10. Chapter 10
It had been eight weeks and five days since we broke up when I saw Aurora again. But who was counting?
Things had gotten somewhat better at home. I was relieved that Sophia had stopped being clingy and needy. That had now transferred to Iris, who called me at least once a day to ask what we should have for dinner like we were a couple. When we were married, she hadn”t given a shit.
”We should go together,” Iris insisted about the Annual Savannah Hearts for Healing Ball, an event designed to support children”s hospitals.
I checked my cufflinks and began to look for my phone. Iris was sitting on my bed in a brand-new red chiffon gown that looked damn good on her, and her neck, wrists, and ears were lit up with diamonds. She was wearing the tennis bracelet that I”d bought for Aurora. I wish she”d stop wearing it, but it was too late. If I didn”t want an argument with her before, now it would only get worse.
”I don”t see why.”
”You don”t have a date, and neither do I.”
”I”m going with Beau.”
She scoffed. ”Please.”
”Iris, we”re not presenting ourselves as a couple to the Savannah society.” And especially to our daughter, who”d begun to ask at least once a week if Iris and I were getting back together. I kept telling her it wasn”t going to happen. I had reached the end of my patience with both of them.
”Please, Gabe.”
That pout, ten years ago, had been a turn-on. Now, on a woman in her late thirties, it was embarrassing as hell.
”Don”t beg,” I clipped and added, ”And, Iris, you can”t just walk into my bedroom.”
”Why not?”
”Because this is a private space. I could have been changing.”
She hadn”t even knocked, just walked in like she was still my wife. We”d never lived in this home as a couple; she had absolutely no excuse.
”I”ve seen you naked, Gabe; in fact, we have a child together.”
”Iris, I”m trying to keep the peace here, but you cannot just walk into my home and my bedroom.”
”Our daughter lives here, Gabe. You wanted this set up so we could walk into each other”s homes.”
I could almost hear Mama say, I told you so in my head.
”My bedroom is off limits,” I used my this-is-the-end-of-discussion tone.
She huffed.
”Mama,” I heard Sophia call out, ”You look really nice.”
”Well, your father doesn”t think so. He just banned me from coming over.”
”What?”
I stepped out of my bedroom. ”No, just from coming into my bedroom, Iris.”
”Whatever, Gabe. I don”t know why we can”t go together to the ball since we live together.”
”We don”t live together, Iris. We”re divorced,” I said patiently.
”Yes, I know, but only because you forced it down my throat, you son of a bitch. It”s not what I wanted.”
I closed my bedroom behind me, hating that I was still fighting with my ex, that she was still here, still doing what she”d done for ten years of marriage.
”What? You won”t talk now, Gabe?” she jeered as she stood at the top of the stairs, her fists on her hips, her stance one of fighting.
I turned to Sophia. ”Miss Kayla is downstairs all night. I shouldn”t be back much later than ten or so.”
I had to make an appearance, and my plan was to get back as soon as humanly possible.
”Can you at least do me the decency to talk to me?” Iris screeched when I continued to ignore her.
”Give me some sugar, Sweetpea.” I ignored Iris and leaned in to give Sophia a kiss. Her eyes were wide, her lips trembling. I hated seeing her like that—upset and frightened. I hated that Iris was screaming in our house again.
”Gabe, I”m talking to you,” Iris yelled.
”Please stop fighting,” Sophia interjected, a plea in her voice. ”Please.”
”Well, then ask your father to be a little nicer to your mother,” Iris demanded and then flounced away.
Sophia looked at me with watery eyes, and I pulled her into an embrace. ”Sweetpea, we”re not fighting. Your mother is just upset, and she”ll be fine.”
Sophia pulled away angrily. ”But it”s your fault that she”s like that. You ended your marriage, and now…I have to…”
”You have to what?”
”Nothing.” She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. ”Why can”t you both just get back together?”
”Because I don”t love your mother the way I should a wife, Sweetpea. I told you that several times.”
”Why can”t you love her?” she asked.
”Because that”s not how love works,” I smiled sadly. If I could control the damn emotion, I wouldn”t still be breaking my heart over Aurora. If there was a switch I could pull, I would, so I could stop hurting.
”Can”t you try?”
