Without You

But cordiality had been the furthest thing from Roberta’s mind. She hadn’t minced any words. “Jackson might marry you, Hallie, but it’ll always be me he loves.”

Hallie had been so taken aback by Roberta’s boldness and the venom in her tone, she’d been speechless, which had given Roberta the opportunity to add insult to injury.

“I guess if you’re prepared to share him, then by all means go ahead and marry him.”

Some time during Roberta’s tirade, Hallie had managed to regain her composure and her voice. “No way am I willing to share Jackson. But then, I don’t have to. He told me you’re no longer part of his life.”

Roberta gave a toss of her long red curls and spread her glossed lips into a confident smirk. “Then, he lied to you, my dear. I just saw him two days ago. We had lunch. Jackson will never forsake me for you or any other woman.”

With that bombshell, Roberta had swept regally to the door and walked out without looking back.

Feeling blindsided and enraged, Hallie had lost no time in confronting Jackson.

“Aw, baby,” he’d said, “she’s just spouting off. Don’t pay any attention to her.”

“Did you take her to lunch?”

“No.”

“But you did see her, didn’t you?”

“She’s a friend, Hallie, and that’s all.”

“That’s not what she says.”

“Whatever she told you is just wishful thinking on her part.”

“She said you loved her and always would.”

He swore. “Surely you don’t believe that.”

“After her vicious attack, I don’t know what to believe.”

His features softened, and his voice turned cajoling. “How can you say that? I love you more than anything else in this world. What we have is rare and special and has been from the beginning.”

“You never answered my question, Jackson.”

“What was it?” he said with less patience in his voice.

“Have you been seeing her?”

“Okay, she was strung-out on prescription drugs, and I helped bail her out of trouble.”

“Just once?”

“No. Twice.”

Hallie swept a hand through her hair, then peered at him, knowing he would see the agony in her eyes. “You have no intention of putting her out of your life, do you.”

“If you mean, am I going to just dump her forever, the answer is no.”

Her face turned hot. “Dumping was hardly what I had in mind.”

“Oh, I think it was.”

Hallie jutted her chin. “Look, maybe we need a cooling-off period. Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a while.”

“As in, not get married?” Jackson’s voice was filled with horror.

“Not anytime soon.”

“That’s crazy.” His tone revealed his shock. “You can’t mean that.”

“Oh, I mean it, all right. You’ve betrayed my trust, Jackson. In my view, that’s unforgivable.”

And she had meant every word. In light of her up-bringing, trust was a huge factor with her. When someone broke or violated a trust, for whatever reason, she hadn’t much use for them.

And that included Jackson.

“I won’t let you do this, Hallie.”

“It’s too late.” Before she realized what she was doing, she had pulled off her ring and handed it to him.

His face ashen and his lips stretched thin, he had walked out of her life.

That had been two years ago. But since seeing him today, those years seemed to have melted away.

Which scared her senseless.

She wanted no distractions. She only wanted to perfect and implement a new approach to divorce known as collaborative family law. The process, aimed at making divorce less acrimonious and more cooperative among the parties, was her claim to fame and her assurance of a partnership. Nothing must interfere.

Like Jackson’s, her rise to professional success had not been easy. The oldest of eight siblings, she was always responsible for someone other than herself. Her father had deserted her mother when her youngest sister, Darcy, was born. From then on, Hallie’s mother drilled into her that she should never trust a man for her livelihood or anything—that she could only count on herself.

Hallie’s only break from her dreary home life had been school, where she excelled in every subject with the help of her aunt, a successful attorney. Sharon Hunter was a strong woman who saw potential in Hallie and often brought her to her office.

There Hallie had learned about law and had become determined to become a lawyer when she grew up. Through scholarships and the help of her aunt Sharon, she had attended college and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science.

Her mother and her beloved aunt were now deceased, which technically placed her at the head of the family. Her siblings, with the exception of Darcy, were scattered over the United States and she rarely had contact with them.

Hallie’s drive to succeed was all the more reason to stay focused and maintain a safe distance from Jackson. While she was perfectly capable of handling criminal matters, having been successful in the many court appointments received through the firm, she specialized now in divorce law. The logical, smart thing to do would be to just turn Jackson over to Nathan James and not look back.

This time her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing doorbell. She panicked, thinking Jackson might have decided to pay her a visit. No, she thought, even he wouldn’t be that brazen. Getting up, she trudged to the door and peered through her peephole.

Opening it, she exclaimed, “Darcy. What on earth…?”

Six

Darcy Cox didn’t bother to answer Hallie. Instead she brushed past her, then collapsed onto the sofa in dramatic fashion, muttering obscenities under her breath. Hallie smothered a sigh and tried to control her mounting temper and burgeoning frustration.