Page 14 of Heal You (The Study You #3)

When Gillian had bought her new place, Jan was excited about its potential.

It helped that Gillian had Finn—a joiner and an electrician by trade—and after seeing what Finn was capable of, she’d wanted that same expertise when she renovated her own home.

Finn had truly taken her breath away with the new bespoke kitchen she’d designed and installed, but Jan hadn’t had much of a chance to enjoy it.

And soon, she wouldn’t even be able to call it her kitchen.

“You know, you can tell him you want the house.” Morgan eyed Jan as she squeezed her knee. “I’m pretty sure that sort of thing would go in your favour.”

“He won’t let me stay in that house unless I agree to work on the marriage with him. He loves it just as much as I do. There’s no way I’m coming away with it.” Jan wished she could stay in the house she’d dedicated twenty-odd years to. She wished Phil would just hand over the keys and walk away.

“You don’t know that. If you get a good lawyer, they’ll fight for you.

For the house.” Morgan turned on the couch a little.

“You’re the one he’s fucked over, babe.” Jan’s heart fluttered at Morgan’s term of endearment.

She smiled, listening to Morgan’s thoughts on this.

“If you want something in particular, you tell him that. Just because he loves the house too doesn’t mean he should be entitled to a say on what happens with it.

He’s the one who had the affair. Not you. ”

Jan appreciated Morgan’s support on this, but she didn’t know if she had the fight or the interest when it came to splitting assets and whatnot.

Emotionally, she was drained, and physically, well…

she would prefer to keep her strength for whatever came after the divorce.

She was really going to have to make decisions on what came next.

“I know. It just seems easier to walk away with whatever he offers, I suppose.”

“Why? Why should he dictate how this is going to go? Why should he be the one to pick and choose what he wants, only to leave you with the scraps of whatever’s left?” Morgan frowned as she took Jan’s hand. “You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who will lie down and take this. Not at all.”

“I don’t know what comes next.” God, had it really only been a week since she’d walked out on Phil?

It felt that way when she was alone, but when she was with Morgan, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Jan knew this was the shock talking, but in time, she would fight.

She would have to if she planned to come away with anything remarkably decent.

“I just feel like I need a few weeks to let it all sink in, and then I’ll start making plans and decisions. ”

“Call him and tell him you’re staying in the house until everything is sorted out. Tell him he’s not welcome there and that you’re not moving out.”

“At the moment, I don’t want to be there. While he thinks there could be a chance at reconciliation, he won’t let it lie. He’ll show up every day, and I wouldn’t be able to stop him from doing that. I just…need the time alone first. To clear my head, you know?”

Morgan shifted until she was between Jan’s legs, her arms braced on either side of Jan as she dipped her head and kissed her. “You’ll know what the right decision is when the time comes. I just hate knowing you’re at the hotel and not at home. Or staying with friends, whatever.”

“I’m not really at the hotel, though, am I?” Jan quirked a brow as she fisted her hand in Morgan’s T-shirt and pulled her down on top of her. The weight was calming. Morgan felt incredibly good against her. “I definitely wasn’t there last night.”

Morgan lifted her head and smirked. “No, you weren’t.”

“It’s just a base for me. I’m rarely there.

Maybe I’ll start to look for places to live once I’ve had the house valued and I know what I’m working with.

” Jan brushed Morgan’s hair from her face and searched her eyes.

“Having you in my life right now is keeping me sane. I don’t know what I’d have done with myself this past week. ”

Morgan’s phone started to ring on the coffee table. She groaned as she lifted off Jan and reached for it. “It’s just one of my staff,” Morgan said, answering the call and putting it on speakerphone. “Everything okay, Ben?”

“Yeah, of course. Finn is here asking for you.” He spoke low, probably aware that Morgan wasn’t alone. He’d been the one to let Jan up here last night, so the fact neither of them had been down to the bar at any point today spoke volumes. “Should I pass on a message?”

“Yeah, um…” Morgan sat back and chewed her lip. “Tell her I’m stuck on a call with the brewery and that I have to head straight out after it.”

“No problem,” Ben said. “I’ll tell her you’ll be in touch later or something, yeah?”

“Thanks, Ben.” Morgan ended the call and threw her phone onto the coffee table again.

She crawled back between Jan’s legs, the press of her body only firing Jan up all over again.

“Finn is the last person on my mind right now. I have you all to myself, and I’m going to make every second of it count. ”

Jan took her bottom lip between her teeth as she gazed up at Morgan, only feeling slightly terrible for the lie Morgan had told Finn. “Sounds interesting.”

Morgan crawled back slowly and dipped her head. She trailed the tip of her tongue down Jan’s stomach, smiling against her skin when Jan gasped. “Mmm. The reaction I was hoping for.”

“Morgan,” Jan whispered, moaning as she buried her head in the cushion. “Oh, fuck.” When Morgan lowered the waistband of the sweats Jan wore, Jan gripped the back of the couch. “I don’t know how or why we’ve ended up here, but…don’t ever stop.”