Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Setting my empty coffee cup on the drainer the next morning, I heard footsteps approaching. Determined not to exhibit any awkwardness, I pasted my default smile on my face and turned. Damn. Suited-up and oozing authority, Dane looked impossibly gorgeous and totally in charge.

As casual and aloof as always, he arched a brow. “Ready to go?”

Apparently, he was on-board with the “pretending last night never happened” plan. Good. That made things easier.

I nodded and gathered my things. “Ready.”

In the car, I turned my gaze to the window and watched his lush landscaping go by as we descended the long driveway. The estate really was beautiful. A lonely place to be at times, but still beautiful.

“It can’t happen again, Vienna.”

I forced myself not to tense. Without looking away from the window, I said, “I know.” Because I’d never mastered the art of separating emotion from sex. Thanks to the developing crush, I was already close to crossing the emotional line with Dane. He just didn’t know it. If we made sleeping together a regular thing, I’d struggle to not go past that line.

At least he hadn’t branded last night a mistake. He wouldn’t have been wrong, but it still would have stung to hear him say it.

Eager to change the subject, I looked at him and said, “Hope and Travis came to see me yesterday while you were talking with the teams.”

His dark eyes narrowed slightly. “And you’re only telling me this now?”

“You were in a shitty mood yesterday. I figured it could wait.”

He raised the privacy screen and asked, “What did they say?”

“They told me about the trust fund—allegedly, Jen agreed with them that I should know. Hope and Travis tried convincing me that you only married me to gain access to it; they think I should leave you now so that you can’t use me any more than you already have.”

Dane’s jaw hardened. “You should have told me immediately.”

“Like I said, you were in a foul mood. I planned to tell you when we got back to your house, but I didn’t have much success at calming you, and then …” Then you fucked me in your kitchen.

“Hope should have known better. I warned Travis to leave you alone. Clearly being barred from his favorite casino hasn’t inspired him to change his ways.”

I frowned. “You had him barred from a casino?”

“After he fed you the last ‘Dane is evil’ speech, yes. He was trying to cause trouble between us; trying to make my life difficult—I was just demonstrating that I can return the favor. Travis used to play a weekly card game at the casino with a bunch of wealthy assholes who’ll gamble everything from money to animals. Now he can’t anymore, and he hates that. But he hasn’t yet backed down.”

“He can no doubt feel his share of your trust fund slipping away from him—he was never going to take that lying down.” I really would love to throttle the weasel for being so greedily determined to attain money and assets that weren’t rightfully his that he’d actually fuck with his brother’s life this way. “They were probably lying that Jen banded with them over this.”

“She thinks the same as they do when it comes to you and me, so there’s every chance she was involved.”

“At least Kent had nothing to do with it.”

We arrived at o-Verve a short while later. Inside the building, I’d no sooner fired up my computer than Hanna appeared at my desk. I smiled and pulled a card out of my purse. “Happy birthday. Your usual gift card is inside.”

She took it with a huge grin. “Thank you. Like my badge?”

I eyed the round, “It’s my birthday and I’ll curse if I want to” badge she’d pinned to her shirt. “It screams ‘class.’”

“I know.” Leaning forward, she whispered, “I’m guessing you fucked Dane’s brains out last night.”

I tensed. “What?”

“Well I saw him walk into the building a few minutes ago. He’s no longer snarling and glowering and generally scaring people.”

Oh, right. “Sex is a good outlet for stress.”

“Here, here. So, are you still coming out for drinks after work tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course.” A bunch of people from o-Verve went to a local bar every year on the Friday closest to her birthday.

“Ace! I’ll see you later.”

“Later.” Turning back to my computer, I got to work.

I’d worried that just maybe things between Dane and I would get a little weird as the day went on, but they didn’t. There was no awkwardness, no tension, no cracks in our work dynamics. It was honestly as if nothing had happened last night. But then, for Dane, it really had been nothing. Just emotionless, stress-relieving sex. I told myself that that didn’t bother me, but it was a damn lie.

The day seemed to go by superfast. Before long, I was slipping on my coat, ready to leave. It was only then that Dane announced he wouldn’t be coming home yet—he’d accepted an invitation to a last-minute dinner meeting.

It occurred to me that he’d attended a few of those recently. There had also been evenings where he’d returned to o-Verve alone and hadn’t come back home until late. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was trying to avoid me.

Well, whatever.

No, not whatever. He’d asked me to move into his unnecessarily large house, and then he’d developed a habit of leaving me there alone a lot of the time. When he was at home, he might as well have been elsewhere.

