I Know You Love Me (14 page)

"Eeeeeeeeeek! Eric!” She screamed, running into the room and throwing her arms around the judge's neck in excitement.

"My god, woman, it's good to see you."

"So this is where you ended up. And a prominent Judge, to boot. I'm impressed."

"Me? What about you? You look amazing; life has been treating you well. The little girl who used to soothe me to sleep when I was sick became a star and an author. I'm the one who's impressed. And yes, I have read everything that you've had published."

Drew bit back the wave of jealousy that hit him. He'd been bound to run into a man she knew sooner or later. “I take it you two know each other?"

Allison grinned. “High School. Eric was big man on campus and I was his statistics tutor."

Drew frowned, feeling that oh-so-familiar jealousy that seemed to accompany seeing this woman in another man's arms. “Am I supposed to believe that?"

"She's telling the truth, Sheriff. She always does, whether you want to hear it or not. The girl was a veritable genius at statistics. I was a credit short to graduate and decided to take a course based on the ratio of cute girls to guys in the class."

Narrowing his eyes at the judge, Drew's frown deepened. He saw through that flimsy excuse immediately; he'd done the same thing to meet Sam. “You chose the class because Allison was in it, and you wanted to meet her."

Laughing, the Judge squeezed Allison's shoulder and flashed him a wolfish grin. “Wouldn't you, given the chance?"

"Point made...uhm, Judge I'm a pretty easy going guy but...would you mind letting Allison go now?” It had taken him nearly thirty minutes to convince her to open the bedroom door once he'd rid himself of their unwanted guests, and now he was expected to allow another man—one more accomplished than he was—to lure her away from him? He thought not.

"Sorry, Allison, dear; I forgot I was still holding you,” Eric chuckled, embarrassed.

Like hell he did. Schooling his features to hide this jealousy, Drew pulled Allison back into his arms where she belonged. “We really do have limited time left before the plane leaves, Judge."

"Of course, Sheriff. How may I help you?"

He saw the curiosity on the judge's face, mixed with the disapproval the man felt that Allison had chosen someone like him, and he chose to ignore it. They'd never been friends, but they had always respected each other, and Drew was counting on that respect to get the judge to look past whatever issues he had now.

"My ex-wife came back and informed me that our divorce was never finalized. Her lawyer never filed the paperwork, and he says he no longer has it. Added to that fiasco, the papers that my lawyer filed seem to be missing."

Allison turned in his arms and tugged on his collar to get his attention. “You didn't tell me that part, Mr. Perry!"

Grinning, he gave in to his desire and kissed her to hush her. The judge didn't need to know that part. “We'll discuss it later, I promise."

"We'd better..."

"Sorry to interrupt, but that sounds like an easy fix, Sheriff. I'll just draw up the divorce paperwork and have you both sign."

Drew wished it were only that easy. “Sam's decided she doesn't want the divorce anymore."

"Why not give her another chance?” Eric asked innocently.

Allison snorted—the most adorable, unladylike sound. Her fingers tightened around Drew's arm possessively. “Eric, Sam is the type of woman who upon learning that her ex now has money, wants to reconcile, and then once she's back in the house, will suddenly realize it won't work and leave...taking half of everything he owns with her. Drew doesn't deserve that...no matter how much of a womanizer he's been in the past six years."

"Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about gold-diggers, Allison."

Drew pulled her closer to his chest. “Sam left me after seven months of marriage without a word—no note, and no explanation. She hasn't been back in six years. I don't want to give her another chance, I want Allison."

Eric narrowed his eyes in thought. “I see, in that case your only choice is to sue her for divorce."

Drew curbed his rude comment; he needed this man's help. “I understand that. I'd like for you to start the proceedings."

Looking from Drew to Allison, Eric's posture relaxed. Leaning a hip against the desk, he reached over to grab his legal pad and a pen. “Of course. Now about the money?"

"I'd pay you for your time, of course.” Drew responded quickly, not wanting the judge to think him cheap.

Laughing, Eric waved him quiet. “I meant the division of property."

