Page 93 of Nailing Heat
“What are you doing here?” I ask her. My head immediately turns to look at Amelia. Her brown eyes are wide and blinking, like she’s trying to process the fact that my ex-wife is standing here in front of us.
Amelia takes a step back, and Elise takes that to her advantage and steps into the apartment.
“Who are you and why are you living with my dear husband?” Her tone is full of snark.
I shake my head. “You are my ex-wife,” I remind her. I look over at Amelia. “I’m not married.”
“Well, Dexter, that is not exactly accurate. Wearein fact still married.” She grins at me like the cat that ate the canary.
“No, no, no,” I repeat the word like it will make her go away. My palms are sweaty, and my chest feels tight. How did this morning go so wrong. “I signed the papers in my lawyer’s office before I came here to Tampa.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “Do you mean before you came down here to Tampa and shacked up with this woman.” She turns her attention to Amelia. “Who are you exactly?”
Amelia sighs, bringing her hands up to her face and covering it for a moment. She then looks up at Elise, her voice shaking, “I’m Amelia, one of the players for the Blaze,” she explains, looking from Elise to me and then back again. “I had no idea he was married. He told me he was divorced. I’m so sorry.”
Amelia hobbles backwards a bit more. All of the color has drained from her face.
“Hi, Amelia, I’m sorry we have to meet this way,” Elise starts to say, but I cut her off.
“You were never going to meet at all because your life is in New England, and I live down here now,” I tell her through clenched teeth.
“Yes, I’m sure that is what you had hoped but unfortunately,that is not the case. I had to come down here and see where it is that you are living. Charming little place you have here,” she says as her eyes search Amelia’s place. “Why are they putting you up with a player? What, August couldn’t spring for your own place? Or is this a perk of having you on the team?”
“Fuck you,” I spit at her. “Just tell me why the fuck you are here.”
“I wouldn’t have to be here if you would have answered any of my phone calls.” Elise actually has the audacity to say.
“We are divorced. I had no reason to pick up your calls,” I say shaking my head. “Why are you here?”
She sighs and has the nerve to look bored, bringing her hand up to examine her perfectly manicured fingernails. “Because we are not officially divorced, Dexter. You missed a signature on the forms. Your lawyer missed it, mine caught it when we went to file the papers. I was calling you to see if you could please make arrangements to get them signed.”
“Why wouldn’t my lawyer call me?” I ask her in disbelief. “This doesn’t make sense. I haven’t received an email from Paul, my attorney.”
Elise shakes her head, “Well, Paul is out of the country right now. He went on some European trip. My lawyer said that if I came to you and got you to sign them that he can help me. He’ll file them and we can all move on with our lives.” She pauses for a moment, her head swiveling in Amelia’s direction, like a snake. “Well, I can move on. You already have from what I can see, darling.”
She knows I hate it when she calls me that. It always made me feel like her pet poodle.
“Okay, well, give me the papers and I’ll take care of this,” I grit out.
“Yeah, you would like that, wouldn’t you. You probably have a lot of explaining to do with your newest toy.”
I hate the way she is speaking right now. It reminds me of whyI left her. And now she’s in Tampa, in my space where she was never supposed to be.
“Excuse me,” Amelia says, turning to walk away. I can see the tears forming in her eyes.
“I really am sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your morning,” Elise sweetly calls after her. “Take the papers and sign them,” she tells me.
I take them from her and see she’s right - one of the papers is missing a signature. “I have no idea how this could have happened. But I’m taking care of this. I want this over with as soon as humanly possible.” I scribble a signature and thrust the papers back in her direction.
“Thanks, honey. It’s been wonderful being married to you.” Her voice is laced with sarcasm. “And I’m really sorry for ruining your morning.”
Amelia stops and turns, her eyes not completely reaching Elise’s. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea that he was married.” She looks to me, and I can see how hollow her eyes look. The happiness and levity that we had this morning is gone. Turning back to Elise she says, “He is only here because of a housing mix-up. This wasn’t some planned thing. August is trying to resolve it. But he hasn’t yet. I’ll reach out to him today and have your husband moved out ofmyapartment.”
“I signed the papers right now; I’m not her husband anymore. I haven’t been her husband in a long time.” I desperately say to Amelia.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elise smirk and shake her head. “You can keep him honey. You really can. As you can see his intention is to divorce me. We’ll finish the job. And then you can have him back. Unless you don’t think you want him anymore?” Her voice is full of malice.
My heart sinks because I’ve seen her like this before. And I know her well enough to know that she’s not done. She wants to inflict some more damage before heading out of town.
