“The one you’re here for.”
Emily blinked and averted her gaze. She kept clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides. “Oh, right. Yes. Um, it’s a baking workshop. There’s this world-class chef who’s holding it,so I thought it would be a good chance for me to broaden my horizons.”
“Definitely, although I honestly can’t imagine your goods doing any better.”
Emily’s smile was genuine this time. “That’s sweet, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Amy shifted from one side to the other. “Of course.”
“So, I saw you and William at support group the other day. You two seem like you’re hitting it off.”
“He’s a nice man. It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone I can actually call a friend.”
Emily bumped her shoulder against Amy’s and gave her a knowing smile. “A friend, huh?”
“I’m too old to be thinking of anything else. Besides, neither of us are in a place to consider it. Not like you and Jack.”
Emily blushed and averted her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Amy draped an arm over Emily’s shoulders and chuckled. “Sure, you don’t. But if you did, I’d tell you not to waste any time getting hung up on semantics or playing games. You already know that life’s too short.”
Emily’s expression turned sad. “Yeah, I know, but it feels wrong. Trevor and I… We were supposed to be it, you know.”
“No one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want.” Amy gave Emily’s shoulders another squeeze before releasing them. “Just keep an open mind and an open heart, okay?”
Emily’s phone buzzed, and she stood. “I will. I’m sorry to do this, but I do have to go. Are you going to be okay on your own?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you a call when I’m done.”
“Absolutely. We can do lunch or something.” Emily shifted from one foot to the other and tugged on her skirt again. “Are you sure there’s no one in the city you want to call for moral support?”
Amy’s stomach tightened. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”
With one last guilty smile, Emily darted off in the direction of the elevators, walking past rows and rows of cubicles on her way. She gave Amy one last wave before the elevator doors pinged shut, and a sense of finality and doom settled on Amy’s shoulders.
The urge to race down the stairs and run out of the building returned tenfold.
She had no idea how to get rid of it or find any of the confidence and bravado that made her pursue a divorce in the first place. The city was Eric’s playground, and she was sure there were already eyes and ears on her in every corner.
Was Eric spying on her while she sat there, crossing and uncrossing her legs?
Was he smirking at his phone screen and coming up with new and inventive ways to belittle her?
As glad as Amy was that Emily was far out of his reach, she hated knowing she might have to face Eric and his shark of a lawyer alone. A part of her wanted to call Kate again, if only to give her something to do, but the other part of her knew she couldn’t nag.
Not unless she wanted Kate not to take her seriously.
She wasn’t a child trembling at the thought of her bully.
Amy was a grown woman with thoughts and feelings of her own, and the sooner she learned how to stand up for herself, the better they were all going to be.
After clinging to that thought, Amy sank back against the chair and linked her fingers together.
A long moment passed where nothing happened.
Sighing, she picked up a magazine and began to flip through it. While she waited for her lawyer to arrive, Amy considered, for the umpteenth time, whether or not she should let her children know she was in the city.
Considering how tense and awkward the last few phone calls were, she didn’t want to make things worse.
