Buckley tipped the brim of his cowboy hat back, revealing more of his sour face. “But not here supporting you during your big party?

“That’s too bad.” Suzanne hooked her arm through Buckley’s and snuggled in close, nothing but schadenfreude gleaming in her eyes. “I’m sure it’s breaking his heart not to be here with you.”

“It’s fine,” Chelle ground out through clenched teeth.

These two were perfect for each other. Both of them mean-hearted control freaks who loved to exert whatever power they had. They were exactly like the evil wizard and his spell-spinner girlfriend in Chelle’s books, who worked against her nymph assassins and satyr warriors for control of the forest and—

She let out a shocked gasp as everything fell into place at that moment, in her mind, so completely and instantly that she was surprised no one else in the room heard the pieces banging into place. The wizard in her books wore pointed-toe boots and what could be described as a very glittery cowboy hat. The spell spinner had the exact same short pixie haircut as Suzanne and even had the same mole at the base of her throat.

Why hello, subconscious, nice to see you’re going strong even when I don’t notice.

“Look at you keeping up a brave front,” Buckley said in a loud voice with false cheer before lowering his volume and letting his natural bullying tone through. “Good luck trying to hold onto that energy when my lawyers get you on the stand. It’ll make the whole procedure that much more enjoyable for me if you try.”

All of the air whooshed out of her as fear grabbed hold of her with its sharp-taloned fingers. “But the judge already ruled that my marriage met the requirements of my dad’s will.”

Uncle Buckley took her ice-cold hand in his and patted the top of it patronizingly. “Poor girl. There is such a thing as appeals. Whether or not your marriage constitutes fraud is exactly the kind of thing I think the appeals panel will see my way.” His lips curled upward into a grin that would have made her heart catch with worry if the anxious adrenaline wasn’t already pumping it at twice its natural speed. “And wouldn’t you just know that all three of the judges on the appeals panel are golfing buddies of mine? We meet up at the club every Tuesday.”

The satisfied expression on his jerky little face said it all—fait accompli.