Page 10 of Blind Prophet

“Filing single.” I shrug. You’re not required by law to claim a marital deduction.

“Did he?” Sophia asks.

“I assume so. I doubt he cares about the marital deduction on his taxes. What do you save? Fifteen hundred bucks?” I haven’t looked in ages, but for someone like Dorian, the amount is less than what he carries in cash in his wallet.

“What land?” Sophia asks.

“A small tract in Georgia he’s never even visited.” I grit my teeth, thinking about the nerve he possessed to claim he had a right to what I came into during our two-year marriage, whereas I signed a prenup limiting my claims.

“You never had a lawyer look at the prenup, did you?” Stella slaps her palm against her forehead. “Girlfriend. What were you thinking?”

I open my mouth.

“Don’t tell me. You were in love. And you thought you’d be married forever.”

I shrug. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I was twenty-fucking-two.

Stella snaps her fingers. “Maybe he’s trying to hold on to you. Maybe that’s why he never followed up with a revised agreement or signed the one you gave him.”

“No.” I set the glass down, having lost my appetite. “He moved on within days of me walking out.” I see the questions in Stella’s eyes. “Lots of salacious photos of him with models. Our separation was publicized and promptly forgotten. Page Six news for a day. He and his flavor of the hour garnered publicity for weeks.” I slap my hand on the table. “Anyway, that’s why he’ll see me when I arrive. My visit won’t surprise him. And it’s overdue.”

“Is he the angry type?”

At Stella’s serious tone, I put a reassuring hand over hers. “No. It was never like that. I promise. And…” I look to Sophia. “I understand why he’s a person of interest. I do. But you’re off. I’ll do this so the team can zero in on the correct target more quickly.”

“You keep saying he’s innocent, but you haven’t spoken to him in years. People change,” Sophia says.

“There’s a limit to how much a man can change.” The thing about Dorian is that there’s the business alphahole who’s a condescending jerk, but then there’s the sweats and tee guy who flew from London to Boston to take care of me when I had the flu. “He’s not behind this.”

“He’s spent years outside the country.”

I understand Sophia’s skepticism.

“I’m going in prepared. Chances are, he’ll take one look at me, go to his computer, and print out a divorce agreement he probably didn’t even realize I never received and signed, and then he’ll whisk me out of his office so he can jump on his next call. He’ll tell me I’m welcome to hang around until the driver can come and get me. He might even ask me to stay for dinner. Maybe. Unless he’s in a relationship. Which is very possible.” Envisioning the meeting cuts, but it shouldn’t—not after all this time. I avoid my friends’ gazes and keep it all cut and dry, as it should be. “I’ll be escorted to his office. We’ll have an awkward conversation. With luck, I’ll have a chance to deposit a listening device. When he excuses me, I’ll walk around the house and see what else I can do. Maybe ask if I can say hello to his father. I’ll take photos. Leave behind what I can while claiming the driver is delayed in picking me up. I’ll be back by the weekend.”

“This sounds to me like a two birds, one stone situation,” Stella pipes in. “Fate stepping in to wrap up the past and set you on a new path for the future. Trust me, you’re gonna feel so much better once you have the divorce finalized and you never have to speak to the douche canoe again.”

“It is behind me.” I never think about the marriage. Or, I should say, I rarely think about that part of my life. “It’s a technicality. That’s all.” He’s not a douche, or at least, I never thought of him that way. But I do love how Stella leaps to my side, no questions asked.

“If he thinks you’re there to get his money… You’ve got ways to get in touch with us, right?” Stella looks at Sophia. “I only booked a flight for her. Why isn’t a team going?”

“She assured us it wasn’t necessary, so we nixed a team,” Sophia says. “Although Luke disagreed strongly. He’s campaigning to set up in Denver so we’ll have resources nearby.”

Stella pats my hand. “This is good. Get this buttoned up and behind you so you can move on. I like that Luke is concerned. There’s nothing hotter than a protective military guy.” She grins.

“Stella, curb your enthusiasm. Luke is nice, but nothing is going to happen with us.”

“Did you not have a good time?”

“He’s nice.”

“Well, that’s the kiss of death,” Stella says, and Sophia laughs. “What was his out?”

“Come again?”

Stella looks back and forth between Sophia and me. “Oh, come on, you know. The ins and outs. Singles these days have a list.”

“I’ve never heard of this.”

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