The Pre-Nup Read Online Free Page B

retirement…
    “Very nice.” She glanced at the ring, but didn’t pick it up. “But do you have anything a little less, uh, flashy?”
    Roger’s ingratiating simper wilted. “What did you have in mind?”
    She stood up and started scanning the display cases. “I want something understated but chic.” She paused and tapped the polished glass. “Something like that.”
    Roger sighed. “The tiny sapphires?”
    “I like the blue.” Mara nodded. “Gives the whole thing a little kick.”
    “Matches your eyes,” Josh said.
    She and Josh indulged in another totally shameless public display of affection while the salesman grudgingly unlocked the display case and pulled out the sapphire-studded band. “I’ll give you two a moment,” he said, then escaped to find more commission-worthy prey.
    “You realize, of course, that we’re making people physically ill,” Mara murmured.
    “Uh-huh.” Josh’s lips smiled against hers.
    “We’re the couple that everyone hates.”
    He started kissing his way down toward her neck. “They’re just jealous.”
    “I told you booze and jewelry was a dangerous combo.” She slid her hand underneath his dark green wool jacket, where her fingers encountered a bulky lump in the lining’s inner pocket. “What’s this?”
    “Oh.” He ran his hands through his hair as she extracted a thick sheaf of folded papers. “That’s just the new draft of the pre-nup. I was going to give it back to you earlier, but this didn’t really seem to be the right time. Kind of kills the mood, you know?”
    “Don’t be like that.” Mara kept her smile flirty and her tone light. “There’s no need to feel weird about it. I know it’s annoying and uptight and all, but—”
    “Yeah, yeah. You attorneys. Always with the worst-case scenarios.” Josh’s smile faded. “Doesn’t it seem a little defeatist to be talking about divorce before we’re even married?”
    “No,” she said firmly. “It’s not defeatist at all. It’s just common sense. A mere formality.” Mara had always believed that couples like Josh and herself—couples who were going to make it to their golden anniversary and beyond—had nothing to fear from a fair and sensible contract protecting the assets they’d accumulated before they said “I do.”
    “Yeah, well.” He scuffed at the carpet with the toe of his black leather Rockports. “I got a lawyer to look over the PDF file you sent, and he basically said the same thing you did: standard stuff, very straightforward.”
    “So we’re all set? Then let’s move on to more pressing matters. Like our honeymoon.” She put her hand back on his chest.
    “Well…” Josh still wouldn’t meet her eyes. “We’re almost all set. My guy reworded a few sentences for clarification, added a short clause or two, nothing major.”
    “Nothing major?” Mara narrowed her eyes as her bullshit detector kicked into high gear. “Like what, exactly?”
    “All his changes are in red ink. Look, let’s do this later. Right now, we’ll get back to picking out rings and—”
    She skimmed through the dense legalese with practiced efficiency. “Okay…fine…okay…Hold up.” Her eyes widened as she spied a brand-new clause inserted at the end of the pre-nup’s third page. “What the
hell
is this?”
    Mara had never had a panic attack—she always preferred fight over flight—but for a few paralyzing seconds, she honestly thought she might pass out right there on the plush green carpet. Her palms started to sweat, her heart raced, and the only thing that kept her on her feet was the thought of Roger’s big furry head looming over her to administer CPR.
    Josh’s voice sounded distant. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
    She staggered backward, swaying on her high-heeled boots.
    “Don’t get upset, I can explain.”
    “You don’t have to explain anything!” Her hip slammed into the glass counter and she knew she’d develop a bruise later, but right now, the pain didn’t