Page 52 of Nightclub Surprise
Her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. “He left me, August. I went home last night, and my husband and our kids were gone. He left me a note, saying he couldn’t handle this anymore.” She burst into tears, and I quickly got up to go hugher.
“Natasha, everything’s going to be okay. If he really left you, he’s not worth your tears anyway,” I tried to comforther.
“What about my kids?” shewailed.
Feeling sorry for her and knowing the cafeteria was no place for her to be breaking down like this, I helped her up and took her to my doctor’s quarters, vacant during the lunch hour. At least she could break down inprivate.
“The kids can be sorted out. I’m sure you can get custody of them. Are you okay, financially speaking?” I askedher.
“No,” she cried. “I don’t have anything coming in since I left the marines. He’s been bringing in all the money since then. And when I went to swipe my card at the ATM, I found out my card had been canceled. He’s left me without a damn thing, the fuckingbastard!”
I had no idea why a person would do such a thing. But then again, I knew bad shit happened all thetime.
“I’m sure things will work out,” I tried to calm her down. “I’ll hire a divorce lawyer for you. He’ll get things straightened out before you know it. It’s not legal what he’s doing to you, and we can stop some of it fromhappening.”
She threw her arms around my neck “August, thank you, thank you so much. How can I ever repayyou?”
“Just by getting better, Natasha. Now come on, buck up and believe that everything will work out the way it should. I’ll go grab my cell from the receptionist and call my lawyer to get his recommendation for a good divorce lawyer. With any luck, you can meet with one right after today’s session. I’ll do my best to set that up for you.” I let her go and headed for the door. “You stay here as long as you need to. But just know that very soon things will be as right for you as they canbe.”
“You’re my hero, August Harlow,” her words stopped me. Tawny had told me those samewords.
Shaking my head, I looked at her. “I’m just a guy with enough money to help out, that’sall.”
Natasha shook her head. “You’re far more than just that. Your fiancé is lucky to haveyou.”
I left Natasha then, feeling a bit odd about that last exchange. After I’d made the call and had good news to tell her, I went back to my doctor’s quarters, finding Natasha still there, talking to mydoctor.
She looked at me as I came in and rushed to hug me. “There he is, myhero!”
“Oh, come on now, I told you I’m just a guy with money, Natasha. I’m no hero.” I gently pushed her to let me go, and she did so. Handing her the piece of paper I’d scribbled the name and address on, I continued, “Here you go. Meet the lawyer at her office at this address. She’ll be waiting for you. I told her you’re busy until five, and she understood. I’ve already taken care of the payment, and she said she could have things straightened out tomorrow. You have nothing to worry about. You’re in very capable hands now,Natasha.”
“Thank you, August.” Her fingers trailed over my hand as she took the paper. “And I know this might sound kind of bad, but I’m going to say it anyway. If you and your fiancé don’t work out, give me a call. I think we could make each other veryhappy.”
And there it was. I’d thought something felt a bit off between us, but it could be just the shock of it all forher.
I didn’t want to crush her spirit either way. Giving her chin a playful tap with my fist, I said, “You just get things straightened out, slugger. Things will get better, you’llsee.”
With a smile, she left the room, and my doctor looked at me. “I think now would be an excellent time for you to talk about your feelings for your fiancé. How are things going in that department,August?”
“I had to put her in another room last night.” I took a seat on the sofa and crossed my leg, resting my hand on my ankle. “I did it again, had some dream, did something to her that might’ve hurt her. She woke me up by splashing me with water. I don’t know how I’m going to handle thisthing.”
“And how did she react when you asked her to go to another room, August?” he asked me with a knowinggrin.
“Not well. And I didn’t ask her, I took her there and locked her door, so I couldn’t get to her. Then I locked my own door, so she couldn’t get to me, either. I was afraid she’d try to come back to my bed. And I’m also afraid that this is putting a strain on our relationship.” I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head to see that Natasha had slipped backin.
She looked at me with those blue eyes, a smile on her face. “Um, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I needed to ask one more teeny little favor from you,August.”
I excused myself from the doctor’s room and joined her in the hallway for some privacy. “What’s that?” I pushed my hand through my hair, worrying that she might ask me something to get me alone. And now that she’d overheard what I’d said, I knew she’d seen an opportunity to get her claws into me. Being a wealthy man, having a woman use unconventional methods to catch my attention was nothing new tome.
“I need a ride to the lawyer’s office. I don’t have much gas in my car and, if you’ll recall, I don’t have access to any money.” She looked down with a shamefulexpression.
Getting up, I reached into my pocket. All I had were three hundreds, and I pulled one out and handed it to her. “Here yougo.”
“Oh, no. I don’t want your money.” She looked up at me. “You’ve already given me so much, paying for the lawyer and all. Just a ride would befine.”
She might have been being honest, but I wasn’t going to risk falling into any kind of scheme that aimed for my seduction. I’m sure she thought it would be a great way to get back at her ass of a husband. I couldn’t blame her for what she wanted, but I wasn’t about to mess up what I had waiting for me at home. “Natasha, I’m very much in love with my fiancé. Now take the money, and do us both a favor and stop whatever train of thought you might be on, okay? I’d like to stay on good terms withyou.”
A blush turned her cheeks beet red, and she nodded then left the room. I turned back into the room and saw my doctor smiling at me—clearly my attempt at privacy hadn’t worked. “You handled that very well, August. So now we have the matter of figuring out how you’re going to handle your nightmares and yourfiancé.”
