by Donna Alward
If his father were here, he wouldn’t have stood for this. Will knew it deep in his soul. Cedric Pemberton had been a fair man, always willing to listen, to give people a chance even when others were against them. Look at Maman. She came from humble beginnings and had married an earl, and if Will remembered correctly, his grandparents hadn’t been overly fond of the idea, either.
He was just about to say as much when Gabi touched his elbow. “Will you excuse me for a moment, Will? I need to go to the powder room.”
“Of course.” He smiled into her eyes. “Are you coming back?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not running away, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s my girl,” he replied. “I’ll be here.”
She slipped out of the dining room while the rest of the family rose from the table and circulated with their champagne. The formal part of dinner was over. If they could get through the next thirty minutes or so of mingling, they were in the clear.
* * *
Gabi locked the powder room door and let out a breath as her chin dropped. It had been a good ninety minutes of constant tension and being under a microscope. Bella had been polite, and Christophe’s girlfriend was a godsend, but she hadn’t been able to completely ignore the standoffishness of Stephen, Charlotte and Aurora. It was like she didn’t exist.
Five minutes. She just needed five minutes of peace to regroup and then she could face the rest of the evening. She sat on the closed toilet lid and closed her eyes, then took several long, slow breaths.
When she felt she was ready again, she opened the door, only to find Stephen leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.
“Oh,” she said, immediately wary and confused.
“I wanted a chance to talk to you alone. I wasn’t sure William would let me, he’s so protective. Though I can understand that, considering his motives.”
She frowned. “Motives? You mean not leaving me to the wolves? You said what you needed to say at the villa, Stephen.” She started to walk away, but Stephen’s voice called her back.
“He’s using you.”
She turned back, angry that he would try to drive a wedge between them. “William has been nothing but wonderful, even while his family has shunned him because of it.”
“He doesn’t want you. Why do you think I turned down his plan? At least I was honest about what I wanted out of our...alliance. Will is making you think he’s in love with you, when what he wants is control of Baresi.” He stepped away from the wall. “I said no to the acquisition to protect you, not punish you.”
Gabi stared at him. It wasn’t true. She didn’t believe him. “This is sour grapes, and so beneath you, Stephen. We were friends once.”
His gaze sharpened. “Yes, we were.”
Nausea rolled in her stomach again, and it had little to do with the rich sauce she’d eaten earlier. It was the tiniest bit of doubt. “You’re wrong.”
But in the back of her mind she was thinking about all the things she’d told Will. He’d been supportive in his comments but hadn’t really offered firm advice. She’d told him about clients they’d lost, their financial situation, how new clients were hard to come by...all the information he’d need if he wanted to move in and make an offer.
No. She would not believe it of Will.
But then, she’d believed a lot of things. She’d believed Luca wanted to marry her and have a family. She’d believed in Stephen, too, and while his words were causing her great concern, she realized she didn’t trust him. What if he was right about Will? Her father had put Baresi in her hands. He’d trusted her with everything. Had she misplaced her trust by trusting William? And then she thought back to all the times when her gut had said she maybe shouldn’t trust Will, and she wondered if she might be sick. What if her intuition had been right?
“Be careful, Gabi.”
“I don’t believe you. You haven’t even told your own family the truth of our engagement.”
He stepped forward then, holding her gaze. “You know I don’t let people into my intimate business.”
“You’re letting them think I’m with Will for his money.”
“You’re really in love with him. God, he’s played this perfectly.”
Her heart took the hit. She didn’t want to believe it, but she’d been played before. She would be a fool to not consider the possibility now. Not with so much at stake.
She should have been talking to her father about the business, not Will. Fear clogged her throat.
“Please think about it, Gabriella.”
He walked away then, as nonchalantly as ever, in his perfectly tailored tuxedo. She had trusted him and he had done nothing to break that trust, really. She had been the one to run from their wedding. At the villa he’d been angry and hurt and humiliated. And rude, but...to her knowledge, he’d never outright lied.
Stephen was gone when Will came around the corner, his face wreathed in concern. “Are you all right? You’ve been gone a long time.”
She wanted to cry. She loved him, she did. She didn’t want to believe what Stephen had said, but he’d planted the damned seed and she couldn’t help herself. “I’m not feeling very well, it turns out,” she replied. “I was going to find you and make my excuses. I think dinner was a little too rich.”
“Are you sick?”
She bit down on her lip. “Close.”
“Of course. We can leave the party now.”
“Not both of us. Just me, William. You should stay. It’s your mother’s birthday.”
“Then I’ll follow shortly, after saying my goodbyes.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “You’re cold,” he murmured.
“I’m fine. I just need to lie down.”
“I’ll be right along, I promise.” The concern on his face scored her heart. Why, why had Stephen made her doubt even the smallest bit?
