SWNOVELS The Billionaire’s Baby: Chapter 5
THE NEXT MORNING, Brooke showed Amandine a silk cocktail dress and matching sandals. The fresh yellow color was cheery in the morning light. “Here, I think this should do it.”
“Thanks.”
“And here are the accessories.” Brooke pulled out a small velvet pouch from her purse.
“You thought of everything.”
“Of course! I want you to look like a goddess. Gavin deserves to be tortured a little. And then you can choose to bestow your favors upon him or not, as you see fit.”
Amandine nodded, seated in front of Brooke’s vanity. “Do you really think he’ll notice?”
“He’d better.”
Amandine sighed, half-regretting sending Brooke to her place to pick up some clothes. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go, coward that she was. So don’t ask her . Don’t ask her!
“What kind of flowers were in the bedroom?”
Brook hesitated, then said, “Yellow roses. But they might be a coincidence.”
“The florist has never sent any before. Never.”
The rings on Amandine’s left hand winked. One was a simple classic platinum wedding band, the other the stunningly beautiful sapphire and diamond ring that Gavin had proposed with.
“Hey.” Brooke stood behind Amandine, looking at her in the vanity mirror. “Don’t let the little things get to you. He’s probably trying to show that he’s sorry, so give him a chance.” She leaned over and touched the rings. “No matter what, you’re the one wearing these, not Catherine.”
“The engagement ring wasn’t meant for me,” Amandine said, finally unable to be quiet about it. “He asked Catherine to marry him with it first.”
“What? How do you know?”
Amandine sighed. “Five years ago, when they were dating? We were all at one of Jacob’s parties, and Gavin was out on a balcony, looking at it, working up his nerve. Later that night, he proposed to her with it.
Brooke stared at her. “And then after she turned him down, he used it again to propose to you?”
“It came from his grandmother. His grandfather proposed to her with it.”
“Oh my god. So it’s an heirloom.”
“It is…and it’s beautiful. But I wish he’d gotten me a new ring, so I wouldn’t think about Catherine every time I look at it.”
And compare herself to all the women who wanted him. People always took note of Gavin. He wasn’t the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Los Angeles was full of pretty boys harboring dreams of becoming movie stars. But he was all boldness and intelligence and indomitable drive, qualities that made other men fade into the background.
But none of that had mattered to Catherine, who later had declared, “I’m not crazy enough to marry a guy who has an unstable job.”
“What do you mean unstable ?” Amandine had said. “He has his own company, and is very successful.”
“He makes highly leveraged trades on things like corn, OJ, and currencies. It’s the quickest way to Chapter Seven. That’s how Dad lost everything. Sorry, but I’m not marrying a guy who gambles for a living. I’m aiming for stability.”
Except Catherine’s aim had been way off. Amandine brushed her hair and ran pink lipstick over her mouth. “I always told myself I shouldn’t wish for things beyond my reach. It’s a surefire recipe for misery. I can never measure up to Catherine, a real Fairchild.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Catherine’s just a woman, nothing special.”
“Brooke. Look at her.”
“Okay, fine. An unusually pretty woman. Still nothing special.”
“You think that because her family lost its money, but breeding-wise it’s one of the top families. Better than the Lloyds, apparently. Aunt Olivia found Catherine’s marriage to Jacob acceptable only because the guy was rich.”
“Well that’s a good, pure-minded reason to approve of someone. But you know what? If being a Fairchild is such a big deal, you’re a big deal too. You’re one of them.”
“No, I’m not,” Amandine said. “My mom threw everything away when she chose my dad. ‘A penniless nobody with no prospects’, as my aunt and uncle used to say.”
“What the hell? They said that to your face?”
“Good lord, no. Nothing so unbecoming. But you overhear stuff.”
“What a bunch of snobs. If you’re such a lowly nobody” —Brooke snorted— “why were you asked to be her maid of honor? Why not one of her high-society friends?”
