Free 1512298433 (R) by Marquita Valentine

being flirty, but not Haven. And especially not with him.
    Husband or not.
    “We can wait until Monday to give your lawyer a call.”
    “She’s gone on vacation for the next two weeks.”
    “That long?”
    “Slow time of year,” Haven said, still twirling and un-twirling her hair.
    “Don’t you have a copy of the will?”
    Haven frowned. “It’s not something I wanted to keep. I have enough reminders of their deaths.”
    Sympathy rose inside of him. That he could understand. “If I didn’t say it before, you looked beautiful today.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. Honestly, I’m surprised you wore something so traditional.”
    “Did you think I’d wear black combat boots or something?” she snapped, all defensive.
    “The ones you wore in high school?”
    “No. I have new ones.”
    “They’re pink, aren’t they?”
    “Maybe.”
    That meant yes, her combat boots were very pink. “Honestly, I thought you would wear something more colorful.”
    “Why—so everyone could talk about me?”
    He glanced at her, noting the hurt on her face. “If you care that much about what people think of you, then why do you dress and talk the way you do?”
    “Why would I change myself to fit their standards?”
    “I didn’t say you had to, but you know how people are.”
    “That’s why nothing changes.”
    More than a little irritated by the direction their conversation had taken, he tried again. “I’ve never had a problem with the way you dress, your hair color, or your tattoos.”
    “Isn’t that special.”
    Keep ignoring her insults , he reminded himself. “In fact, I’ve always thought you were sexy.” He glanced at her again so he could see her reaction.
    She turned to him. “You’re a horrible liar.”
    “Not lying.”
    “Whatever.”
    “Believe what you want, but I’m telling you the truth.”
    She grew quiet. He turned up the radio and began to hum along.
    Leaning forward, she cut the volume down. “I wore the dress for your mother. Willow bought it for me. She tailored it and added more sparkly sequins and beads to make it more to my liking.”
    “She’s a really good friend.”
    “You’ve always had really good friends.” An image of Bella flashed in his mind, all of sixteen years old and scared to death as he held her hand in the emergency room.
    “Figures,” she muttered, along with something else he couldn’t make out.
    “What?”
    “The light’s changed.”
    A horn honked behind him.
    He pressed on the gas.
    The closer they got to the beach, the more Haven fidgeted. She played with her skirt, then adjusted the volume of the radio before tapping her fingers against her thigh. Then her leg started shaking.
    She was nervous. Did she think he was going to throw her over his shoulder and take her to bed?
    They both hit it and quit it.
    Involuntarily, his hands tightened around the steering wheel. That was exactly what she thought would happen with them, even if she would be the one quitting him by getting a divorce. She had already set them up for failure before the ink was even dry on the marriage certificate.
    But what could he do about it? Did he want to do something about it? Or just let things naturally progress? Honestly, he was in all-new territory. Not only was he married, but he was married to a woman who’d practically hated him his entire life and wanted a divorce as soon as possible.
    The entire thing was fucked up on every level, but Heath knew what he had to do.
    “That talk we had about your experiences and then when I was hitting on you while we were dancing…”
    “I remember.”
    “Don’t worry, Haven. All I plan to do this week is be in vacation mode. Maybe you should try it.”
    “Maybe you’re right,” she agreed, shocking him. “I can’t remember the last time I took one.”
    “Then prepare yourself, Mrs. Ambrose, I’m about to vacation you so good that you’ll never want to come back.”
    Haven huffed, but he caught a glimpse of the