”Sophia, what”s going on?” I asked.
She shook her head. ”Nothing. Just…are you dating someone again?”
I was taken aback by the question. ”No.”
”Then why can”t you just be with Mama?”
I put my hands on her shoulder. ”For the last time, Sophia, your mother and I are divorced. There”s no going back. I don”t want to be married to her. I love you, Sweetpea, but our marriage was not a good one, and we”re not right for each other.”
”But you and Aurora, were you right for one another?” she snarled, and I saw Iris in her face.
”Aurora and I broke up, you know that,” I whispered.
”Did you love her? Like you can”t love my mother?”
I stepped away from Sophia. What the fuck was going on with my kid?
”I did love Aurora very much,” I replied gently. I still do. ”But that”s the past now.”
She nodded sadly. ”I”m sorry, Daddy. It”s just…Mama is so depressed about the divorce and…”
”Baby, our marriage is not your responsibility. You still have two parents who love you very much.”
She nodded again. I kissed her forehead.
”Daddy, Mama loves you,” she whispered.
I wish I could explain to her that her mother didn”t love me anymore than I loved her, but Sophia was thirteen.
”You sleep tight. I”ll check up on you before I go to bed.”
By the time Beau and I arrived at the Perry Lane Hotel for the ball, I was already in a bad mood, which only worsened when I saw Aurora there with a date.
”Stop staring,” Beau urged as we stood at the bar after the speeches and before the dinner bell rang.
”I”m not staring. Who the fuck is that guy?”
”It”s Pierce.”
”Callum Pierce?”
”Yeah,” Beau was amused. ”She”s an architect on one of his real estate projects in Atlanta.”
”How do you know that?”
”I had a meeting with Nina Davenport last week and saw him there, she told me.”
I took a sip of my drink. ”You building something?”
He nodded. ”Yeah, we need to expand the headquarters, and I wanted to speak to her about that.”
Callum Pierce was a real estate developer. Not old money but new. He was in his early thirties, so younger than me. He was nice enough looking and—.
”Wasn”t he married to…that Hawthorne girl?”
”Divorced. Two kids. Shared custody,” Beau filled in.
I drank some more.
From there, the night quickly went downhill. In hindsight, I drank more than I should have and found myself watching Aurora. She was in a simple yet elegant structured black gown that hugged her curves as if it were a lover. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun, with tendrils softly framing her face. She laughed...a lot, and Pierce frequently placed his hand on her shoulder...a lot. I was fucking furious.
Dinner didn”t improve my mood, and finally, Beau asked if I could stop drinking. ”Coffee, please,” he instructed a server.
”What?” I snapped. ”I can handle my liquor.”
”Sure, you can,” he mocked.
”Are they dating? She moved on quick enough, didn”t she?”
”I don”t know if they”re—”
I got up, and Beau did the same. ”What the fuck do you think you”re doing?”
”I know Pierce. Let”s go say hello to him.”
”Darling.” Like my life wasn”t fucked up enough, my ex-wife slipped her arm into the crook of my elbow. ”How”s your evening? I just spoke to your mother, and she”s so excited about our summer party.”
”Your parents” summer party, Iris. It”s not ours.” I gently removed her hand from touching me. ”Don”t fuckin” make a scene here.”
”You”re the one doing that,” she hissed and then looked at Aurora as I had been and raised an eyebrow, ”Looks like your tart has found a new rich guy to gouge.”
”Jesus, Iris, what the fuck is wrong with you?” I snapped.
”Beau, how are you?” she turned to my friend, who raised both his hands, palms up.
”I”m not your friend, Iris. Keep me out of it,” he mumbled.
”Iris, darling,” someone called out, and mercifully, she left.
The server handed me a cup of coffee that I downed, and then I downed another.
”I can”t believe she moved on, Beau.” I could barely sleep without her, and she was laughing with some guy.
”Come on, Gabe, you dumped her.”
”I think Sophia may have overreacted.”
”And so did you.”
”Yeah.”
”What do you want to do?”
”Get drunk.”
”About Aurora.”
”Get drunk.”
Beau nodded. ”Enough drinking, let”s—”
”Beau.” Nina Davenport greeted and then hugged both of us.
