Page 12 of Only in Our Dream (Moonflower Cove #15)

Melanie

S itting in a poorly lit conference room at a lawyer’s office wasn’t Melanie’s ideal way to spend an afternoon.

Melanie and Rob sat across from each other with their lawyers on either side of them while a court magistrate sat at the head of the table.

Their lawyers had already discussed with them about all the division and who was getting what in the divorce.

Blaire had told Melanie it would help move things along, especially since they didn’t have kids.

Melanie did her best to pay attention to everything the magistrate was saying, but her mind had already checked out. Although she knew she was lucky for the process to be going so smoothly and quickly, Melanie was also ready for it to be done.

And not just because she desperately wanted to start a relationship with Cameron.

That was only part of it.

Well, a big part of it.

But the other part was that she wanted to be able to close the Rob chapter of her story.

They’d been married for so long that Melanie was eager to find out who she was without being Rob Sullivan’s wife.

The last few years might have pulled them apart, but there was a time when Melanie truly loved Rob.

However, with that part in her past, Melanie was ready for what her future held.

As the magistrate gave them a court date for a few weeks out, Melanie and the rest of the group shook hands as Rob and his lawyer left the room with the magistrate. Blaire stood, gathering her papers and laptop before putting a hand on Melanie’s shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Melanie smiled up at her, unsure how convincing her smile was. “It’s just a lot.”

“I know it is, but it’ll be over soon. I promise.”

“Thanks, Blaire.”

“You’re welcome.” She gently squeezed Melanie’s shoulder as she sat again. “I know it’s probably not my place to say this, but I’ll step out of lawyer-client mode and into talking to someone I’ve known for years.”

Although they ran in different circles, the Cove was small enough that Blaire and Melanie knew of each other prior to the divorce.

Melanie had helped deliver her daughter not long after she started working at Taylor Memorial and Blaire was the lawyer for the hospital.

Not that Melanie had even met her in the latter capacity, but she had seen her at the hospital’s annual events over the years.

“Divorce sucks. It doesn’t matter if you wanted it or not, it still sucks. Closing a major chapter in our lives is never easy, and I think that’s a good thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she smiled softly. “It means you loved someone, even if you don’t anymore. And that’s not something everyone can say.”

“I guess I’ve never looked at it like that.”

“That’s why you have me.” Blaire winked, standing again. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail while her blazer and pants combo were the definition of a power suit. “Come on. I’ll buy us coffee on the way out.”

As they walked down the stairs to the first floor of the courthouse, they stopped by the coffee cart that was set up there every morning and purchased two cups of coffee.

Melanie thanked Blaire, who promised to keep her updated if anything changed before their court date.

With any luck, Melanie would be officially divorced before the New Year.

With a spring in her step, she headed for her car parked behind the courthouse in the parking lot.

She hadn’t expected to run into Rob still chatting with his lawyer, so she just offered them a smile and a wave as she walked to her car.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rob telling his lawyer goodbye as he made a beeline for her.

“Hey, Mel,” Rob had his usual goofy grin on his face, “you got a second?”

“Um,” Melanie looked at her watch even though she knew she had hours before her shift, “yeah. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to say that you look really happy. It’s good to see you that way.” He tilted his head ever so slightly. “I haven’t seen you looking that way in a while.”

Melanie felt herself blushing. “Thanks, Rob. You look happy, too.”

And they weren’t empty words either. Rob truly looked happier.

Melanie wanted to comment that she hoped Janet was making him happy, but she kept that thought to herself.

There was no need to bring that up when the same could be said about her and Cameron.

But that wasn’t anything Rob needed to know about.

Not yet, anyway.

In reality, Melanie didn’t know how or when to even tell him about Cameron. She had mentally made a note to ask Cameron her thoughts whenever they finally had their first date. But until then, Melanie would keep the information about Cameron only to the people who needed to know.

Which so far seemed to include Isla, Vera, and Palmer. The rest would have to wait until things were more official.

God, this wait is going to kill me.

“Well, I should probably get home. I need to get some sleep before work.”

“Wait.” Rob suddenly seemed nervous as he took hold of her arm. “I just need to say one more thing. Before you hear it somewhere else.”

“Oh, my god. Is Janet pregnant ?”

“What? No.” He shook his head furiously. “No. She’s not pregnant. But I moved in with her.”

“I had assumed as much,” Melanie chuckled. “I would never have pictured you as living in a hotel or crashing on someone’s couch.”

“So, you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad? We’re getting divorced. We’re both going to be moving on with our lives.” Melanie stopped short of adding in that she was moving on as well. “Like we said before, we both deserve to be happy, right?”

“Right,” Rob sighed, seemingly relieved. “Well, I’ll let you get home. Tell Hank and Lucy I miss them.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Rob.”

Getting into her car, Melanie turned up her music as per usual. Rob always hated the music up loud. He said it messed with his concentration. For Melanie, it had the opposite effect. It helped her focus better than anything.

Since the meeting with the magistrate had been scheduled for eight a.m., Melanie had gone straight from work without breakfast. Her stomach growled in protest of her normal routine as she pulled into a spot in front of Carlson’s Cafe to grab something to-go.

The cafe was easily Melanie’s most frequented place for food.

Well, that and Straight to Ale. She had never enjoyed cooking, which worked because Rob was just as content to eat out as well.

Carlson’s Cafe provided Melanie with more options than the bar, though, which is how it ended up at the top of her list most days.

