He swore. Some of her points could be considered valid when viewed from a slightly different perspective. But her perspective was wrong—the tweaks to the deal were good for everyone. “What do you want?”
“A divorce! The same thing I’ve wanted since day one. I fail to understand how or when that fact became confusing to you.”
“It’s not confusing.” He refused to lose control of the conversation. She needed him, and his job was to help her realize it. “I know that’s what you think you want. But it’s not.”
“Oh, well, everything is so clear now. Are you aware of the fact that you talk in circles most of the time? Or is it deliberate, to bewilder your opponent into giving up?”
“Here’s some straight talk for you. We’re good together. We have fun, and I like being with you. You’re fascinating, compelling, inspiring and all of that is out of bed. In bed…” He whistled. “Amazing. Beyond compare. I’ve told you this. No circles then. No circles now. Why can’t you see a divorce is not what you need?”
“Do you hear yourself?” she asked so softly he strained to pick up the words. “Your whole argument was about why a divorce is not what you need. My needs are foreign to you. And you’ve spent the last few months fooling me into believing the opposite, with the dresses and taking care of me and pretending you were interested in the shelter because you wanted to help me.”
“I do want to help you,” he snapped. God Almighty, she pushed his limits. Stubborn as a stripped screw. He forced his tone back into the realm of agreeable before he gave away the fact that she’d gotten to him. “You’re mad because it was mutually beneficial? That’s what made the original deal so attractive. We both got value out of it. Why is it so bad to continue the tradition?”
“All lies! Matthew left and now you’re hot for a wife who’ll give you a baby. You’re too lazy to go find one, so you thought, ‘Hey, I already have a wife. I’ll hang on to her.’”
Lazy? She was more work than a roomful of spoiled debutantes and jaded supermodels. Yet there was not one woman he’d want long-term besides Cia. They were compatible on every level, and the thought of living his life without her—well, it wasn’t a picture he liked. Why else would he be talking about it? “I get the feeling anything I say at this point would be wrong.”
“Now you’re onto something. There’s no defense for any of it, least of all compromising the shelter site. If a woman’s abuser finds the shelter, he might kill her. Do you understand how horrible your cavalier attitude is? Do you have any clue how it made me feel when I realized what those men were talking about?”
“I’m sorry. I do understand how important discretion is. It was a mistake. But I stand by my offer to find another site.”
“How magnanimous of you,” she said with a sneer. “I’m not stupid, Wheeler. You got me all excited about it, then oh, no. Bring in the entire upper crust of Dallas, so everyone knows where the shelter is. Oops. You sabotaged that site, hoping to buy time to talk me out of the divorce. Maybe accidentally get pregnant in the meantime.”
Was she listening to anything he had said? He’d apologized twice already. “Compromising the site might have been the result but that was not my inten—”
“Betrayed. That’s how I felt when I stood there listening to my entire world crumble around me.”
Everything with Cia was a hundred times more effort than it needed to be, which he knew good and well she did on purpose to keep everyone at bay. But why was she still doing it with him? Hadn’t they gotten past this point already? “That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?”
There came a tear, finally, sliding down her cheek. “Melodramatic? You broke my heart, Lucas!”
“What?” Every organ in his chest ground to a halt, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the lone tear laden with despair and hurt.
No. No way. This marriage was about the benefits, both physically and business-wise. She needed his unique contribution to the relationship. Period.
He’d been one hundred percent certain she was on board with that. Hurt and feelings and messiness weren’t part of the deal. And when the deal fell apart, he walked away. Usually.
But he was still here.
She dashed away the teardrop, but several more replaced it. “Surprised me, too.”
All of this was too fast. Too much to process. “Whoa. What are you saying?”
“Same thing I’ve been saying. Since you have to file for the divorce, I have no power here. Therefore, I’m leaving, and I have to trust you’ll eventually find another potential mother for your next generation, at which point I’ll get my divorce. Clear enough for you?”