Stroke of Luck - Opal Carew Page 0,89
clenched tightly around the phone. “But you said we could do this without me having to meet with either of them.”
Seeing Austin again would be hard. Seeing Quinn again would be excruciating.
“I thought we could, but Mr. Taylor produced a prenuptial contract you signed.”
Her lips pursed. “I don’t see why that means I have to meet with him. I’m not asking him for any money, so…”
“It’s not that simple. It seems from the terms of the contract, you actually owe him something.”
* * *
April tugged on the bottom of her suit jacket as she stood outside the door of the hotel suite. Quinn had agreed to fly in to Sidney, OH. the small town April had decided to settle in, to save her having to travel back to Las Vegas, where he and Austin were still vacationing. Her lawyer, Bev, was meeting her here.
She knocked on the door. A moment later, it opened, and her heart stopped at the sight of Quinn in his tailored suit stretched taut over his broad shoulders and chest.
“April. Thank you for coming.”
“I had little choice,” she said as he stepped back to let her in.
She didn’t know what she’d expected. That he’d pull her into his arms? Drag her into a kiss? Or be angry at her for leaving so suddenly?
But his unreadable expression, although preferable to those other choices, threw her off balance.
“My lawyer said that according to the prenup, I owe you something.”
The prenup he’d said he didn’t remember asking her to sign.
“We can talk about that when your lawyer gets here. Would you like some coffee?” He gestured to the table where he had a coffee service already set up.
She nodded as she walked to the table and sat down. Another knock sounded at the door, and Quinn went to answer it as she poured herself a cup.
What could he possibly want from her? She’d been racking her brain trying to figure it out. At the time she’d signed it, she’d already been in debt to him. Though the agreement they’d had was supposed to take care of that. Maybe he’d been worried that she’d walk out before the end of the month.
Which she had.
Maybe he’d wanted it as insurance that she’d stay. Or as punishment if she didn’t. That would explain why he’d delayed the annulment.
So now would he take everything she had left?
Bev walked to the table, wearing a charcoal suit and red blouse.
“Hi, April. Sorry, I had hoped to be here first so it wouldn’t be awkward.” She sat down across from April.
“It’s okay. I arrived early.” She’d been so anxious she couldn’t help herself.
Bev set her briefcase on the table and opened it as Quinn sat down. She pulled out a folder.
“Mr. Taylor, did you discuss the terms with Ms. Smith yet?”
“You mean Mrs. Taylor?” A hint of a grin curled his lips. Or was that her imagination. “No, I haven’t.”
“April, let me tell you first that this contract is unenforceable. That said, Mr. Taylor can refuse to go forward with the annulment, and in that case, you’d have to start divorce proceedings if you wish to end the marriage.”
“I appreciate that you want to protect your client,” Quinn said, “but before we get into the details of all of that, why don’t you just explain the terms to April and we’ll go from there.”
“Very well.”
Bev opened the folder, and April could see the sheet on top was a scan of a smaller piece of paper with some quickly scrawled words in Quinn’s bold printing. At the bottom, she could see her signature.
“Basically, this document says you agree that if you end the marriage to Austin Wright—”
“You mean Quinn Taylor,” April corrected.
“No, she’s right,” Quinn said. “This agreement is triggered if you annul your marriage to Austin, which you did.”
Bev glanced from Quinn to April.
April pursed her lips in confusion. “Okay. Go on.”
“If you end the marriage with Austin Wright—which, as Mr. Taylor pointed out, you have done—then you agree to stay married to Mr. Taylor.”
“What?” April frowned. “But that makes no sense.”
“We were pretty drunk,” Quinn said. “The point is, I didn’t insist you sign a prenup to protect myself from losing money. I had you sign it to protect myself from losing you.”
* * *
Quinn’s gut clenched. He couldn’t read her expression, but the stunned, leaning-to-somber expression on her face wasn’t a good sign.
“I had you sign that contract because I love you so desperately,” he continued. “In that uninhibited state, the most important thing