Yeah, okay, it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t like company. And no, there was nothing wrong with that. But there was something dull about just the thought of going back to such a large, empty house, even if it was beautiful.

As I hopped into the sleek car outside, I smiled at Sam. “Could you take me to my father’s house, please?”

The driver returned my smile. “Of course.”

“Thanks.”

When he finally pulled up outside Simon’s home, I said my goodbyes to Sam, assured him I’d catch a cab home later, and then crossed to my father’s front door. I used my key to let myself inside, calling out, “Dad?”

Simon popped his head out of the kitchen and beamed at me. “Vienna, I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I thought I’d surprise you.”

“Well, you did.” He gave me a tight hug as I entered the kitchen. “Missed you, sweetheart. No Dane?”

I shook my head. “Not this time. He’s at a meeting.”

“Story of his life, I suppose.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Well, what brings you here?”

Following Simon further into the kitchen, I inhaled the delicious scents of meat, bolognaise sauce, and onions. My stomach rumbled. “I wanted to see you,” I told him. “I’ve missed you.”

“Glad to hear it. I’m just about to dish out some dinner. I can share. Meatballs sound good to you?”

“Sounds perfect.” I set the table while he plated the food.

Twirling some spaghetti around his spoon, he asked, “How are the plans for the wedding reception going?”

“Great. The planners, Chris and Miley, are completely on top of it.”

Simon chewed his food and then lifted his glass. “To think my darling girl is now married …” He sipped his water. “Considering everything moved at warp-speed, you must sometimes feel like your head is spinning.”

“Yes, it’s become a familiar state of mind.”

“But you have no doubts about Dane, do you?”

“None at all. I just struggle to keep up with the speed at which he moves. He’s like this in every area of his life. So, how’s your job going?”

“Fine, fine.” He went on to tell me about his new manager.

I’d just finished my last forkful of food when I noticed that he’d pulled his legs up onto his chair and had rested his chin on his knees. Grimacing, he pushed aside his plate. “How do you eat this stuff?” he asked, his voice lighter and childlike. “Meatballs are yucky.” He stuck out his tongue, as if the air would clean it.

I felt my mouth curve. “How do you eat bags upon bags of beef-flavored chips in one setting?”

Freddie gave me an imperious look. “They’re made from potatoes. That means they’re good for you.”

I snorted. “If you say so. How are you doing, Freddie?”

“Okay.” He watched me from under his eyelashes. “Will you still come see us lots even now that you’re married?”

“Of course,” I replied.

“You won’t let Dane keep you from us?”

“Definitely not. Why would you think he’d want to do that?” I tilted my head, waiting for him to explain.

Freddie picked at the leg of his pants. “He looks at you like … I don’t know. Like he’d keep you all to himself if he could.”

No, Dane was just real good at acting. “I’m sorry you’ve been worrying about that, but you have no need to. He’d never try to keep me away from the people I love. I’d sock him in the mouth if he did.”

Freddie flashed me a boyish smile. But that smile faded. “Do you think he’d hit you back?”

It didn’t surprise me that he’d ask that. Freddie had taken the brunt of Simon’s childhood abuse; he knew that the people closest to you could often also be the ones that hurt you. “No, never. Do you worry that he would? Does he scare you?”

Freddie looked at the table, his expression pensive. “Yes and no. I think he’s like Deacon. Hard. Super serious. Unhappy deep inside.” His eyes met mine again. “Deacon doesn’t like it if you give other people attention when he’s around.”

“And so you think Dane won’t like it either.” I shook my head. “He’s not going to try to keep me away from you or anyone else I care for. And if he did try it, I wouldn’t want him anymore. You’re stuck with me, Freddie, whether you like it or not. Got it?”

His smile was shy. “Got it.” He wrinkled his nose. “Can I braid your hair again?”

“Sure. If you help me wash the dishes.”

He made a sulky sound. “That is so not a fair deal.”

Later, I took a cab back to Dane’s estate. The driver whistled at the sight of the large electronic gates and asked if I truly lived there. Apparently, I didn’t fit his idea of the kind of person who’d afford a place like this.

Hopping out of the taxi, I punched the security code into the intercom’s keypad, and waited for the gates to open. It took me a good minute to walk the length of the driveway. I was just thankful it was well-lit—the sounds of wildlife coming from outside the grounds might have otherwise made me a little paranoid that something was stalking me.

Strolling into the foyer, I rolled back my shoulders, tired and ready to collapse into bed. I’d only taken two steps toward the staircase when Dane breezed out of the hallway holding a crystal tumbler filled with amber liquid. “Hey,” I said simply.