Even with Allison's giggling into his jacket, he wasn't distracted from getting his point across. “She gets nothing. If not for the incompetence of the lawyer she chose and the misfiled paperwork by the courts, we would have been divorced, while I was still a rookie. I refuse to give her a dime more than she would have gotten then, bearing in mind that she abandoned me, not the other way around."

"I can work with that...” Eric tapped his pen against his bottom lip, lost in thought. “This shouldn't..."

Allison groaned when they heard Sam's grating voice echoing through the halls of the courthouse. Sam never did have any tact.

"There you are. And I see you brought the home-wrecker."

"Sam!” Drew reprimanded with fury in his voice.

Eric looked the woman over, disgust plainly written all over his face. “This would be the wife, I presume?"

"Yes, Eric, that's Samantha."

"Mrs. Perry, in my office no one calls Allison a home-wrecker."

"That woman spent the night with my husband in my house. What should I call her?” Sam's nasally voice nearly pierced their eardrums with its shrillness.

Drew narrowed his eyes at Sam, forcing her to take a step backward. “She's my fiancee. I informed you of that last night. You will show her some respect."

"She can't be your fiancee; you, my dear man, are still married to me!"

Allison stepped between them, throwing Drew a dirty look that snapped his lips shut on his next comment. “Enough, both of you! You, Drew, will stop antagonizing her, and you, Sam, will stop trying to get back what you threw away."

"Why, you little bitch..."

Eric grabbed Sam's hand, stopping it mid-flight from slapping Allison. “Don't even think about laying a hand on Allison, Mrs. Perry. She's entirely right in this. Give the man his divorce, or I will."

"Never. He's mine, and she can't have him!"

"Then you leave me no choice but to do it for you. Sheriff, first, I highly suggest you hire a private investigator to find out exactly what your wife was doing from the time she ran away up to the point you were supposed to be divorced. Second, have the man look into this lawyer of hers and find out why he didn't file the papers as was his legal responsibility, and lastly, you may file charges against him to have him disbarred for the unprofessional behavior he's displayed. I will look into the disappearance of the copy from the courthouse myself."

"You can't do that!” Sam screeched, her face beet red in anger.

Eric eyed Sam suspiciously; he suspected something and wasn't talking. Drew wished he'd just tell them and get it over with.

"I would also check with your own attorney for a copy of the original divorce proceedings and see if he has a signed copy of the documents in his office. It's possible the papers were filed here and not in the city where your wife has been living for the past few years."

Sam gaped at them like a fish out of water. “He's...he's having an affair."

"Seriously, Sam, that's low even for you.” Drew growled. “I checked with the courthouse this morning, judge. They can't find the papers, but I'll check with my attorney to see if he might have a copy.

Sam wasn't about to be denied her victory. “It's the truth. Since learning that we are still married, you've had sex with that little home w... woman!"

"Not with me, he's not. I don't have sex with married men."

Drew grinned down at Allison, pulling a hot red blush from her cheeks.
She didn't have sex with any man...yet.

"Did you or did you not spend the night with him in his house?"

"Yes..."

Sam shot Eric a victorious look. “There's proof. He's committed adultery since finding out he was married."

"Eric, I can prove he hasn't, if my spending the night there will harm him in any way during this divorce."

Drew wondered how she planned on doing that since he'd definitely had lustful tendencies last night. “You bring up a very interesting point, Sam. Where did you spend the night last night? And don't bother lying to me; I will learn the truth."

"With a friend.” she answered, quickly looking away.

"Which friend?” In all the years that he'd known her, Sam had never had any friends. Men willing to give her anything she wanted in the hopes of getting a piece of ass, yes, but friends, no.

Eric cleared his throat to get their attention. “Mrs. Perry, Allison has just announced that she is willing to prove the Sheriff didn't break his marital vows last night....are you?"

"How is she planning on doing that? They could have used a condom. Drew was always terrified of getting me pregnant; he hates kids. That wouldn't have changed over the years."

"We can have a doctor do an internal exam to verify if you've had sex in the past twenty-four hours."

"Twenty-four? But I've only been back for twelve.” Sam's eyes darted around the room looking for anyone to help her.

