Jim hung up on him.

  Shit.

  That was the last thing he needed, a supernova rage fest from Sarah over Jim. That Sarah had contacted him in the first place spoke to the level of desperation she was feeling and the lengths she was willing to go to try to wrangle him back into line.

  He waited until he’d returned the car and gotten a ride to the long-term parking lot to pick his car up before checking his phone again.

  A text from Lynn, that she’d been by Ed’s.

  Three texts from Sarah.

  Before he could think about it, he replied to Sarah.

  If you don’t stop texting me, I will block your number. And do not contact Jim or Elaine.

  He waited for a minute, to see if she replied.

  She didn’t.

  Although it was weird that she was going crazy with the texts. She worked Monday through Thursday and had Fridays off because the office was closed. She should be working and not able to text.

  Not my problem.

  He called Lynn.

  “Ed’s got the paperwork ready, Sir. He said you can stop by and sign it any time today.”

  “Okay, good.” He decided to get it over with. “Apparently Sarah called my brother. And she texted me again. I texted her and told her if she didn’t stop it, I would block her.”

  A tense moment of silence from her before she spoke. “I don’t want to know what she said. Just delete them.”

  “Good girl. After I go by Ed’s office, I’ll run home and finish my laundry, and then I’ll be back at your place at six. Be ready to go.”

  “Do you have a preference of what I wear?”

  “Something nice. Do you still have that blue dress I loved?” She didn’t answer at first. “Pet?”

&nbs
p; “Yes, Sir,” she said, barely loud enough to be heard. “But it doesn’t fit me anymore. It’s too big.”

  Dammit. He rubbed at his forehead. “I’m sorry, pet. Wear something dressy, please. And paint your toenails blue. That deep blue I love.” That was something she’d always done before and had been part of their rituals when they couldn’t be together. She’d always asked him what color to paint them.

  That slammed home in his brain that her toenails currently weren’t painted. Something unheard of a couple of years earlier.

  Her tone lightened immediately. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Good girl. I’ll see you at six.”

  He hung up, halfway tempted to block Sarah right then.

  No, let me talk to Ed first.

  If he blocked Sarah now, when she was apparently ramping up, it might trigger her to do something more outlandish. He’d rather calmly respond instead of emotionally reacting and setting off a chain reaction.

  Ed’s.

  First, he called the restaurant and found, yes, they were open and he didn’t need a reservation for that night.

  One thing handled.

  The drive back to Sarasota was easy, and when he walked into Ed’s office, the man offered Paul a guarded smile before closing the door behind him for privacy.

  “I guess you didn’t tell Lynn during the lottery stuff that you handled my divorce, huh?”

  “No. Even had she asked, I wouldn’t have commented. I can’t do that. Attorney-client privilege. Just like I couldn’t have told you about the lottery winnings if you two weren’t an item now, and I didn’t have her explicit permission to do so.”

  “You didn’t tell me how bad of shape she was in. I wish you had.”

  Ed was used to schooling his expression in a courtroom and in front of opposing counsel, so it came as no surprise to Paul when he did it right there. “Attorney-client priv—”

  “You could have given me a hint when I came in last year and asked you about what I’d have to do to file for divorce.”

  “And what would you have done, huh? You were letting Sarah lead you around by the fucking balls up until that point, even though we all saw what she was doing. I didn’t even know if you were going to go through with it. Frankly, I’m shocked you still possess a set of balls after Terrie finished with you. And I mean that literally, not metaphorically. You have not been her favorite person for the past two years.”

  Heat filled his cheeks. “I know,” he softly said.

  Ed put a sheet of paper in front of him. “Here. Read it.”

  Paul reached for the pen. “I don’t need to read it.”

  “Yeah, you do. I insist, as your attorney. And, since I’m her attorney and your attorney, one of you should get a new attorney to handle stuff like this.”

  He glanced through it. It basically said that any assets, especially lottery winnings, brought to the relationship were the sole property of the person they’d belonged to. And that he gave up any and all claim to any monetary earnings or lottery winnings or property that Lynn had before he returned. That if they did get married, this prenup would supersede any and all other provisions regarding separation of property in the event of a divorce, and he waived any and all claims to any portion of her assets, and no assigns or heirs or other claimants on his behalf had any right to any portion of her assets now or in the future. That only if she died and they were married would he inherit any of it, as long as he wasn’t criminally negligent or responsible for her demise.

  He signed it.

  “Did you really read it?”

  “Yep. I get nothing.”

  “That’s a whole lot of nothing.”

  Paul met Ed’s gaze. “You saw what I put her through. I can’t take that back, but I refuse to take anything that’s hers. My hope is I get to spend the rest of my life with her.”

  “I admit this morning was the happiest I’ve seen her in two fricking years. She wasn’t even that happy when I drew up the stuff for the lottery winnings. Don’t fuck it up.”

  “Believe me, I have no intentions of fucking it up. And while we’re on the subject, Sarah.”

