Cautious.
Gentle.
Like two people who had been handed something fragile and were both trying not to drop it.
My phone buzzed.
My lawyer.
*Ready when you are.*
I looked at Nathan.
“I need to think,” I said.
“Not here.
Not today.”
“I know.”
“I’m not saying yes to anything.
I’m not saying no.
I just need time.”
“Take whatever you need.”
I stood up.
Claire stood up too, instinctively, like she wasn’t sure of the protocol but wanted to get it right.
“It was good to meet you,” I said to her.
“Under different circumstances, I think I would have liked to do this properly.”
“Me too,” she said.
“I hope we still can.”
I walked back toward my lawyer.
Behind me, I heard Nathan exhale — long and slow, like he’d been holding it since the moment I walked into that courthouse.
Tessa was waiting outside.
She had a coffee in each hand and the expression she always wore when she was trying not to say *I told you so* — which meant she had something to say.
“I saw Nathan go in,” she said, handing me a cup.
“I figured you’d need this.”
“You were right.”
We walked to a bench near the parking lot and sat down.
