Page 27 of Now & Forever
So why was Gwen so surprised to see James wrap his arm around the mother of his child and accept a sob to his chest.
No, it wasn’t the act that surprised her. James was such an empathetic dumbass that he would pick a crying woman off the street and give her a big hug and a wad of cash. That was supposed to beendearingabout him. James shirking the mother of his own child, and the girl he once called his best friend, would have been more shocking.
What sliced Gwen open at the gut, however, was how perfect they looked together.
Was there a couple in town that looked more beautiful and natural than James Merange and Cassandra Welsh? No wonder everyone around them thought they would get married.
No wonder people looked at Gwen with shock and disbelief. It wasn’t her pedestrian background that made people reel. It was the fact she wasn’t Cassandra – not even a little bit, not even in the hair, the face, or the demeanor. James’s destiny had marked him as a fated match for a demure woman like Cassandra. The perfect foil to his outgoing yet lovable personality.
Gwen could easily see them as The Meranges, that well-welcomed union of two old families that were always meant to merge. The chuckles about Sarah and Albert would come full circle as their children married and accomplished what they never could in the eyes of the public. James would be the hardworking businessman as he prepared to take over his family’s company and continue to make millions of dollars a week. Cassandra would be the quiet socialite who heralded pet causes and raised her black-haired children to be as kind as their father and as sophisticated as her. How many kids could they have? Three? Four? James had the fortitude to take on a big brood, and Cassandra seemed the type to define herself by her family. The yearly family portraits would be the talk of the country club.
Where could Gwen possibly fit into that? She didn’t have that kind of bond with James. Nor did she look at children with the sort of gaze James begat his son.
I don’t want to see this…The reason Gwen had foregone visiting Patrick didn’t have much to do with how uncomfortable the Welshes made her, and everything to do with James’s destiny to be a dad one day.Where does that leave me?
Gwen put her hand on her stomach and pretended she didn’t have flashbacks to two years ago.
“Please don’t be sick outside of my grandson’s room.” Sarah Welsh approached from behind, keeping her voice down. “He already has the flu. He doesn’t need whatever you have.”
Gwen whipped her head around, ire burning from her throat to her eyes. “Trust me. I don’t want much to do with this.”
“Good Lord.” Sarah looked as if Gwen had doused herself in vinegar. “Are you drunk? You reek of liquor.”
“Didn’t drink any less than James.”
“I’ll pretend that was in English, and inform you that because your man can drink half the alcohol in the room and still stand up, doesn’t mean that it’s becoming of a lady.” Sarah sniffed, gazing into the room. “Not that I expect you to know much about being a lady.”
“You’re right. I don’t. I didn’t go to those fancy boarding and finishing schools.”
“Just the school of hard knocks, right?” That wasn’t true humor in Sarah’s voice, even though she chuckled. “It’s none of my business who the father of my grandchild cavorts with. He’s not married to my daughter, after all.” The way she gazed into the room dictated that she wouldn’t mind the idea, though. “But I will warn you that I will not tolerate any of this…” Sarah flicked her finger in Gwen’s direction, “around my young and impressionable grandson. I hold everyone who comes around him to a high standard.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Gwen turned away from the door before she was truly sick. “I have no intention of butting into your grandson’s life.”
“Curious how you’ll manage that, when James inevitably asks for visitation rights as the boy gets older.”
Gwen didn’t say anything.
“Or do you not plan on being around long enough for that to happen?”
There were a million words swimming in the back of Gwen’s head, but she knew none of them were good enough to speak her mind while putting Madam Welsh in her place. This woman was worse than a mother-in-law. She was a master manipulator. Were people like her even truly capable of love? Did she really love her daughter? Did she really love Albert? Or were they mere pawns to make her feel better, to give her a place in the world?
Where did James fall into Madam Welsh’s plan?
Gwen knew where she fell. Nowhere. If anything, Gwen was a hindrance to the master plan Sarah Welsh had concocted the moment she gave birth to a girl and her lover begat a boy.
It didn’t help that when Gwen glanced back in that room, she was met with every reason James should be with Cassandra instead of her.
