J

It was coming down in buckets outside. It was the kind of heavy rain that you swear just might come through the roof because it's falling that hard. I wandered to the front door of Lisa's parents' home, cracking the door to watch the rain pour down.

Lisa had wrapped on filming Slipknot, and the cast wrap party was something else. Fred was doing an excellent job managing the pub, so I was able to meet Lisa back in Vancouver. Jisoo had gotten quite intoxicated, slurring at us and insinuating it was Lisa's fault that her lover, Rosé Park, wasn't there.

I knew for certain that her love life wasn't even on Lisa's radar when we arrived at the party, but she was under the impression that she'd banned Rosé from the guest list.

Maybe she overdid it just a bit when she said she'd be lucky to get a job waiting tables once the media catches wind of her drug habit, but it definitely shut her up quickly.

So many people only see the smiling public photos of celebrities at premieres and junkets; if the general public only knew some of the shit that went down on major movie sets, they'd be shocked.

Personality clashes, overinflated egos, differences in acting methods and scene interpretations—it all happened.

But that was two days ago, Lisa finally had some downtime, and we had a family engagement party to brace for.

Lisa slid a hand over my khaki shorts and gripped my hip, peering over my shoulder. "Go," she nudged, pushing me on through the threshold. "Let's go stand out on the porch."

The sky at 7:30 P.M. was dark and ominous; the heat of the day was being quenched, causing the steam to rise up off the hot macadam driveway. I held my hand out into the thick stream of rainwater that was flowing over the lip of the storm gutters that edged along the porch roof.

"Nick and I washed my dad's car in a downpour like this once. We had a blast. Dad gave us a bucket and sponges and put us to work, though we didn't know we were working at the time. We were all soapy and soaked but damn did we have fun."

The water pelting my hand was cool and refreshingly chilly as I imagined two mischievous kids running around with soap sponges. "Wow, it's really pouring!"

"I'll say. Last time I saw it rain this hard, we were—"

I instantly stiffened. Lisa stiffened up, too, stopping herself.

Streaks of car lights flickered through drops of rain in my thoughts; the sounds of tires screeching on wet road and a horn blaring at me to get out of the middle of the street in downtown Miami swirled into one painful flashback. That horrid memory, that feeling as if I'd just been eviscerated seeing her kiss Rosé, that wishing to have all the pain just go away washed over me. It was distant but instant.

Thankfully, I was able to keep that memory separate from this current moment, not allowing those bad moments to pull me under.

"I shouldn't . . . I didn't mean," Lisa fumbled, followed by the whisper of a curse to herself.

I gave her my attention, trying not to let it blow out of proportion. "It's all right."

Suddenly she snagged my wrist, pulling me to the opening on the porch. "I. Fuck. Come," she ordered.

"Where are we going?"

Lisa stepped off the porch, then stood directly under the water overflowing from the gutter above.

"What are you doing?" I asked as the water poured onto her head. She smiled wickedly and shook the water off her head before bending and catching me behind my knees. I felt the whoosh as I was hefted over her bare shoulder and then cold rainwater pelted my hair, my shoulders, and my back, causing me to squeal.

"Lisa!"

"Come on, baby." She walked us down the flooded driveway in her bare feet. She only had a pair of track shorts on since we were lounging around the house.

The rain was cold but refreshing and instantly blocked my thoughts out, giving me the space to only worry about getting soaked.

"What are you doing?" I giggled as she hustled down the long drive.

"Makin' new memories," she said in a rush, stopping when she reached the torrent of water flowing down the street.

Just when I thought I couldn't love her any more than I already did, I fell another few miles deeper in love with her. She twirled us around, holding my legs out so I was balanced over her shoulder on my stomach. Heavy rain pelted my legs as I laughed from her playfulness.

"You're crazy!" I felt so giddy and free.

Lisa motioned like she was going to dump me on the ground. "Do you love me?"

I grabbed the back of her wet shorts. "Yes!"

She raised my legs higher. "What?"

"Yes!" I giggled louder, exposing the top crack of her ass as she hung me down her back.

She splashed into a huge puddle. "Say it!"

"I love you!"

Lisa spun us in a circle. My wet hair whipped around, sticking to my face. "What? I can't hear you. It's raining. You'll have to speak up."

"I love you!" I shouted, wiping the wet hair out of my eyes with one hand while holding her shorts with the other.

"You what?"

I smacked her perfect, soaking-wet ass. "I love you!"

"You love me?"

She was making me dizzy, jumping and twirling us around like that. "I love you!"

Her hands gripped my thighs. "You gonna marry me, Kim?"

