Nick’s legal woes aren’t over yet. Sources say a hearing before a judge is schedule this week to decide upon Nick’s request for an extension in light of his upcoming tour schedule. Looks like we may be in for yet another drawn-out celebrity divorce. –Gossip Weekly
‘You’ve reached Layla. Leave a message.’
"Layla, this is David Waterhouse. As per our earlier discussion you will need to be present on Wednesday even if the judge grants Mr. Hudson’s request for an extension. It’s important that you’re there. Please get in touch with me when you can. Thanks.”
‘Hey this is Nick. Leave me a message after the...’
"Good afternoon. This is Marie Vega calling from Sharrell Williams’ office. This is a courtesy reminder to please visit our offices before Wednesday. Feel free to make an appointment or just walk in. Have a nice day."
‘You’ve reached Layla. Leave a message.’
“It’s me. I should know better than to call after four months of unreturned messages. But I’m calling anyway. I hope you’re okay... wherever you are.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Four months may not sound like a long time, but it is; especially when you’re alone. But now it was time to face the music. As I drove past the steps leading up to the courthouse, I heard the music louder than I had in a while.
And Nick Hudson was singing it.
That morning I had been careful in deciding what to wear. Not that I normally spend large amounts of time on my wardrobe. In fact, for the past four months all I ever wore was a bikini, a sarong and some flip flops. Needless to say I was deeply tanned. I had also enjoyed the native cuisine of the island where I stayed, which had, happily enough, packed on a few pounds onto my body. I thought I never looked better. So this morning, when it came time to getting dressed, I decided on something sophisticated, worldly and gorgeous. I wanted to make a statement. Layla Garrett is back.
And so, dressed in a cream-colored dress jacket and skirt that made my legs look several miles long, I took the first step in towards the waiting courthouse and my first public appearance.
I ignored the glances from people as I clicked into the large facility. I wasn’t here for them. I was here for me. But they knew that because they recognized me instantly.
I may have been gone but I wasn’t cut off from the media. I knew about the press Nick had been doing. I read all the articles and interviews with Nick about our marriage and our divorce. I read every single one of them. I watched him on TV. I followed him on the blogs.
I had to admit that Nick was looking his best. I’d never seen him look so handsome and.... tall. If he weren’t already my husband I’d probably want to date him. All over again. But I know better. At least I do now.
I knew I was late. Not fashionably late. Really late. And I didn’t hesitate once I reached the courtroom door. I didn’t stop to take a breath. I didn’t stop to think about what I was about to do. I just opened the door and kept walking.
I felt six pairs of eyes immediately looking at me: The judge my lawyer, the court officer, the woman that dictates everything said onto a laptop, Nick’s lawyer, and Nick.
My lawyer, David, gave me a stern look which I just brushed off. I couldn’t do anything about being late so there was no use fussing over it. What mattered was I was there now.
"The honorable Judge Shirley Gold,” announced the officer before taking his seat. I took my place next to David and sat down, crossing my legs and carefully slipped off my jacket, revealing a pretty white silk tank top. I only felt one pair of eyes on me then.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson, for showing up for us today. In the future I will encourage you to please make it a point to appear on time to court," the judge chided me.
"I’m sorry, Your Honor. I just arrived in town last night and I’m a bit jet-lagged. It won’t happen again."
"Thank you. Let’s begin with the proceedings. Today’s hearing is to either grant or deny Mr. Hudson’s request at an extension of the divorce proceedings. Mr. Williams you may begin.”
"Thank you, Your Honor." Nick’s attorney stood up, buttoned his jacket and cleared his throat. "My client is requesting an extension on the final divorce hearing, to extend no longer than six weeks. As the court is aware, Mr. Hudson has a very busy schedule in preparation for his job and does not feel he can accommodate both his professional and personal obligations."
"Mr Waterhouse?" Judge Gold prompted.
I looked down as David stood and buttoned his jacket. "Your Honor I have reviewed Mr. Hudson’s schedule and have found multiple breaks in which appearing in court should not be a problem. My client wishes to have a smooth and painless divorce. And as she is not requesting any monetary awards or anything else of the nature, I see no reason as to why this divorce needs to take any longer than necessary."
"Mrs. Hudson, am I to understand that you wish to receive no settlement from your husband?" the judge asked me.
"That’s correct,” I replied from my seat beside David.
"Mrs. Hudson only wishes to take what is hers and for Mr. Hudson to take what is his. Any joint purchases are not in my client’s interest of ownership. She simply wishes to take what’s hers and move on with her life," David spoke for me.
The judge took a moment to review some paperwork on her desk and I took a moment to glance at Nick for the first time in months.
He was just as handsome as ever. Trimmer. Tanner. Still drop dead gorgeous. But somehow sadder.
"Mister Williams I am reviewing your client’s schedule and while it is indeed extensive, I see several breaks where he may be present in this courthouse as long as the court calendar permits." I looked back at the judge, who was looking at Nick’s lawyer.