Melanie had had so many free coffees over the years thanks to their loyalty card that she could probably fill up Lake Monroe.

Smells of cinnamon and coffee greeted Melanie like a warm hug as she stepped inside the cafe. Maggie Carlson, the owner, smiled and waved at her from behind the counter. Melanie dug her credit card out of her bag as she approached the register.

“Good morning, Maggie.”

“Good morning, Mel. Were you on the night shift or heading in?”

“Night shift, then I had a meeting with our lawyers and a judge, so it’s been a long day already.”

Melanie had spilled the beans about her divorce to Maggie a few weeks ago when Maggie had told her she looked happy. It seemed to be a common theme that people noticed her happiness now that he was on his way out of her life.

“Well, hopefully it was a good meeting and it’ll all be over soon. You taking yours to-go or eating here with Isla?”

Maggie nodded her chin, and Melanie turned around. She saw Isla sitting in a booth with her back to the counter. Her head was down slightly, and Melanie assumed she was reading.

“Here, please. Thanks.” After placing her order, Melanie waited for her coffee before heading toward Isla’s table. She slid into the booth across from her. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Isla looked up from her book and smiled. “Yes, enjoying my quiet morning alone,” she teased, closing the book. “How was work?”

“Good. Birthed some babies. Charted some charts.” Melanie took a sip of her coffee. “Do you have any dirt on the new OB yet?”

Dr. Avery Jacobs was set to start at the hospital after the new year.

Melanie knew little about her other than Taylor Memorial would be her first job out of her residency.

Currently, the hospital had four OBGYNs, including Vera.

But with the fertility business booming in the Cove, they had hired a fifth to help out.

She only hoped that Avery fit well into their close-knit group.

“Vera hasn’t said much. She said she was nice in the interview.”

“Everyone is nice in an interview,” Melanie chuckled, taking a piece of bacon off Isla’s plate as she playfully swatted her hand away. “I’ll give you a piece of mine when my order gets here.”

“You’re good. How was the meeting?”

Melanie sighed. “Good, I guess. I don’t really know what to expect from them. Blaire keeps telling me it shouldn’t take long since it’s uncontested. But I saw Rob in the parking lot after and it was, I dunno. Weird.”

“Weird how?”

“He made it a point to tell me he was moving in with Janet. Like, yeah. I had assumed. He basically even told me as much when he first brought up divorce. But I don’t know. It seemed like he wanted to say something else.”

Isla’s eyes narrowed slightly as she tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

She’d been wondering since she left Rob if he’d lied to her about Janet not being pregnant. There was a pit in her stomach that told her Rob was going to say something else before she joked that Janet was pregnant. But what if he was caught off guard because she’d nailed it? Melanie didn’t know.

“She can’t be pregnant , can she?” Isla kept her voice low as she leaned onto the table. “No.”

“Rob said no but,” Melanie shrugged, “I thought that was what he was going to say. Like what if that’s why he wanted the divorce? He’s gotten his mistress pregnant.”

“I’ll cut off his dick.”

“Isla,” Maggie laughed as she sat down Melanie’s plate of food, “it’s not even ten a.m.”

“Sorry, Maggie.”

“I can’t do anything with her,” Melanie frantically sighed, making Isla and Maggie laugh. As Maggie walked away, Melanie handed Isla a piece of bacon from her plate. “But seriously, keep it down. You know how things spread around this town.”

“I’m sorry, Mel.” She could tell by Isla’s regretful look that she was serious.

“It’s okay. I love you and your big mouth.”

Winking at her friend, the two chatted while Melanie ate her breakfast. They talked about Isla’s kids and work before the topic, of course, came back around to Cameron.

Isla had purchased them another round of coffee, which was the last thing that she needed after being up for over eighteen hours and a twelve-hour shift looming before her in a few hours.

“This is going to sound so cheesy, I know that.” Melanie giggled like a little kid. “But I get so happy at the idea of kissing her. Is that crazy? She’s my best friend. I never expected this to happen.”

Isla’s eyes went dreamy as she spoke. “I don’t think it’s crazy at all. I still get excited to kiss Vera and we’ve been together for over twenty years. It’s just what happens when you find your soulmate. Which,” she smirked as she picked up her coffee cup, “I think we can both agree wasn’t Rob.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

After finishing breakfast, Melanie said goodbye to Isla and headed home.

She fed Lucy and Hank then opened the package she’d found on the front porch.

Melanie didn’t remember ordering anything, so she assumed it was for Rob.

But the box of LEGO flowers inside told her it was definitely not for Rob.

There was a typed note in the box and Melanie quickly read it.

I know you hate real flowers because they die so quickly so I got you these so you can keep them forever. I love you, Mel.

The note was signed with an emoji heart and Cam written beside it.

Melanie couldn’t stop her smile from spreading wider than it had been before.

Cameron knew her so well; better than Rob ever would.

She knew that not only did Melanie love LEGO, but that she also didn’t like real flowers.

The gesture moved Melanie to tears as she picked up her phone to send a picture to Cameron.

Posing with the box in front of her, Melanie showed part of her smile and the tears in her eyes as she took the selfie. She sent it to Cameron and attached a text with it.

This was beyond sweet. Thank you. I needed this today. I love you and can’t wait to see you soon.

She debated a plethora of emojis before settling on a simple heart to end the message. It wasn’t long before Cameron texted back. And Melanie’s smile grew even wider.

I love making you happy.