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She shakes her head. “These are unfortunate side effects. They’re not the root of the problem.”
I see clearly where Delphine is taking me, but I can’t go there. Never. Not a chance.
“Who is the cause of the change, Max?” she asks in her cajoling voice.
I grind my teeth, looking at her with defiance, but Delphine isn’t my therapist for nothing. I may make her nervous, but she’s never backed down from making me face the truth.
“Who is the cause of the change, Max?”
I bang a fist on the table, making her jump.
She blinks and then charges straight back into the attack. “Who is the cause of the change, Max?”
The admittance tears from my chest. Like a rabid animal, I growl the single word. “Me.”
Fuck it.
Me.
She sags in the chair as if our wrestle was physical. “Only one question remains. What are you going to do about it?”
Goddamn. I came here looking for a magic cure for Zoe, for a pill or a session of hypnosis, not for this.
Too angry to give expression to my thoughts with more useless words, I push to my feet, bumping the coffee table and making the water spill from the glass.
I turn on my heel and barge from the shrink’s office.
That’s what I’m fucking doing about it.
Chapter 29
Zoe
Lying on my stomach on the bed, I beam at the trio on my laptop screen. Damian, Lina, and Josh are lounging on the couch in their living room. My brother has his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and Josh sits on his lap, running a red locomotive over Damian’s leg.
“You look stunning,” I say to Lina who’s complaining about the size of her stomach.
“That’s what I keep telling her,” Damian says, his eyes taking on that all-consuming light that seems to come from inside of him when he looks at her.
Seriously, she’s glowing. I’m overjoyed for them. They found the happiness they deserve. I’m not naïve enough to believe it was an easy road paved with rose petals, but I know what they’ve built together will last forever. It’s just that kind of love.
“Tell me more about the dress,” Lina says, always diverting attention away from herself. “Vera freaking Day? I can’t believe you’re designing Vera Day’s dress.”
“Maybe and a very big maybe at that,” I say. “She didn’t commit to anything other than trying on the dress.”
“That’s something, right?” Lina says. “You’ll win her over.”
I make a face. “She sounded lovely over the phone, but I’m competing against Valentino.” Who goes up against Valentino? I must be mad.
“Show it to me,” Damian says.
I take the sketchpad from the nightstand and hold it up to the screen.
“That’s a nice drawing, Zee,” Josh says.
“Coming from you, that means a lot to me,” I say with a wink. “Will you make me a drawing?”
“Of a train?” he asks.
My heart melts. “Of whatever you want.”
“Okay.” He scrambles off Damian’s lap. “I’ll start now.”
“Bye, Josh.” I blow a kiss before his small, sturdy body disappears from the screen. “How is he getting cuter each time we speak?”
“He’s a great kid.” Putting a hand on Damian’s leg, Lina gives him a loving look. “Your brother is very good with him.”
Lina flushes a little as Damian brings her hand to his lips and gently bites down on a finger. It’s tender and possessive, and my body suddenly misses my husband. Not my heart. Never my heart. That part of me, I locked away in a stone chamber deep under the water where a pulse is nothing but a distant sound.
“Maybe I can help you make up Vera’s mind,” Damian says.
“How?” I ask, resting my chin in my hand.
“I’m sure a black diamond necklace to compliment the outfit will sway her.”
“Really?” I sit up. “Do you have something that will work?”
“Nothing that will go with the dress,” he says, “but I can get my designer to make something.”
“The festival is in two weeks,” I exclaim.
“It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Are you sure?” I’m breathless with excitement. “That sounds almost impossible.”
“Anything is possible when you’re the owner of the mine.”
“Are you serious? You’ll lend something so precious to us just for a night?”
“Anything for you, Zee.”
I shift to the edge of the bed, balancing the laptop on my knees. “What about security?”
“She’ll have to agree to extra measures and bodyguards, but it’s doable. I’m sure Maxime will help you out with that.”
Clapping my hands, I say, “Damian, you’re a genius.” I’ve seen some of the Hart designs. They’re stunning.
“I’ll send you a couple of sketches. Let me know what your ideas are, but don’t wait too long. Tony will have to hurry if he’s to create something before your deadline.”
“Won’t the courier be a problem?”
“Regardless of what Ms. Day decides, Maxime can keep the necklace to present to his buyers. We were going to extend the business to jewelry anyway. This way, it’ll just happen sooner.”
