Page 29 of Take My Name

“Where’ve you been?” Mama asks when I walk through the front door and find her in one of the sitting rooms. My childhood house is the epitome of old Southern money and always felt more like a museum than a home.

“Had some errands to run.”

“Mm. Did you seehim?” Her eyes catch mine over the magazine she’s reading.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at her unwillingness to say his name.

My parents are the only ones who know we’re not divorced. They were never huge fans of him but even more so not after he continuously sent the papers back to their lawyer.

“Yes. We talked and went horseback ridin’.”

She drops the magazine to her lap, brows raised. “You what?”

“He was workin’ and it was the only way to get him to talk to me.”

“In that?” She nods toward my outfit.

“He let me borrow a pair of boots,” I explain quickly, not wanting to share the details of how he kneeled in front of me and kept his hard gaze on me while he took off my shoes and tied on the boots. His stare was a mixture of loathing and lust.

“Okay, and what happened durin’ thistalk?”

The entire drive home, I contemplated what to tell them because I knew their reaction wasn’t going to be a good one.

“He said he’ll sign ’em in a week.” I hold my breath before blurting the rest. “As long as I spend time with him each day.”

“I beg your pardon?”

My shoulders fall, taking the chair across from her. “He wants me to give him seven days to prove why we should get back together. I told him it was a wasted effort, but it was the only way he’d agree to sign ’em.”

“Maisie.” Her tone is sharp, the same way she’d say my name when I’d get into trouble as a teenager. “Why would you agree with his obvious attempt to manipulate you?”

I’m wondering the same damn thing.

“Because seven days is better than waiting another four to six months for a default divorce to go through. An uncontested divorce would take three. This way, he gets closure, and I can move on for good with Hayes.”

I leave out the parts where Warren admitted he’s not been with anyone else since me. The less she knows, the better. My parents mean well,usually…but they’re known to be judgmental and that’s the last thing I need from them right now.

She tsks, reclining back in her chair. “I knew that boy was trouble.”

I snort. “He’s not a boy anymore, Mama.”

Oh no, he’s a fully grown man who looks like he’s never skipped a day at the gym. Except, the ranch are his machines and all the hard work he puts in has only added to his build.

I’ve always been attracted to him and we were mutually obsessed with each other, so that was never a problem in our relationship, but his unwillingness to budge at moving with me is what ultimately ruined everything.

“Don’t tell your father about this,” she warns. “He’ll march over there and set him straight.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be a good idea,” I say dryly. Not because I think Warren would fight him, but it could prompt him to appeal the divorce and prolong it.

“I won’t say anything,” she says, mimicking buttoning her lips. “But you better be sure he signs ’em when the week is over. Movin’ the weddin’ date this close would humiliate the family. And you’d have to confess everythin’ to Hayes. He might not be so forgivin’ when he finds out the whole truth.”

That’s my worst fear.

Standing, I lean over and kiss her cheek. “I’ll make sure he signs ’em, Mama.”

Or at least he better.

I walk to the kitchen because I lied about not being hungry. After realizing how hung up on me he still is, I needed distance and room to breathe. He was too close, almost touching, and it was suffocating.