Page 116 of Ghostly
He was like the Wright-Maxwell comet, torn asunder and pulled back together again, looking the same on the outside, but changed fundamentally within. His new nature no longer fit this life. Pieces remained—suchas him still loving his work—but they had been enveloped by new experiences and changed perceptions.
Ignoring those changes would be the fastest way to madness. This time, he wouldn’t let Wynona off the hook. He’d prod. “I suppose he’s only making more stuff up, anyway.”
A sliver of worry flicked through Wynona’s eyes. “What did he say?”
“That Harvey was using your family’s accounts to pay for his stuff. Fund whatever crazy new scheme he thought of, buy cars, that ugly boat of his—”
Wynona laughed. “No way. Do you think I’d ever let Harvey get access to our accounts? How do you think he got so broke by the time we divorced? He had to pay for everything himself.”
So that was it. Ensfield.
Not Harvey.
Wynona.
Could it be true—that all this time, she was behind the reveal? It made no sense; she wouldn’t have done it, harmed him as well as herself. But before Gabriel had started to care about the more fulfilling aspects of his life, he’d been good at living on facts. Still was. And Wynona had just told him a condemning fact.
He faced away from her and fixed his eyes upon a sleek glass building across the road. “You hired the P.I.”
“The—what?”
“Neither Harvey nor Anderson knewwehad the affair—only suspectedyouwere doing something. And yet, the detective was hired specifically to take pictures ofus. And he was paid by you.”
He stared her down with a gaze he usually spared for his closing arguments.
“I—I—”Wynona stood, paced, bit her nail. “Okay, fine! I did it!”
Gabriel nearly lost his balance. “You did?”
“I was only thinking of us.”
He stood. “How is outing me, making me almost lose my job, thinking of us?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go down that way!” She passed a hand through her hair. “I intended to wait until the trial was over, then give the pictures to a paparazzi in exchange for an exclusive story on us. We’d get loads of publicity and money. Only that asshole Anderson found out and took the pictures to use them for his gain—and I couldn’t do anything!”
“How about warning me?”
“What would that have solved? He already had the pictures.”
Gabriel went over to a column and leaned on it, lowering his head. “Regardless of when the pictures came out, you knew my career would be endangered. I could’ve been disbarred!”
“So?” She walked to him and reached out a hand, but halted as he drew back. “Babe, look at you, your pace. You’re almost worse than Harvey when it comes to work.”
“It’s my job,” he nearly spit. “I signed up for this. What am I going to do—throw everything up in the air when the clock strikes five, clients be damned?”
She pursed her lips. “No, but a vacation wouldn’t be wrong. And that’s what we could’ve had. Don’t you see? I’d be free to do what I want and you could finally relax.”
“You already got a bunch of money from Harvey by winning the case.”
“I didn’t get as much as I thought. The prick really was broke.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Then why did you stay quiet after the scandal broke?”
“The plan was for us to get through it together. I tried talking to you, don’t you remember? But you insisted on disappearing, and your company efficiently buried the whole thing. I don’t know how they got to the judge and the P.I. who had the photos, but those were gone, too.” Wynona crossed her arms over her chest and tapped on her elbows. “I’d look like a bitch if I dragged it out again. Like I’m using it for attention.”
Gabriel cocked an eyebrow.
“I only had the best intentions.” She clasped his shoulders, but he shook her off. “I love you. Is it so wrong I just wanted to be with you?”