”Your mother is precious, Gabe. This is such amazing work she”s doing. Savannah Lace is so happy to contribute.”
I nodded. ”Thanks, Nina. I know Mama appreciates your support.”
Nina patted Beau on the shoulder. ”Beau, we”re working on some great plans for you.”
”Thanks, Nina. Who do you think will work on our project?”
”Most likely Luna.”
”She”s top-notch,” Beau said, watching me as if I were a grenade with a loose pin.
”Come say hello.” Nina led us to the Savannah Lace table, and Beau stifled a groan, giving me a ”don”t make a scene” look.
After all the hellos and how do you dos, Nova, Nina”s executive assistant asked us politely if we”d like to join them at their table.
I sat down and stared at Aurora, who smiled softly at me. ”Hello, Gabriel.”
Her voice went straight to my dick. ”Aurora.”
”You know each other?” Pierce asked.
”Yes,” I said, ”We dated.”
Aurora looked shocked for an instant and then recovered, wearing one of those masks I”d never seen her wear with me. She”d let her feelings through, but in the beginning, when we first met, she schooled her emotions. She looked exactly like this, hiding.
”Oh.” Pierce patted Aurora”s hand. ”I hope this isn”t awkward, darlin”, a current date and an ex at the same table.”
Fucking hell. They were dating.
”Of course not,” Aurora said with a quiet smile, ”we”re all grownups.”
”I hear you”re working on Pierce”s Atlanta project.” I ignored Beau”s kick under the table.
”Yes.” She smiled fully now. ”I”m so excited about it. Callum has a great vision for building sustainable and affordable apartments.”
Callum?Fuck. I stopped a server and asked for a Macallan 12.
Luna who was sitting next to Aurora glared at me. ”Gabe, I just saw your wife.”
”Ex-wife,” I muttered.
Music was playing, and couples were dancing. The conversation around the ballroom was pleasant and cheerful. The tension at the table I was at could be cut with a knife.
”How long have you both been dating?” I asked, pointing to the space between Aurora and her date. It was borderline rude, but I was past giving a shit.
”This is our first date,” Pierce chirped, ”I hope the first of many.”
Aurora looked down at her hands, and I felt like an ass for making her uncomfortable. But I couldn”t stand it. I couldn”t fucking stand seeing her with another man. She was mine. Didn”t she know that? For fuck”s sake.
The server brought me my drink, the one I shouldn”t have drunk, but I did.
”I hear you”re divorced with kids,” I said recklessly.
”Yeah.” Pierce wore a broad proud smile, ”My son is six, and my daughter is four.”
”Well, be careful with this one,” I lifted my glass to indicate I was talking about Aurora, ”she didn”t grow up with parents, so she”s not particularly maternal.” As soon as the words were out and the gasp that went around the table, I knew I”d fucked up. Aurora”s mask fell, and the hurt in her eyes, fuck me, tore me apart.
Beau pulled me up from my chair. ”I”m so sorry, everyone, but we have to leave. Come on, Gabe.”
I closed my eyes. ”Aurora, I”m—”
”Please, leave,” Luna cut me off.
”I got him,” Beau assured her and dragged me away.
We left the ballroom and exited the hotel. Beau asked for my car to be brought around. I had my Cadillac with a driver, and we had picked up Beau from his place on our way here.
He waited until we were in the car and had the privacy screen up when he handed me my ass. He didn”t have to. That look in Aurora”s eyes told me how badly I”d fucked up, how much I”d hurt her.
”That was cruel, Gabe.”
I dropped my face in my hands. ”I know.”
”I can”t believe you said that.”
”I know.”
”How bad do you feel about it?”
I looked at him and let him see.
”Not badly enough, not compared to how she looked.”
”How did she look?” I asked.
”Like you peeled her living skin off her flesh.”
He was disgusted with me, no more than I was.
”Are you staying the night with me, or do you want to go home?” he asked.
”I have to go home. Sophia,” I explained.
”You still love Aurora?”
I nodded.
Beau scoffed. ”You better get over her because you just railroaded any fucking chance you ever had with this woman.”
”Tell me something I don”t know.”
”I love you, Gabe, I always have but what you did today? You do something like that again, we won”t be friends any longer.”