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was burning her skin. The screen lit up the dark living room, a
ing to do it. He was going to sue her, and wo
er throat. Outside, the rain lashed against the windowpanes, the wind howling like a livin
from her dad. Just checking i
hanging by a thread, her savings were wiped out, and now Gerry was thre
of her doorbell cut throu
a thunderstorm. She walked slowly toward the door, her bare feet si
ouldn't make out a face, just the broad out
her voice trembling despite
s Gr
h her system. Graham. Graham Lawson. The boy from
y, and pulled the door open just an inch. A g
. His white t-shirt was translucent, clinging to the muscles of his chest, and his jeans were heavy with rain. He looked like a
her mind going completel
e, mar
ing for the punchline, waiting for the lightning to crack and r
he finall
e low and rough, cutting through
lam it shut. "You show up at my door in the middle of a hurri
palm pressed flat against the wood, the strength i
aimie. Let me in.
othing to t
for argument. "Or I'll stand out here until the whole
nstinct warred in her chest, but the sheer absurdity of the situation, com
ened t
suddenly suffocating. A wave of nausea hit her as she watched the dirty water seep into the fibers of the mat. Her skin crawled, and she h
reaching for a sanitizing wipe in the hall closet before he even caught it. He c
ossing her arms over her ch
"She just had bypass surgery. She's coming back to East C
kly swallowed by confusion. "I'm sorry to hear tha
n Washington. My family... it's complicated. They have certain expectations, and they want me back there as soon as possible. A marriage, a loca
up and down. He hadn't mentioned
onto a chair. "I don't have time for dating, and I don't have time
replaced by a cold anger.
rd Gerry Brady is suing you. I heard he's threatening your father
opped. "How do
I can make Gerry Brady go away, Jaimie. I can make all of
father's worried text flashed in her mind. The m
sed to know, but there was only a stranger lookin
al agreement. No shared assets, no interference in each other's personal lives, a
wanted him to argue so she co
said without
d. "Just l
like
the keyboard, pulling up a basic template. She modified it with the legal knowledg
rinted it out. Two copies. B
ument, his eyes scanning the lines. Then he pulled the paper toward him
dential from all family members
at her. "Add
om her parents? From his sick mother? It was insan
he line, then signed her name with
, freezing the moment in stark white ligh
ht o'clock. I'll pick
t into the storm. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Jaimie standing alo
lutched in her hand. The apartment smelled like rain and the f
, trying to calm her racing heart. It was just a piece of paper. It was
ad t
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