Page 53

Before

This entire town is built on quicksand.

The hyperbole crossed my mind as I handed my keys to the valet and headed into the club.

Will had been golfing with Fritz all day.

I’m not sure who initiated the outing, but I suspected it was another attempt to mend fences between the two of them.

From what Will had shared lately, things were still tense, but he was doing his best to keep the peace. Which, apparently, included golfing.

“Why don’t you come up to the club after? We can meet for dinner.” He had kissed my shoulder as we sipped our coffee in the kitchen early that morning.

The club wasn’t my favorite place to eat.

It was teeming with a little Lilly Pulitzer mafia of women who all disapproved of me.

But I was doing my best to remember that I belonged in this world now.

Interlachen was at least better than the Racquet Club.

I hated ordering drinks from Andres. And it was almost impossible to resist the urge to pick up a dish towel and start wiping down loungers or offer to help whenever the pool staff started clearing drinks and plates.

I’m not an asshole. I swear I didn’t become one of them.

I agreed to head up to the club around six and wait for Will at the pool bar. There was zero chance in hell I’d dress up to sit with the vipers in the main dining room. But it was a nice night to eat outside. A calm breeze blew among the alfresco tables and chairs.

I ordered an Arnold Palmer and kept my sunglasses on so that I could people-watch.

But before my drink arrived, Fritz sidled up to the table.

He looked freshly showered, his hair still wet and combed back.

But there was a hint of sweat on his brow.

Maybe it was the humidity, though day-drinking on the course for hours seemed a more likely culprit.

He dabbed at his forehead with a monogrammed handkerchief and then tucked the fabric square back in his pocket.

“Hey, Nora.” His face lit up with that politician’s smile.

I stood and gave him a hug with one, tentative arm. Polite but distant. “It’s good to see you, Fritz.”

Oh, hell. Did Will invite him to join us for dinner?

The server appeared with my drink and offered to take an order for Fritz.

“Thank you kindly.” He waved her off. “But I can’t stay.”

I feigned disappointment.

“Gigi’s got dinner reservations for us,” he explained. “Will’s still getting cleaned up in the locker room, but I told him I’d keep you company while you wait.”

Yippee.

“Well, that was very kind of you.”

“I’m afraid it was a little selfish on my part. There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

What on God’s green earth could Fritz Hall want to talk to me about? Maybe it’s about Will’s birthday party. Maybe he wants to give a thirty-minute oration once everyone’s gathered.

“You wouldn’t believe how small the legal community is, Nora. Especially for someone like myself.”

“I’m sure.” I slapped on a placid expression.

Where is he going with this?

“And we all like to help each other as much as we can. Even outside of the plaintiff’s field. We all stay pretty tight.”

Fun story.

I wanted to roll my eyes and tell him to get to the fucking point. “What is it that you need from me, Fritz?”

“A friend of mine over at Fisher-Grant Family Law said you were calling to get some advice.” The expression on his face darkened a shade. “Now, why would that be?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

I’d kept meaning to follow up with the family law firm after our fight.

But Will had been so sweet since then that the phone call kept slipping farther and farther down on my to-do list. Had Fritz told Will?

I doubted it. Will would have said something.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if he did.

After the way Will had behaved, could anyone really blame me?

Still, my skin prickled—grossed out by the idea of Fritz and some attorney speculating about the state of my marriage and why I’d called. But I straightened up in my seat. I wasn’t about to let him see me flustered. “Marriage is complicated, Fritz.”

“That’s fair enough, Nora. Thankfully, Mark Fisher is a close friend of mine. He’s assured me he’ll keep this information confidential. But I need assurances from you, too.”

“You seriously think you’ve got one over on me because your colleagues would rather gossip than keep their clients’ confidence?” I didn’t even bother hiding my contempt. “What do you want, Fritz? What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the postnuptial agreement that you were supposed to sign in case you and Will ever decide to go your separate ways.”

I scanned the pool deck, hoping Will would turn up.

“Listen.” He gave a jovial chuckle. “You two do whatever you want. Lord knows Gigi keeps a divorce lawyer on speed dial, but if you’re leaving Will, we need to get it in writing that you’re leaving with no part of the firm.”

He was trying to good-cop me.

No, thanks.

“I don’t know what to say.” I smiled sweetly, playing up my role as the young, dumb wife. “Will never gave me a postnup to sign.”

After the wedding party, I’d half expected him to. But then, he stopped talking to me about almost everything for a while because he was so busy.

“ Nora. ” Fritz leaned in and his voice got quiet and tight. “If you leave him and you try to take even one dime from that law firm, I will end you. Do you understand?”

I rolled my eyes. “Take this up with your partner, Fritz. I told you. I’ll sign anything he puts in front of me. I don’t want your firm.”

“I’d love to take this up with Will, but he won’t hear of it. So I’m bringing it to you.” His eyes were blazing with a quiet fury. “Make this right. Do what you’ve already said you’re happy to do. I can have something drawn up and couriered to your place tonight.”

The rage in his eyes was unmistakable, but there was something I almost missed. Fear.

Fritz Hall is afraid of me? Oh, I’m going to savor this.

“No deal.”

“What the fuck, Nora?” He was speaking low, trying not to cause a scene, but he punctuated the word “fuck” with a firm rap of his fist on the table, causing a few people to look over at us.

If Will didn’t want me to sign something—whatever his reasons—I wasn’t going to.

Fritz tried again. “You said—”

“I said”—I raised a hand to stop him—“I would sign whatever Will asked me to. So—and evidently I can’t stress this enough—take it up with him.”

Fritz stood so quickly and impulsively that he almost knocked his chair over behind him. I kept my seat, staring up at him with an unbothered expression on my face.

He tapped at the table with his pointer finger. “Why won’t you just do this?”

“I don’t know. Because I don’t have to? Maybe because I don’t bow down to you like everyone else?” I shrugged. “Here comes Will now. You can ask him about the paperwork yourself.”

Fritz waved a defeated hand in my direction, taking his exit with a nod in Will’s direction and then mine. I watched him stalk out of the pool area with his head low, occasionally looking up to offer a distracted wave to the acquaintances he passed.

“Hey.” Will kissed my cheek, and the smell of his body wash was a welcome hit of comfort. “I just missed Fritz, huh?”

“God, am I happy to see you.” I reached for his hand. “Hey, listen. Do me a favor? Don’t ever fucking leave me alone with him again.” It was a voice I didn’t use often, but one that conveyed I was serious.

Will recognized the gravity right away. “You’re right. I think that’s for the best.”

The somber way he so quickly agreed made me shiver a little.