Redemption in Love (Hearts on the Line) (30 page)

“Not…upset.” Amandine grasped for the appropriate word. It wasn’t easy with her thoughts scattered everywhere. “Curious.”

“Don’t look this gift horse in the mouth. He’s giving you more than you could ever ask for. And you can keep your kid without doing the whole nasty court battle thing.” A frown wrinkled Brooke’s forehead. “He’s being a lot nicer than I expected.”

“The part about never seeing each other again bothers me.” Amandine sighed, burying her face in her hands. “I thought…I thought he’d fight for me and the baby.”

Brooke moved next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, Amandine. Things don’t always work out the way we want.”

“There were moments when it seemed like he loved me even if he didn’t say it. If I’d been more patient, he might have.”

“Well, it’s too late for
what-if
s. It’s his loss.”

“No, it’s
my
loss.” Amandine swallowed a sob. “I’m going to lose the man I love.”

Brooke pulled Amandine closer and patted her back. “Hey, listen. Didn’t he make you miserable with all that Catherine stuff?”

“But that was more me than him. I realize that now.”
And it hurts so much
. “My insecurity was controlling so many of my decisions, it ruined our marriage.”

“Seems to me Gavin could’ve done a better job of reassuring you,” Brooke said loyally.

“Maybe. But I screwed up by letting my emotions get the best of me.” Amandine put a hand over her belly. “I keep thinking about what the settlement means, and I think it might mean that he loves me.”

“Don’t let money affect your judgment.”

“He’s providing for me. Making sure I’ll never lack for anything.”

“You’ve been married three years, and there’s a baby on the way. It’s totally reasonable to expect he’d leave you flush.” Brooke’s tone was matter-of-fact, but her lips were pursed in thought.

“I have to see him,” Amandine said.

“Are you sure? If you do, you won’t get a penny. Isn’t that what the agreement says?”

“I don’t care.”

Brooke tapped her lower lip. “Well, I do. I don’t want you to be left with nothing if things don’t work out.”

“Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I’m just trying to be practical. Make sure you have a backup plan.”

“There’s got to be a way to get around it.”

Brooke snapped her fingers. “There is.”

“There is?”

“Fire everyone.”

“
What?
That’s a terrible idea.”

“No, it’s not. Remember how he dropped everything and ran to see Catherine when she got hysterical and fired everyone?”

“Yeah.”

“He’ll do the same for you. The terms are that you can’t contact him, not vice versa.”

“But he made it clear he didn’t want to see me.”

“No. He made sure you couldn’t approach him. There’s a difference. Just do as I say.”

Amandine shook her head. “I can’t fire everyone who works here. You’re my best friend, and everyone else is like family.”

“Ohmigod you worry more than any—!” Brooke pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Okay, fine. Give them a paid vacation. A long one, so they won’t be around when Gavin comes.”

The suggestion brought Amandine up short. That was a great idea. Her staff would love a vacation, especially one that wouldn’t eat into their paid time off. But there was another obstacle. “But how is he going to learn that I ‘fired’ everyone?”

“Maybe his spies will tell him. For a guy who’s rarely home, he always seems to know an awful lot about what’s going on in this house.”

Amandine snorted. “There aren’t any spies. He wants a clean break.”
He wants nothing more to do with me
.
He thinks we’re better off on our own
.

“The agreement doesn’t mention me, does it?” Brooke gave Amandine a foxy smile. “Maybe a little bird will tell him.”

HILARY WALKED INSIDE the office and handed Gavin a small note. “You’re all moved into the new place.”

He managed a smile. She deserved it after days of working overtime to deal with his domestic situation. “Thanks.”

“What do you want to do about your things at the main house?” she asked. “Should I arrange to have them picked up?”

“Later. It’s not that urgent.” His tailor in Italy had overnighted him six new suits.

“All right. Anything else?”

“That’s it for now. Thank you, Hilary.”

“Okay, then.” She left the office.

Sighing, he slumped in his seat. Getting his things from the house he’d shared with Amandine, emptying it of his belongings, seemed too final a goodbye. He shook himself mentally. Who the hell was he kidding? It was over between them. Craig had reported back after the meeting at Samantha Jones’s office. Amandine would take some time to review the settlement he’d proposed, and then she’d sign it. There was nothing objectionable about his offer.

