The Perfect Woman (Rose Gold Book 2)

by Nicole French

  “Why don’t you and Jane show Nina the cottage?” Brandon said. “Zola and I can wrangle the kids inside. I don’t want to leave Luis with the other two for too long.” Behind him sounded a loud yowl of a much younger child, and immediately, Brandon took off into the house.

  “Go on,” I urged Olivia. “You’ll have more fun with the other children.”

  She blinked up at me solemnly but obediently detached herself from my skirt. For a moment, I almost called her back but decided against it. It was better for her not to get too attached, this close to her departure for school. Or maybe it was just better for me.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “How many children do you actually have?” I asked Skylar as we turned down a path through the property that led toward two small cottages at the perimeter.

  “Oh, it’s a houseful right now,” Skylar said. “We adopted Luis last year, and right now my sister and brother are staying with us before they go back to Andover too.” She brightened. “They might know Olivia, actually. Jane mentioned she goes to the same school.”

  I brightened. “Oh! That’s a pleasant surprise.”

  Skylar nodded. “They’ll make her feel at home.”

  Jane and I followed her down a path through a grove of large oak trees that provided a lush, welcome canopy of green in the late summer heat.

  “That’s Brandon’s lab,” Skylar said, nodding toward the nearer cottage that looked like it was under construction. “It’s almost finished, but they have workable space in the basement right now.”

  She didn’t expand on what I knew a bit from local gossip—that Brandon Sterling was something of a renaissance man. Having made his fortune in the market, he had switched to law later, and then, after meeting his wife, had switched to some kind of engineering or research.

  “And this,” Skylar said as we approached the door of the second cottage, “is for you.”

  She let us into the small house that included a kitchen, living and dining rooms, and two doors that opened into two guest bedrooms connected by the small bath. It wasn’t by any means large, but at first glance I could see that while comfortable, all the white and wood farmhouse furnishings were of the highest quality. Everything had been done in bright whites, sage greens, and warm cream, the kind of colors that made you feel like you were wrapped in a blanket on a freshly cut lawn in the middle of summer.

  “It’s lovely,” I said honestly. “Very homelike.”

  “It’s yours and Olivia’s for as long as you need,” Skylar said.

  I turned from peeking into the bathroom. “What? Oh, that’s really not necessary. We are only here the weekend before I get settled in my own house.”

  “You bought a house in Boston already?” Jane asked.

  I shook my head. “Um, no, I bought it a long time ago. I used to have a property manager deal with it and rent it out sometimes, but not for years now.”

  “Oh.” Jane traded looks with Skylar. The two of them seemed to share some kind of telepathic communication, because Skylar closed the door behind her and walked to the kitchen to pull out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.

  “Shouldn’t we…get back to the children?” I asked, even as Jane was taking a seat at the counter.

  “They’ll be fine,” she said, pushing the other barstool toward me with the sole of her foot. “Sit. It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

  Skylar poured all three of us glasses of a lovely, fresh pinot grigio, and we sat companionably sipping before Jane darted another look to Skylar.

  Skylar opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, there was a knock on the door. We all turned to find Brandon entering the cottage, looking a far cry from the frustrated lion he’d resembled early. Right now, he looked downright contrite peering under the bill of his Red Sox cap.

  “Hey, Red,” he said before nodding. “I—can I have a minute?”

  Skylar straightened behind the counter. “Um…”

  “Actually, I can just say it here. I’m sorry about the spa crap, baby. I didn’t mean to make a big thing. Do you forgive me?”

  Immediately, Skylar softened and moved quickly across the room to wrap her arms around her husband’s torso. “I’m sorry too for overreacting. I know you were just trying to do something nice for us, but honestly, Jane and I just wanted some time with Nina to ourselves without any strangers around. Forgiven?”

  Brandon smiled, and the light he shined toward his wife seemed to brighten the entire small cottage.

  “Forgiven,” he repeated. “Especially later.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist, then lifted her up to his eye level. They exchange a short but somehow still passionate kiss, then smiled at each other, lost for a moment in their small bubble.

  I took a long sip of wine. That was it? I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a couple approach each other with that kind of blatant affection and straight humility after an argument. But it was clear that there was a lot more love than anything else in the Sterlings’ marriage. These were two people, however strong-minded, who had somehow managed to make it work.

  “Let me guess, Nina,” Brandon said once he was finished making up with Skylar. “Matthew’s digging you out of a nasty legal mess too?”

  Jane and Skylar both chuckled with him at some inside joke.

  I frowned. “Did I miss something?”

  “You’ll find Zola is something of a white knight around here, Nina,” Jane said.

  I cocked my head. “Because of how he helped you and Eric? Is that how you all became friends?”

  “Ohhhh, no,” Jane said. “He’s been saving this group’s ass for much longer than that, starting with these two.”

  “What do you mean?” I wondered.

  “Oh!” Brandon turned to me. “Then you don’t know.”

  I frowned. “I don’t know what?”

  Skylar smiled grimly. “Trust me, we have tried to give him so much more than Fenway tickets for what he did. Ironic, really, considering he thinks he’s such a schmuck.” She shook her head. “Couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “Well, he did hit on you and Jane at various points, Red,” Brandon put in.

