“Yeah, but no one else is married to my sister. I figured you’d actually keep your promise.”
“I see.” Gavin’s chopsticks brushed a broccoli floret in the beef dish; he pushed it to the side. Only his mother’s disapproving gaze could make him eat the cruciferous thing. “What would you do if Amandine and I weren’t married? Would you quit?”
A laugh trembled out of Pete. “W-What?”
“If we were to divorce.”
“That’s” —Pete took a big gulp of his Coke— “ridiculous. She’s crazy about you.”
Gavin bit into the beef and took his time chewing the meat. “How can you be so confident? About her feelings, I mean.” If it turned out that Pete somehow had the power to read Amandine’s mind, Gavin would quadruple his salary.
“I know my sister. She’s such a romantic, she would never have agreed to marry you if she didn’t love you. Believe me, she adores you,” he said, his voice firm, almost forceful. “The only way your marriage will fall apart is if you decide to leave.”
Gavin wanted to laugh. Pete clearly had no idea his sister wanted a divorce. Or maybe he was confusing his devotion to his job with his sister’s to her marriage.
“Or…maybe if you did something to kill her love.”
Gavin swallowed hard. Had he done that?
“But I’m sure you never would. And even if something were to happen…” Pete glared at his noodles. “I think we should be able to separate our personal and professional lives.”
“I see.”
“Don’t you?”
Pete’s intense gaze bore down on Gavin. He smiled inwardly. Did his brother-in-law have any idea how obvious he was? “Of course.” Gavin finished the last bit of meat from his plate. “Thanks for dinner.”
* * *
Pete dumped the trash in the big bin in the kitchen—no need to stink up the entire floor—and went to an empty private call space and shut the door. It was a small room, just enough for a tiny functional desk and a chair. A phone, a few pens and a cream memo pad with a discreet, embossed OWM for Omega Wealth Management on it were the only other items.
What the hell had that been about?
As far as Pete knew, his sister had a great marriage. Gavin showered her with luxury and extravagance, the kind of things women all dreamed of but rarely got in real life. People at the office had started a betting pool on what Gavin would get her for their anniversary. No one had guessed a private jet, which made the pot swell for the next round.
So why in the world had Gavin acted like he wanted to test Pete’s loyalty?
Leaning against the desk, Pete pulled out his phone and dialed Amandine.
“Hello?”
“Amandine.”
“Hey, Pete.” Her voice was sleepy but warm as usual, and he took a big breath. It didn’t sound like anything was wrong.
“You…Uh…” He shifted. He’d called her out of sheer panic, but now that everything seemed okay, he didn’t know what to say. “Are you going to divorce your husband?” was random and inappropriate.
“Yes?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice and see how you were doing. We haven’t talked in a while.”
“Pete, it’s almost midnight. You’re working too much.”
Was that disapproval in her voice? “I know. I’ll try to make some time to see you this weekend or the next.”
“I’d like that.”
“You…uh…going to bring Brooke too?”