“I’m sure Hilary can find somebody who’s skilled.”
Amandine shook her head. “The point is that you take the time to do it. Otherwise it has no meaning.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We don’t have to do everything ourselves. We have to spend our time wisely.”
“The way you spent it wisely on our anniversary?”
“Amandine, I already explained—”
“For a guy who never claimed to be nice, you sure are nice.” To Catherine.
Hating herself for feeling jealous, Amandine crossed her arms. Gavin had told her point-blank he wasn’t a good guy before they’d fallen into bed together after Catherine’s wedding reception. At the time she hadn’t particularly cared, mindless with desire. But since then she’d seen glimpses of his sweet and generous nature, and it went beyond the standard annual donations to worthy causes. Sure, the local fire department and police adored him for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’d routinely donated like clockwork every year. And he visited the Art4Kids classrooms when he could because it was a cause dear to his heart.
But what she remembered the most was what he’d done for their gardener, Aggie Smith, when her husband had lost his job and then been diagnosed with lung cancer. Unbeknownst to Gavin, Aggie and her husband had also lost their health insurance, and they couldn’t afford the costly treatment necessary to save his life. When Gavin found out, he paid for the procedure himself. Said a lack of money was a piss-poor reason to make a widow out of her.
Then without telling anybody, he took the money that he would’ve spent on Aggie’s insurance premiums since she’d started working for him—she’d declined coverage as her husband’s company had provided it—and in a few months with a series of calculated moves turned that into two million dollars and given them the entire sum.
Amandine had been present when Aggie had received the money and would never forget the expression on her face, or the way her work-roughened hands had trembled around the check.
“Just so you know, your taxes are going to suck next year,” Gavin had said. “If you want, I’ll have my CPA give you some advice. But you deserve this.” He put a hand on hers. “Your husband deserves this.”
The woman had broken down and cried, with protestations that the amount was too much, that both she and her husband would work for free in order to pay it back. But in the end she’d taken the money, and with it, they had been able to get through the rough patch in their lives. Paid off the mortgage on their modest home, retired and taken a vacation for the first time in years.
Why Gavin couldn’t show this kind of consideration and sweetness to her, Amandine didn’t know. Maybe he was incapable unless the gesture involved at least six zeros on a check. Just look at the jet.
Except Amandine didn’t want all the millions.
She wanted him.
The sexy him, the generous him, the wonderful him.
But she had a feeling she was losing him. He was drifting away to a better-bred, more beautiful, more sophisticated upgrade: Catherine.
The waiter brought their soup, then the lobsters, everything appearing with an almost magical speed. Maybe the chef was working faster than usual to impress the man in a suit.
Gavin picked up the thin, light fork. Amandine watched him study his utensil, feeling a bit of satisfaction. She knew he wasn’t used to anything that didn’t contain at least three ounces of silver.
Something about it struck her then, made her truly see what her subconscious had been saying for years now. Gavin and she were just too different.
He looked completely out of place in a cheap Chinese restaurant with old vinyl seats and melamine plates. He belonged in a glittering restaurant that had heavy, perfectly balanced silverware that sparkled from regular polishing, real china, and discreet and unobtrusive waiters in crisp tuxes.
And she…didn’t. She was more at home in a humble kitchen than the places he frequented, where she knew she didn’t quite fit.
Was it any wonder that she’d always felt like an outsider whenever she’d gone to Gavin’s family gatherings? Everyone was nice and polite enough to her, although that was to be expected. The Lloyds were too well-bred to be anything but gracious. But that didn’t mean she belonged with them anymore than the catering staff at some of their more extravagant parties did. Like the staff, she just occasionally occupied some of the same rooms.
Amandine and Gavin couldn’t possibly understand each other. They were fundamentally too different, never mind her Fairchild connection.
“I’m going to get to the point.” He pulled soft lobster meat out of the shell and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “This is actually good.” Then he rested his fork wrist against the edge of the table. “The baby represents an irrevocable tie between us.”
She choked as some soup went down the wrong passage. Her nose stung, and her eyes watered instantly.
He handed her a full teacup. She downed it like a shot of whiskey, wiped her eyes, and spent a few moments getting herself back together. “Don’t do that again.”
“What?”
“Exaggerate what the pregnancy means. What’s changed since the anniversary?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”