He squeezed her hand before turning away. “Go put on something cozy and rest,” he advised. Then he met her gaze again. “I love you, Gabi.”
If he didn’t go right now she was going to burst into tears. “I love you, too,” she answered, knowing it was true, wondering if it was wrong.
He smiled, and she memorized every feature of his handsome face. He couldn’t be guilty of what Stephen said. He couldn’t. Will strode back toward the dining room, and she stumbled toward the stairs, fighting tears. The moments they’d shared, making love, the soul-to-soul connection...it had to be real.
She opened the bedroom door and then rushed to the bathroom and was sick. Not from the food, but from the stress and the possibility that she had once again made a bad decision. She’d believed that she and Luca had had that connection, too, and he’d been a liar and a fraud and a cheat.
What she needed now was time and space. To think. To decide what to do now. She washed her face and put on the nightgown she’d brought, one that was much too sexy for the situation but she’d brought nothing else to sleep in. She was sitting in bed, with earbuds in her ears, when Will came in.
She pulled out the earbuds.
“What are you listening to?”
“A meditation.”
He instantly went to the bed and sat on the edge. “I’m so sorry about how my family reacted.” He smiled. “I’m used to their dramatics. I promise it’ll pass eventually, when they see we’re committed.”
“I’m not sure of that,” she replied, looking down.
“They will. Bella is already halfway there and I can always count on Christophe.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted it, tried a winning smile, but she didn’t have it in her to give one in return. “Sweetheart, what is it? Is it my family, or your family situation? You’ve been under so much stress. Damn that Stephen. If he had only agreed to my proposal, so much of this burden would have been lessened for you.”
Her stomac
h clenched. “It isn’t for you to save Baresi. I can do this on my own.”
“I’ve been giving it more thought the last few weeks,” he said, sliding further onto the bed so they were face-to-face. “We don’t need Aurora to officially invest. I have my own money. I can help you.”
The proposition struck her speechless for several seconds. Had he mentioned this to his brother? That he was planning to go off book and make an offer himself?
“No, William.” She slid out of the bed and went to the closet to take out her robe. She slid it over her shoulders and tied the belt firmly. “I don’t want your money. I’m going to deal with this on my own.”
“But, darling, it could make things so much easier for you. Like we planned at the villa, remember?”
She remembered, and she’d felt desperate at the time, with her father’s surgery still looming and so much uncertainty. Now, even though she was struggling in her new position, she wasn’t nearly as afraid of it. Not so much that she was willing to cede control to anyone. Not even Will.
“Maybe I don’t need easy. Maybe I need to accomplish this myself. And I certainly don’t need you coming in and taking over.”
He stood and stared at her. “Taking over? Who said anything about taking over?”
“It would be a great addition to your own business interests, wouldn’t it? And then you could be the one to negotiate with Aurora and you’d be padding your pockets from both sides.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
His mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe you just said that. Gabi.”
“Maybe I’ve been gullible this whole time. What a perfect mark I was, trying to avoid a scandal, vulnerable because of my father...you could swoop in as my rescuer and achieve what Stephen could not.”
He swore quite thoroughly. “Who the hell got to you? What did they say? This is ridiculous!”
“Is it?” Fear and desperation nudged her forward. “You always said that loyalty to your family comes first, particularly to Stephen.” She thought back to that day at the villa when Stephen and Will had fought. “What happened between you at my house?” she asked. “Did Stephen not like your plan?”
Will ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “This is unbelievable. An hour ago we were united against the world. And now you’re accusing me of using you to take over your company? Someone must have said something to you. What I don’t understand is why you’d believe them.”
Gabi heard hurt in his voice and didn’t know what to believe. He hadn’t actually denied it, but he hadn’t confirmed it, either. And Stephen had been convincing, playing the friend card. She shook her head. “Do you know what? I don’t trust any of you right now. I don’t know who to believe.”
“So someone did get to you.”
“It doesn’t mean they were lying.”
He stared at her, and the longer he did, the more confused she became. Why couldn’t she trust him? Why couldn’t she believe him? And then she remembered telling Luca she might be pregnant and the look of horror on his face as he crushed her future beneath his heel. She remembered the horrible sick feeling as she waited for the pregnancy test results, and the combined sadness and relief she felt. She remembered the panic of her wedding day, and dashing off in Stephen’s car to hide away in London, knowing she’d been foolish to agree to his plan in the first place.
The truth was, she had a history of making bad decisions, and there was too much at stake to do it again.
“I don’t trust my own judgment,” she said, her voice as even as she could make it. “I don’t know who or what to believe. And if that’s the case, I think... I think I need some time and distance away to think things through.”
“You’re giving up on us.”
“I’m choosing what I know is real. I need to go home. And I need to sort through my life. This was all such a mistake.”
And yet her heart cracked as she said it. The pain nearly stole her breath. Her heart was screaming for her to trust him and remember all the ways he’d been there for her. Her head was challenging her to think about his motives.
