Page 73 of Redemption in Love
Gavin raised an eyebrow.
Pete went on, apparently taking Gavin’s silence as encouragement. “Amandine’s smart, but she can be naïve. She has this fantasy of how things should be.”
“Fantasy?”
“She thinks every marriage should be something like what our parents had. She remembers it as loving and happy, which is…well, an exercise in selective memory, to say the least.” Pete’s mouth tightened, his cheeks lightly flushed. “Our father couldn’t even provide for us. We would’ve been homeless if it weren’t for the Fairchild half of the family.”
Gavin remembered Catherine mentioning once how Amandine had been the poor little cousin. You know, every family has one of those sad little relatives you can’t help but take care of because they’re just so nice despite all their flaws, and she was ours.
“But other than the fact that your father was poor, the family was loving?” Gavin asked, curious about this “fantasy” of Amandine’s.
“Well, Mom loved him no matter what, that’s for sure. Personally, I think that if our father had really loved us, he would’ve provided for us. Taking somebody’s charity isn’t easy. It destroys your sense of worth.”
Gavin said nothing, processing what Pete was saying.
“I can try to talk some sense into her,” Pete began, “and maybe—”
“No.” Gavin uncrossed his legs and sat up. “Don’t interfere.”
“But she’s making a mistake!”
“Our issues were supposed to be private, and we would’ve resolved them on our own.” With her staying with me. “Outside interference will only get in the way.”
Pete pressed his lips together, his eyes still sparkling with
an unsaid argument.
“By the way, who the hell posted the photos on Facebook?” Gavin asked. I’m going to kill them.
“Ceinlys Pryce.”
It figured. Mark’s mom was one of the biggest gossipmongers in the city, but her social position was such that nobody dared to shun her. And unlike some overzealous people, she never snooped too much. She merely reported what she saw in public, and certainly the parking lot in front of Samantha’s office building counted as public.
Damn it.
If it had been somebody else he might have ruined them, but there were limits to what he could do to the mother of his best friend. “I see. Anyway, I didn’t ask to see you to discuss my marriage.”
Pete flushed and said nothing.
“You did a great job while I was gone. I want you to take on more responsibilities.”
“But you’re back now. You hate delegating.”
“I’m going to be busy for a few months. Relating to the…other matter.” I need time to court my wife. “Unless you object.”
“No! No, not at all.” Pete tried, unsuccessfully, to keep a smile from spreading on his face.
“Excellent. I’ll be in direct contact, but so will Hilary.”
“Got it.” If Pete objected to taking orders from Gavin’s admin, he didn’t show it. But then everyone at the firm knew the pecking order: First Gavin, then Hilary, then all the rest.
After Pete left, Gavin logged into Facebook. He’d created a profile only because it promised an easy way to keep in touch with his family, especially Ethan, who’d been working in London at the time. Instead it had morphed into an unproductive hassle since most people in his family were too busy to use it, and he himself never saw the point in posting “Good morning, everyone” or sharing what he’d had for dinner. If people wanted to know about his diet, they could damn well call him.
The photos popped up. Ceinlys had tagged everyone, which was how every “friend” of Gavin’s and Amandine’s had seen it.
Ceinlys had commented on the photos as well: Marriage in trouble? Hard to fathom since they seem so in love. Gavin bought her a jet for their anniversary! What more could a woman ask for?
Underneath was a long string of replies. Gavin considered a response. He wanted to scrub the damned things from the Internet, but any attempt to do so would only bring more attention to them. The best course of action would be to ignore them, no matter how galling.
