Redemption in Love (Hearts on the Line) (8 page)

Gavin had never forgotten Jacob’s words. His life experience merely confirmed Jacob’s harsh lesson.

When women said, “It’s not you, it’s me,” they really meant, “I found a guy with more money and more success than you.”

So Gavin had done everything in his power to make sure he was more than others, even though he’d suffered another loss to Jacob when Catherine had decided to become Mrs. Jacob Lloyd.

At least that had been a blessing in disguise. In hindsight, it was obvious he and Catherine were incompatible. Gavin had been more in love with the idea of marrying a beautiful girl from a respectable family and having a proper wife than the girl herself.

He considered Amandine’s behavior. She’d appeared in his bed at Catherine’s wedding. Then afterward, she’d tiptoed out of his room and returned to her life in L.A. Gavin had chalked it up to a one-night stand. She had, after all, been drunk, and he was experienced and jaded enough to know his oldest brother was wrong about one thing: women could spread their legs for a guy without really liking him. Still, something about the encounter had bothered him. Women didn’t generally run from him. He’d never really had to chase any of them…until Amandine.

He might have never seen her again—and would’ve done his best not to think about her—if she hadn’t worked at the Art4Kids Foundation as an art teacher. It was one of his pet charities, and he checked in periodically to make sure everything was being taken care of.

“Hello, Amandine,” he’d said at the end of his visit with one of the foundation’s classes.

“Gavin,” she’d said, her eyes slightly wary.

“How are you?”

“Good! Thank you.”

“I believe you’re done for the day?”

“Um…yeah, actually, I am.”

“Excellent. How about dinner?” he’d asked, his mouth moving almost on autopilot, shocking him. Maybe his subconscious had known then she was the one for him.

“I, uh…”

“Say yes.”

She’d looked at him for a long moment, worrying her lower lip, then nodded.

A year later, they’d gotten married in an elaborate ceremony. Everyone from their families and friends had been invited, and no expense had been spared. He’d wanted to give her the fairytale wedding all women dreamed of.

Being with him had given her access to his social circle, which teemed with the kind of successful, wealthy men any woman would love to get her clutches on. Who was she moving on to after getting rid of him?

Normally he wouldn’t have cared. Women were everywhere, but he didn’t want Amandine to hook up with someone she’d met through him.

But what if it’s something else? What if she’s genuinely unhappy about something?

Why wouldn’t she tell him if that was the case?

“I know what I see,” Mark said. “You married her for the most obvious reason men like you marry a woman. There was something special there, right? So don’t let a minor hiccup become full-blown pneumonia. Grovel for a bit, get her back, and next year don’t let anything get in the way of the anniversary dinner. Problem solved.”

Gavin only vaguely noted his friend’s remarks. He finished his beer and went out, murmuring something about an appointment he couldn’t miss.

He slid into his car the minute Thomas opened the door. His heart had never squeezed like this when he’d lost a woman. If they’d wanted to leave, then fine. They had his blessing. But Amandine was different. She was his wife.

That had to be why his throat felt tight like he was suffocating. It couldn’t possibly be anything more…could it?

GAVIN WORKED LATE in the office, until well after eleven. His to-do items were procreating like bunnies on Viagra. No matter how fast he went through them, more seemed to appear.

But I can still use more things to do
.

He didn’t want to go home yet.

Going home meant confronting the aftermath of Amandine’s bombshell announcement at La Mer. Had she already moved into one of the guest bedrooms? He’d rather bet a billion dollars in the currency market than find that out.

Really? That’s all there is to it?

No. For once, he was actually scared. He didn’t know what to do to convince Amandine to stay with him. He realized that she hadn’t been exaggerating at lunch. She truly wanted to get rid of him.

Grovel
, Mark had said, but Gavin didn’t know how. He’d already apologized. Did he need to get on his knees? Shed a tear or two?

Ugh. That would only serve to make him look pitiful and ensure Amandine would immediately run to her attorney to finalize their divorce.

He needed something better than “groveling” to get his wife back. The problem was he didn’t know exactly what that was yet.