"With all due respect, Your Honor, my client’s occupation is inherently stressful at times and he wishes to give this matter his full attention. However we feel it will be a hardship upon him to take on both at this time."
The judge didn’t look like she cared. “Mr. Williams your client’s status will not earn him any favors in this courtroom. Nobody likes divorce, Mr. Hudson, but it is a fact of life and this court cannot accommodate every person individually.”
"May I say something?" I asked. I felt everyone’s attention turn toward me. I uncrossed my legs and stood up, smoothing down my skirt and crossing my hands in front of me. "I want nothing more than for this divorce to be a smooth transition. Yet at the same time, I don’t want Nick to be under any extra stress. I have no problem with delaying these proceedings if it means we can all come out of it with as little stress as possible. With the court’s permission, of course." Out of the corner of my eye I saw David looking at me questioningly, but I ignored him.
"In that case I am granting the motion to delay the divorce proceedings for six weeks." Judge Gold tapped her gavel and collected the papers in front of her.
And like that it was over. For now.
David pulled me aside into an empty office outside the court room as we exited. He only looked a little annoyed as he adjusted the plaid tie around his neck. He was an older man, a seasoned lawyer and the best divorce attorney around, but I suspected he doubted my intentions.
“You could have easily protested the request, Layla. No one would have thought you were doing anything wrong.”
“I know,” I said. I tried a smile but it was more apathetic than I wanted. “Six weeks won’t matter in the long run.”
“If you’re having second thoughts...”
“No! Nothing like that. His life is stressful enough and mine isn’t. I can wait.”
He couldn’t argue much with me, but I appreciated the effort. He patted my shoulder and told me his secretary would be in touch with me for the next scheduled court date. I left shortly after him, and by the time I made it out to my car I noticed there was someone waiting for me. Nick.
It was inevitable that we’d see each other again outside of the courtroom, but that didn’t stop the flutter in my stomach as I saw him there, watching me approach hi
m.
"Hey," he started, staring directly at me.
"Hello," I replied, wondering where the rest of the conversation would go from here. Four months apart wasn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like much longer.
“You look beautiful,” he smiled. The fluttering was like a hundred butterflies then. I swallowed each of them down, hoping they’d die or at least stay quiet long enough for me to get through this.
“Thank you. How have you been?”
Nick expelled a breath so forcefully it blew through the tips of his hair. “I’m keeping it together, all things considered. I tried calling you. Several times, actually.”
Dozens of times was more like it. Nick was nothing if not persistent. “I know.” It was all I could manage to say. The tension between us was so awkward and foreign. We’d never been so distant before and I don’t think either one of us knew what to do about it.
From the corner of my eye I could see someone holding up their cell phone in our direction. A few feet away was a man dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, snapping away on a very expensive camera with a long lens. Of course we were being watched. There was no such thing as privacy anymore.
It was obvious Nick had more to say, and the last thing either of us wanted was an audience while he worked up the courage to say it.
“We should speak in private,” I suggested. His face lit up visibly then contracted, like he caught himself reacting too much and was attempting to remain cool and collected. “Why don’t you come over to the house in a couple hours? I’ve got some errands to run but after that I’m free.”
He nodded slowly, never taking his blue eyes off my face. “I’ll be there.”
“Good. Stay safe.” I nodded in the direction of the men and their cameras and fished the car key fob out of my purse.
“I’ll see you in a little while,” he said quietly before turning and walking in the opposite direction. As I sat behind the wheel and closed my door I took a big, deep breath. Ready or not, Nick and I were about to have a confrontation four months in the making.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The house smelled musty as I stepped through the front door. Despite leaving all the windows open that morning it still felt as if I hadn’t been home in four months. I switched on a few fans as I made my way into the kitchen where I unloaded a few bags of groceries and a bunch of fresh flowers. It wouldn’t be long until Nick showed up. Barely enough time to psych myself up for what needed to be accomplished.
I changed into jeans and a tank top and replaced my expensive stilettos with cheap flip flops. But as I took one look at my reflection in the mirror I suddenly realized that I might not be able to hide the changes to my body that would no doubt give me away. The last thing I needed was for Nick to find out. In fact, I had no other choice than to put him completely in the dark about everything that mattered. And there was only one way to do that.
I had to make Nick stop loving me.
No easy task. Believe me. But it was for his own protection. No, the last thing Nick needed to know was the truth. It would just ruin everything I had so carefully built up.
Suddenly I was nervous. It was much easier to imagine what I would say to him when I knew he wasn’t around, and now he was on his way and there was little I could do. I wanted a cigarette. I hadn’t had one in months and even if I could smoke it would do me no good. There was nothing in the world that could prepare me for what was to come.
My hand went instinctively for my stomach, splaying out over my abdomen like a shield. Fortunately for me I wasn’t showing yet, and I could easily hide the truth from Nick for another month or two. Just long enough for the divorce to finalize. If he found out he’d no doubt want to reconcile our marriage. But for what? For whom? For him? For me? For our family? No. He’d probably want to out of obligation, out of a necessity or tradition. Nothing could fix what was broken in our marriage and we needed to fix what we could of our relationship first before we could move on to the next stage together. A baby wouldn’t fix anything.
