Page 48

“I think he’s right,” she gasped. “I remember my grandfather saying something about redrawing property lines. He said it was just a formality to make things easier for me when he passed. And then he passed before he could do it.” She choked back a sob.

“I can’t think about this right now. Let’s just get through dinner. ”

“Let’s you get out of here and call Nina.”

“I—”

“Blake and I’ve got this, right, Blake? We’ll just tell people we’re sold out of the specials. Keep everything simple and we’re good.”

Sullivan stumbled out the back door and headed through the Bois toward her fragile, impermanent home.

It wasn’t until she reached the empty spot where Old Girl had hunkered since Kia moved in that the really bad thought hit her.

Kia had left in a rush and refused to let Sullivan go with her.

Why wouldn’t Kia want company besides Deja?

Wouldn’t someone newly infatuated with their fake-wife-possibly-starting-to-be-real-girlfriend want to spend all the time they could together?

Sullivan wanted to spend every minute with Kia.

It killed her to go to work, to be away from Kia’s laugher.

She wanted to bury her face in the chocolate-coconut smell of Kia’s hair and then bury her face other places.

Had Kia left because Mega Eats had gotten to her too?

Sullivan called Nina the moment she walked in her house. She hadn’t even taken off her chef’s coat, and she never wore it out of the restaurant. She sat on the edge of the couch and stared at the Janice Domingos.

Nina answered the phone, “What’s wrong?”

Sullivan repeated the story. She could feel Nina’s attention vibrating through the phone.

“So they’re threatening to take half your house, if you don’t denounce Kia,” Nina summed up when Sullivan was done.

Done except for one part.

“I think they did something to Kia. She left to do some fair in Grants Pass.” Sullivan sprang off the sofa, then began pacing. She couldn’t sit still. She had to do something, but there was nothing to do. “And I said I’d go with her, and she turned me down.”

“Because?”

“She said it was because she’d be working the whole time, and she didn’t think Grants Pass was interracial lesbian couple friendly.”

When she said it like that, it didn’t sound like Kia had cast her out of the book of love.

Sullivan looked out at the trees, trying to calm herself.

She waited for Nina to point out that new couples always agonized over little things like this, and it would probably take months before they actually broke each other’s hearts.

“Mega Eats definitely got to her,” Nina said.

“We’re close to trial, and that’s time to offer last-minute deals.

If they offered her a deal, it probably involves destroying you and Kia coming out of it without as much grief as they’d give her otherwise.

At least that’s what they’ll tell her. The deal will be ugly, and it’ll be irresistible.

Brace yourself. They’ll make it an offer she can’t refuse. ”

“I was hoping you’d say I was overreacting.” Sullivan wanted to cry, but she needed to focus on what Nina was saying.

“Kia is crazy about you, and Grants Pass isn’t that bad. You can rent a whole ranch for two thousand a night. She’s either racked with guilt at what she’s going to do to you, or Mega Eats told her to leave you alone.”

“You don’t think she was just… telling the truth?”

Nina sighed as though Sullivan had said everything on the internet was true.

“Everyone lies when they’re desperate.”

Did they? How could Kia throw away everything they had? But how could Kia throw away her dreams for a woman she’d only reconnected with a few weeks ago?

“What should I do?”

“Take the deal,” Nina said matter-of-factly.

“What?! No! I’m not going to say our marriage is a fraud we cooked up to stop Mega Eats from getting the Bois.”

“But that’s exactly what it is. I mean, even if you do say Kia tricked you into this, Kia’s attorney can still argue that you loved each other.

You just couldn’t handle the stress of the lawsuit, and you broke her heart—and yours—by leaving.

He could argue that Mega Eats coerced you to lie and say it was a fake marriage on the stand.

That’s not a strong argument, but it’s an argument. ”

“What do you mean her attorney ?”

“I’m withdrawing representation.”

“Kia and I are in it together.”

It hadn’t felt that way when Kia left for Grants Pass. Disaster scenarios crashed in Sullivan’s mind.

“I’ll call her,” Nina said. “And tell her I’m dropping her.”

“Before you even know if she’ll take the deal?”

“Your interests have diverged. I like her. Opal’s right. She’s fab. But you’re you . And saving your ass is the hill I’ll die on.”

Sullivan had good friends. She was lucky.

“But I might have to bury Kia under that hill.”

Sullivan lowered her voice. “I can’t betray her.”

“You can. You don’t have to perjure yourself. If you simply tell the court exactly what happened.”

“I can’t hurt her like that.”

“She started it.”

“She didn’t mean for this to happen. I care about her.”

I love her.

“As your lawyer and your friend, I’m going to walk you through this. Are you ready to lose your business, all its professional and personal assets, and your house for a woman you’ve known for less than half a year?”

“I have an LLC.”

“They’ll pierce your LLC. Then Mega Eats will cut your house like a cake. They’ll take everything and Judge Harper will make you pay attorney fees, which Mega Eats will have inflated like a fucking hot-air balloon.”

“They keep saying less than half a year, but that’s not right.

” Why didn’t anyone get how important their time at the Jean Paul Molineux School had been?

“I’ve known Kia since she was twenty. I wouldn’t be who I am without her.

Mirepoix wouldn’t be Mirepoix without her pushing me to be the best chef I could be. ”

“That’s very noble. But I want you to really think about this. Yes, you slept with her. Yes, you think you love her.”

“I didn’t say—”

“I’m a divorce attorney, Sullivan. If I can’t spot someone about to throw themselves under the bus for love, I shouldn’t be in the business.

But are you ready to be that noble? If you find out she doesn’t feel the same way?

When she leaves? And here’s the thing: You can’t ask her.

You can’t say, Do you love me, because if you do, I won’t denounce you in court .

You won’t know if she wants you or if she’s desperate.

When you’re starting over, and she’s gone, will you still be happy with your choice?

And Mega Eats might offer her the same deal.

She’s the one they want to nail. They want to show people what happens if you fuck with Mega Eats.

They want you both, and if they can only nail one of you, they’d rather it’s Kia but…

” Nina didn’t need to finish the sentence.

Sullivan paced across the room. Her life felt like an escape room she couldn’t win. “I won’t do it.”

Part of her had never been so confident of anything in her life. Another part desperately scanned the future trying to figure out if she herself was lying. Would she really give up everything for Kia? She wanted to be that strong.

“I won’t hurt her,” she said again. “Call Mega Eats and tell them I won’t take their deal.” There. She’d said it. She didn’t have time to change her mind.

“I won’t call Mega Eats.”

“This is my decision!”

“Shh, girl, calm down. I won’t call them tonight or tomorrow. Go to one of those hideous campsites you like and sleep on it. Spend a night in a tent crawling with bugs. Then if you’re sure, I’ll tell them whatever you want.”