“Explain it to me anyway.”
“We created a life together. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“It means everything to me. But I don’t think it’s the same for you.”
He raised an imperial eyebrow.
“You don’t want this baby,” Amandine said.
“How can you say that? You know I love children.”
“The way you love—never mind.”
His jaw tightened. “Amandine, my child isn’t going to grow up without a father.”
“We don’t have to stay married for him to grow up with a father.” Then she couldn’t resist adding, “Of a sort.”
“Pete won’t make a great father figure, if that’s what you’re implying.”
She blinked. Her younger brother was the last person she’d nominate for the father figure for her baby. “I don’t want to raise my child—”
“Our child,” he corrected, his voice without inflection.
“—in a cold, loveless household. You’re emotionally unavailable. Ditto for time. You’re too busy for everyone.” Except Catherine.
“I am busy, and the markets require attention. Profitable trades don’t happen by accident. I didn’t make my twenty billion by lying around daydreaming.”
She ground her teeth. He was deliberately being obtuse. “Gavin, marriages with stronger foundations than ours fail all the time. A baby isn’t enough.”
“Nonsense.”
He dug back into his lobster and fried rice. She barely touched hers. Several minutes passed while her stomach twisted.
“A baby is easily a strong enough reason to give us another chance,” he finally said. “Besides, we have an incredible foundation. We’re comfortable, have a good life.” He spread his hands. “We like each other.”
Like.
What a convenient word.
Tell me you love me. If he’d reassure her, she’d change her mind. But she couldn’t bring herself to make that demand. She didn’t want him to say it only to salvage their marriage. She wanted him to mean it. “My mind’s made up. This is the twenty-first century. We don’t need to stay married for the baby. Believe it or not, I had a comfortable life before I met you, and I’m sure I’ll be at least as comfortable as a divorcée.”
The muscles around his jaw ticked. “If you insist, you can go. But you cannot have the baby.”
She had to fight to keep from bursting out laughing at how dramatic he was being. “And how do you plan to ensure that?”
“By demanding custody, how else?”
“Courts generally favor the mother.”
“Generally.” He gave her a slight smile that made her heart stop.
Amandine gaped at him because she knew what the smile meant. His arrogant confidence was galling, but what if he was right? He was a Lloyd, moneyed and well-connected. For heaven’s sake, he played golf with local judges. Would they side with her—a nobody—over their golf buddy?
“Take your time and think carefully about the odds. It’s a big gamble,” Gavin said, placing his fork next to his now empty plate. “Now finish your dinner, and I’ll take you home.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re eating for two. I insist.”