Who was I kidding? I couldn’t make him not love me anymore than I could stop loving him. It just didn’t work that way. Truth be told I would always love him, despite the many times he broke my heart. Instead we had to find a way to be friends, and more importantly parents. We could each move on with our lives and stay connected through our child. Couples did it every day.
We could make it work, right?
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was all planned out in my head. We’d eat a little and talk a lot. And it would all end with me telling Nick that if we couldn’t work on our issues as friends and nothing more then it would be best if we didn’t see each other again until the divorce was finalized. I’d tell him that I just wanted to move on with my life and let him move on with his own.
But I caught the scent of his cologne as he walked past me into the house and I felt a familiar longing for him. To be touched by him. To kiss him. I had forgotten how powerfully he affected me.
I watched him from behind. The way his hips moved when he walked. The broadness of his shoulders. The way his jeans recreated the curve of his ass as he took each step. I don’t know if it was me or the hormones that were ever present since the day I found out I was pregnant, but whatever it was it was quickly taking control of me, diminishing my cool demeanor. I could feel the echo of my heartbeat between my legs, and his scene lingered in my nose as I closed the door behind him.
"I’d almost forgotten what this place looked like. It’s been so long," he started, turning around to face me.
He was more relaxed than he had been at the courthouse. There was something different about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. The sadness was gone, replaced with something else. He was smiling in a way that only I knew, a cocky grin that meant he was thinking about me the way I was about him.
I had to stick to the plan.
"I guess it has been a while." I walked past him into the kitchen making dinner, anything to take my mind - and my eyes - off of him.
"So how have you been?"
My eyes froze on my hand gripped around the handle of the refrigerator. I didn’t want to turn around and look at him for fear of what would happen if I did. My face was flush with hot blood rushing through my body, igniting my face into a pink frenzy.
"Lay? Are you okay?"
"I’m fine." I grabbed what I needed from the refrigerator and set everything out on the counter, trying desperately to ignore the pulse between my legs, the heat in my face, and the tingling nerves in my chest. I made the mistake of looking at him just then. How the hell could I be just friends with the man who turned me on with just a look? Women around the world would have given anything to be with Nick, and I’d had him for years. I still had him, looking as handsome and sexy as ever. "You look really good, Nick." I kept my eyes down and attention focused on the food. I had to ignore the hormonal instinct to crave his touch.
"Oh yeah? Then sleeplessness is my look," he joked, laughing lightly.
"Why haven’t you been sleeping?"
He looked away from me and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Various reasons. Recording. Travelling. Sleeping alone. But you... I’ve never seen you look more beautiful. You must be happy."
"I wouldn’t say that. Just relaxed. A four month vacation will do that to you."
"I wouldn’t know." I knew better than anyone that he didn’t, but often made up for it.
I put the food in the oven and fussed over a bag of salad for a few minutes, anything to keep my mind focused and away from the thoughts of him that were growing in intensity. I knew it was just a chemical reaction, my own hormones ramping up after a long absence.
“So how long are you in town for?" I asked as I cleared the counter of trash.
"Two days."
"The house needs some work done on it and you know me, I couldn’t lift a hammer if my life depended on it.” Jesus, Layla, what are you getting yourself into?
An unreadable
expression flickered across his face. Clearly he wasn’t expecting that. "Are you asking me to stay here with you?"
"Well it’s not recording and it certainly isn’t travelling but at least you wouldn’t have to sleep alone." I couldn’t stop the words coming from my mouth even if I wanted to. The logic center of my brain had abandoned me, taken over by the need for satisfying the urge inside me.
"Layla..."
"But if you’d rather stay alone in that big house of yours for the next two days I won’t stop you." I’d somehow made my way to him and was closer than I had been in months. I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body and it took all the self control I could muster to not take him in my arms and kiss him.
"You don’t have a guest room."
"Would you really want to sleep in a guest room if I had one?" The scent of his cologne was heated on top of his skin and came at me in waves of sensation.
"As much as I’d like to, I don’t think it’d be a good idea."
"And why is that?"
"Do you want my honest answer?" No, not really. But maybe it would stop me before I did anything I’d undoubtedly regret.
"Have I ever asked for anything but?"
He sighed but kept his eyes deadlocked on mine. "Because if I’m around you I don’t know that I could keep myself away from you."
My head tilted to the side and I wanted to just lean in and kiss him ever-so-tenderly. "Be more specific."
"I don’t think I can be in the same room with you without wanting to touch you." His eyes diverted down to my lips, rested there a while, and then moved back up to my eyes.
Nick didn’t have to touch me. Just a look was enough. And of course it didn’t help that I was aching for him. "Here’s how I see it, Nick. We’re still married. And you’re here. And I’m here. You haven’t been with anyone in four months. And neither have I. So I say, what would be so wrong about enjoying each other while we can?"
The Romance of Nick and Layla (Parts 1-3) Page 12