Ignoring her brothers and their fiancées and Alta, Clyde’s stepsister, Thadie turned to her bodyguard—she’d opted for some personal protection due to the amount of press attention she was receiving—and asked Greg to fetch Clyde from his suite down the hallway. It was urgent.
A minute later Clyde stepped into the room but, instead of looking at her, he shoved his hands into the pockets of histuxedo trousers and stared at the carpet. He’d clearly been expecting trouble.Interesting.
‘We have photographers outside the gates,’ Thadie stated, turning to face Clyde and Alta, ignoring her anger-induced shakes. ‘I made it clear I wanted this venue to remain secret until after the church service, that I didn’t want to be swarmed by the press. Yet here they are. Which one of you leaked the venue?’
The pale blonde tossed her magazine aside and rose to her feet. She picked up her flute of champagne and downed its contents. ‘I did,’ she admitted, without a hint of remorse.
Nobody looked surprised at that revelation. ‘I figured,’ Thadie said through gritted teeth. Alta had made it very clear she wasn’t a fan of their union. ‘Why?’
Alta exchanged a look with Clyde. He walked to the drinks trolley, poured a slug of whiskey into a crystal tumbler and tossed it back. When he turned again, his eyes connected with Alta, who nodded her encouragement.
Encouragement for what?
‘I gave her permission to leak the venue,’ Clyde admitted.
‘Why?’ Thadie whispered, shocked to her core.
Clyde looked at Alta and, being the good soldier she was, she stepped into the battle. ‘Clyde and I hoped it would finally cause you to call off the wedding.’
What was happening? This was all so surreal.
Thadie saw both her brothers had stepped forward, their faces stormy, and she lifted her hand to hold them back. This was her fight, her problem to solve. ‘I’m sorry to be dense, but are you saying youdon’twant to marry me, Clyde?’
Clyde pushed a frustrated hand through his hair. ‘Of course I don’t! We’ve been trying to get this wedding cancelled for weeks, but nothing we’ve done has succeeded in getting you to call it off!’
‘Here’s a novel idea—why didn’t you just tell Thadie you didn’t want to get married?’ Micah demanded, looking furious.
Fair point.
‘Why go to the hassle of having the venue cancelled, the leaks to the press about Alta being dropped as a bridesmaid, about your relationship?’ Jago asked, his tone Arctic-blizzard cold.
‘Clyde’s brand is built on him being the good guy, the nice guy, the perfect gentleman. I didn’t want his reputation tarnished,’ Alta explained. ‘As his publicist, that’s of paramount importance. Thadie is part of the Le Roux dynasty, South African royalty,’ she continued. ‘She’s been famous, and adored, by the public since she was tiny. You and Micah have clout and influence and are exceedingly popular as well. Clyde getting engaged to Thadie was PR gold and gave him incredible exposure. The plan was always to break up with her after six months or so.’
Right, so he’dneverintended to marry her, to be a dad to her sons.
‘I’m still not getting why you’d sabotage your wedding when a simple “I’m not interested any more” would do,’ Micah stated.
‘Clyde was about to break it off, but then he received an offer from a famous, family-orientated brand to be their spokesperson. It’s a deal worth millions and it took months to negotiate. But he can’t be associated with any scandal, he has to keep his nose clean. Breaking up with you, Thadie, the nation’s princess, would’ve been problematic. But ifyoujiltedhim, public sympathy would be with Clyde.’
Wow. Okay, then. Thadie shook her head in disbelief.
‘If you’d explained all this to me, Clyde, we could’ve found a solution together. But to go behind my back, to cause me, and my family, untold hours of stress is unforgivable. Micah even spent weeks out of town looking for another venue for us andElla found this place despite all odds! Jago and Micah have paid for this wedding in advance!’
‘That doesn’t matter,’ Micah murmured.
‘It does matter!’ Thadie yelled. ‘And it all could’ve been avoided if you were honest with me, Clyde! And don’t get me started on the promises you made to my boys.’
Clyde lifted one shoulder in a half-baked shrug. And the small gesture, his dismissal of her boys and their feelings, sent her revving into the red zone.
‘They are spoiled brats anyway, and they don’t like rugby,’ Clyde said, sounding deeply bored. Who was this man? Why hadn’t she seen this side of him before? Or had she ignored what she didn’t like because she’d been so damn determined to snag a father for her sons?
‘They arethree!’
‘Really? I thought they were older. Anyway...so Alta is ready to face the press, she’ll tell them you’re calling off the wedding.’
Uh...no.
In a couple of sentences, he’d managed to insult her as a mother—she’d worked damn hard to make sure her kids were not spoiled!—and show her he was clueless about her kids. And he still thought she’d save his precious deal?