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Liam fought back a smile of triumph. “We didn’t actually have sex after the damn benefit that night in New York, did we?”
“When I suggested you come to my hotel room, you didn’t say no. But you passed out just after you took off your trousers.” And she looked put out about that.
Relief hit him square in the chest. Good to know he didn’t have to disinfect his dick again. “Kyle isn’t your son, either. Is he?”
“No.” She took up her hand wringing again. “He’s Kitty and George’s.”
“Your sister?” She’d just married as he and Gwyneth had divorced.
The puzzle pieces of her deception began to slot into place. She’d developed this elaborate ruse and manipulated him. And she’d destroyed Raine’s piece of mind. For what? Liam couldn’t yet comprehend her purpose.
How could he have ever believed he had feelings for this selfish, miserable bitch?
The anger he’d tamped down earlier heated from a slow simmer up to a roiling boil.
“You’re so void of a conscience that you’d deceive me about fathering a child? You’ve got some fucking nerve. After the way I found you cheating, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you lack a basic understanding of what’s right and wrong.” He stood abruptly, shoving his balled-up fists into his pants pockets.
In another corner, the other person in the waiting room cleared his throat and hurriedly left.
“Oh, Liam…” She sniffled. “Don’t be angry. Give me a chance to explain. Then you’ll understand.”
Liam swung back to face her and fought for control. “No, I won’t. What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Gwyneth?”
“With me?” Nose red, eyes swollen, she stabbed her finger at him. “What about you? You’ve let Hammer corrupt you and become a vile pervert.”
Coming from her, that was almost a compliment.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you think of me. But you destroyed every shred of feeling I ever had for you by treating the woman I love with such contempt.”
“That ill-kept guttersnipe? You’ve come down in the world. She’s a—”
“Be very careful about the words you choose.” His voice went frosty with warning. “Another insult and I won’t be responsible for what happens.”
Liam strode away from her to calm his thoughts and pulled out his phone to give Raine and Hammer the good news. Naturally, his battery was dead. Fuck.
She approached him from behind. “I’m sorry. I’m distraught, not thinking clearly. You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“It’s of your own doing,” he reminded in a rough tone.
He wanted to say more, but the man who’d left the waiting room returned, wiping water from his lips and sending them a sideways glance.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” she insisted. “I just needed you to marry me again for a few weeks.”
Liam barely managed not to choke. “Marry you? Again? You’ve gone fucking mental. I bloody well learned my lesson the first time.” He grabbed Gwyneth by the wrist and hauled her back to her chair. “Why would you think I’d agree?”
“Well, I didn’t mean forever.” She gave him a petulant frown. “I thought if I dropped my knickers and enticed you again, you’d enjoy it. And I’d inherit a company worth a billion pounds.”
His jaw gaped open. Now he knew she was mental. “What are you yapping about?”
“My father is dying. He’s been trying to decide whether to leave his company to Kitty or me. Of course, we’d both inherit money, but he said he’s still choosing which one of us to leave his business.”
Liam still couldn’t discern where he fit into this scenario, but one question smacked him in the face. “What do you know about running a company, especially one that size?”
“Nothing.” She bit her lip and paused, as if just realizing that practicality. “But I’ve already lined up a cash-rich buyer. Kitty foolishly thinks she should run it herself. If she’s going to be that ridiculous, she doesn’t deserve anything.”
Liam perched on the edge of his chair. “And what does all this have to do with me?”
“Well…Daddy thought you kept a firm hand on me and was more than a teensy bit upset by our divorce. To inherit the company, I have to prove I’m ‘responsible and less impulsive.’” She dropped her voice, mocking the elderly man. “Because apparently droning out her vows to an insipid idiot and spitting out a kid makes Kitty dependable. Anyway, my father said that he’d leave control of the business to me if you and I remarried. Other than sex, I had no idea how I was going to convince you to take me back…”
That was Gwyneth logic. Nothing she did should shock him anymore, but this blew his mind. “So you decided to kidnap your own nephew and use him to coerce me?”
“It actually started when I agreed to do my sister a favor. We’d planned one last trip to New York for my father. He so enjoys the city. But at the last moment, his doctors said he wasn’t well enough to travel. I convinced Kitty and George to press ahead with the trip. When we arrived, Kitty spent the first two days crying. She’s been having some postpartum thing.” Gwyneth waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Anyway, George decided a romantic cruise might cheer her up. He asked me to watch Kyle.”
