After she took a couple of bites, he asked, “Is it okay?”
“Fantastic.”
Munching on the tender duck, he watched his wife. She was so dainty and delicate, her artist’s fingers long and slim on her utensils. Unlike some of the women he’d dated, she knew how to eat. She’d never said no to good food or done something crazy like go on an all-grapefruit diet.
She also had quite a sweet tooth. He’d seen how much she loved European chocolate, which Luna always made sure was plentiful in the pantry.
“What kind of life have you always dreamed of?” he asked.
She gave him a long unreadable look.
“What? I can’t ask my wife?”
“It’s just… You never asked when we were dating.”
“I thought I knew back then.” He smiled. “It seems I might have been wrong.”
She took a long and contemplative sip of her mango-pineapple smoothie. “I’ve always wanted a life with…a good husband. And to have a family.”
“That’s it? How about your art? Don’t you want to be a famous artist?”
She shook her head. “That’s not up to me. The public either likes you or they don’t. But having a good, satisfying private life is something anybody can strive for.”
“If that’s what you want, why do you want a divorce?”
“Because.” She shrugged.
“Have I been a bad husband to you?” he asked, his voice tight.
“No.”
“Then?”
“Gavin, we just aren’t compatible. You and I want different things.”
“That’s not true. I want a life with a good wife and to have a family, too.”
“That’s not all you want, and it’s not the same.”
What the…? “Why the hell not?”
“I can’t be happy living like an accessory in your life. I want to be an integral part of a family.”
“Jesus, you’re insane. Certifiable.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I never bought an accessory a jet.” Or felt like he was getting kicked in the stomach when he thought about how he might lose an accessory.
“It was just a figure of speech,” she said. “I’m not good with words.”
“But still…an accessory?”
“Okay, scratch that. It was probably a bad analogy. How about you?” she asked quickly. Her eyes were wide and anxious. “What kind of life have you always envisioned for yourself? Other than the good wife and family part.”
Gavin stared at his wine glass. “To be wanted by the people I care about. I want them to never even consider not having me in their lives.” Not to be cast aside because he was found lacking. Because somebody else was “more.”
“That’s all?” She blinked. “The twenty billion bucks and all the perks aren’t even a factor in your life?”
“No. But the money is a means to an end.” Or should have been. His lips curled into a lopsided smile. Twenty billion not withstanding, he was still sitting here in this tropical paradise wondering how he was going to win his wife back. Spoiling her rotten hadn’t prevented her from wanting to leave him, even with his baby in her belly. “Thankfully I’m good at making it.”
“What would you have done if you weren’t?”