was he here? Why wouldn’t he just let her be? They were divorced. She didn’t want anything to do with him. What did he want from her? She opened the door and was met immediately by a tail-wagging Donner.
“A dog, too? You don’t like animals.” He seemed surprised, pushing his way forward before she could stop him.
“I like this one,” she whispered. “What are you doing here, Blake?”
Blake walked into her house like he owned the place, eyeing her sparse furnishings and her cluttered Christmas tree with a look of distaste. She knew what he was thinking. Back at their house, the decorator had handled all the holiday decor. The designer had put together beautiful trees to rival anything in a department store, but Amy liked her new one, made with love and a lot of laughter. She thought of the nights she and Caleb had spent laughing over the archaic, seventies-inspired garlands she’d pulled from the estate-sale box. She thought of how hard he’d worked to get her power working when the tree shorted it out.
She thought of his smile.
God, she’d give anything for Caleb to be on her doorstep instead of Blake. She stared at her ex-husband uneasily. He was handsome, perfectly so. His tan came from a tanning bed, his hair was cut by the most expensive stylist in Houston, and his clothing was tailored. He looked great, but she knew he was also an awful, awful person who made her feel bad about herself.
He slowly turned, giving her house one last lip curl of disgust, and then faced her. “I’m here because I’ve decided that enough is enough. This charade has gone on long enough. I hope you’ve gotten it all out of your system, Amy, but it’s time for you to come home. Enough with this divorce and this ‘independence’ you think you need. If you want independence so badly, I’ll give you a bigger allowance, but this is just ridiculous. You belong at my side, not wiping noses.”
Clearly only one of them had realized that the divorce was supposed to be final. “I don’t want to be with you.” Her voice was small, timid. Uncertain. Within moments of his return she’d reverted back to her old, helpless self. Amy was filled with self-loathing.
“You don’t know what you want. I thought that was obvious.” He sounded utterly dismissive and so sure of himself. “Look around you. You can’t possibly want to live in this hovel.” Blake gestured at her house, at the furniture she’d scraped from estate sales and thrifts. “How much are they paying you at that little school?”
“Enough.” It wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to tell him the amount because he’d laugh in her face. She knew it, too. She hadn’t cared about the salary when she took the job; she was just excited to get a job so she could have experience. She knew it didn’t pay well. It hadn’t mattered.
She’d never anticipated having to explain herself to her ex, though.
“Don’t just stand there,” Blake said, shaking his head. “Pack your things. I have an important business luncheon on the twenty-sixth and need to be back in Houston before the holiday.”
“I thought you were broke,” Amy whispered. “You filed for bankruptcy.”
He touched her shoulder in his familiar way, frowning, and she instinctively straightened like she always had. “Businesses come and go. You know that. The important thing is to always have more opportunities coming down the pipeline. Besides, this alimony thing doesn’t matter now that I’m willing to take you back.”
It sank in finally what he was saying. He thought she was just going to pack up and leave with him. What she wanted didn’t matter. It never mattered. “You . . . you’re not listening. I don’t want to go back.” She gestured at her house. “I have a life here.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t know what you want, Amy. You never have. This is just you crying for attention. I never thought you’d go this far, but we both know common sense isn’t one of your strong suits.” He chuckled as if that was funny. “But I love you and I’m willing to overlook things. Come on. Get your stuff together. The sooner we leave this hellhole, the better.”
Amy cleared her throat, shrugging off his hands. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you, Blake. I have a life here.” She choked on the words but managed to get them out. “I have a boyfriend.”
For a