Chapter 12
I saw the exact second those words hit him.
His face drained of color.
“That’s impossible,” he said.
“Is it?” I asked. “The papers are filed.”
Cole stared at me like he wanted to rip the sentence apart and inspect it for weakness.
Then he laughed again, but it sounded frayed now. “This is theater. You’re doing this to get back at me.”
I almost pitied him.
Almost.
“I didn’t marry Ethan to get back at you,” I said. “I divorced you to save myself.”
The room went quiet.
Selena’s fingers tightened on Cole’s sleeve.
Ethan reached into his coat pocket, pulled out an invitation, and held it out.
“We were going to send one to your office,” he said. “This saves us the trouble.”
Cole looked at the invitation, then at Ethan, then back at me.
Slowly, deliberately, he took it.
He read the names on the front.
Ava Hale and Ethan Vale.
His hand started to shake.
Then, without warning, he crumpled the invitation and threw it into the trash.
Selena startled. Ethan’s expression cooled.
I didn’t even blink.
“That was tacky,” I said.
Cole’s breathing had gone shallow. “You think I’m going to sit there and watch you marry someone else?”
I tilted my head. “I don’t think about what you’ll do at all.”
That, more than anything, seemed to break something in him.
He stepped forward, but Ethan’s body blocked him completely now.
The boutique staff stiffened. Selena grabbed Cole’s arm. “Cole, stop. People are watching.”
He shook her off.
His eyes were locked on me.
“Do you really think he knows what you look like without makeup?” Cole asked Ethan, voice sharp with contempt. “You might want to see her first thing in the morning before you sign your life away.”
The entire boutique went still.
I felt Ethan tense.
Then he laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not loudly. Just enough.
Cole frowned. “What’s funny?”
Ethan slipped an arm around my waist and drew me lightly against his side. “Cole, I was in love with her before you ever learned how to pronounce loyalty.”
Cole’s face went blank.
Ethan looked almost bored when he added, “I know what she looks like crying, angry, exhausted, sick, asleep, half-awake, and trying to make coffee at two in the morning. Trust me. I’m not worried.”
Selena went pale.
I looked up at Ethan and smiled despite myself.
Cole saw it.
Something in his expression twisted so violently it was almost frightening.