Hot Finish (Fast Track #3)(13)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Her eyes went wide and she shoved her chair back, away from him. “No!”

Ryder suppressed the urge to grin. “Why not? It doesn’t change anything, you said it yourself.”

She recovered and stuck out her finger. “Don’t get smart with me. Kissing you was a mistake.”

“So you admit you kissed me back?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I never said I didn’t. Now drop it. It was a bad idea.”

“That’s just your opinion.” Ryder settled back into his chair, getting more comfortable. “I happen to think it was a damn good idea.”

“But you also admitted you’re not very bright.”

That drew out a short laugh from him. “Throwing my own words back in my face. I love it.”

I love you, was on the tip of his tongue before he caught himself.

Unnerved by how easily that thought had popped into his head, he sat straight up.

Did he still love Suzanne?

He wasn’t sure.

There were feelings there, definitely, a sense of caring and a physical attraction, a soft spot for her, and a desire to see that she was financially secure and well taken care of. Was that love, though, or just strong feelings for a woman he’d been married to?

Ryder cleared his throat when Suzanne picked up her phone and dialed the lawyer’s office.

“You know, we never even got confirmation from him that this time was good for him,” she said. “You might have driven over here for no reason.”

Again, he’d have to disagree with her. He’d had every reason to want to see her after that kiss. Now he was glad he had. It seemed he had some serious shit to consider when it came to his ex-wife.

Wife. Still wife.

“I wasn’t busy,” he told her, which was a lie. There were a million things he could be doing on any given day, as his PR person would gladly remind him.

But it turned out that the lawyer, Jackson Reed, a guy Ryder had known from high school, was perfectly willing to talk to them.

“It’s crazy that you’re still married, isn’t it?” Jackson said, a chuckle in his voice.

Suzanne had put her phone on speaker and set it on the table. “Yeah, it’s just hilarious,” she said, rolling her eyes. “So what do we do to fix it? And do I have to file an amendment to my taxes?”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to file a correction. You’ve been claiming alimony as income, when technically that’s not income, just an allowance from your husband. So this will actually work in your favor.”

“Don’t we have to file jointly?”

“No. Given that you don’t have any mortgage interest, this is simpler and quicker to just do it this way. I’ll talk to the accountant and we’ll get it straightened out.”

Suzanne gave a sigh of relief. “Alright, that sounds good. Because I don’t want some massive tax bill biting me in the ass.”

Ryder didn’t want that either, because then he would pay it, and Suzanne would be even more pissed at him.

“It’s all good, we’ll get it straightened out.” Jackson didn’t sound worried about anything whatsoever. Then again Jackson was the one who had never followed up on the paperwork in the first place. “And it’s Ryder who is being audited, not you, Suzanne.”

Suzanne shot him a funny look, like she realized how tacky that was of Jackson to say with him sitting right there. “Well, I don’t think anyone wants to get audited but hopefully between you and the accountant we can have this straightened out by the first of the year. The taxes as well as the divorce.”

Ryder figured it was time he piped in and actually proved to Suzanne that he was contributing. “What do we actually need to do to make the divorce legal?”

“There will be a court date. I’ll get you one as soon as possible. We’ll go into court, they’ll ask some basic questions, and bam, we’re done. I think I can get you a date in the next month or so.”

“Good, because come January my schedule is jam-packed.” And he didn’t want to screw this up again, because Suz would skin him.

“Now, just to make sure, before we go to all this trouble, is this really what you all want?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you really want a divorce?”

Ryder wasn’t sure, to be honest. He had strange feelings swirling around in him, ones that made him very uncomfortable.

Suzanne, on the other hand, seemed to have no reservations.

“Are you smoking crack?” Suzanne asked, staring down at her phone like Jackson could see her incredulous expression. “We’ve been separated for two years! I don’t think we’re going to reconcile at this point, Jackson.”

Nothing like telling it like it was.

Glad to hear he was totally delusional for even thinking for one second that Suzanne had put some genuine emotion behind that kiss the night before.

“Ryder?” Jackson asked. “That your answer, too?”

Suzanne’s head swung toward him, her eyes snapping, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a little bit scared.

“Sure,” he said calmly. “Nothing there to save, Jackson. Is there, Suz?”

CHAPTER FIVE

MAYBE Suzanne had spoken a little too vehemently. She knew immediately she’d hurt Ryder, which hadn’t been her intention. But when he got that cool, detached look on his face, she always knew she’d pushed him too far, and he was retreating into nonchalance.

Funny thing is, for the first time she saw with total clarity it was a pattern they’d had for years. She panicked, used sarcasm to hide her emotions, and Ryder retreated behind a shield of bravado and mockery.

It was a stunning revelation, one she wasn’t at all sure what to do with, and one she definitely didn’t like.

“Just get us our court date,” she told Jackson, watching Ryder uneasily. “And please call me as soon as you know. Is there anything else you need from us right now?”

Ryder was sitting back in his chair, looking very relaxed, which made Suzanne nervous. It was a deceptive stance. She could tell by the set of his jaw that he was downright furious.

“No, I’m good. You all have a good day, and don’t worry. I’m on this. You’ll be divorced before you can say Daytona.”

That got a reaction from Ryder. His hand jumped a little on the table.

Suzanne cleared her throat and rushed Jackson off the phone. After she hung up, she clasped her phone and turned to look at Ryder. “Well, um . . .”