Eric laughed and sat on the corner of his desk. “If I know Ms. McKay, the time frame won't make a difference to her results. Can you say the same, Mrs. Perry? You've known for at least that long that you were still married."

Sam wasn't biting. “You can't fool me. I want what is rightfully mine, and I want a new judge. You are biased in her favor!"

Eric chuckled evilly. “My dear girl, I am the only judge in this county, and I can guarantee you will get exactly what you deserve. Allison, perhaps you should tell her; she may drop her stalling tactics and grant the Sheriff his divorce."

Sensing Allison's unease, Drew circled his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Tell Sam about what, judge?"

Eric nodded in sudden understanding. “Does he know?"

Allison shook her head. “I don't think so, and it's none of Sam's business."

Leaning his head down to her ear, he whispered. “If you're talking about you being a virgin, I think it's fantastic that my soon-to-be wife waited until she found me."

Laughing, Allison, slapped his arm. “You would. You can be such an arrogant ass, Drew."

"It's not arrogance if it's true love."

"I want them to stay away from each other, judge. How am I supposed to compete with...with
that
...to get my husband back? She has him wrapped around her little finger, using her fame and fortune to keep him from me. Give me a...court order or something."

Eric rolled his eyes at her. “I'd rather not see Allison married to the Sheriff, but I've learnt over the years that the young lady has a mind of her own, and when she makes up her mind on something, she doesn't give up easily. As it stands, helping the Sheriff get his much-wanted divorce seems to be the right thing to do. No matter how much it pains me to say that."

Sam decided then that she needed to switch tactics if she were to win the judge over. Drew saw it in her posture as she swayed her hips toward the man. The woman had no self-respect. She'd lower herself to any level to get her way.

"Maybe we could discuss my petition...in private?” Sam asked, her fingers trailing seductively down Eric's arm.

Turning away from the spectacle before her, Allison looked up Drew. “Honey, we really do need to get going, or we'll miss our flight."

Lord, he loved when she called him honey. Why had he ever been against that endearment in the past? “I'm glad you're watching out for me, baby. Judge, can we finish this when I get back? I'll only be gone for about three days."

Eric looked up from Sam's pout and determined expression, then over to Allison's worried one, and sighed. “It would probably be best to finish this now. Is it imperative that you leave?"

"Yes.” He wasn't willing to let her go just yet, and hoped that if he answered first, Allison would play along.

"No, it's not. Seriously, Drew, I can do this alone. You'll be bored silly while I'm out getting my dress fitted. Then I'll be checking my mail and packing a bit more clothing to bring back here. I hadn't packed for such a long stay, or for a room full of teens."

This sounded suspiciously like her trying to run off for his own good again. “Excuse us a second, Judge."

"Take your time; I'll chat with your lovely wife to pass the time."

Allison rolled her eyes at Eric's choice of words, pulling that damned jealous response from Drew's gut again. Taking her hand, he pulled her out into the hall with him. “Why don't you want me to go with you?"

"I do, but you heard Eric, and this is more important than following me home only to sit around bored for three days."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he lost control over his jealousy. “I see, now that you know Eric is still single and still has the hots for you, you don't need me. A judge is a definite step up from a Sheriff."

Biting her lip to keep from smiling, Allison raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you through?"

"Not yet.” He hated knowing she was laughing at him. Hadn't the woman figured out by now he was seriously in love with her?

"Fine. I can wait. Continue."

"You didn't tell me about you and Mr. I-make-the-rules in there."

"You're right, I didn't. For one, I hadn't spoken to him since high school and had no way of knowing he was the judge here. Two, we've know each other, what, a few weeks?"

She was making way too much sense for his poor jealousy-infested brain. “This doesn't seem to be a problem for the judge, being as he's your old high school chum and all."

"Feel better?” She asked with a tiny giggle.

"No!"

Allison slid both hands up his chest, leaving a wake of tiny shivers along her path, and stood on her toes to give him a soft kiss. “Feel better now?"

Drew pulled her tight up against his chest. If he'd know years ago that this was what love truly felt like, he might not have made the mistake of marrying Sam, and he wouldn't have to let Allison go right now. “A little."