“Catherine hated them. They treated her like dirt after her father lost all his money in bad investments.” It had destroyed Catherine’s position as the queen bee of her social circle, and she’d never forgotten or forgiven those who’d humiliated her.
“So much for fancy families,” Brooke said, almost too gleefully.
“It worked out for me…sort of. If it weren’t for that, I might not have crossed paths with Gavin again.” While the newlyweds had enjoyed their wedding night, she’d slipped into Gavin’s bed and seduced him, convinced it would be the only time she’d be able to have the man she loved.
Reality had intruded the morning after, and she’d snuck out of his room and run back to L.A. She hadn’t expected to see him again, but one day she’d gone to work at the local Art4Kids—a charity that provided free art lessons to inner-city children so they would have a positive outlet to express themselves and avoid getting into trouble—and Gavin had shown up with another board member.
He was scheduled to give a speech. She’d thought he would just go through the motions, but that hadn’t been the case. There was a Q&A session after the speech, and he’d responded to each child’s comments and questions with thoughtful consideration, attentive and concerned as he spoke with kids about their experiences and solicited opinions about how the foundation could serve them better.
A hand went up. It was a skinny teenage boy named Shawn. He’d been with the program for a few months. “Mr. Lloyd?”
“Call me Gavin.”
“Okay, Gavin. Um. I don’t want to sound greedy or anything, but do you know if we could eat, like, some snacks or something?”
A few other kids had started to nod. Their parents didn’t have enough to feed them, and oftentimes the school breakfast and lunch were the only real food they got. Amandine remembered how much her brother Pete used to eat when he’d hit his teen years.
“That can be arranged,” Gavin had said without missing a beat. “How thoughtless of me. Snacks to tide everyone over until dinner is a great idea. I’ll make it happen.”
A huge smile split the boy’s face. “Thanks, Gavin!”
The board member’s secretary had scribbled something on her notepad.
Gavin turned to her. “Order pizzas and drinks for everyone. Send the bill to my admin.”
Anticipation rippled through the kids.
“It’s almost five thirty,” the secretary said.
“What about it?”
“That’s our closing time.”
Gavin smiled. “Better hurry, then.”
Later, he’d approached Amandine and asked her out. She might have turned down the Gavin from the wedding, but not the man from the foundation.
And the rest, as some would say, was history. In a year they were married.
“I don’t know if that was such a good thing,” Brooke said with a frown. “I hate seeing you so anxious and worried about fitting in with his crowd and going along with what he wants.”
“Oh, I don’t mind all that. It’s just…” Amandine hesitated. “He’s never once mentioned the word ‘love’.”
“Seriously? Not even when he proposed?”
Amandine shook her head, a fresh wave of humiliation washing over her.
“What the… So why did you say yes?”
“Because.” Amandine blinked away her tears. He’d seemed so uncertain and earnest when he’d popped the question. She’d never seen him like that. Ever. “I loved him so much. I still do.”
“Awww…” Brooke put her arms around Amandine. “I’m so sorry. I wish you’d told me.”
“I thought I could make him love me.” Amandine pulled back, sniffing a bit, and tossed her hair over a shoulder. “How do I look?”
“Absolutely fantastic. Let’s just, um, get you a tissue, though.”
Despite herself, Amandine laughed. “Okay.” She put on the dress and shoes Brooke had brought.
“And hey: no matter what happens, don’t let anything or anyone make you feel less than worthy. You’re a gem, Amandine. If Gavin can’t see that, pfft. His loss.”
With Brooke’s pep talk still in her head, Amandine arrived at the restaurant at twelve thirty sharp. The maître d’ took her to the seat in the back. It wasn’t as nice as the table she’d gotten for dinner, but it wasn’t terrible for a last-minute reservation. Gavin must’ve called in some big favors to get it—La Mer always had more customers than it could accommodate.
And it always helped when you were the best friend of the owner.
