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“Where is it?”
“My lawyer’s working on it.”
“With Remington?”
He shook his head again. “Not yet. We’re looking for loopholes.”
Knowing Remington, he wouldn’t find any. “It’s okay?—”
“No, it’s not,” he snapped, then sighed. “I hid it from you because I know you love him.”
He was hiding it to protect my feelings for Remington? The ache in my chest spread.
Hale spent most days trying to disentangle his life from his father’s. My business association and love for the man created an obstacle that complicated his exit plans. While Hale tolerated our bond, I knew he’d prefer it if I cut ties, but he would never ask that of me.
Hale could have used this to prove how cold and manipulative Remington could be, but he hadn’t. Instead, he tried to shield me from any pain his father might cause.
I lowered into the club chair. Remington didn’t draw this up to hurt me. Chances were it was drawn up long before he even knew of my existence. When it came into play, he might have hesitated to consider the impact, but he would have done the necessary thing in his eyes and left emotion out of it.
I could almost hear him saying, Marriage is a business deal, Meyers. It has nothing to do with love. Somehow, that made this feel less personal.
“He won’t budge on it,” I said, trying to view it through the eyes of a businesswoman.
When a man like Remington Davenport drew up a contract, he made sure it was according to his terms and legally binding from all angles. His legacy was for his children and his children alone, not even his wives got a piece of what he had earmarked for them. I would be no different.
“I’m sorry, Rayne.”
I looked up at him. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do it.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you. I wanted to prevent that from happening. I wanted to protect you from…him.”
My heart broke, not because of Remington and his stupid contract, but for Hale. “He didn’t do this to hurt me. This is just what he does.”
“He systematically complicates our lives by inserting himself?—”
“No, Hale. This might hurt me, but he did it to protect you.”
“You defend him too easily.”
“Those conditions existed long before me. Don’t let this be one more wedge between you two. It’s fine. I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign and we’ll put it behind us.”
His gaze held mine as he studied me for a long moment. “Just like that?”
I nodded.
What else was I going to do? I worked for Remington. I’d seen firsthand how firm he could be when he felt strongly about something. It was only a thing if I made a thing about it. “I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign.”
That night, as I lay in bed beside Hale as he slept peacefully, I realized two things. First, money complicated matters as much as it fixed them. And, second, Hale no longer had a secret, but I did.
Concrete Jungle
WHERE BRIDES ARE MADE OF…
“Do you have all your flight information?”
Since Hale was catching an international flight, he left me the jet. It was a straight ride to the Big Apple once I made it onto the tarmac. “It’s the long, shiny tube that looks like a Tylenol with wings, right?”
“You’re hilarious.” He fisted the lapels of my cardigan and tugged me close for a kiss. “Do you have your coat? It's still in the mid-thirties there.”