Gavin checked his email for the tenth time and voice mail for the twentieth. Catherine still hadn’t returned any of his messages, damn her. His wedding ring was still at her place, and he wanted it back. He knew the ring was one of the reasons why Amandine was so mad.

Should he fly to Houston and get it himself? Or would that upset Amandine even further, since she obviously didn’t want him spending any more time with Catherine?

Hilary could go…
Assuming Catherine was still in Houston, of course.

His office door opened, and his brother-in-law Pete Monroe stuck his head in. “Wanna split some Chinese?”

Gavin was about to say no, but then he caught a whiff of lo mein and his stomach rumbled. “Sure.”

Pete came in with a big white plastic bag stuffed with paper plates, chopsticks and boxes of noodles, rice, chicken and beef and set things up on the coffee table. His hair wasn’t golden like Amandine’s. From what Gavin heard, Pete got the dark hair of the Fairchilds through his mother, but his blue eyes and height from his father. Luckily, since the Fairchilds were short.

Gavin took the plate Pete offered and stared at the amount of food Pete had spread out. “You usually eat this much?”

“No, but I thought you might want some. I didn’t see you grab any dinner earlier.”

He hadn’t had lunch either. It was difficult to have a decent appetite after his wife had told him she wanted to leave him. “How long have you been here? About two years?”

“Actually, a little over three.”

Gavin nodded. Pete was one of the brightest young analysts working for him. Would he lose Pete as well if Amandine insisted on divorce? “Why did you choose to work for me? You could’ve gone anywhere. Goldreich, Sterling & Wilson…even Europe.”

Pete stopped in the middle of shoveling sweet and sour chicken into his mouth and considered the question. “Well. You offered to mentor me.”

Gavin waved his chopsticks. “Everyone says that.”

“Yeah, but no one else is married to my sister. I figured you’d actually keep your promise.”

“I see.” Gavin’s chopsticks brushed a broccoli floret in the beef dish; he pushed it to the side. Only his mother’s disapproving gaze could make him eat the cruciferous thing. “What would you do if Amandine and I weren’t married? Would you quit?”

A laugh trembled out of Pete. “W-What?”

“If we were to divorce.”

“That’s” —Pete took a big gulp of his Coke— “ridiculous. She’s crazy about you.”

Gavin bit into the beef and took his time chewing the meat. “How can you be so confident? About her feelings, I mean.” If it turned out that Pete somehow had the power to read Amandine’s mind, Gavin would quadruple his salary.

“I know my sister. She’s such a romantic, she would never have agreed to marry you if she didn’t love you. Believe me, she adores you,” he said, his voice firm, almost forceful. “The only way your marriage will fall apart is if you decide to leave.”

Gavin wanted to laugh. Pete clearly had no idea his sister wanted a divorce. Or maybe he was confusing his devotion to his job with his sister’s to her marriage.

“Or…maybe if you did something to kill her love.”

Gavin swallowed hard. Had he done that?

“But I’m sure you never would. And even if something were to happen…” Pete glared at his noodles. “I think we should be able to separate our personal and professional lives.”

“I see.”

“Don’t you?”

Pete’s intense gaze bore down on Gavin. He smiled inwardly. Did his brother-in-law have any idea how obvious he was? “Of course.” Gavin finished the last bit of meat from his plate. “Thanks for dinner.”

* * *

Pete dumped the trash in the big bin in the kitchen—no need to stink up the entire floor—and went to an empty private call space and shut the door. It was a small room, just enough for a tiny functional desk and a chair. A phone, a few pens and a cream memo pad with a discreet, embossed OWM for Omega Wealth Management on it were the only other items.

What the hell had that been about?

As far as Pete knew, his sister had a great marriage. Gavin showered her with luxury and extravagance, the kind of things women all dreamed of but rarely got in real life. People at the office had started a betting pool on what Gavin would get her for their anniversary. No one had guessed a private jet, which made the pot swell for the next round.

So why in the world had Gavin acted like he wanted to test Pete’s loyalty?

