Page 34 of Dream Chaser

My face heated. What would he say if he knew my plans included searching for a place to park and getting something cheap to eat? “No plans.”

He blew out a breath. “I know I shouldn’t ask, and please forgive me, but there’s something I wanted to know.”

Awareness and curiosity stirred within me. “Sure.”

“You refer to yourself as Nova Lockhart.” A pause. “But you’re Marshall on the forms.”

He noticed. Then again, it was hard not to—and even harder for me to talk about it with him.

I had to, though. He trusted me enough to hire me despite my lack of experience, and he’d been nothing but kind to me.

“I’m married,” I said. “But I asked my husband for a divorce.”

“I’m sorry.” His tense expression was at odds with his soft tone.

I hugged my knees. “Don’t be. It’s for the best.”

“I’m sure,” Alejandro muttered.

My eyes met his. No judgment there, just understanding. “Why do you say that?”

He toyed with the cuff of his button-down. “You don’t strike me as someone who’d make that decision lightly. Is it amicable?”

Nothing ever was with Preston. Not with the upcoming election. Not with his ego. For the umpteenth time, I wished I were twenty-two again. I’d have talked myself out of marrying a man I barely knew. “I still need to file for divorce. But I guess it’s as amicable as any divorce could be.”

“Do you have a lawyer?”

I shook my head. “It should be easy. I don’t want anything from him. Just my maiden name back.”

Alejandro’s lips twitched. “I do prefer Lockhart.”

“Yours means warrior,” I blurted.

The twitch of his mouth transformed into a grin. “Have you been doing research?”

A fresh wave of heat washed over my cheeks. Damn my big mouth. “No. I wasn’t. I was just—”

“I’m kidding, Nova.” My pulse skittered as he covered the hand resting on my knee with his. Warm. A bit calloused. Maybe from the gym, though I could picture him working with his hands as vividly as I pictured him behind his desk. He yanked his hand away as if my skin had scorched him. “To be fair, my last name suits my father more than it does me. He’s always been the one fighting.”

Nostalgia pinched my chest. So had my dad. Always worrying. Always supporting. He would’ve respected my decision to end the marriage, town gossip be damned.

“Fighting for you?” I asked before sadness had a chance to take over.

“And my brother. The older I get, the more I appreciate all the sacrifices my parents made so I could be here today.”

“So, you’re close with your father.”

“Yeah. Very. I have a good family. What about you? I guess you’re the favorite daughter.”

A sour taste filled my mouth. “I’m an only child, but my father treated me like the favorite before he passed from a heart attack when I was twenty-one. Now it’s just my mother and me.”

“I’m sorry.” Alejandro exhaled. “You don’t really need to answer any of my questions if they make you uncomfortable, you know that, right? I’d never take it the wrong way.”

“No, it’s fine. Like you said, I’m hired. Permanently. I guess that means I can say whatever I want, and you can’t fire me, right?”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. I might ask you more questions since we’re likely stuck here for the rest of the afternoon. Feel free to do the same.”

If only I were so bold. Most of the things I was dying to know were none of my business.