She requested a glass of OJ and glanced at her watch. It was white gold and encrusted with diamonds, a present from Gavin after he’d missed a movie night. Thankfully their date had been in their home theater room, so she’d been spared public humiliation.
Sorry , something came up .
Sorry , I can’t make it .
Priceless gifts always followed the excuses.
Had he been too busy for Catherine as well? Or was it just Amandine?
Before she could brood further, Gavin appeared. “Hey.” He took a seat across from her, his perfectly tailored suit settling over his body. The white silk dress shirt looked stark against the tanned skin of his strong neck. He looked like a pirate, of the very well-off variety. “Really sorry I’m late. Bad traffic.”
“Should be worth at least a sapphire bracelet,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Gavin gave her an odd look but didn’t probe.
The waiter brought a wine list and menu, and Gavin studied them. Her gaze fell on his left hand, and the breath caught in her throat at his bare ring finger.
“What happened to your wedding band?” she asked, unable to stop herself. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse.
“Lost it.” He looked up. “What do you think about—”
“How?”
“Eh?”
“How did you lose it?”
A frown scrunched his brow. “I was doing some garden work.”
“We have two gardeners.”
“No, in Houston.”
“What? Why? Catherine has gardeners too.”
“Actually, she fired them.”
“So you were doing landscaping work in her garden? On our anniversary?”
He nodded. “It was that or…”
His mouth kept moving, words marching out one by one, orderly and smooth. Amandine couldn’t hear them over the buzzing in her head. Gavin hadn’t just gone to Houston for “damage control”, as Mark had put it. He’d been doing Catherine’s yard-work on their anniversary, and all the while Amandine had been waiting for him at La Mer.
At least people thought he’d been doing “damage control.” If they’d known the truth, they would’ve looked at her with something far worse than pity.
He stopped and peered at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said automatically, out of habit. Then she realized she wasn’t okay. Not at all. “No. I’m not.”
“I’m sorry I missed dinner.”
“Gavin, ‘sorry’ isn’t going to cut it.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I’ve arranged for—”
“And I don’t want some damn present to make up for it either.” To her horror, her eyes started to sting with tears. She blinked them away. “I can’t believe you spent our anniversary with Catherine, rooting around in her garden, after telling me you’d spend it with me. You made it sound like whatever was in Houston was extremely urgent, but now I see that wasn’t the case. You just wanted to go there.”
“That’s not true. She was hysterical.”
“She has staff to take care of her.”
“She fired everyone. Bee called me because she was so worried.”
“So? It didn’t have to be you.”
“Who else could’ve gone? My mother? Ethan? You know how they feel about her. She’s my sister-in-law.”
Fury expanded inside Amandine like an exploding fireball. “First of all, no, she isn’t. Her marriage to Jacob was never valid,” she pointed out, doing her best to contain her anger. “And second, I’m your wife .”
“What would you have done in my place? I never thought you would be this cold. She’s your cousin. You were her maid of honor.”
“Don’t try to make this about me.” Her voice shook, and she took a slow, deep breath.
How could she have been in denial all this time? Gavin would never love her. He probably didn’t even want her love.
What she felt for him was never going to be enough to make their marriage work. It’d been three years, and she no longer knew how to act around him without feeling miserable. Her parents’ marriage had survived only because they’d been in love. Both of them. Her dad had never had any money. Most women would’ve left a husband like that within months, but her mother had stayed until the very end.
The only option available to Amandine was so obvious, so painful. “I’ll have my attorney call you.”
“What?” He stared at her. “What are you saying?”
“Something that should’ve been said a long time ago: I don’t think our marriage’s going to work.” She rose.
“Where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
He grabbed her wrist. “Sit down.”
“Let me go or I’ll make a scene.”
“Amandine,” he warned.
“Try me,” she said, a hair louder. “I’m not well-bred enough to give a shit.”
“Why are you doing this? You aren’t going to get anything by it.”
