Page 13 of Take My Name

“To be with me when I wasn’t workin’. To let me show you what our lives could be if you gave it a chance. You would’ve grown to like it. If it meant stayin’ together, you would’ve put in the effort, but you didn’t.”

This isn’t the first time we had this fight. But it’s exhausting, nevertheless.

After two months of not seeing each other and rarely speaking, I came home for Christmas and told him if he had no plans of trying to make it work long-distance, then we were over. There was no point in dragging it out seven hundred miles apart.

He admitted he hoped I’d get the job “out of my system” and return home.

That’s when I knew we were over for good.

I wanted to pursue my dream and he refused to leave his family’s ranch.

“We talked about our future for years and none of the possibilities had us movin’ to New York. You threw me acurveball, then made me the villain when I didn’t immediately jump on board.”

My nostrils flare. “That’s not fair and you know it.”

HeknewI wanted that apprenticeship and to find a long-term job in publishing, but I had to start at the bottom and you can’t do that in a small mountain town. I got lucky that they offered me a social media marketing position a year later. That one turned into finding my career path as a literary agent at an agency, which led me to start my own company last year. It was all about in-person networking and that couldn’t have happened here.

“Neither is life, darlin’, but here we are.”

I roll my eyes at his harsh tone.

“Now that we’ve rehashed why our marriage failed, why won’t you sign the papers? Besides being engaged to someone else, I’m not movin’ back here, so there’s no chance for us. If you don’t, I’ll end up filin’ for a default divorce anyway.” My voice cracks as I continue, “Either way, it’s over.”

But since I waited too long, I risk it not going through before the wedding date. There’s also a thirty-day period where Warren could appeal the divorce decree, which is why this would go so much smoother if he’d sign them.

Looking back, I should’ve done it years ago. Although I continued sending him the papers, I wasn’t in a rush since I wasn’t actively dating. Starting my own business and being with my fiancé didn’t leave me a lot of free time to focus on it. Warren was being stubborn for no reason, but once I got engaged, I had to get it figured out.

He pops his lips, then gives me a wicked smile. “You do that then.”

“Warren,please.” I grind my molars, resisting the urge to lashout. “I’m not askin’ for anything from you but this one thing. It should be a simple process. Hayes and I are gettin’ married in four months, so can’t we be adults about this?”

Warren’s brow arches at the sound of another man’s name I hadn’t meant to let slip. He bows his head, locks his hands behind his back, and leans in. “There’s the door…” He nods around me. “Let yourself out, would ya? It’s past my bedtime.”

“I’ll come back, ya know. I’m not leavin’ without those papers signed,” I say firmly.

He walks backward, looking smug as shit as he creates more distance between us. “Just to be safe, you might wanna wait on sendin’ out Save the Dates.”

When he winks, I want to scream.

This isn’t over. I’ll make himbegto divorce me once I inconvenience his life the way he’s done to me.

I walk down the hallway and into the darkness of another room that leads to the front door before his voice catches my attention.

“Oh, and, Maze?”

I turn around at the sound of my old nickname and wince that I do it out of habit.

“I’ll be lockin’ my patio door from now on, so don’t try to sneak back in.”

chapter three

Warren

I watchas her rearview lights disappear through the trees and wonder if she’ll make good on her threat of coming back or not.

But most importantly, do I want her to?

No.