Page 10 of His Brother's Wife
Me too, gorgeous. Sleep well.
Enda brought up the subject of the music schools at dinner with his family, careful not to give away that he and Ama had already discussed it earlier that day, when they had spent a blissful afternoon in his apartment, screwing each other senseless and talking. They were learning so much about each other in those precious hours. Enda discovered that, despite her great beauty, Ama hated to be judged on that, and preferred to be complimented on her brain or her humor. That underneath her almost regal presence, she was, at heart, a book nerd, an art lover, and someone who declared she would be unable to live without music. Not just classical, either, but rock, and cheesy pop songs—and Johnny Cash.
Enda found himself opening up to her about his family—or lack of it—until Olivier came to find him. “I never knew they existed,” he admitted, and then grinned at her. “And in the end, I got the best and the worst of brothers. I love Olivier. He gave me a way to know my father, and he’s been nothing but supportive. I even suspect if he had known about us, that he would have been our biggest cheerleader.”
Ama smiled at him. “I was thinking the same thing, actually. Still, I don’t think it’s a good idea to clue him in. I would hate to put him in an awkward position.”
“Agreed.”
So, now, as they all sat around Macaulay Gallo’s vast dinner table, Enda made sure he didn’t make eye-contact with Ama when he told them his and Raff’s ideas.
Jackson made a scoffing noise. “Really? Where’s the profit in that?”
Enda looked at him coolly. “I would think, in your position, that you would see that money isn’t everything. How many more billions do you need, Jackson? Isn’t it time you gave something back?”
“Didn’t I just broker the deal that saved Amalia’s sister from an abusive marriage?” Jackson grinned at his wife, who stared back in dislike.
“I don’t think that’s what Enda meant,” she said softly. She turned to her lover and tried not to show in her face how much she felt for him, “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Schools all over the country are having their funding for the arts cut to almost nothing. They’re forcing the kids to focus on science and math and disregarding the kids who were born to be artists, actors, musicians. It’s just wrong.”
Enda smiled at her. “Maybe you should come along, meet Raffaelo, and be our consultant on the inside.”
“Love to.” Ama hid a grin, obviously realizing what he was up to, but Jackson cleared his throat.
“I don’t see why that would help.”
Ama turned cold eyes on him. “I wasn’t asking your permission.”
Enda saw the anger in Jackson’s eyes. His father did too, apparently, because Mac changed the subject hurriedly. “Jackson, I was going to ask you. I got a call today from that interior designer you told me about. She was under the impression that you have arranged for some work to be done.”
Jackson nodded. “I have. All of the bedrooms, except yours, Dad, because I know you’ve just had it remodeled.”
“Excuse me?” Amalia looked bemused. “Allof the bedrooms?”
Jackson nodded, his smile smug. “Yes, darling, all of them. I thought we could take a penthouse at a hotel while the work is being done.”
Ama flushed angrily, and Enda narrowed his eyes at his brother. He was trying to force her to share his bed.Asshole.Ama picked up her wine and sipped it casually. “A single room will be okay with me. Or I can stay with a friend.”
There it was. In the open. With those simple words, Ama had outed the sham of her marriage to both Olivier and Macaulay. If she had shouted, ‘I’m not sleeping with Jackson,’ at the top of her voice, it couldn’t be more obvious. Enda watched Jackson’s face turned from red to purple and suddenly felt afraid for Ama. He knew of old what Jackson’s temper was like.
Penelope…three years ago, she had borne the brunt of Jackson’s temper and what had happened had scarred everyone …
Three years ago …
Enda took a slug of whiskey and turned back to the party. He hated these things, but his father, Macaulay Gallo, who he couldn’t get used to calling ’dad’ yet, had insisted.
“If you want to be part of this family, Enda, you must see how we operate.”
He had meant it kindly, but it struck at the heart of Enda’s misgivings. He hadn’t yet decided that he wanted to be part of this family. It had been four years ago when Olivier had found him, and since then, he had grown close to his older brother, but his father was still distant. The youngest Gallo son, Jackson …Enda had loathed him on sight.
He looked over to him now and saw him standing with his girlfriend, Penelope. They were obviously having some sort of argument, Jackson berating his girlfriend for some slight he perceived she had made.
Penelope was a lovely young woman. With caramel-colored hair and dark blue eyes, she was the head of a local charity. Her family was old money, but Penelope worked tirelessly to help others. What the hell she was doing with Jackson, Enda had no clue.
It was two days later, in the city, that Enda had seen her meeting with another man. From the delight on his face—and hers—they were obviously in love. Enda was glad. Penny looked radiant as she talked with the man.Good,Enda thought.Jackson can go fuck himself. You go for it, Penny.He had intended to just walk away, but she suddenly spotted him and the color drained from her face. Enda cursed to himself, then walked over.
“Hey, Penny. Hey there, I’m Enda Gallo.” he smiled at her companion and shook his hand.
“Danny McNamara. Would you like to join us?” The young man looked uncomfortable. Enda hesitated, looking at Penny. He didn’t want to be rude. Penny nodded tightly.