He should have Hilary send a crew to get his stuff today. It was like pulling a Band-Aid: less pain if he just gritted his teeth and yanked it.

“Gavin, your brother’s here to see you,” Hilary said over the intercom.

“Which one?”
The one whose ass I’m going to kick or the one I like?

“Ethan.”

“Send him in.”

The door opened, and Ethan bounced in like he was high on life or something.

At least somebody’s happy
.

“What’s up? I didn’t know you were going to be in town,” Gavin said.

“I wasn’t, until last night.”

“What happened?”

“A situation at Global Strategies’ west coast subsidiary that required my personal attention.” Ethan sat. No, that wasn’t quite right. Gavin didn’t know how to describe the boneless way his brother sort of sprawled around in a seat. It reminded Gavin of one of Dali’s melting clocks. “Heard you were having a few domestic issues, so I decided to swing by.”

“News travels fast.”

“Meredith told Kerri yesterday during their call.”

“I see.”

“There’s no way to reconcile?”

“None,” Gavin said. “Amandine’s got the papers, and I’m sure she’ll sign them soon. My lawyer’s going to take care of the rest.”

“Jesus. Three years of marriage down the drain like that.” Ethan rubbed his forehead with his index finger.

Gavin shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about it. “So Kerri’s helping Meredith?”

“Yeah. It’s better this way. And before you start up about her being a spy for the enemy, she’s not. In fact, I’m going to propose to her as soon as I think of a suitably romantic way to do it.”

Gavin shrugged again. “Buy her an island and hide the ring in the sand. That’s pretty romantic.”

Ethan stared at him. “Proportion, Gavin. A sense of proportion. If you happen to find one lying around on the sidewalk or something, you really should pick it up.”

“Whatever. So you’re sure she has no intention of going back to granddaddy?”

“Nope. But the old man does want to see me to do his grandfatherly duty.”

“Ha.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got lots to say to him.”

“Ah yes. You’re never shy about saying exactly how you feel.”

“Yeah, usually. Actually…that’s not really true.” Something in Ethan’s face softened, grew almost regretful. “I almost lost Kerri because I wasn’t honest with her about what I wanted from her. Because she was so gun-shy about relationships, I made her think we were just going to sleep together until we grew bored with each other.”

Gavin’s eyebrows rose. “And that worked?” In his experience, women usually ran the other way when men made it clear they didn’t do long-term relationships.

“It was, ah, a special situation. But I never wanted that. I wanted something more.”

“You got her back, I presume?”

“Yeah, but only because I figured it out before it was too late.” Ethan leaned forward. “Is divorce what you really want?”

Gavin forced a tight smile. “It doesn’t matter, does it?” He rose and poured himself a finger of bourbon. He needed it if he was going to talk about Amandine. “Want some?”

“No, thanks.”

Gavin took a seat on the other couch and faced Ethan. “She wants it. And after she told me how miserable she was living together, I had to let her go. It would’ve been sheer torture to try to keep her, knowing how unhappy she was.” Elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands. “It kills me that I made her so unhappy.”

“You love her,” Ethan said quietly.

Gavin nodded.

“Have you told her?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. She has the right to know before doing something she might regret.” Ethan sighed and rubbed his face. “I’m partially responsible for how things turned out between the two of you.”

“You? Why?”

“Well, you know. Back in the day, I bailed and left you with Jacob. I never got along with him, and he didn’t like me for various reasons, but I didn’t think he’d take it out on you.”

“Eh.” Gavin made a face. “He was always a dickhead.”

“Yeah, but if I’d been around more, he might not have picked on you so much. I would’ve never let him get away with stealing your girlfriends, or bullying you with his idiot buddies…” Ethan shook his head. “That’s not what a big brother should do.”

“I’m not sure your staying around would’ve made any difference. Just as well you were away at boarding school. Jacob didn’t need two younger brothers to mess up. Growing up with him was toxic. Even Mom wasn’t sure what to do with him at times. I doubt you would’ve known either.”

“Don’t let Jacob win,” Ethan said. “Don’t let the things he’s done shape your actions and take away what happiness you can have. He’s not worth it.”