Swirling his glass, he watched me. “Sam said he took you to Simon’s house. You didn’t say you intended to visit him.” His tone was neutral, but I got the feeling he wasn’t too happy that he’d heard about it secondhand.

I shrugged. “It wasn’t planned. He says hi, by the way.”

“Your hair is loose.”

Was that a note of suspicion in his voice? What did he think I’d been doing exactly? “Freddie likes to play with it.”

His shoulders lowered just a little. He sipped his drink. “I spoke to Travis and Hope. They both said they mentioned the trust fund to you but never tried to insinuate that I married you to access it. Travis was also again adamant that you’re simply trying to cause trouble between us.”

“And what did you say?”

“That I believe they’re full of shit.”

“Do I want to know how you’ll retaliate?”

“I’ve already done it. He’s barred from three more casinos, and she’s barred from her favorite clothing store.”

I gaped. “You can really arrange to have a shop refuse to serve a person?”

“If you have enough money and power, yes. Hopefully that will be enough to keep them from playing more mind games.”

Honestly, I doubted it would. They stood to gain a whole lot of financial goodness if they succeeded in separating Dane and me.

Fighting a yawn, I gave him a brief wave. “Well, goodnight.”

I walked up the staircase, conscious of Dane’s eyes on me the entire time. Or maybe I was just imagining it. Maybe I was just being dumb.

Reaching the landing, I glanced down at him. No, I hadn’t been imagining it. He was staring at me hard, his body still, his free hand a tight fist at his side. Like he was internally wrestling with something. And suddenly, I felt far too hot.

He took another swig from his glass and then turned away. “Night, Vienna.”

I headed to my room and puffed out a breath. I’d just reached my door when the buzzer rang once, twice, three times. I turned and headed to the hallway window. No cars were yet driving up the path, and I couldn’t see whoever was behind the gates. Again, the buzzer went off several times, like someone was jabbing it with their finger.

I went back down the stairs just as Dane re-entered the foyer. “Who is it?” I asked.

“Heather, demanding to see us,” he replied. “And I’ve just opened the gates for her.” He drank another gulp of the amber liquid. “My guess is she believes that we’re behind the recent photos Thad’s wife received of him and Heather together.”

“You had that done this quickly?”

“I’m not one to procrastinate. Especially when I need to make a point.”

We stepped outside just as Heather hopped out of her Mercedes in the courtyard. Her mouth tight, she slammed the car door closed and marched toward us. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I felt my brows rise. “Excuse me?”

She curled her upper lip. “Don’t pretend you don’t know why I’m here. Thad called me. His damn wife knows about us, because someone sent her photos of me and him together. Someone who wrote on the back of one of the pictures, ‘My conscience just wouldn’t let me keep quiet.’”

“Ah, your own words coming right back at you,” I said.

“So, what, you got a kick out of coming between me and my man?”

“Isn’t that kind of what you tried to do to me?”

“You should have known there’d be consequences to that shit you pulled.” Dane sipped more of his drink. “You could have stopped at just flirting with me, but you didn’t. You could have stopped at sending just one email, but you didn’t. You were determined to have my attention. Well, you got it.”

“This is the thanks I get for warning you that the woman you married is still hung up on her ex?” She leaned toward him. “I did you a solid.”

“You did what you seem to do best: you fucked up.” Dane swirled his glass. “If you’d stayed out of our business, we’d have stayed out of yours. You didn’t. If you have any sense, you won’t repeat that mistake.”

Heather curled her fingers like they were claws. “You’re telling me I lost my boyfriend because you didn’t like an email I sent you?”

“If you lost him, it’s because he chose his wife over you,” said Dane. “And that’s just eating at you, isn’t it? Breaking up relationships isn’t simply a power trip for you. No, you need—maybe even crave—that feeling you get when someone chooses you over a person they love. Why is that? Because you needed your parents to choose you over Vienna? You needed them to throw her away, like those men threw their wives away?”

Her eyes flickering, she took two unsteady steps backward. “You don’t know a damn thing about me,” she said to him, a tremor in her voice. “Not one thing.”

I stared at her, my mouth agape. He called it. He totally called it. I hadn’t seen it before, but he was right—she needed to feel that she’d been chosen over someone else. As if it was the only time that she felt she meant anything. But the feeling obviously faded all too quickly, because she’d gotten caught up in a cycle where she kept doing it again and again.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. Hell, it seemed as if she hadn’t realized it until now. Her face had gone white, and she looked like she’d had the breath punched right out of her lungs.

“You’ll pay for this,” Heather hissed at him.

