Page 58 of Now & Forever
Chapter 14
Gwen
Rebecca informed Gwen that her guest had arrived. Too bad Gwen was in the middle of piercing her ear with a gem she hadn’t worn in years.
“Ow! Shit!” Gwen searched for a tissue to fend any blood off at the pass. The earring dropped to the vanity and almost bounced to the floor, where it would undoubtedly disappear, possibly to never be seen again.
So much for that.
Rebecca double-backed to make sure her employer was all right before going downstairs to tend to the guest. After ensuring that she wouldn’t bleed all over her dress, Gwen combed a few errant hairs and slipped into her Miu Miu patent leather pumps she picked up while in Vegas with James. The opulent, multicolored crystals were meant to complement the little black dress on her body. She also wore them because she liked showing them off to other women. Particularly, women people perceived her to have a rivalry with.
Too bad the shoes made her trip halfway down the stairs into the receiving room.
Rebecca met her in the front hall. “Should I bring the cider, Ms. Mitchell?”
“Yes. Bring the sampler, if you would.” Gwen had no idea if her guest liked particular flavors of cider. She had only heard that a certain someone preferred ciders to other alcoholic infusions. “Is she seated in the receiving room?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rebecca briefly nodded before heading to the kitchen to grab that sampler.
Gwen checked her appearance in the hallway mirror before standing tall on her way into the receiving room. Her guest immediately turned around in her seat.
“So glad you could make it.” Gwen extended her fingers to Cassandra, who touched them with her own fingertips and offered a ladylike smile. “And, uh…”
The little boy, dressed in a sensible black T-shirt and a pair of toddler-sized pants, played with a toy on the floor. He glanced up at Gwen with big blue eyes and waved a chubby hand in her direction.
“Patrick is very friendly with strangers.” Cassandra did not hurry to pick up her son.The hell do I do?She had a feeling Cassandra would bring her son with her, but wasn’t expecting a free-range toddler and his small bag of toys.
Sometimes, staring into the face of her husband’s son was too much for Gwen to bear. It had been exceptionally difficult before she decided to be a positive presence in her stepson’s life. Now it was…strange.
“Don’t mind him, please.” Cassandra motioned for the other empty chair at the small table. “If you try to interrupt him, he might cry. Such a sensitive boy.”
Gwen slowly sank into her chair. Rebecca entered, carrying the tray of ciders for them to sample and enjoy. “Must take after his father. Take away James’s toys, and he cries too.” Gwen didn’t mean the video games or pool tables. The man also did not appreciate misplacing his sex swings and dildos.
“The loving strangers thing is definitely from his father.” Cassandra straightened her conservative yet body-hugging dress. One would think the weather had turned too warm for her to favor those dark colors and long sleeves, but one thing people could say about Cassandra Welsh was that she appreciated alook.And she was the master of the long-sleeved body-con dress. “Can’t stand them, myself. I shudder to think of what it will be like when Patrick is old enough to invite a plethora of friends over on a daily basis. Because he will.”
“I’m assuming those friends will be coming over here, then.” Gwen forced a smile. Not because she didn’tfeelfriendly, but because this was still new, unknown territory for her. She barely knew how to act around children, let alone how to handle them.Maybe this was a mistake. I’m not cut out to be a cool aunt or a semi-involved stepmother.But she had made a promise, both to herself and to her husband, to do her best. James said that she would get over her embarrassment. Well, what if she didn’t feel embarrassment now? What if it was pure horror?
Honestly, they were the same thing.
“James is looking forward to playdates and sleepovers,” Gwen said. “He’s already hired a contractor to remodel Patrick’s future room here. I’m sure the blueprints include hidden compartments and secret passages.”
Cassandra offered a genuine smile when Gwen’s faltered. “There are a lot of old compartments hiding in the Merange house, as you may or may not know. He used to hide in them and scare me when I walked by. I’msureour son has inherited that.”
“Our son.”Fuck Gwen, because that still hurt to hear. “I’m sure Patrick will enjoy what James has planned. He’ll also have plenty of privacy here. He’ll be living closer to the help than to our room.” That was fortunate for many reasons. Gwen wanted space, and she was sure that a growing boy did as well. Still, what Cassandra did only drove home how different her role would be in Patrick Welsh’s life.
“Forgive me,” Cassandra said as soon as she caught Gwen’s discomfort. “I know how awkward this must be for you. But I appreciate you wanting to get to know our son more. It’s important to me that he has family beyond my own. You know how they can be.” She looked away when she said that. “I also want to formally apologize for what happened. I know I’ve apologized before, but I want to do it again. I’ll keep apologizing too. Even if you don’t want me to, because like with a lot of things, I can’t help myself.”
Gwen pondered that for a moment.What can’t you help yourself with, Cassandra?Gwen had heard the rumors through the grapevineandfrom James’s own mouth. Before the drama happened, he had spent more than a few nights expressing his worries about his old childhood friend. Not only her promiscuity, but her apparent depression, her perilous relationship with her family, and how much of a pushover she had been before having a baby.I’m one of the first to admit that she’s changed for the better since becoming a mother… but did it have to be my stepson she had?
“What’s done is done.” Gwen swallowed her old thoughts and sat up straight in her chair. This was her home. This was her domain. Herqueendom.Cassandra was a guest, and not even stirring the pot. Gwen held all the cards in her own home. She directed the mood, the tone, even the topics of discussion. She had to remind herself that. She could run down to the courthouse and legally make her name Mrs. Merange whenever she wanted. “I don’t want to dwell on what happened. My goal is to move forward with my husband,” she let the word sink in, both for herself, and for the woman sitting across from her, “and do what needs to be done to have a stable family. I’m more inclined to worry about your families and their infuriating ways.”
Cassandra sighed. “My mother is a piece of work. So is your father-in-law. It’s taken me a long time to realize how reprehensible their behavior has been. When my mother originally approached me about having a baby, I didn’t question it. It was like I had beenwaitingfor her to suggest something as outlandish as purposely having a baby out of wedlock. By the time I came around to the idea, I didn’t even blink when she told me that James had ‘agreed’ to let me use his sperm. The only thing that shocked me was finding out that he didn’t know about it, but by then it was too late. It was my guilt that brought you into this.”
“We would’ve found out eventually.” As Patrick grew older, he would look more and more like a Merange. The rumor mill would pump out a million stories about a clandestine affair between the second generation of Meranges and Welshes. Honestly, that would’ve been worse. At least this way Gwen could help control the story that unraveled in the years to come. Someone had to keep those PR agencies in business, after all. “I appreciate your apology.”
Cassandra said something to her son before lifting her shoulders back and offering Gwen a steady gaze.Not used to looking her in the eye.How sad was that? But Gwen assumed that was another sign of Cassandra gradually reclaiming her sense of self outside of her toxic family.
They would never be close friends, but Gwen was determined to be cordial and respectful if Cassandra was willing to put in the same effort.