  “Oh my God,” Jane said. “Are you and Eric ever going to get over that?”

  “Probably not,” Brandon conceded with another grin.

  Skylar elbowed him in the gut. “Please, he’s one of your best friends now. And as I’ve said about a million times in the last six years, it was like kissing my brother.”

  She proceeded to tell me an incredible story about her father’s gambling addiction and Matthew’s hand in keeping her and her family safe from a small mafia ring in Brooklyn that had, at one point, actually kidnapped Skylar, igniting a media frenzy around the Sterlings that had only gotten worse during Brandon’s brief flirtation with politics.

  My mouth fell open as I listened to all the ways that Matthew, with his good, strong core, had saved people that the rest of the world would probably assume could save themselves. The rich liked to believe that all their money could control the world and solve every problem. But it was humbling, really, to discover what a trap it could also be. Matthew offered them all a way to believe in good people again.

  He really was their savior. Their white knight.

  And maybe, in another world, he could have been mine too.

  “That’s why we moved here, out of the city,” Brandon said when she was finished. “Better security, more privacy. We wanted to make a sanctuary for ourselves, but also for anyone else in our family who needed it.”

  His words spoke to my soul. “How private is this, really?”

  Brandon grinned. “As private as it gets.”

  “Brandon runs an electronics lab right now that got a big government contract last year for spyware detection,” Skylar said proudly. “He tests everything out here.

  “Well, it is one reason we don’t cut down the oaks,” she said frankly. “Even though it would be nice for the kids to have a little more gr
ass to run around on.”

  “Why, so press can fly their drones over to spy on us again?” Brandon spat. “I don’t fuckin’ think so, Red. Not with my wife. Not with my kids.”

  I couldn’t help but admire his fierce protectiveness over his family. I had grown up in another protective family, but one that was more interested in its own preservation than the actual people within it.

  What would it be like for someone, anyone, to stand up for my safety in that way?

  What a gift, was all I could think.

  Skylar seemed to know it too. She wrapped an arm around her husband’s waist and tugged on his shirt to pull his attention down to her. Brandon obeyed, and his gaze immediately softened as he leaned over to press his lips to hers.

  “Do you love me yet, Red?” he murmured without a care in the world. Like I wasn’t even there.

  Skylar’s upturned face shone with love and happiness. Nothing masked. Nothing hidden.

  “Always,” she whispered before Brandon kissed her once more with a hum, then let her go.

  “That’s lovely Matthew is so kind to you all,” I said quietly, suddenly missing Matthew’s touch more than I ever had.

  “Well, he’s not exactly terrible to you, is he?” Jane asked.

  I looked up. “I think you’re forgetting that he’s currently investigating my husband for trafficking.”

  An awkward silence descended through the cottage. Jane looked wounded. Skylar darted a glance at Brandon, who nodded covertly.

  “I’ll give you ladies some space,” he said. “Zola’s alone with the girls, poor bastard. They probably have him made up like Debbie Harry by now.”

  Jane snorted. “Oh, I’d love to see that.”

  “He won’t care. Little girls love Matthew, and he’s so good with children,” I said.

  “Is that so?” Jane asked. “And…you know this because…?”

  I flushed, immediately realizing what I had potentially given away. I cleared my throat. “Oh, um, at the white party. He was very kind to Olivia in the pool, remember?”

  Skylar studied me. “Go on, babe,” she said to her husband. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”

  Brandon left, and once we could no longer hear his heavy footsteps outside, both Skylar and Jane turned to me.

  “Can I ask you something point blank?” Jane said. “Just between us.”

  I frowned. “Okay…”

  “Is Calvin guilty of any of the charges against him?”

  I started, shocked that they would even ask me, particularly considering whom the third houseguest was. But as I looked between Jane’s and Skylar’s equally penetrating gazes, I found I didn’t want to hold back. These were not women who messed around. No pretense. No fakeness. Just genuine, unadulterated concern, but the kind that was unflinchingly honest.

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “That’s the truth. But at one point when we first met…yes. Yes, he was involved with something along these lines. I also know that he tried for many years to become a part of that Janus organization—the one headed by John Carson. Since his death, though, I really don’t know about anything else.”

  “Is he a good husband to you?” asked Jane.

  I still couldn’t look away. “No. No, he is not.”

  I had expected it to feel terrible. Expected guilt, dread, panic to consume me. But instead, the heavy weight that always seemed to be sitting on my chest dispersed a bit. I felt lighter just for speaking my truth out loud.

  Jane glanced at Skylar, who nodded slightly.

  “I thought that might be the case,” Jane said. “Look, Nina…I hope you’re not mad, but I did talk to Skylar about some of this stuff.”

  “What? Why?” I reared back in my seat. “Jane, why would you do that?”

  “Because I’m a divorce lawyer,” Skylar said.

  “Correction: my best friend is a shark,” Jane cut in. “I’m sorry for talking, Nina, but you can trust Sky. I promise.”

