Forever in Love (13 page)

Then what? What could he do? Sean was in college, basically an adult. Maybe he was upset because he liked Willie Rae. She’d deserved what she’d gotten the night before, but she probably wasn’t a bad sort if she’d been tolerated for so long.

Unable to focus on fashion anymore, Catherine tossed the magazine aside and looked at her cell phone voicemail. There weren’t any. How could that be? She usually got dozens of messages per day. Then she remembered she’d gotten a new number and hadn’t told anyone. She shook her head and called Salazar.

“Salazar Pryce,” came a brisk voice that said he’d hang up in two seconds if you didn’t give him a reason not to. Not surprising since few people had his private number. Most had to wade through a sea of gatekeepers to reach him, mainly his army of assistants and lawyers.

“It’s me.”

“Hey, Catherine,” he said, his tone turning amicable. “Finally. I left you three messages already. I tried the house phone, but you weren’t there to pick it up either.”

“Sorry. I lost my phone and had to get a new number.”

“What happened?”

“A long story, but don’t give my new number to anybody, including my mother.”

“If that’s what you want. How are things in Cooter’s Bluff?”

“Going okay. Why didn’t you tell me Blaine had a brother?”

“He does?”

His surprise sounded genuine. “You didn’t know?”

“Never bothered to check. Georgia Love never married or had another kid.” Salazar paused. “Are you sure?”

“Well, something happened. It’s actually a step-brother. His name is Sean and he’s going to college.”

“Okay. What about it?”

“Do you know how much it costs to go to college these days?”

“No idea,” he said in a bored voice. “That’s what my secretary’s for.”

She rolled her eyes. Typical Salazar. “Well it’s expensive. We’re talking close to fifty thousand a year unless he’s going someplace in-state.”

“And that would be relevant because…?”

Do I need to spell out everything?
“Have you told Blaine about the fifty million dollar trust fund? You said you set it up, but you never said whether you told him about it.”

“My lawyer did, but he doesn’t want it.”

She frowned. “Did he say why?”

“Nope. Should I offer to pay for this step-brother’s degree? Think that’s going to do the trick?”

She leaned back in her seat. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“If he has cash flow problems…” Salazar sighed. “I could make all of them go away if he’d just…”

“You want to be overbearing and tell him he can have nice things from you only if he does what you want him to do?”

“Hey, you know I’m not like that,” Salazar said, sounding wounded. “I gave all my kids money of their own when they turned twenty-one. Just so they could do whatever their little hearts desired.”

True enough. But she suspected he’d given them the money to allow them freedom from Ceinlys’s influence. She had definite ideas about the kind of life her children should lead, and didn’t care that they might have opinions of their own on the matter.

“Anyway,” Salazar continued, “forget my stubborn child for a moment. I can’t deal with that right now on top of everything else. How do you like the town?”

“It’s nice. I’m actually impressed.” Except for the klepto part.

“Good. If you’d said it sucked, I was going to raze the house.”

She laughed. “You’re a riot. It’s nice enough that I wouldn’t mind living here.”

“If that’s what you want, I can arrange that until I want to retire.”

She jerked upright. “What?”

“Just kidding,” he said. “You know I can’t stand small towns. By the way, I heard François’s been trying to reach you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I commissioned something recently, and he happened to mention it.”

“Since when did you start buying from people who actually know how to paint?”

“Since I realized his work always appreciates.” Salazar laughed. “Anyway, you should get in touch. I have a conference call. Talk to you later?”

“Sure. Oh, wait. Can you text me François’s number?”

“Anything for you, my dear.”

They hung up and she stared at her phone. What was that about retirement? And did he mean he wanted to retire to Cooter’s Bluff? She couldn’t imagine Salazar living in a small town.

As for François… He used to have her number, but now that she’d ditched the old phone he had no way of getting in touch with her. She never used email.

The text came through from Salazar. She found a pencil and paper, took a few minutes to carefully copy the number down, and dialed François. She had no idea where he was—he loved to travel—but if Salazar had seen him not too long ago, he might still be in the States.

