The Edge of Eternity

She moistened her lips. “I want to talk about…us. Our…arrangement.” She hesitated. “It’s not working, Paul. For either of us.”

“Arrangement?” He frowned. “Do you mean our marriage?”

“Yes.” She drew a breath. “I want a divorce.”

“A divorce,” he repeated in a voice she’d never heard him use before. She couldn’t quite figure out what it meant.

She sucked in another breath. “Our marriage isn’t working, and it hasn’t been for a long time. What we once had…is gone. We can’t get it back. It’s no one’s fault. We just have to accept it.”

“As easy as that.”

“Nothing about this is easy,” she said on a whisper. “But I can’t go on this way. It’s too painful. I’d rather…it would better for both of us if we just…made a clean break.”

“So you not only want a divorce, you also want a clean break. How do you plan to accomplish that?” His gaze deepened as he stared at her over the candlelight.

“I’m thinking of moving back to Chicago,” she said.

One brow lifted slightly. “Really? And what does your business partner have to say about your plans? Or haven’t you told her yet?”

“We’ve discussed it briefly.” Elizabeth paused. “Nothing’s definite. I haven’t made any firm decisions. All I know is that—”

“You want a divorce.”

“Yes.” When he said nothing else, Elizabeth glanced at him. “Surely you don’t want to go on like this either. If you were free, you could start a new life. You could find someone else. Maybe…you already have,” she said hesitantly.

If possible, his expression grew even darker. “Just what are you implying, Elizabeth?”

She couldn’t do it after all, Elizabeth discovered. She couldn’t confront him with what she’d seen earlier that day. Because she didn’t want to see the truth in his eyes, she supposed.

But she couldn’t hide from the image. It came back to her now, and she had to swallow back a wave of panic. Paul and another woman…

She closed her eyes for a moment, willing away the image. “I’m not implying anything. I just thought that if you were free, you might meet someone else. Someone who could be the kind of wife to you that you need.”

“Please don’t presume to know what I need.” He scooted back his chair and stood abruptly. It was the first time he’d shown any emotion during the conversation, and his anger seemed to take him by surprise. He strode into the kitchen for a moment, and when he came back out, he had his feelings firmly under control. His expression was a mask of indifference as he stood behind his chair, gazing down at her. “Just answer one question for me.”

“Of course. If I can.”

“Do you still love me?”

The question caught Elizabeth off guard and hit her like a fist to her solar plexus. Breathless, she glanced down at her laced fingers. She couldn’t look at Paul when she answered. “I’ll always love you. But it isn’t enough anymore.”

“That’s such a cliché,” he said bitterly.

And now it was Elizabeth who felt a quick stab of anger. “It’s a cliché because it happens to be the truth! I do love you, Paul, but I’m not…I can’t be married to you anymore. It hurts too much. Every time I look at you…” She trailed off and put a trembling hand to her mouth.

“You see our son.”

She nodded. “And every time you look at me, you must think of the accident. You have to ask yourself over and over why I chose that moment to take my eyes off the road.”

“You’re wrong.” He clenched his fists at his sides. “I’ve never blamed you for what happened. No one was at fault except the drunken bastard who decided to get behind the wheel of his car that day.”

“But if I hadn’t looked away—”

“Elizabeth, don’t. We can’t change the past.”

“I know that. But we can change the future. We can try to salvage something of our lives. You deserve to be happy, Paul. We both do.”

“And you think a divorce will make us happy?”

Elizabeth shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know. All I do know is that I can’t go on like this.”

He turned away for a moment, running his hand through his dark hair. When he looked back at her, his eyes had gone so cold and distant that Elizabeth wanted to cry. “All right. You can have your divorce. I won’t try to stop you. You can have the condo, the savings, whatever you want.” When she started to protest, his dark gaze silenced her. “But I am going to need something from you.”

An edge in his voice made her frown. “What is it?”

He shrugged. “A little time, that’s all. I’m in the middle of negotiations for another multimillion-dollar hotel, and for a number of reasons some of the investors are getting skittish. If even one of them pulls out, it could have a domino effect on the others. And if they get wind that my personal life is in upheaval, they might lose faith in my ability to put this deal together. I don’t want that to happen. I can’t let it happen. My career is on the line here, Elizabeth, so I’m going to need you to put the divorce proceedings on hold for the time being.”

Elizabeth’s frown deepened. “For how long?”

“A couple of weeks. A month at the most. It’s not much to ask, is it?”

“No, I suppose not.” Although now that the decision was made, Elizabeth just wanted it over and done with. “Will you be staying here until then?”

He shrugged again. “My moving out would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?” He smiled over the flickering candles, but there was no humor in his dark eyes. “The investor I’m most concerned about is a man named Boyd Carter. He was one of the major backers in the Fernhaven project and he’ll be at the retreat next weekend, along with some of the potential investors.”

“The preopening celebration, you mean. I saw the invitation earlier,” Elizabeth said.

“One came here?” He seemed surprised by that. “I received one at the office, too. I suspect you and Frankie will be getting one at the shop. At any rate, if I can get a few moments alone with Carter, I think I can allay his concerns. Once he’s sold on the deal, the others will fall in line. If everything goes the way I expect it to, you can file for divorce as soon as we get back.”

She stared at him for a moment. “When we get back?”

“I’m hoping that you’ll go with me. Carter is big on family. If we’re seen together—”

“Wait a minute,” Elizabeth said in dismay. “You want me to convince him that we have a happy marriage just so you can work a deal with him? That’s ridiculous. And dishonest.”

“I’m not asking you to lie,” Paul said coolly. “And, yes, it is ridiculous that in this day and age my personal life should come under scrutiny before a relic like Carter will do business with me. But that’s just the way it is.” His gaze met hers. “All I’m asking is for you to spend the weekend at Fernhaven with me. You don’t have to put on an act. Just be yourself. Do you think you could do that much for me?”

“I don’t—”

She’d been about to refuse. Going away for a weekend together was no way to start a separation. But before she could get the words out, the balcony door flew open, startling them both as the draft blew out the candles.

Elizabeth gave a tiny surprised cry, but Paul merely flipped on a light and went over to investigate the door.

“The latch is sticking,” he muttered as he closed the door. “I’ll need to get someone here to fix it before we leave.” He tried the door a few more times, then glanced up. “What do you say, Elizabeth? Do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” she said on a sigh. “We have a deal.”

But that wasn’t what she’d meant to say at all.