“Don’t worry. I remember our prenup.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
No. Nothing was what she’d hoped he meant. “I don’t care anymore. Now let go or I’m going to scream, ‘Why are you hurting me?’” She looked around. La Mer was full of businessmen and socialites. “I swear I will.”
He narrowed his eyes, but released her wrist. The muscles in his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth.
“Good-bye, Gavin.” She forced the words past the hot lump in her throat and walked out.
* * *
Gavin took a seat at the bar. There was no point in hogging a table alone.
“Hey, where’s Amandine?” Mark said from the other side of the counter. He was wearing a well-fitted white button down shirt and black slacks and for all the world looked like one of the bartenders.
“Left.”
Mark came out and took the stool next to Gavin. “What happened?”
“She walked out on me. Can you believe that? A day after our anniversary.”
Mark winced. “Ouch.” He signaled a real bartender. Two cold bottles of beer appeared.
Gavin glared at the beads of sweat forming on the dark green glass. “I know I screwed up, but it’s maddening she won’t give me a chance to make things right.” He took a long swig. He preferred bourbon, but beer would do.
“Give her some time to cool off.”
“She wants me to talk to her lawyer.”
“Jesus. As in divorce?”
Gavin ground his teeth. “She’s furious. She even blames me for helping Catherine, but what was I supposed to do when she’d totally flipped out?”
“Oh.” Mark’s eyes widened with understanding. “You spent yesterday with Catherine and you told Amandine that?”
“Well…she asked,” he said defensively. He hadn’t wanted to discuss it with Amandine, but he wasn’t going to lie to her about it either. That wasn’t the kind of marriage he wanted.
“Catherine’s your ex.”
“She’s my sister-in-law.”
“You almost married her.”
Gavin winced. Mark knew about his pathetic proposal. “That was years ago, and she chose Jacob. Besides, Amandine’s her cousin and was maid of honor at the wedding.”
“Really? How would you feel if Amandine had spent your anniversary with an ex she almost married?”
The muscles in Gavin’s cheek flexed, and his grip around the bottle tightened.
“You just proved my point,” Mark said and drank his beer.
Silence stretched between them.
“Shit,” Gavin bit out finally.
“Want some advice? Forget Catherine and the family scandal. Focus on Amandine for a while, unless you really don’t care what happens to your marriage.”
“I care.”
“Then spend some time with Amandine and give her something you haven’t given her yet,” Mark said. “Like, personal attention. Time alone. That kind of thing.”
“What’s the point?” Given how angry she was, she was likely to push him over the rail of the yacht he was planning to get her.
“Gavin, she’ll probably forgive you if you grovel a bit. She’s too soft and gentle to hold a grudge.”
“She’s the one who brought up lawyers.”
“If she really wanted to divorce you, she wouldn’t have come for lunch or asked you about what you were up to yesterday. Okay? And you really don’t want to lose her. She’s good for you. You actually look relaxed around her. You weren’t like that with Catherine…or anyone else you dated, for that matter.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Success and wealth drew women like roses did honey bees. Gavin had learned the lesson the hard way over and over again, starting when he had been just thirteen. Jacob had swooped in and taken a girl Gavin had harbored a major crush on for months. Older and more sophisticated, Jacob had faced no trouble getting the girl. When Gavin had confronted his older brother, Jacob had laughed.
“What? I didn’t see your name tattooed on her anywhere.”
Gavin had bristled. “You knew.”
“And I promised to teach you an important lesson.” Jacob had smiled. “She turned you down because you didn’t have anything to offer that I couldn’t top. I have more experience, more money, more confidence and more success. Plus I’m taller.”
“She said she liked me!”
“So? Unless she’s spreading her legs for you while she’s saying it, it’s all negotiable. Women’ll latch onto somebody else who is ‘more’ than you just like they’ll toss a sweater back in the bargain bin because they found another one that was a better deal.”
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?