# Chapter 17: The Layers Beneath the Lawyer
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 17 of "Seduced By My Ex's Divorce Attorney audiobook free." This is the chapter where the walls around Roarke Baldwin start cracking, where Hannah Crowley realizes that the man she once saw as her enemy may be far more complicated—and far more irresistible—than she ever imagined. So let’s step into Woods Parlor, where old trophies, painful memories, and one very nosy football player begin to change everything.
The chapter opens with Roarke following Hannah into the school building. A bold mural in red, white, and blue greets them, a Spartan helmet staring down like a silent guardian. He takes her hand and leads her left, then down a hallway. Hannah asks how many people are in the building, and Roarke teases her, asking if she’s afraid to be alone with him. She insists she’s just curious. He explains that it’s probably only athletic coaches and a few janitorial staff because summer school just ended. His easy familiarity with the school makes Hannah wonder how involved he still is in this town. When she points out that he claimed not to stay up on gossip, he quips that summer school dates aren’t gossip. Her cheeks pink with embarrassment because he’s right.
He grips her hand tighter and apologizes for saying it that way, suggesting they just have a nice day. Hannah starts to call him “Mr. Bald…” then corrects herself to “Roarke.” That one word replaces his clenched jaw with a smile. “Better,” he says. Then a man’s voice booms down the hall. It’s Sean, the head coach of the Spartan football team. Roarke introduces Hannah Crowley, his hand landing on the small of her back, sending a tingle through her stomach. Sean’s eyes dip over her quickly, and Hannah wonders if she really is such an anomaly in this town. Sean invites them to watch practice, and soon Hannah spots a trophy case. She sees Roarke’s picture with a team beside a trophy. He played here. But his voice isn’t proud—it sounds contrite. He tells Sean they’ll be right out.
Hannah inspects the other pictures and finds the graduation class of 1994. She does the math: Roarke is forty-one or maybe forty-two. Then her eyes catch a much younger Liv in a cheerleading uniform, wrapped in Roarke’s arms. He’s sweaty, and there’s no silver in his dark hair. Hannah asks what happened between him and Liv. Roarke compares it to the song “Jack and Diane” by John Mellencamp—except Diane wanted Jack’s best friend, Evan. Hannah apologizes, but Roarke says not to be sorry. He wouldn’t be who he is without that experience. He might be coaching like Sean, not that it’s bad, but he’s happier where he is. Hannah presses: “But you’d have the girl.” Roarke shakes his head. She wasn’t the right one. If she was, he wouldn’t have lost her. He sounds certain.
Hannah tries to compare Liv to what happened with Todd, but Roarke stops her. It’s different. Liv and he were young. He didn’t know there was a whole other world out there. Hannah steps closer, reaches for his hands, and entwines their fingers. She tells him he has so many layers and begs him to peel just one back. He says he is showing her. Bringing her to Woods Parlor is showing her a part of himself almost no one knows about. It puts on full display why he doesn’t do relationships. Hannah’s heart cracks for him. She squeezes his hands, and he adds, “And you haven’t even met my mother yet.”
Then Hannah asks the big question: does he believe in true love? In fate? Their chests are pressed together now. His gaze falls to her. “Truth?” he asks. She nods, swallowing her expectations. He says, “No.” She steps back, but he grips her hands, refusing to let her pull away. He tells her that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be proven wrong. He’s a lawyer. He sees logic and facts. His days are spent dealing with the aftermath of relationships that people thought would last until death but transformed couples into conniving, manipulative people wanting to harm the person they once swore they loved most. Still, he wants a woman to come home to. A woman to warm his bed at night. A woman who doesn’t need him but wants him.
To Hannah’s horror, tears threaten to spill. She asks if he thinks she’s that woman. He releases one hand, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and says he wants her to be her—but first he’d like her to let him in by forgiving him for representing Todd. He wants to put that behind them and start fresh. Hannah leans into the strength of his palm and whispers, “I’m not sure.” He nods, eyes falling shut, and says, “Well, good thing I have two more favors.” Her heart is screaming. Her body is in full rebellion. Her lips beg for just one kiss. In a sick way, she wants him to use a favor to kiss her. Instead, he pulls back, takes her hand again, and leads her out the doors without another word.
