Page 17 of Best Kept Vows

Ihadheard that—but I’d heard other things as well. Women in Savannah society didn’t typically start their own companies after publicly divorcing their husbands, which is precisely what Nina had done. Granted, Samuel Brennan (Nina had since reclaimed her maiden name) was notoriously unfaithful, but Nina hadn’t opted for a quiet, no-fault divorce, as was expected. Instead, she’d openly filed on the grounds of adultery, naming names and dragging Samuel’s indiscretions out into Savannah’s unforgiving daylight—and, in the process, had taken him to the cleaners.

She’d then surprised everyone by taking the money shegot from the divorce to start her own firm. Before that, she’d been working as an architect for Sam’s family business, which she now directly competed against.

Savannah Lace was a small boutique firm with fifty or so employees, if I had my numbers right. Brennan Architects, by contrast, was a national powerhouse. It handled large-scale commercial and institutional projects across the United States, with regional offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, and Dallas. They specialized in high-profile builds, including hospitals, corporate headquarters, universities, and luxury developments. Sam Brennan inherited the firm from his father, expanding its reach dramatically and cementing its status as one of the South’s most prestigious architectural practices.

“The Savannah grapevine know of this? ‘Cause this is the first time I’m hearing about you and Nina.”

This time, he laughed, rich and clean. “A few people know, but it’s not common knowledge, I think. I don’t give a flying fuck. Nina cares. You know her ex.”

I nodded. If you were from Savannah, you knew Sam Brennan and his penchant for insulting his ex-wife in public whenever he got the chance, which told everyone that ten years on, he was still bitter about the divorce, while Nina was apparently having an affair with the handsome, young, and suave Diego Perez. And it wasn’t just an affair, considering Diego wanted it to be more.

A realization struck me. Would I be Lia’s Sam Brennan?

Fuck!

Lia was gorgeous, beautiful—any man would want her.She was forty-four and didn’t look a day older than thirty. That thought sent shards of jealousy through me. The idea of Lia being close to any other man was a hot poker through my heart.

“He’ll be a dick about it…andso will everyone else,” I reminded him.

He shrugged with an easy confidence. “Yeah, I know what people will say or are already probably saying. She’s a bit older and has a grown kid and all. But you know what? She’s fucking awesome, and I have never been more in love.”

The easy way in which he was telling me about his love life, when I wasn’t a close friend, said to me that this relationship was important to Diego.

“I’m happy for you,” I said sincerely because I was. Diego seemed content, and at the end of the day, wasn’t that what everyone was chasing? Genuine emotions in a world of pretenses.

I used to be in love with Lia like that…hell, I still was, but twenty-two years of being in a marriage definitely took the luster out of it.

My phone beeped, telling me I had fifteen minutes to get to my next meeting, which I couldn’t delay. It was going to be a long day because, after work, I was going to see my father, and then I had dinner with a client.

Diego and I made plans to meet over drinks before he went to his office, and I went to mine. But I kept thinking about him for the rest of the day. He was a man in love, and I’d felt a prick of jealousy, hadn’t I, because the firstblush of love for Lia and me was in the rearview. The present sucked, and because of it, the future looked bleak.

Exhausted after interminable discussions about increasing revenue, I drove toward my parents’ estate, located on the outskirts of Savannah. It was a sprawling testament to Boone family wealth, influence, and power—all of which had been diminishing steadily in the past thirty years or so, if I went by the annual statements of Boone Metals.

Pulling through the iron gates, I felt that suffocation I always did when I came here. The perfectly manicured grounds, pristine white columns, and elaborate fountains seemed designed not for comfort but to impress and intimidate.

Inside, the house was eerily quiet.

The housekeeper who greeted me informed me that my mother was at a party and Mr. Abraham was in his suite.

Hendrix, my father’s nurse, opened the door to my father’s suite when I knocked. “Hey, man.” He shook my hand.

Hendrix was a large black man with a kind face and a patient demeanor, which contrasted with my father’s rigid temperament.

“How’s Dad?” I asked him as I walked into the living room of my father’s suite. It was spacious. Two bedrooms, a living room, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms. Hendrix lived here with Dad—and even joined us for dinner on Sunday nights when Dad was up to it.

Mama had all but abandoned my father since the stroke.But then, they’d never loved each other, so even though it made me feel sorry for my father, it didn’t surprise me. My father hadn’t been kind to my mother—and their marriage had been on paper only. I knew my father had affairs, and I had a feeling so did my mother. They were just two people being held together by a legal document—a marriage certificate.

I hadn’t wanted that for myself. When I fell in love with Lia, I knew that would not be my fate. My parents wanted me to marry a Savannah society princess, but then I’d be where my parents were—in marital hell. I just might be anyway, considering my wife and I were not doing any better than my parents right now.

“He’s having a good day,” Hendrix remarked politely.

I smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Hendrix nodded. “Lia came by earlier, and that always cheers him up.”

I frowned. “Lia came by?”

“She comes a few days a week for lunch.”

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