“Allo?” came a rough voice. For all his artistic talent, François sounded like a chain-smoking bouncer who ate nails for breakfast.

“Hello, François. I understand you’ve been looking for me.”

“Catherine, my dear! ’ow are you?” He pronounced her name “Cat-a-reen”.

“Well…I’ve been better. But things aren’t too bad.”

“What a foolish thing I ask. I ’eard about Jacob. Such an
imbécile
. I knew he was no good for you. You are too good for any man, my angel.”

She chuckled at the overblown Gallic charm. François was so darn sweet, always crediting her for his success and saying the most flattering things. Given his phenomenal talent, it had only been a matter of time before he was discovered.

“I ’eard other bad things about Jacob’s family. They are true?”

Great. So he’d heard all those rumors. Well, they weren’t technically rumors since they were true. But still… She rubbed her forehead. But then why should she be surprised? As a famous artist, he had access to so many people from her social circle. “Well. They’re upset.”

“Upset? With you? Incredible!” He cursed under his breath. “I cannot let them bully you! It isn’t right. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Don’t do anything hasty, François. I can handle them.”

“But…they have all this money and friends. You need the same to fight back.”

“I appreciate your friendship. You know I do. But it’s important you stay out of this.” If he took on her in-laws, it wasn’t just one powerful family he was dealing with. Ethan was marrying the Sterling heiress, which meant François might also be faced with Barron Sterling’s displeasure. She’d heard enough nasty things about him that she couldn’t bear the idea of François getting hurt in her mess. “When I think of something you can do for me, I’ll ask. I promise.”

There was a
tsk
sound. “This is not right.”

“I know,” she said soothingly. François had a volatile temperament no one except her could do anything about. She hoped he’d listen to her now. “The best thing you can do for me is focus on your art. Please? Will you do that for me?”

“Of course. You know I would do anything for you.”

“I know. Thank you. Now tell me how you’ve been.”

He chattered on for a while, then said, “Oh, by the way…did I mention? I was interviewed by the
Wall Street Journal
.”

“Really? For what?”

“My art! Apparently, they write about things other than
commerce
.” He sneered the word like it was syphilis. As much as he loved the lifestyle his new-found fame and fortune afforded him, he hated the very idea of making money.

“Well, congratulations!”

“I think they understood nothing I said. They seemed interested only in how much my paintings sell for these days.”

“Well, you know how it is. Us crude Americans.”

“Ah, look at me complaining to you about foolish things. Catherine, they are crude, but not you. A beautiful woman can never be crude. If you want a break…a rest for your soul if you will…you’re welcome at my place in Provence.”

“You have a house in Provence?”

“I bought it recently. Will you consider it?”

“Of course. And thank you. By the way when was the article published? I want to take a look.” She’d make an exception and actually read it.

“It’s not published yet. I think maybe next week or month? I don’t know. But I’ll get a copy and send it to you. Is that good?”

“Excellent. Thanks.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries then hung up. Catherine sighed. If Jacob had half the human decency that François did…

The doorbell rang, and she frowned. What was it now? Had Irene finally decided to do her job?

Sadly it was the deliveryman with the overgrown eyebrows and mustache again. Had Salazar sent another thick report he thought she should read?

“Sign here.” Unlike the last time, the package was slim.

She took the pen but didn’t sign. “Who’s it from?”

He scowled and squinted at the label. “Says Amandine Lloyd.”

Catherine swallowed. Was she being served or something? But why would Amandine get involved? Ethan wouldn’t stoop low enough to use her cousin’s name.

She scrawled her name and took the envelope. Huffing, the delivery guy walked off. She was about to shut the door when she saw Blaine’s truck pulling into her driveway.

He crossed the distance in a few wide strides and kissed her on the mouth. “Hey, baby.”

“Hi, Blaine.”

They went inside together. He looked at the envelope curiously. “What did Archie have for you?”

So that was his name. “Something from my cousin.”

“Must be important. He works for a special courier company.”