Outside, Hannah stands on the edge of the grass field watching boys hit each other. Roarke talks with Sean in the corner, inspecting helmets. When the water break is called, a young kid with big blue eyes and sandy blonde hair races over. He’s a heartbreaker in the making. He asks if she’s Mr. Baldwin’s girl. Hannah says she’s not his girl. The kid says, “Why not? He’s got to be a catch what with how rich he is.” Hannah shrugs and says money’s not everything. The kid replies, “It is when you have nothing.” His words ring in her head and form new questions. Why did Roarke ever choose to become a divorce attorney?
The kid then tells her that if it wasn’t for Mr. Baldwin, they wouldn’t have the new concussion helmets. They’d be playing with uniforms from when he played fifty years ago. Hannah chuckles and asks if he paid the kid to say what a great guy he is. The kid says he never does what he’s asked. One friend confirms it’s a true story. The other says to ask Principal Montgomery. Roarke is the most successful person to come out of Woods Parlor, and he never abandoned them. The water break ends, and the boys run back onto the field. Hannah watches Roarke and Sean shake hands. Her gut churns. If Roarke wanted her here to prove he wasn’t the person she assumed, it’s working. He’s so much more and so much better than she ever thought. And then the thought hits her like a tackle: “Damn it all to hell… I’m falling for him.”
That evening, Roarke and Hannah arrive at the church for the rehearsal. Hannah never pictured Allie marrying in a church. This time it isn’t Allie barreling toward her, but a woman with dark loose hair hanging around her face, wearing a dress probably one size too small, her feet fighting against the straps of her sandals. “Roarke, baby,” she coos like he’s five years old. Hannah silently begs: please tell me this isn’t Edie. But it is. “Hi, Mom,” Roarke says, giving her more of an acquaintance hug than a full one. Edie pulls back, gripping his hands like she’s inspecting him. Her judgment should end in an A-plus. Hannah admits it was all she could do not to jump him when he stepped out of the bathroom at the motel. Dark charcoal slacks, a simple white button-down with the top two buttons undone, the usual silver watch on his wrist. He’s a more casual version of himself, but still as edible as ever. Edie waves him off, saying he’s always too dressed up. “You’re in Woods Parlor for heaven’s sake. You could have worn jeans.”
And that is where the chapter leaves us—Hannah caught between the pull of Roarke’s vulnerability and the sharp edge of his mother’s judgment, with two favors still hanging in the air and her heart already halfway gone.
## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
This chapter is a beautiful turning point. It doesn’t just move the plot forward—it peels back Roarke’s armor and lets Hannah, and us, see the wounded, principled, surprisingly generous man underneath. The school visit, the trophy case, the conversation about Liv, and that raw confession about what divorce has taught him all land with real emotional weight. Hannah’s internal conflict is deliciously messy: she wants to hate him, she wants to kiss him, she wants to run, and she wants to stay. The football kid’s lines about money and helmets add a quiet, powerful layer to Roarke’s character. Then Edie’s entrance at the church rehearsal is perfectly timed, injecting awkward humor and dread into an already charged evening. The pacing is sharp, the dialogue crackles, and the final line—“I’m falling for him”—hits exactly as it should.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Next chapter will likely dive straight into the wedding rehearsal chaos now that Edie has arrived. I predict Edie will scrutinize Hannah even harder, maybe making pointed comments about Todd, Allie, or Roarke’s love life. Hannah will feel out of place, but Roarke will defend her in his quiet, commanding way. One of his two remaining favors may come into play—perhaps a dance, a private walk, or a request that forces them closer. The tension between Hannah and Roarke will keep building, and we may finally get a kiss that neither of them can take back. But with Todd still lurking in the background and Hannah’s trust issues unresolved, that kiss could be both a breakthrough and a bomb.
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