Page 47 of Married at Midnight

They sat. “What do you want to talk about?” he asked.

She studied his face. There was no sign of his mood. He was hiding his feelings from her, and she wondered if there was any way to draw him out. “Why are you out here instead of in bed with me?”

“I just needed to think.”

“About us?” she asked.

He brought his gaze to hers. “About our divorce.”

Ellie’s skin became hot and clammy at the same time. “What are you talking about? That’s weeks away.”

He stood and moved to a table near the corner of the house, where he picked up a white envelope that nearly glowed in the dark. He brought it to her and dropped it into her hands. “I made you a promise. We can file these divorce papers now if you’d like, since it takes ninety days for the divorce to go through. Look them over. Make sure you agree with everything. See if we need to change anything.”

All the strength left her body. She collapsed back into her chair, sagging against the cushion. He wanted a divorce just when she’d realized she could never walk away from him.

Her body felt as if it were shutting down. It was all she could do to stop from curling in on herself.

He watched her now, as if waiting for a response, except she couldn’t say anything. She’d entered that pain-filled place where speech was impossible. Fighting tears, she curled her fingers around the papers.

“Say something,” he implored.

Ellie sucked in a breath at the loneliness in his voice and the pain in his eyes. “We agreed to stay together for at least five weeks. Or maybe,” she added hopefully, “until Viola gets better.”

“Once Grayson House is done and the holiday event opens, your work will be done. It will be time to move on.”

A tear spilled onto her cheek as she continued to clutch the divorce papers. Silence stretched between them. How could she have been so wrong about what was happening? Finally giving in to a physical relationship with Connor had only made her crave more of the same. She wanted to argue with him, to try to convince him a divorce was a mistake. Then she remembered what he’d made clear from the start . . .

There will be no falling in love.

Too bad she hadn’t heeded that warning sooner.

He’d also made it clear his self-driving car was his first priority. Did she really have a right to challenge that now when she’d always come second to his work? “I need time to look over the papers,” she finally said.

He nodded stiffly a moment before he turned and walked away.

He wanted a divorce.

It didn’t matter that she wanted something more.

Reality returned. She’d put herself in this position by forgetting that this was all an act for Viola’s sake. Viola would get better.

And Ellie’s heart would never be the same.

Because as much as she tried to deny it, Jordan was right. She’d fallen in love with the man she’d married.