“Um, about your schedule. You won’t have to come in for a few days. Just stay home and chill until I call you. I’ll make sure you get paid since it’s Gavin’s idea.”
“Uh… What’s going on?”
“Gavin’s insisting on a second honeymoon.”
“That’s pretty sudden.”
“Tell me about it.”
Luna appeared again, making urgent hand-signals that Amandine should go check her bedroom.
“Hold on.” Amandine went upstairs and stared at the empty room. “Good lord, they packed everything.”
“What do you mean everything?”
“All our clothes and stuff. I can’t believe it.”
“Can you load all of them on one jet?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we’re taking two.” Staring at the empty room made the honeymoon even more real. Amandine sat on the bed. “I don’t understand. Why is Gavin doing this? How in the world did he find the time?”
“It is a little weird. You guys’ve had, what, two vacations or something since the ceremony?”
“It’s not just that. He never has a non-working vacation. In the Maldives he spent at least three to four hours a day on business. And that was a planned vacation.” She imagined the most likely scenario this time: him working nine-to-nine, while she sucked down one tropical fruit smoothie after another on the beach.
“Where are you going?”
“Thailand.”
“Well that’s great, right? I thought you always wanted to go.”
“I do. I’ve heard so much about the family vacation home there…everyone says it’s fabulous.” Catherine also had been there a few times and posted some shots on Facebook. Unfortunately, Amandine never had an opportunity to go. Gavin was always too busy, and she’d never felt comfortable going there by herself or just with friends, though Catherine didn’t seem to have any such inhibition.
If she could just be as confident as Catherine that she belonged with Gavin and people like him…
“I know it bugs you that Gavin’s acting out of character, but he’s trying to convince you not to divorce him. So give him a chance. See what happens,” Brooke said.
“You think so?”
“You love him, right? So I’m trying to be open-minded…even though he did stand you up on your anniversary. But who knows? He might surprise you.”
Brooke was right. Instead of thinking about the worst-case scenario, Amandine should wait and see.
But she was afraid a sweet and solicitous Gavin would be impossible to resist. If she fell in love with him even more deeply, how was she going to bear it if their marriage dissolved because he didn’t feel the same way about her? Would she cling out of unrequited love, or have the pride and self-respect to walk away even if he wanted her to stay for reasons other than love?
Don’t think about failures. They won’t happen, Gavin had said once. But she was afraid she wasn’t as confident or worldly as he was.
Chapter Ten
AMANDINE SETTLED HERSELF, sinking into the leather couch. Gavin sat across from her with bourbon on a small mahogany drink stand.
This jet was a lot more comfortable than anything else she’d ever flown in, including Gavin’s own personal aircraft. His was designed for productivity, while hers was all for pleasure and relaxation.
He pulled one of her legs up and rested it on his lap. She raised an eyebrow, but smoothed her knee-length skirt and continued to sip her apple and ginger cider.
Carefully he slipped her flat sandal off. It hit the floor next to
his wing-tipped feet. He hadn’t bothered to change before hopping on the plane, and his business suit and dark masculinity were a counterpoint to her bright new jet. The five o’clock shadow on his jaw would feel deliciously scratchy against her skin if she had the courage to reach over and touch him.