“Yep, but nothing can be done until tomorrow, so stop stressing about it.”
“But I like to be stressed,” I murmur, and Coop laughs, his hand landing on my thigh.
“Apparently, but is it so bad, being married to me?”
I eye him and nod. “It’s wretched. I’m miserable.”
He grins and then knocks his shoulder into me. “You love it. Secretly. You love being married to a gay man.”
“Fuck off. I do not.”
“You do know that getting this annulled or a divorce is going to be expensive? As are my lawyer fees.”
I stare at him, the thought not having crossed my mind. “How expensive?”
He shrugs. “Thousands, probably.”
“Well, you can take care of it then. You have money.” And I don’t. I’m so far in the hole, I’ll have to save for ages to pay for this.
He bites his lip and moves his gaze away from me, looking mischievous.
“What’s that look for?”
“I’m not going to pay for it, Matthew.”
My eyebrows rise, and I look at him perplexed. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I don’t want to. I don’t like giving things away for free. Sets terrible expectations.”
I huff at that. “You’re such an asshole. I hate you right now.”
He shrugs and then eyes me again. “I’m sure we could come up with some kind of payment plan though. Make it even.”
That gives me a little hope that things will soon be back to normal again, although it’ll take years for me to pay thousands off. I already have my car in the shop, not to mention my maxed-out credit card bills which are accruing interest on a monthly basis. The payment plans on each one cause my throat to close in panic whenever I think about it.
I should have gone into finance like Max and Mitch. At least they have money to survive. Unlike me. But truthfully, I was never good with numbers. So the finance sector wasn’t realistic. My dream was to go into special ed, to help kids like me who struggle with learning, but apparently teaching was girly, so I settled for athletics instructor. I don’t hate it, and I am good at it—sports is the one thing I’ve always excelled in—and it shut my dad up about my career choice too.
But financially, I’ve made a huge mistake going into teaching. Actually, it seems I’ve made several mistakes, including marrying Coop.
I stew on all of this until we arrive at the restaurant, a twenties-themed tapas place that has ridiculously expensive dishes the size of my pinkie finger. I’ll just order one, unless Coop decides he’s paying, then maybe I can splurge. Again. Seems to be an ongoing theme with the two of us.
We stand outside the door, waiting for everyone to arrive, the hostess unable to seat us until our entire party arrives. Coop keeps glancing up at me and then down at his phone, seeming both pleased and curious. I don’t even want to know what has him acting like this.
“Honestly, Matthew. Why are you frowning?” he finally asks, and I fold my arms across my chest.
“You know why.”
“Hm, maybe you should remind me. I’m at a loss.”
“Because I’m married to you and you’re an asshole who won’t help me get this divorce settled despite having tons of money at your fingertips.”
He huffs and his lips twitch. “It’s not my fault you can’t afford a divorce. Don’t blame me for that.”
I roll my eyes and glance away, feeling my cheeks heat at the truth of it. I should have saved a little better over the years. Perhaps if I’d done that then everything would be resolved tomorrow. But I don’t have anything like that.
Not a cent to my name.
“I did some digging; seems you’re quite in the financial hole.”