  “What about her?”

  Paul filled him on the latest in while Ed sat back in his chair and listened.

  “Restraining order,” Ed said. “I can get one filed, but because there’s no physical threat being made, they might not grant it. If they don’t grant it, it might just make her go nuttier. Might be better to hold off for a little while. Meantime, keep records of when she calls and texts, and when you told her to stop. Screenshot stuff.”

  “I already deleted her texts.”

  “Cell phone records, then. If you want, I can give her attorney a courtesy call to let her know about this.”

  “But that might set Sarah off, too.”

  “Possibly.”

  The woman who’d represented Sarah had been prepared to go to war until she realized Paul was willing to give Sarah the bulk of their assets. He’d only wanted his retirement account and his share of the equity in the home, as well as a small portion of what he’d contributed to buying their investment properties.

  Upon learning that Paul wanted to be completely reasonable and generous, the woman had changed her combative approach, prodding Sarah to complete the process as quickly as possible before he changed his mind.

  “No, let’s see what happens.”

  Ed shrugged. “Your call.”

  When Paul finished there, it was after two. He headed home to put his laundry in the dryer and clean out his fridge, among other chores.

  In his closet, he found the three suits he owned. He didn’t need suits for work. Jeans or khakis and button-up shirts, business casual.

  The first one he tried on, he realized the pants didn’t fit, a little too tight around the middle.

  Great.

  He had the opposite problem Lynn had.

  The second suit didn’t fit much better. The third, a black pinstripe he’d bought when he was only about ten pounds lighter than he was then still fit comfortably. His wedding-funeral suit.

  He knew she would like it, though.

  That meant he had to dig out and shine his black loafers.

  He packed an overnight bag once his laundry was done, shaved, and took his shower. He was ready to leave in time to make it to Lynn’s exactly when he’d told her he’d be there.

  As he locked the door behind him, he wondered how long it’d be until he could be sure Lynn was thinking straight and not just wanting him back because of her pain.

  And when he’d quit second-guessing every single damn decision in his freaking life since epically failing with Sarah.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “So if you’re not sure, what do you do now?” Rachel asked Lynn. “You’re not going to just walk away from Paul after everything that’s happened, even though he came back to you, are you?”

  Lynn stared out the back window into Rachel and Andrew’s backyard. They actually had a yard, unlike her, who had a big privacy fence three feet away from her kitchen window demarcating the end of her condo complex’s property from the one just beyond it.

  Nothing special.

  She’d dropped by to talk to her, knowing Rachel had taken the day off to help Justin get settled in the condo. She’d talked to Terrie on the phone earlier, and her friend was back to a “roast his balls and make him suffer” opinion for now.

  She didn’t blame Terrie, but Terrie wasn’t exactly the most objective sounding board at that moment.

  Lynn fingered her collar. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she quietly admitted. “Am I doing the right thing? Am I making a mistake? Should I wait? Should I have told him to go to hell?”

  Although that last option didn’t feel right at all.

  But Ed had sat her down for a serious talk while she was there earlier. To be careful and guard herself. That she had a lot of money, and while it seemed Paul didn’t want her for that, she needed to protect herself from everyone.


  Even from Paul.

  That Ed had seen bad things happen between good people. Not that he thought Paul was a bad person but that she needed to keep her head on her shoulders. Not sign stuff over to him. Keep the trust intact the way it had been drawn up, and if the two of them got married, they’d redo the prenup to specifically address how he’d access money from the trust.

  Rachel and Andrew now knew about the boom. Lynn had broken down and told them about it when they tried to get her to take a check from them to help reimburse her for Justin’s moving expenses. They were sworn to secrecy, though, and she trusted them not to say anything.

  “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?” Rachel gently asked.

  “How do I know he won’t hurt me again? Turn around and go back to Sarah if she threatens to kill herself?”

  “You don’t. But do you keep hurting yourself after how long you were hurting because of what he did?”

  She finally turned to face Rachel. “If this was one of my books, I’d know exactly what to do. Maybe not exactly. I’d have a couple of possibilities and then pick one.”

  “Then do that.”

  “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the right call is.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  Lynn nodded.

  “It’s obvious you still love him.”

  Lynn nodded again.

  “I am not exactly an expert in interpersonal relationships,” Rachel said. “You get that, right? I spent my adult life until I met Andrew running from emotional entanglements so I didn’t have to deal with painful shit. If you’re looking for me to offer up sage wisdom, you’re looking at the wrong gal.”

  “What do you think I should do?”

  “Oh, no, girlfriend.” Rachel walked over and put her hands on Lynn’s shoulders. “Don’t ask me that. Because I’m not you. I was sort of on Terrie’s ‘roast his balls’ team there for most of this.”

  “She’s going to be mad at me if I take him back and do this, isn’t she?”

  “I really don’t think so, but you’d need to talk to her about that. Besides, I think it’s pretty obvious you’ve kind of already passed the ‘taking him back’ stage.”