But when she woke up, the wall had been pulled and she could hear Nathan talking to what sounded like two men on the other side of it. She climbed out of bed. Her nether regions still felt a little raw but her curiosity won out over any physical pain she was experiencing at the moment.
She slipped a sundress over her head and tied her hair back in a low puff before venturing out into the common area where Nathan sat in the living room with two silver-haired men dressed in suits. When they saw her, they both stood.
“Ms. Matthews,” one of them said. “It’s my pleasure to meet you. I’m Bernard Wright and this is my partner, Graham Hastings. We’re Mr. Sinclair’s lawyers.”
“Hi,” Layla said. “It’s nice to meet you both.” But she gave Nathan, who remained seated on the couch, a quizzical look. What were his lawyers doing at his apartment on a Monday night?
“We’re done here,” Nathan said to them. “You can go.”
The two men nodded. “If you have any questions about the paperwork, just give us a call at the office,” Graham said.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Layla asked. “It’s the least we could do. You came all the way over here.”
Nathan regarded her with amusement in his eyes. “They can’t stay, Layla. They were just about to leave.”
“Yes,” Bernard said. “It’s best we go, but congratulations Ms. Matthews. Again, call us if you have any questions about the paperwork.”
He indicated what looked like four copies of a rather thick contract sitting on the coffee table. Then, despite their invitation to come to them with questions, they headed out the door before Layla could ask them any.
“What was that all about?” she asked Nathan once they were gone.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Still sore?”
“Just a little bit,” she said. “But why did your lawyers just congratulate me?”
“Sit down, Layla.” He moved to the side, so she could take a seat beside him.
Layla sat but she stared at the contracts as she did so until it occurred to her: “Oh my gosh, are you letting me out of the other contract? Is that what this is all about?”
“Yes,” he said. “This contract makes the other one null and void.”
She gasped and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him all over his hard-edged face. “Thank you! I’m so happy you’re doing this.”
“Wait, Layla.” He stopped her kisses, cupping her shoulders to keep her in place. “This contract makes the other one null and void on the condition that you marry me.”
She leaned back from him. “What?”
“It’s a very generous pre-nup. If you sign it, not only will the other contract be null and void as long as you’re my wife, but in the event we end up divorcing, you’ll be very well taken care of.”
“Oh, wow, you’re seriously pitching this to me.” Layla moved away from him, realizing the full extent of his plan. “You think if you let me stay without some legal claim, I’ll leave you for Andrew.”
He didn’t answer, but the tic in his jaw was all the answer she needed. “And does the contract also have a clause that if we get divorced, then I still have to leave town?”
“I wouldn’t care to share a city with my ex-wife, especially if she—” he broke off, but Layla didn’t need him to finish to understand. If she left him for Andrew, then yes, she’d once again be forced to leave Pittsburgh.
She shook her head, “You really don’t trust me.”
“It’s not about trust, it’s about continuing this relationship under terms I can deal with.”
She stood up. “No, it’s about trust. I love you and you don’t trust me at all. Why would you want to be with someone you don’t trust?”
“I don’t want to be you,” he yelled, also standing up. “Don’t you get it? No, I don’t trust you after what you did, and because of that, I don’t want to be with you. But I’m obsessed with you. If I could figure out a way to not be, believe me I would have employed it six ways to Sunday already. Sign the pre-nup, Layla.”
And just like that, they were back in front of her apartment building, with him demanding she consign their relationship to a legal document. “No,” she said.
He pointed at her, his face turning vicious. “Don’t say no. You know how ruthless I can be. And you know I will get my way with this.”
“Not this time,” she said, pointing right back at him. “I understand what’s going on now, and I’m not going to let you do this to us.”
“This is the only way there can be an us.”
“No, it isn’t. Not if you decide to just trust me. I love you, now you have to trust me if you want us to be together.”
He shook his head. “If you really love me like you claim to—”
“I don’t claim,” she said. “I do. I love you so much. My heart belongs to you, not your brother, not any other man. To you.”
His face by this point had turned red with anger. “Then sign the pre-nup and marry me, goddammit.”
“No,” she yelled back. “Not like this.”
They stood there at an impasse, both breathing hard. She was angry at him for making this so difficult, but she could sense he was angry at her for the exact same reason. At her job Layla was known for her easy ways, for her ability to be flexible and work with just about anyone from the crankiest patients to the despondent ones who didn’t believe they’d ever get better. But Nathan had a way of finding all of her no-go zones. She couldn’t give in to him on this, but she knew he also wouldn’t cave.
Finally she said, “I’m sorry I hurt you ten years ago, but you can’t keep punishing me. You either have to trust me or let me go.”
He kept his eyes on the unsigned contracts, obviously too furious to speak.
Tears pooled in Layla’s eyes for the second time that day. “Then I guess we’ve got our answer.”
She began to walk back to the bedroom, prepared to get her things and wait out the rest of the contract period in her apartment. She suddenly couldn’t bear this, being in love with someone who couldn’t forgive her. “I’m going back to my apartment.”
But before she’d even taken two steps, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “No,” he said. “We still have eleven days. You promised, and I’m assuming I can still trust you to keep your promises.”