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I glanced at my soon-to-be ex-wife, and she avoided my gaze. She took a sip of water and set her glass down gently. I watched her take a deep breath, as if she were preparing herself to say something difficult.
“I had you followed by a private investigator.”
I frowned. Normally, the anger would have flared up inside me but I tried to keep it at bay. She was struggling to say something, and I didn’t want to stop her. My whole attitude had shifted over this past week—ever since I’d met Veronica. Everything about me was more calm, so I just sat there and listened.
Angela continued. “He told me about your new girlfriend—the photographer. He showed me pictures. I saw what happened at the hotel bar with her ex-boyfriend. I saw a copy of the police report.” Her voice was strangled, and she took a deep breath before finally looking at me.
“My lawyer told me it was enough to break down any character references that you might be able to provide. He said that showing your aggression would be enough to get me whatever I wanted.”
I swallowed, my heart thumping. So she knew about everything that had happened in New York, and it would have been enough to take everything from me.
“So why didn’t you?”
“I saw the way you held her. He had pictures after you pushed her ex away, and you looked—” a sob shook through her, and she covered her face with her hand. Finally, she straightened herself up and took a deep breath. She turned and looked me straight in the eye. “You looked at her how you used to look at me. Before the drinking and the fame and everything that came between us.”
I hadn’t said much the whole time she was here. And at that moment, I don’t think I’d have been able to speak at all. The emotion was choking me. I struggled to swallow past the lump that had formed in my throat, so I just nodded.
Angela looked at me for a long moment. Then she shrugged. “I guess I just remembered that you’re not a bad person. Maybe we just bring out the worst in each other, and seeing those photos… I don’t know. I just remembered how things used to be.”
I still couldn’t speak. I nodded, and Angela smiled sadly. She put her hand on my shoulder and laid a soft kiss on my cheek.
“She looks wonderful, Carter. Good luck.”
She started walking back towards the front door, and finally I managed to speak. “Angela,” I called out. She turned around, her eyes glistening with tears.
“I… thank you.”
She nodded. “I’ll unblock you on Facebook so you can see pictures of Edgar.”
“I’d like that.”
She gave me a watery smile and then walked out the door, and I was alone again. I stared at the divorce papers and let out a big sigh. Veronica had come into my life and turned everything on its head—even my divorce. I shook my head and sent Vee a goodnight text before calling Bill again. I looked at the stack of legal documents in front of me and took a deep breath.
“Bill,” I said when he answered the phone. “You’ll never believe what I’m looking at right now.”
Chapter 21 - Veronica
The morning of the Grammys was exciting. I went to bed with a goodnight text from Carter, and woke up to a good morning text from him as well. I smiled, and then jumped out of bed and got ready.
I would meet Lacie at a hotel near the Staples Centre, where we’d prep the band for the red carpet. Then, we’d head backstage and meet them before their performance to make sure they looked perfect.
From there, it was up to them to play how we all knew they could and get this album launched.
I glanced around the hotel room while Lacie got her makeup and hair supplies ready. “Thank God we get to watch the show from backstage. If I was stuck in this hotel room all evening I think I’d go crazy.”
“At least there’s a mini bar,” Lacie said, walking over and cracking open a tiny bottle of whiskey.
My eyebrow arched and I grinned. Looks like her time with Maddox had been pretty transformative. “When did you turn into a little rebel?”
“We can just bill it to the band,” Lacie laughed. “I’m about to be married to one of them, after all.”
I laughed and shook my head. This week had been insane. “Is that still going down?”
Lacie nodded, and then started laughing with me. “It’s so ridiculous, but Vee, it feels good.”
“Good.”
The door opened, and Maddox and Carter appeared. I put her hands on my hips.
