Her hope faded.
“Yes. Our friendship.”
Unfortunately, those words felt like a curse on her future happiness.
Except she knew he’d been attracted to her at one time. He’d admitted it to her … right before he’d told her they couldn’t be together because she was his friend’s sister.
She remembered that conversation all too well. And the sense of loss that had filled her. She had told him she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions, but he hadn’t been swayed.
Then later, after her separation from Liam, when she’d most needed a friend, Del had been there for her. A strong shoulder to cry on. Warm arms to comfort her. A man she could depend on and know he would not take advantage of her vulnerability.
“Are you enjoying your position at Brahm’s?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. Now that it’s summer and classes are finished until the fall, I’ve got more time to work on my research. And how about you?”
“I’ve still been doing substitute teaching and hope to eventually get a full-time teaching position, but I’m off for the summer right now, too. I also do some work for some of my old professors developing online courses for the university. I love it because I work from home and set my own hours. It’s a long-term project and they’re very flexible about deadlines, knowing I do teaching, too.”
“That’s wonderful,” Del said.
The waitress brought their drinks and they sipped them in silence for a few moments.
“So how’s the divorce progressing?” he asked.
“You probably know better than I do since Liam keeps in touch with you. All I know is that he still hasn’t signed the papers.”
Del nodded. “It must be rough on you.”
She sighed. “I just want it to be over.” She sipped her tea and shrugged. “Who knew turning down money would be a problem?”
Liam was a wealthy man. She hadn’t signed a prenup, but she’d told Liam and his lawyers that she didn’t want anything from him. He’d insisted on a sizeable settlement, though, which she’d refused. She knew he wanted her to have it because he felt an obligation to her, but she didn’t want to take his money.
“Will he be at the wedding?”
Her gaze shot to his. “I hope not. Did he tell you he would?”
“No, but I know Kurt really likes him. And he’s never given up hope that you two would get back together again.”
She pursed her lips. “Claire, too.” She shook her head. “But, no, I’m sure he won’t be attending. I saw the guest list when I was helping with the invitations and he wasn’t on it.”
That was all she needed. For her ex to show up at her brother’s wedding.
* * *
As the car whisked along the highway, Liam sat in the spacious backseat, settled into the leather, working on his laptop.
Liam had assumed he wouldn’t be invited to Kurt’s wedding, but had decided that even if he was, he wouldn’t go. But Kurt had reached out personally to invite him. In fact, Kurt had badgered him until he’d finally agreed to go. It was clear Kurt still held out hope that Liam and Abi would get back together.
Liam, on the other hand, had finally given up hope.
He saved the document and closed the device, then set it in the case beside him. In the flap inside the lid, he could see the edge of the large brown envelope. Mocking him.
The key to freedom, his lawyer had told him. More like the key to complete and utter unhappiness. The final death knell to the only future he had ever, or would ever, care about.
A future with Abi.
She was the one love of his life. The only woman he wanted to be with. Yet somehow he’d blown it so completely and thoroughly that he didn’t know how to fix it.
He pulled the envelope out of the flap and stared at it, then finally, his chest tight as a drum, opened it and stared at the stark white papers. He flipped to the page marked with a neon-green sticky note.
His gaze dropped to the signature lines on the bottom, each marked with an X.
A place for Abi to sign and a place for him to sign. Once they both did that, it would be done. Their marriage—the one thing in his life he’d ever truly wanted—would be over and Abi would be able to move on. To her true happiness.
His heart ached. He would be adrift. Lost in a storm of despair.
He could keep fighting for her, but then she’d only grow to hate him. She’d already made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with him.
The distance that had grown between them as their marriage had slowly faded was hard enough to bear. At least with this gesture of presenting her with the papers this weekend and giving her what she’d been wanting for so long—his signature—maybe she would at least think of him fondly in the future.
He stared at the page again.
X marked the spot.
When he signed there, he’d be signing away his happiness.
* * *
As Abi walked to the elevator, she texted Claire to arrange to pick up her room key.
Ran into Jaime while checking in. She’s got your key. She’s in room 714.
Abi took the elevator to the seventh floor, then knocked on Jaime’s door.
“There you are,” Jaime said when she opened the door. “Did you have a nice talk with Del?”
“Yes, it was nice seeing him again. You have my key?”
“Yeah, let me get it.”
Abi stepped into the room behind her. “Where are Dave and the kids?”
Jaime grabbed a keycard folder from the dresser.
“At the pool. The kids weren’t here five seconds before they were bugging me to go.”
Abi laughed. “Like us when we were kids. The highlight of staying in a hotel was always the pool. We loved the water.”
“It’s fine by me. They’ll be