"Yes! Don't drop me!"

She dipped me back farther; my wet shirt gathered uncomfortably under my breasts. "Yes? Yes, what?"

I was laughing so hard, I was getting one of those side-stickers in my ribs. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

She set me down in the cold, streaming rainwater; one hand grasped my hip while the other got stuck into my hair at the base of my head. And then she was kissing me. In the downpour. In the stream of water running against the curb in front of her parents' house outside of Pittsburgh. Kissing me with everything she had and then some. Smoothing back my wet hair. Biting my lips. Swirling her tongue with mine.

Mingling our hungry breath into one.

Marking my memories with new thoughts of the rain.

Shining her brightness on me in the midst of a dark storm.

My hands were on her smooth, muscular back, her ribs, her neck and face.

Mine.

Mine, mine, mine.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you more."

She broke away to grace me with her killer smile. Her happiness, knowing I was a huge part of it, was like a gift. One that I'd cherish forever.

But I still had to get her back for spinning me upside down. I bent down, gathered up a handful of water, and tossed it at her.

"Oh yeah?" she skimmed her big foot through the stream, sending water splashing all over my shins.

I hadn't felt so free in such a long time. I kicked water back at her. When she bent for her own handful, I kept kicking and splashing, until she was sufficiently drenched.

Lisa straightened, glared down, and said, "You'd better run."

I took off through the rain, running only the length of the neighbor's yard barefoot in the street before I got tagged and scooped up off the ground.

Lisa was smiling as she carried me down to the corner where the street storm drain was overflowing.

The rain was coming down so hard, the water was flooding the street.

"We used to play down here," Lisa said, walking with me pressed to her chest. "Me and Nick. Ricky Beidler used to live in that house over there. We'd get into all sorts of trouble."

She set me down in ankle-deep water. That's when the serious splashing started. Water soaked into my bra, trickling down my back.

"That all you got, Manoban?" I kicked, sending a blast of water at her. She laughed, tossed her wet hair back, and grabbed me around the waist, sitting me down on my ass in the water. I squealed again when cold water flooded down my butt crack.

Lisa plopped down, sitting next to me in the stream. "Come here," she ordered low, snagging me by the armpits to haul me across her lap.

The rain was slowing down but it could have been hailing for all I cared, being in her arms next to the curb in the street, sitting in rushing storm water. Lisa wiped the matted hair off my forehead, tilting her neck down to kiss me.

There was no denying that look of love in her eyes; that gaze that said a million words. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder, sliding my hand up her wet neck and into the tangles of her hair, feeling her kiss and all its meaning down into my bones.

We were the only two people in the world.

Sitting in the street.

In a small stream.

In the rain.

And just like that, my gorgeous love replaced bad with another slice of great.

It was almost one o'clock the next afternoon when I heard Lisa's mom, Ellen, huff for the thirty-second time—or was it the thirty-third? I was on my laptop at the kitchen table and Lisa was outside working on her car and ignoring her mother's desire for her to keep a scheduled feeding time.

I made a silent deal with myself that the next huff would get me moving and sure enough it did.

"Ask her if she's ready for a sandwich," Ellen said in a rush, making sure I carried her message out to the garage.

I silently added "Yes, mother" to my "Sure. No problem."

I found Lisa, or should I say Lisa's legs and khaki cargo shorts, which were riding very, very low on her hips and exposing all sorts of tight flesh. She was on her back underneath the front end of her Shelby, and by the streaks of grease on her very sexy, low-riding khaki cargo shorts, I guessed she was changing the oil. The girl had $29 million but was too much of a guy to pay someone to change her oil. God love her and all of her humbleness.

I tapped her foot. "Hey, hot, sexy mechanic. How's it going under there?"

Lisa curled up enough to grin at me. "Going good."

The sight of her with dirty, grease-stained hands, a smear of it on her plain white cotton V-neck tee and one on her forearm, and some tools in her hands added to her sex appeal.

"You're looking so delish under there; I might be tempted to have you change my oil, too. What do you think?"

That earned me another smug smile. "I think you need more than your oil changed, ma'am. I'm thinking you'll need a tune-up and a lube job as well."

"At a minimum!" I joked. "And a buffin' and a waxin' too."

"Keep up with the dirty innuendos; you're making me hard."

"Keep up with the hot, dirty mechanic act and I may just do you out here in the driveway."

That earned me a few eyebrow waggles. "Your mom is having a slow meltdown because you haven't eaten yet today. How long until you're finished?" There was no way she'd be able to hold a sandwich with all of that motor oil on her hands so no sense making her something to eat until she was cleaned up.

