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“Seriously?” I shout into the phone, fed up with her selfishness. I can’t believe this is who I have to call a mother. “Don’t you remember I lost my apartment? You told me I could come stay with you for a few months!”
There’s a moment of silence before she can manage to respond to her negligence. I’m sure she hardly cares right now as she sits in France.
“I do remember now, darling. I am so sorry, can you get a hotel?”
Tears run down my cheeks as I sit on the bed, realizing just how alone I am. “No, Mom, I don’t have any money for a hotel. That’s why I was coming to stay with you in the first place.”
“What about Aunt Jenny? Surely, she would put you up.”
I just shake my head. “They’re all crammed into that little house. She doesn’t need me there.”
“You will figure it out. You’re resourceful. I would lend you the money for the hotel, but now that my lawyers and Branson’s are fighting over the settlement, I don’t have much to spare. You understand, right?”
“Not enough to help me out but enough to go to the south of France with Pierre?”
She laughs lightly. “We came on his private jet, and he owns the flat. Also, you know I need to save so I can bring you back a trinket or two from Paris, darling. Now I have to go, Pierre and I are on our way to the opera. I wish you could see the dress he sent over for me to wear. It is simply stunning.”
I immediately hit the end button and remain sitting here, on the edge of the bed, looking at the face of my phone. She won’t even realize that I hung up on her. She’ll simply think the connection was lost.
“What am I going to do?” I whisper to the empty room.
Now that mom has abandoned me, I will have to either go impose on Aunt Jenny, or live in my car for god knows how long. Neither prospect is sunny.
Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mark are the sweetest people; they will take me in without hesitation, but I don’t want to be a burden. They have enough on their plate right now.
I gather up the few things I unpacked, zip my suitcase, and proceed out into the hall only to run straight into a wall of warm muscle.
I look up to see Mr. Wellington. He just stands there, staring down at me.
I bite my lip and try to look away, but it feels as if my eyes are lasered to his. It’s wrong to find my mother’s ex-husband this hot, isn’t it? My tongue flicks out to moisten my lips, and I watch his eyes follow the movement.
Swallowing hard, I finally find my voice. “I am sorry for any inconvenience I caused. I truly had no idea the two of you had split.”
He doesn’t say a word; he just continues to stare down at me. My heart starts to pound, and my nipples ache. Dark, dirty thoughts run through my brain.
“She didn’t tell you she was leaving, so you have nothing to be sorry for. I overheard the conversation. It sounds as if she forgot she even invited you. Marine is an even bigger piece of work than I thought.” His voice is strained and bitter.
I know he had feelings for my mother the moment he married her because, I mean, my mother was such a tool. Well, it seems those feelings he had, had been stifled. I know the feeling. My mother is almost impossible to love.
“Where will you go now?” he asks, pinning me with his gaze.
“To my aunt’s, I guess.”
He gives me a small smile, “I overheard your conversation, remember? You will stay here for as long as you need. I will have my assistant set you up with a credit card for anything you may need to help you get back on your feet.”
I open my mouth to protest, and he just shakes his head. “It seems you are another innocent victim of Marine’s selfishness. Please, stay. I know you will not take advantage of my generosity.”
He turns and walks back down the hall before I can respond. Now I have a choice to make — to stay or go. The way I’m feeling for him makes me unsure if being here is the smartest choice. Then again, when it comes to men, I don’t have a track record of making any good choices…
5
BRANSON
Sitting in my study with a glass of bourbon in hand, I stare out at the night sky.
What was I thinking telling her she could stay? But how could I not offer? After overhearing the callous way Marine dismissed her? Absolutely not.
Once I heard Marine tell her daughter she couldn’t help, I got so angry I wanted to put a fist through the wall. I mean, I wired her $200,000 just that morning as part of the preliminary settlement agreement, so how on earth couldn’t she help?
