“Not all of you.” The voice became cool. “Not anymore.”
He winced. “Well…Jacob screwed up.”
“Should’ve thought about his mother before marrying that stripper. Poor Stella. Catherine too, of course.”
“Yeah.” They shared a moment of silence. “Listen, I need a favor.”
“I’m listening.”
“I heard you were going to stay at the family vacation home in Thailand this month. Is that true?”
“Yup. We’re on the Betsy Doll. Her maiden voyage. We’re already in Asia.”
Aw, shit. He’d forgotten about his uncle’s new yacht. There was nothing Uncle Tony loved more than cruising in style. “Do you mind delaying your arrival by…say, about six weeks or so? I’m thinking about staying at the vacation home with Amandine.”
“The place is plenty big enough. I don’t see why we can’t share.”
“She and I have some delicate issues to work through. She might not feel comfortable with relatives around.”
“You in trouble with your wife?”
“Sort of.”
“A jet couldn’t get you out of jail for free?”
“How do you know about the jet?”
“Some of us bet on what you’d give to top the pink Mercedes, so we checked with Hilary.”
Though she usually kept her mouth shut, Gavin’s trusty executive admin probably saw no reason to keep that information secret from his family once the anniversary was over. “Who won?”
“No one. None of us came even close.” He laughed. “I’m just glad you weren’t around when I was young. Martha loves pricey toys.”
“I can imagine.” Tony had married a woman who loved to spend money as much as he did.
“Anyway, how come you’re in trouble with Amandine? A jet isn’t enough to make up for whatever you did wrong?”
“I gave it to her before the…incident.”
“Bad timing.”
“Uh-huh,” Gavin said noncommittally. Amandine would’ve been even more furious if he’d given it to her after. The situation needed a delicate touch…which reminded him, he needed to tell Hilary to forget about the yacht. “I wouldn’t normally ask this of you, but there’s no way I can rent out an entire resort on just one day’s notice. And a resort full of other guests won’t work.”
“Too many people, too little privacy.”
“I’m glad you understand. Even if I could somehow manage to book an entire resort to myself, it would mean some families would have their vacations ruined.” A total dick move he didn’t intend to make. He might have achieved “more” status in life—more money or whatever—but that didn’t mean he had a license to be an asshole.
“Gotcha. Well, I suppose we could stop by some other places for a while. I hear the Maldives are nice this time of year.”
“They are. Thanks, Uncle Tony. I owe you one.”
“No problem. Just remember—getting out of trouble with women is all about the approach. Taking Amandine to a private tropical paradise? Great first move. You’re a smart kid, Gavin. I’m sure you’ll be able to work it out.”
* * *
Amandine sighed when she was alone in the room with Samantha. “Four months of pointless attempts. He won’t be able to change anything.” It’d be just like before. Him working, her staying home, and more crews and people hovering over her in case she needed anything. “Did you notice how he didn’t have his wedding band?”
“Yes, I did,” Samantha said. “But he seemed…sincere.”