“I guess.” She tapped one corner of the stiff Tyvek. The last time she and Amandine had spoken, the latter had been pregnant and about to divorce her husband. But they’d eventually reconciled, and Amandine had delivered a healthy baby boy. What did Amandine want? Her cousin had thought for a long time that Catherine had ulterior motives when it came to her husband. Silly girl. Catherine was through with the Lloyd men. And Gavin was crazy about his wife.

“You gonna open it?” Blaine said. “I know you want to.”

“I didn’t realize I was that easy to read,” she muttered then ripped the envelope open. A couple of sheets and another envelope, this one elegantly white and expensive, fell into her open palm.

Dear Catherine
,

I hope you’re doing well
.
I heard from Aunt Olivia you were missing
.
Of course I assumed she was exaggerating
,
but when I tried to call I couldn’t get through to you at all
.
Anyway
,
I had to use Pattington
.
I hope you don’t mind
.

Catherine frowned as she worked her way through the letter. Paddington, the Lloyds’ family sleuth. The man was obviously good at his job, and famously discreet. Catherine had seen how her in-laws relied on him to take care of delicate matters.

I don’t know if you heard
,
but I had a baby boy
.
We named him Jeremy
,
after Gavin’s father
.
He’s so precious
.
We want you to come meet him when you have a chance
.

The other reason I’m writing is because Ethan has been trying to reach you
.
The audit’s finally finished at the company
,
and he said it was important for him to talk to you
.
I thought I’d let you know so you can call him when you get a chance
.
His number is
…

Her hands trembled. Did she want to call Ethan? Whatever he wanted to talk about couldn’t be pretty. Their last face-to-face meeting had gone ugly, one of those rare occasions when she’d lost her composure.

Also Kerri
(
you remember Ethan’s fiancée
,
don’t you?
)
wants to invite you to their wedding in Thailand
.
Barron Sterling himself has taken over the planning
,
and apparently it’s going to be
the
wedding of the century
.

If Barron Sterling had taken over, Amandine’s description probably wasn’t exaggerated. A ruthless billionaire curmudgeon, he had a reputation for getting what he wanted, no matter who he had to crush to get it. Catherine was sure he was determined to give his only granddaughter the greatest wedding money could buy.

“Hey,” Blaine said. “How long is it going to take you to read that thing?”

“Shh.”

You should come
.
All the Sterlings and Wilsons
,
not to mention the Pryces
,
the Reeds and all the other families are going to be there
.
The perfect occasion to be seen and mingle and bounce back
.
There will be dozens of eligible bachelors
,
and many of them make Jacob look like a sad little beggar
.
You deserve this after what you’ve been through
.
Aunt Olivia said it would be the best place to find a suitable man for you
,
and if you’re looking
,
I agree
.
If not
,
then just come out and have some fun
.

Of course, Olivia did. She was probably dreaming of becoming Barron Sterling’s in-law.

So long as Ethan didn’t toss Catherine in jail, yes, the wedding would be the perfect opportunity for her to find the kind of husband she needed. And if Kerri wanted Catherine at the wedding, Ethan might relent and let her be.

Catherine re-read the letter slowly and carefully to ensure she hadn’t misunderstood anything while Blaine fidgeted. But she didn’t find anything that seemed off. It was as Amandine had said. If she wanted, she could go to the wedding and see if she could spot some husband material.

Her pride chafed at the fact that thanks to her mother, her cousin knew how much she needed a rich man who could take care of her. When they were growing up, Amandine had always been the poor cousin, not her.
How the mighty have fallen
, she thought.

Still, it would be foolish to waste this kind of opportunity just because of her pride. Putting the letter and invitation back into the envelope, Catherine looked at Blaine with a mixture of sadness and longing. She’d thought he was just some rough around the edges guy in a small backward town. But of the two of them, he was the smarter, more resilient and self-sufficient one. If she’d had even half the will and brains he had, she would’ve never been in her current situation or stayed in a toxic marriage and let Jacob destroy what was left of her self-esteem.