Dane took a step closer to her. “You think this is bad? There are so many ways I could fuck with your life. You think I don’t know the truth about the child support payments you receive from Junior’s father? You think I don’t know it’s actually hush money? Rowan doesn’t want his wife to know the boy exists, and you’ve capitalized on that. You’re blackmailing the man, pure and simple.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Imagine if his wife discovered Junior’s existence. There’d be no need for secrecy anymore, would there? You’d continue to get money from Rowan, yes, but true child support payments wouldn’t amount to anything close to the hush money you’re used to. That’s assuming Rowan and his wife wouldn’t file for custody of Junior—even if only to spite you. In their situation, I’d resent giving you my well-earned money.”

Heather shook her head. “You wouldn’t contact his wife. No, you’re bluffing.”

“I never bluff. I made sure Thad’s wife knew about her cheating husband. Why would you think I wouldn’t do the same for Rowan’s wife?”

Heather’s lips trembled. “Bastard,” she spat.

“There’s a lesson to be learned here. You leave me and Vienna be, and we’ll leave you be. But if you dare fuck with either of us again, I will turn your world upside fucking down.”

Breathing hard and fast, she looked from me to him. “You both deserve each other.” With that, she spun on her heel and stalked off. Moments later, her car sped out of the gates.

Feeling a little dazed, I turned to Dane. “How did you find out she was blackmailing Junior’s father?” I asked, struggling to get my head around it.

“I have my ways,” he replied.

“Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?”

“I didn’t want you wasting emotional energy on her. Every time you think of, speak of, or talk to Heather, you get this tired look on your face. Like she drains you and brings you down. You’re wearing it right now. I don’t like it. I wasn’t going to put that look on your face unless I had to, so I decided to put a pin in this. It wasn’t something you urgently needed to know.”

I bristled. “I’m not as fragile as you seem to think I am, Dane.”

He closed the space between us. “I don’t think you’re fragile. You’re far from it. In fact, you’re stronger than I originally gave you credit for. It’s a quiet strength. One Heather sees and resents, because she doesn’t possess it. That’s why she tries to crush it. I think she’ll heed our warning, though. It’ll kill her to swallow her pride and back down, but she’ll want to keep her cashflow nice and steady.”

“And she won’t want us to tell Melinda and Wyatt she’s been blackmailing Junior’s father. I still can’t quite believe she stooped so low. I knew she purposely got pregnant to milk the father for money—she proudly admitted it; thought it made her clever.” I raked a hand through my hair. “She’s got fewer ethics than I thought. I don’t get it. I don’t get why she’s like this. She’s had a good life, Dane. Parents who love and support her. Shelter and food and stability. And yet …”

“Some people can only appreciate the good in their lives when they’ve had a taste of what it’s like to suffer,” Dane pointed out. “You had a shit start to life, so when Melinda and Wyatt entered it, you recognized how fortunate you were to have them and the safety that they gave you. Heather’s had it good since day one, but she isn’t a person who’s learned to appreciate it. She doesn’t see what she has; she only sees what she doesn’t have.”

“I almost feel sorry for her. I’d hate to never be able to feel content.” I cocked my head. “Is it hard to live a life where you never feel fully satisfied? You’re nothing like Heather, I know. But you have that drive to keep seeking more and better. You keep moving the marker. You never seem to feel that you have enough.”

“You think I’m unhappy?”

“Not unhappy. Just … not completely fulfilled.”

“Neither are you.”

“I know. I haven’t yet gotten the things I really want from life.”

“Ah, yes, the family and the cat.”

I gave him a stony glare. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No. You want to create the very thing you wish you’d had—a strong family unit. You want people who’ll love you unconditionally, and people who you can love freely without others hating you for it; people who make you feel safe and secure and accepted. It’s not wrong to seek the solid, normal family you never had.”

“You’ve gone the opposite way from me, haven’t you? You’ve decided you don’t need the solid family you never had; you’ve decided that you don’t need anyone and that you’re better off alone. That’s not wrong either. We just want different things.” But I couldn’t try to make my plans a reality until I was no longer Mrs. Davenport. “At what point next July are you going to want me to sign divorce papers? The day after our anniversary might seem odd, but I guess it won’t matter at that point—you’ll have access to your trust fund, which is all you want.”

He hiked up a brow. “So eager to go through with the divorce, Vienna?”

“No, I was just asking.”

The corner of his mouth curved into a mocking smile. “One day, you’ll no doubt have the devoted husband you want.”

I narrowed my eyes at his sardonic tone.

“But for now,” he added, pitching his voice lower, “you’re here with me, wearing myrings, living in my home, using my surname.” The note of possession in his tone made my nape prickle. “Essentially, you’re mine for the time being, Vienna. And I’ll let you go when I’m good and ready.”