She groaned. "Doesn't she have anything better to do? I'll eat when I'm hungry. I'm still full from last night."

I was just about to give her a comeback when her cell rang. It was sitting on a towel next to an opened bottle of Gatorade.

"Grab that, would ya? Who is it?"

I crouched down and picked it up, tilting the screen so I could see it in the bright sun. "Your lawyer, Len Bainbridge."

"Answer it. My hands are too greasy."

I tapped the screen and said, "Hi, Mr. Bainbridge, it's Jennie Kim."

"Oh hello, Jennie," he said jovially. "How are you?"

After a few pleasantries, he asked for Lisa.

Lisa's legs were still sticking out from underneath her car and she'd already given her instruction. "I'm sorry. She's indisposed at the moment. She's asked if I can take a message for her."

Lisa cocked an eyebrow at my formalness.

"Yes, please tell her that my office is emailing the settlement documents with Brown and Sullivan PR. She needs to review them and if all is acceptable, we will proceed with the disbursement."

"Okay, great. I'll let her know."

"Thanks. Oh, yes, one moment. Thanks, Miriam. Yes, I almost forgot, Miriam is sending the requested prenuptial agreement template for her review. She'll need to mark it accordingly as to what your wishes are in the event of dissolution of marriage. It's all quite self-explanatory. She, of course, should call me if she has any questions."

My brain seized up at the word prenup.

"Jennie, are you still there?"

I think I formed a spit bubble first, which caused an involuntary reaction to choke.

At the second calling of my name, I managed a nod. "I'll tell her," I rasped.

Lisa rolled out from underneath her car, wiping her hands off on an old rag. She looked up at me, squinting one eye at the bright sun. "What did he have to say?"

Did you ever have that warm rush feeling—the kind that hits you right before you either freak out, pass out, or throw up? Yeah, I was there.

"I don't want your money, Lisa," I managed to say, even though I felt numb and disconnected from the conversation. She had millions in the bank. I thought we'd gotten beyond that, but apparently my assumption was incorrect. Of course she would want an escape clause.

"Not one cent," I sort of choked out through the lump in my throat. "I'm capable of earning my own way and if we bring babies into this world I'd expect you to help me raise them right and healthy, but I'll keep the apartment should you ever decide you need dissolution and I need a place to live. I guess that stuff will just be a given in the divorce proceedings anyway but I would never touch your money or demand a piece of it because you earned that money. I would never do that to you. You're building the house on your property—it's not mine nor will it ever be. I need you to know that. I would never take it from you." I didn't realize I was tearing up until she went blurry.

Lisa stood quickly. "Babe, you're freaking me the fuck out. What the hell are you talking about?"

My arm moved, holding out her phone. I should have been angry, but I wasn't for some reason. I was more desperate and wounded than anything. "Your lawyer is emailing you the prenup agreement you requested. I want you to know I'll sign it. It's only right. You should have peace of mind."

Lisa looked like I'd just punched her. "Whoa, whoa. Hold up. What prenup? I didn't ask for a prenup."

I shook the phone in my hand, making a point. "He says different."

Lisa ducked down, making sure she had my eyes. "Jennie, honey, I swear to God I did not ask him to write up a prenup. I swear. I am just as blindsided by this as you are. But I will get to the bottom of it, you can be damn sure of that. Give me my phone. I'm calling him right now."

Just as I was ready to hand it over, thankful that she didn't think I was going to empty her pockets or even imagine me being that greedy that I'd do such a thing, I pulled my hand back.

"Wait." I wiped the hurt from my cheek. "Before you do that we should talk about it. I know that there are no guarantees that people stay together for life, but I want it written down that I don't want your money. You help me pay for your children's' care, should we have any, and that's it. I don't need alimony or any of that because I've gotten spoiled or feel entitled that you owe me or something."

Lisa took my arm firmly in her hand. "Hey, hey, stop. Stop this—right now."

Once the floodgates had opened, I couldn't. "No, we need to discuss this! You have a lot of money, Lisa. I didn't work hard to earn that; you did. That's yours—all of it. I don't expect you to fork over gobs of cash I didn't earn because we didn't last like we'd hoped. And then there's the property you bought and stuff. That's all yours, too. Just because it's next to my family's cabin doesn't mean I'm entitled—"

"Stop!" she ordered, loud and firm. "I am not talking about this."

I don't know why that frustrated me, but it did. "We need to," I insisted.

"No, we don't." Lisa frowned at me, tugging my arm slightly. "You want to give me peace of mind, then stop talking about this shit right now."

