He was finished with letting what he’d felt for Olivia control him. There was no question he was finished putting up with Noelle. Although he’d been shackled to both women, for different reasons, he was breaking free...
Taking a deep breath, he smiled. Maybe he did feel a little elated.
18
As soon as she got off the phone with Kyle, Noelle called Olivia, but Olivia didn’t pick up. It took three attempts before she did.
“Hello?”
At last. When Olivia answered, Noelle could tell by the thickness of her voice that she’d been sleeping.
“Noelle? Is that you?” she said when Noelle didn’t immediately respond.
Drawing out her sister’s wait for dramatic effect, Noelle fiddled with the faucet on her kitchen sink. It’d started leaking about five minutes ago, and nothing she’d tried had fixed the problem. She needed a plumber—for this and to install a new water heater. As a matter of fact, she needed a lot of things, and she’d be much less likely to get them now that she’d lost her job. She wasn’t sure why she’d been working at Sexy Sadie’s, anyway. She shouldn’t have to work two jobs, not when everyone around her had it so much easier. Olivia was planning Riley’s wedding—as if that was hard.
“Noelle?” Olivia repeated, this time with the appropriate concern. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay,” she said, faking tears. “Kyle just called me.”
There was some rustling at the other end. “This late?”
“I told you. He isn’t the considerate guy you think he is.”
Olivia made no reply, but Noelle could hear Brandon in the background. “Who is it, babe? What’s going on?”
“It’s my sister,” Olivia murmured. “Go back to sleep. I’ll talk to her in the living room.”
“Hang on,” Olivia said into the phone and didn’t speak again for several seconds—until she wouldn’t disturb her beloved husband. The same beloved husband who wouldn’t give Noelle the time of day. He was a prick, she thought, just as bad as his stepbrother.
“Okay...what’s going on? Why did Kyle call you? And please don’t suggest it was a booty call. He told me you two haven’t been seeing each other in that way.”
“Of course he’d say that. Now he’s banging the great Lourdes Bennett, he has no use for me. He was calling to tell me he’s not going to pay my spousal maintenance anymore. Can you believe that?”
“But Kyle knows he can’t stop. When you divorced, he agreed to a certain amount every month. I remember that amount went down not too long ago, but he’s been paying, hasn’t he?”
“Apparently, he’s planning to take me back to court and have it reduced to nothing.” She sniffed. “I have no idea how I’ll get by.”
“Don’t panic yet. I’m not sure the judge will allow—”
“Kyle’s got the money to hire the kind of high-powered lawyers who can do it, Olivia,” she broke in.
“Still, that doesn’t sound like Kyle. He’s tried really hard to be generous with you.”
“You only say that because you don’t want to believe he could be such an asshole. You’d rather believe I’m the cause of all the problems between us. Everything’s my fault. It’s always me.”
“Noelle, stop. I’m not pointing any fingers. I’m trying to figure out why he’d suddenly change course. He’s been great about paying you. He’s even gone above and beyond on occasion, probably more than I know.”
“He hasn’t gone above and beyond. He’s been keeping track of every dime he’s ever given me, and now he’s charging me for it.”
“Anyone would do that, Noelle. He doesn’t owe you extra money, so even a loan is nice. All he owes is the amount specified by the court, which he pays—usually early, since you’re so desperate for it.”
“You want me to give him credit for that? Why would I? It’s nothing, a pittance! If we were still married, I’d be living as well as he does.”
“But you’re not married, and you haven’t been for five years.”