Was that what the divorce was? Letting Jacob win? “I—”

Suddenly there were sounds of a scuffle outside.

“Hey! Don’t you dare…!” came Hilary’s shrill voice. Hilary was never shrill.

The door to his office opened with a bang, and Brooke charged in. She was in her usual bright outfit—a hot pink t-shirt, neon blue jacket and shorts plus black boots. Utterly unprofessional. Hilary was right on her tail.

“I need to talk to you!” Brooke said, pointing a purple-nailed finger at Gavin. Then she stopped and said, “Who is this?”

“Hi.” Ethan gave her a broad wave. “I’m Gavin’s older brother.”

“The bigamist?”

“No,” he said dryly. “The other one.”

“I’m calling security now,” Hilary said, phone out and her face a shade of red Gavin had never seen before.

Gavin raised a hand. “Okay, calm down! It’s all right, Hilary. I’ll speak with her.”

“See?” Brooke smiled extra sweetly. “Shut the door, why don’t you?”

Lips pressed until they were almost invisible, Hilary glanced at Gavin, and he nodded. Only then did she leave, pulling the door closed behind her.

Gavin steepled his fingers and leaned back in his seat. Though he didn’t offer Brooke a chair, she took one anyway, next to Ethan, who merely raised an eyebrow. She’d always been slightly impudent, but barging into his office was overboard even for her.

“What’s this all about?” Gavin said, keeping his voice as inviting as the Alaska winter.

“Amandine, of course.”

An alarm went off in his head, and he sat up straight. “Is she all right?”

“Define ‘all right’.”

“Brooke.”

She sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell you. She fired everyone.”

“
What the hell?
”

“You heard me. She fired everyone, including me! So I have to find a new job.”

“Has she hired new staff?” She might have wanted to get rid of the people he’d selected, though he couldn’t begin to guess why she’d fired her best friend.

“Nope.”

The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Why not?”

“Who knows?” Brooke shrugged. “Maybe she’s being temperamental and unreasonable. The pregnancy and all…” She made a vague back-and-forth gesture. “Hormones tend to go wild when women are expecting.”

“That’s precisely why she needs to have the staff on hand. Her blood pressure is bad, and she might have gestational diabetes. What she needs is proper rest. There’s no way she can take care of the house on her own.”

“I agree. But my hands are tied.” She crossed her wrists and wriggled her fingers dramatically. “She won’t see me either. Me! Her best friend!”

He swore out loud.

“Unless… You want to intervene. You
are
still her husband. And you’re the one paying for the house and all.”

He didn’t want to intervene. To see her again, knowing how he had made her miserable…that he’d screwed up everything between them? Unbearable.

“You know, I heard stress is bad for you, and it’s even worse when you’re pregnant. Amandine’s stressed. A lot.” Brooke turned to Ethan. “Don’t you agree?”

“I wouldn’t know. Haven’t spent much time around pregnant women,” came Ethan’s diplomatic answer.

Gavin narrowed his eyes. Brooke seemed entirely too upbeat. What the hell kind of “best friend” was she?

“The source of her stress isn’t even from the pregnancy,” Brooke said.

“Then what is it?” Gavin burst out. “She has no money worries, nothing!”

“She’s stressed about you.”

“
Me?
”

“Yeah.”

“What did I do?”

Brooke gave him a meaningful look. He couldn’t figure out what she was trying to communicate. He’d never bothered to learn what women’s “meaningful looks” meant since they signified whatever the woman felt like at the moment.

“Gavin…” She sighed. “If you can’t see what the problem is, there’s really no hope for you.”

“You think you can just come in to my office and talk to me like that?” he said, his voice tight.

“Uh huh. You don’t sign my paychecks anymore.” She got up. “But if you hook me up with a job… I’ll owe you, and I’ll be nicer. Until then…” She walked out, waving bye-bye at him.

He glared at the closed door. How in the world did someone as sweet as Amandine end up being friends with somebody like
that
?

“Well,” Ethan said. “That was different.”

“If by ‘different’ you mean ‘utterly infuriating,’ then yes, it certainly was.”

“Can Amandine manage the mansion on her own?”

“No. It’s too big. I have two full-time staff just for the garden.”