"We're going to need to talk about it eventually. You know that as well as I do. There's too much at stake . . ."

She glared down at me. "Let me ask you something. Did Dan and Jennifer Kim have a prenup?"

"Lisa, that's—"

She raised her voice over mine. "Your parents have a prenup, Jen? Yes or no?"

"I'm pretty sure my parents didn't, but still, that's not the point."

She held up a halting hand. "You think my mom and dad in there have a fucking prenup?"

I just stared at her, avoiding having to answer.

"I can tell you they don't," she said. "And I sure as hell didn't ask my lawyer to draft one up, either."

She started jabbing her finger on her touchscreen phone.

Lisa was breathing heavy while being placed on hold. "When he gets out of his meeting, you tell him I want to know who the hell told him to write a prenup on my behalf." She hung up abruptly, without even saying goodbye.

Lisa stormed off toward the kitchen door and I had no choice but to follow.

"Lisa? What's wrong? You look mad," Ellen questioned when she used the kitchen sink.

"I'm not mad, Mom. I'm pissed."

Ellen quickly looked at me, trying to ascertain if I had caused her anger.

"What's going on?" she continued to pry.

"You have a prenup with Dad?" she asked with a definite growl.

I saw the confusion blanket her face. "No."

Lisa glanced over her shoulder, casting me her see, I told ya look.

Ellen was smarter than I gave her credit for. She held up her hands, backing up and out of the conversation as if there were a ticking time bomb sitting on her kitchen floor.

"Lisa, things were different for them. Our parents didn't have the amount of money that you do and —"

Even though her back was turned to me, the hand that shot out, slicing the air in my direction, was a definite cease-and-desist order. I stood there in silence, watching her hunch, her arms pressing into the stainless steel rim of the sink as if she were pressing her emotions back together.

"Time and time again, we keep coming back to the same spot," she muttered at the sink. "I know there are no guarantees"—she turned to face me—"but the reason why neither of our parents had a prenuptial agreement was because they didn't start out in their marriage by preparing for it to end."

I pulled a chair out at the large oval dining table, feeling the need to anchor myself. She said the words that were in the back of my mind. "I know."

"You want us to start out that way? You want some paper that says if I fuck around or if I don't sit down and talk shit out and work through our problems that you'd get a few million tossed at you?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. But apparently your people think differently."

Lisa's lips squashed together in frustrated anger. She pushed her hair back, scratching her head, venting her anger in an audible huff. I knew that one wasn't because of me.

"I'd never take from you regardless."

Her shoulders dropped. "That's why I want to give you everything."

My breath hitched. "I already have the part that I want. Love is priceless."

She came over to the table, pulled out the chair next to me, and sat down, our knees touching.

"You have a lot of other stakeholders concerned about your bottom line, Lisa. Even agreements for our wedding photos and stuff, like you said. All of those things; it all has to be legal."

Lisa took my hand in her. "You need to realize that I'd cut them all loose before I'd risk losing you."

I leaned into the other hand cupping my cheek. "I want you to feel safe with me forever, even if that means signing something to give you that."

"Jen, I know you're not a taker. You're the most giving person I've ever known." Her frown softened. "I do not want that kind of paper looming between us."

"Escape clause," I muttered.

"What?"

"Escape clause. It outlines how everything gets divvied up in the event of a divorce. Did you know that Hyunji and Gary are fighting over who gets to keep the TVs and dishes?"

Lisa sighed, disgusted. Her eyes met mine. "And you think that might happen between us."

I felt my head shake, but facts were facts. "I'm watching my best friend get her heart torn out and working on a new relationship at the same time while arguing about who gets the toaster. She and Gary made it three years. I just don't want you to ever worry about me taking your TV."

She leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on my lips. "We are going to blend our lives together. We're going to have a family. But I'm not starting our marriage with a paper that outlines how we end it. Family is important to me. Baby, we will go to counseling to straighten our shit out before we start picking fights over a damn toaster."

"You really mean that?"

"I do. Jennie, I know being in a relationship with me comes with an entire set of stressors that normal people never have to deal with. But you cut that away and I'm still me. I'm just a human."

"I know." I drew in a deep breath. "The prenup thing really surprised me."

"It threw me, too. And you're right. We need to talk about all of this. And if you need me to put it in writing that I'll never stray, then that's what I'll do."

Mom's quips of wisdom flooded my thoughts. "No. I don't need that, because I know that inside, my person has a heart of gold."

Knowing she was fully invested in our relationship made all the difference in the world.