The Baby Inheritance. Maureen Child

       One

      “Divorce is reality,” Reed Hudson told his client. “It’s marriage that’s the anomaly.”

      Carson Duke, America’s favorite action-movie star, just stared at his attorney for a long minute, before saying, “That’s cold.”

      Reed shook his head slowly. The man was here to end a marriage that most of the country looked on as a fairy tale come to life, and still he didn’t want to accept the simple truth. Reed had seen this over and over again. Oh, most of the people who came to him were eager to end a marriage that had become inconvenient or boring or both. But there were a few people who came to him wishing they were anywhere but in his office, ending a relationship that they’d hoped was forever.

      Forever. Even the thought nearly brought a smile. In his experience, both business and personal, there was no such thing as forever.

      “Like I said,” Reed told Carson with a shake of his head, “not cold. Reality.”

      “Harsh.” Then Carson snorted a short laugh and crossed his legs, his ankle on top of his knee. Frowning a little, he asked quietly, “You ever been married?”

      Now Reed laughed. “Oh, hell, no.”

      Just the idea of him ever getting married was ridiculous. His reputation alone, as what the tabloids called the “divorce attorney to the stars,” was enough to make sure no woman he was involved with developed long-term plans. And representing most of Hollywood and New York in high-profile divorce cases had all started with a single client five years before. Reed had represented television’s most likable comedian in a nasty split from a wife who made the “bunny boiler” look like a good time.

      Word had spread in Hollywood and across celebrity lines, and soon Reed’s practice was littered with the rich and famous. He enjoyed his work, relished protecting his clients from bad relationships and shattering the occasional prenup. And, if there was one thing he’d learned through the years, it was that even the best marriage could dissolve into misery.

      But, he hadn’t exactly needed his clients to teach him that lesson. His own family was a sterling example of just how badly marriages could go. His father was now on wife number five and living in London, while Reed’s mother and husband number four were currently enjoying the heat and tropical atmosphere of Bali. And from what Reed had been hearing, his mother was already looking for husband number five. Thanks to his serially monogamous parents, Reed had ten siblings, full and half, ranging in age from three to thirty-two with another