  “You can give me a dollar if it makes you feel better,” Skylar said. “Then I’m legally disallowed from talking about your life with anyone. And if you’re living in Massachusetts for a while, you might want to consider establishing residency regardless. That way I can represent you in court, of course.”

  I frowned. “Why is that?”

  “There are a lot of similarities. But one of the big ones is alimony. New York requires a ten-year marriage to provide alimony for up to six years after, whereas in Massachusetts, it’s only four. But it’s not just that. Brandon and I can help in other ways.”

  “Look,” Jane said. “I won’t claim to know everything about your situation with the moldy cheese wheel you’re married to. But real talk: something has never seemed right between you two. I knew for sure after I saw this.” She pointed her finger at the now mostly faded bruise peeking out from under my linen shirt. “If you…if you need help…getting out…Sky and I both wanted to offer our assistance, however we could.”

  I frowned down at the bruise, then back up at them. “I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. This is just—”

  “A fall down the stairs?” Jane asked.

  Skylar just remained silent.

  “Okay,” I said slowly. “Help. What—what does that mean, exactly?”

  “Well, for a start, we have this place for you and Olivia if you need a place to stay safely,” Skylar said. “You already know about the security. This isn’t some place your husband could find you. Not if you didn’t want him to.”

  I was quiet for a moment. Then, “You do know I have access to quite enough funds to secure a divorce if I wanted, don’t you?” I asked.

  “Money doesn’t always buy trust,” she replied frankly. “I think you know that too.”

  I arched a brow. “Eric might be the official owner of the family billions, but I have my own money. Or will, once the will advances past probate. Grandmother made sure of that.” I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, Skylar, but it really isn’t necessary. It’s also predicated on the assumption that I want to get divorced in the first place.”

  “Don’t you?” Jane asked. “You just moved out of state when Calvin can’t leave.”

  I shrugged. “I wanted to finish my degree and be closer to Olivia.”

  “What about the fact that you’re in love with Matthew Zola?” Jane said.

  Her bluntness was a cleaver.

  “I—I’m sorry?” I choked.

  “And the fact that he’s head over heels in love with you,” Skylar added.

  “You could tell?” Jane asked her, sounding amused.

  Skylar rolled her eyes at Jane. “Only the second he got out of the car, Janey. Brandon always teases him when they play cards, you know. Worst poker face ever.”

  “Well,” Jane said, “I knew about him the second you two ran into each other at my apartment last spring. And I suspected about you when I saw you two at the Met Gala in May. But honestly? I didn’t really know until last week, when your mother mentioned you hadn’t worn a bikini since having Olivia.”

  Mother. I knew she’d make a thing of that. Jane looked eager, like she thought the revelations might provoke something, but still I remained silent. Matthew might not have a poker face, but I’d learned that trick from birth.

  Jane sighed. “Look, Nina. Normally, I wouldn’t push like this. But for a few days last January, you were there for me when no one else was. You and Olivia stayed in my house. You made sure I was all right when Eric was gone. You saw what needed to be done, and you cared enough to do it.”

  I worried my fingers together. I didn’t say that time was also when I had first met Matthew or mention the shame and guilt I felt because of it. But she was right about one thing. In the last year or more, I had come to care about Jane and Eric, as a couple and not just for my cousin’s sake. I had never said out loud how much Eric’s return had meant. That after the dust had settled, and especially after he and Jane were put through the traumas of the spring, I had realized just how much both
of them meant to me.

  Family. Real family.

  It was a gift, not something to be stonewalled.

  “Okay,” I said in a voice even I could hardly hear. “Yes. I do love him. Very—very much.”

  Skylar and Jane both beamed with satisfaction. But each word caused a fissure in my heart.

  “But…that doesn’t really matter,” I continued. “Because we both know it won’t work in the end.”

  Oh, it did hurt to admit it out loud. To have witnesses to my tragedy. But for some reason, I thought Jane and Skylar in particular could understand. After seeing them both with their spouses, it was clear they knew what it meant to meet the soul of your heart. They could imagine what it meant to have it ripped away too.

  I proceeded to explain exactly why Matthew and I both understood our relationship was destined for failure. Skylar and Jane both looked like they wanted to argue several times, but by the end, both wore twin resigned expressions that told me they had come to the same conclusions.

  Skylar’s large green eyes shone with pity. Jane, however, wasn’t done.

  “Okay,” she said. “Matthew aside…what about your marriage? Just because you can’t ride into the sunset with a dashing Italian doesn’t mean you should stay in a loveless marriage.”

  “I agree,” Skylar rejoined. “Not that you need my opinions necessarily, but I do.”

  I bit my lip, wondering for a moment if I should tell them just why I had no real choice in the matter. At least not until the trial was over.

  But before I could speak, Jane reached out a hand and covered mine. The simple touch shook me to the core.

  Matthew had once done the same, in the exact same way, the first night we met. He had been actively trying to charm me at the bar that night, but it wasn’t until his pretenses dropped and true compassion emerged that I had known I had no chance of fighting the inevitable.

  Do you know how long it’s been since someone held my hand? I had asked.

  Jane’s gesture too was simply out of friendship. And it touched me nearly as deeply.