Leaning against the desk, Pete pulled out his phone and dialed Amandine.

“Hello?”

“Amandine.”

“Hey, Pete.” Her voice was sleepy but warm as usual, and he took a big breath. It didn’t sound like anything was wrong.

“You…Uh…” He shifted. He’d called her out of sheer panic, but now that everything seemed okay, he didn’t know what to say. “Are you going to divorce your husband?” was random and inappropriate.

“Yes?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice and see how you were doing. We haven’t talked in a while.”

“Pete, it’s almost midnight. You’re working too much.”

Was that disapproval in her voice? “I know. I’ll try to make some time to see you this weekend or the next.”

“I’d like that.”

“You…uh…going to bring Brooke too?”

“Doubtful. I don’t think she’ll be working as my assistant much longer.”

The world seemed to freeze for a moment. “Well that’s a shocker. She’s quitting?”

“Not exactly. It’s kind of complicated.”

Aw, shit. He hated it whenever women said, “It’s complicated.” It’d be easier to resurrect the dead than to figure out what made something “complicated” for women.

“Maybe we can talk about it in person later,” Amandine said.

“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll text you with a date and time.”

“Great. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Good night.”

Pete put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. See? He’d been worried for nothing. Gavin had been testing him, and he’d said the right thing.

But why was Brooke quitting? It better not be because she and Amandine were having issues. He’d adored Brooke since high school. His feelings for her hadn’t subsided even after all those years, but Brooke had never seen him as anything more than her best friend’s little brother. Sadly for him he’d never had anything going for him to make her see him as a man.

Things were different now though. He was older, with a stellar career, money and more confidence. His plans were coming together. All he needed was a little bit more time to make sure everything was ready…but he had to make sure. He knew he’d only get one shot at convincing Brooke.

Whatever situation was brewing between Amandine and Brooke, it had better not ruin his plans to get the woman of his dreams.

* * *

Gavin didn’t get home until after midnight. Poor Thomas. Gavin made a mental note to call for a limo service next time and let his driver go home early. Otherwise Thomas would never get to see his children grow up.

There was still only one light on at home. Guess nobody got the memo his wife was leaving him, so there was no reason to have only one light anymore.

He went inside. Amandine might be sleeping in the bedroom. He might be able to talk her out of the rash decision. If he was lucky, maybe—

What the hell was he thinking? Amandine wouldn’t change her mind because of a post-midnight chat. He needed a plan.

What if Pete’s right? What if you’ve killed her love?

No. That couldn’t possibly be true. Their marriage was still salvageable.

“Gavin,” Luna said the moment he stepped inside the foyer.

“Luna, what are you still doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“You could’ve called.”

“Amandine took her things in the afternoon.”

He felt like he’d been kicked in the head. Moved out? Completely? He should’ve run after her at La Mer. No, scratch that. He should’ve never let her go in the first place. “I see.” He pressed his mouth together then forced a smile for the housekeeper’s benefit. “Is that all?”

“No. I found this in the bedroom when I was cleaning.” Luna handed him an envelope.

He glanced down, not recognizing the logo on it. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. But it looked important.”

“Thank you. I’ll take care of it.” He put it in his breast pocket.

Luna shuffled her feet.

“Yes?” he said, doing his best to keep his voice low and gentle. It wasn’t her fault his life was falling apart.

“Would it be all right if I sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight? My kids are staying at their cousins’.”

“Sure. Feel free. Good night.”

“Good night, Gavin.”

As Gavin went up to the second floor, dread filled his gut. How would he bear the sight of a half-empty suite? She had—

He stopped short at the open door and blinked. What the…?

Amandine had supposedly taken her things, but nothing seemed to be missing from the room. The pink and ivory music box he’d bought her a month after they’d gotten married was still on the night table, and he knew Amandine loved playing it when she read before going to bed. Her silk night robe was draped over a chair. For some reason it reminded him of a lavender colored corpse.

He went to the closet. All her dresses, blouses and pants were still in there, along with her shoes. What had she taken then?