“Please, don’t do anything rash. We can talk about this tomorrow. Think about what you’re saying, and don’t let fear or my family’s meanness drive you away. Please, Gabi. This is too important to throw away.”
“I think I need to sleep alone tonight, Will. I have a lot to sort through.”
He hesitated, and she hoped he wouldn’t insist. The idea of lying beside him in the bed, trying to hold her emotions in check, was overwhelming. She needed to cry, and then to really sort things out.
“I’ll go to another room,” he acquiesced, though he sounded upset about it. “If that’s what you need.”
“I do.”
“And we’ll sort this out in the morning.”
She nodded.
He paused, and she wondered if he was going to try and kiss her or hug her before leaving the room. In the end he sent her a complicated look of love and fear and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
She went back to the bed and sat on the edge, expecting to cry. Instead her eyes remained dry as she sat for long minutes. For the first time ever, her emotions were too big for tears.
She needed to go home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WILL WOKE AND went to the room where Gabi slept. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. And he knew what he would find before he finished opening the door.
She was gone.
A helplessness overwhelmed him as he stared at the room. The bed was perfectly made, as if no one had been there at all. And on the night table was a folded note. God, just like last time. For a second he felt played and understood how Stephen must have felt that day at the chapel. Except Stephen hadn’t loved her. Will did.
He picked it up carefully, as if it might bite, and unfolded the thick cream paper. Dear Will, it began, and there were several lines beneath the salutation.
At least it was better than Stephen’s brief Please forgive me.
Dear Will,
I know you’re going to be furious that I’ve run again, but I have to go home. I have to sort out what is real and what isn’t in my head. I do not know who to trust. Maybe I’ve been manipulated too many times, or maybe I’m a horrible judge of people. I just don’t trust myself to make the right decision.
I’m afraid, Will. Afraid that I’ll do the wrong thing and in doing so ruin everything.
I want to believe everything between us was real, but I can’t. That doubt is there, and I can’t shake it. And that is no way to have a relationship. I’m sorry.
Gabi
He folded the page into quarters and tucked it into his pocket. She hadn’t doubted him until last night when she’d excused herself, so what had happened in that fifteen minutes? He tried to think of who might have spoken to her, but they were all mingling and enjoying cake and champagne at the time. He’d been talking to Christophe, and couldn’t account for everyone else at the time.
But someone had, and he was going to find out who.
Within three minutes he’d banged on everyone’s door and announced a family meeting immediately in the library. This was going to end now. No more secrets. No more maneuvering. And no more putting up with sneaky behavior in the name of loyalty. It had to work both ways, and he was owed some, too.
It took half an hour for everyone to congregate. Bella was cool as ever, in jeans and a sweater, her hair up in a topknot. Christophe’s hair, on the other hand, was smushed on one side and he had a good bit of stubble on his chin. Lizzy was still in bed, he said, and out of the family drama. Charlotte looked supremely annoyed and attended in her silk pajamas and robe, and Aurora, as ever, was fully dressed, hair perfect, and her “day” makeup on.
“No coffee?” Charlotte complained, and Will silenced her with a look.
No one said a word, but Aurora lifted one eyebrow and Stephen looked slightly smug.
“You’re probably amused that I, too, got a runaway note,” Will said, glaring at Stephen. “But I’m going to say this. Gabi has been manipulated, and not by me. One of you spoke to her last night and portrayed our relationship as one of opportunity and not love. And I’m here to say that whoever did that has betrayed me in the biggest way because I love her. I love her and she loves me and someone has made her doubt that.”
No one spoke.
“Charlotte? You’ve been against this since you found out in Paris. Was it you?”
“No.” She nodded at the note. “But I’d say that note is evidence that whoever did, did you a favor.”
He was so angry. So very, very angry and afraid. What if he couldn’t figure out a way to get her back?
William looked at his mother. There was something in her eyes he didn’t expect. Compassion. He knew it wasn’t her. She might not approve, but she wouldn’t actively poison the well. She knew what it was like to be distrusted and disliked by a man’s family. And so that left...
Stephen.
“You’re my brother. I can’t believe you’d be this malicious.”
Stephen met Will’s gaze. “It was business.”
“Like hell it was.”
“Face it, Will. Your proposal would have put you in a fine position to take control of Baresi. I just said that I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Stephen.” That was from Aurora, a stern admonishment. “Will would never do that.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” If they weren’t in his father’s library, and if his mother weren’t here, he’d be tempted to take Stephen down a notch or two.
“But see? She doesn’t trust you. You’re better off,” Stephen said. “I’m just looking out for you, little brother.”
“No, you’re not.” Bella stepped in this time. “Stephen, I know about your stupid agreement with Gabi. If you start with the ‘left at the altar broken heart’ thing, I’m going to knock you into next week.”
