Chapter Fifteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
D OM HAD N ICO come to his head office for their first meeting on the post-nuptial contracts. It wasn’t meant to be a power move. Eve was down the hall, finishing up her meeting with his hiring team so she would join them momentarily.
While he had her brother alone, however, he said, “Your father is ghosting Eve. It’s starting to upset her.”
“He’s angry with me, not her. And they’re away, sailing in the Galapagos with friends. It was planned ages ago, before this and—” Nico let out a hacked-off sigh. “Dad’s had some specialist appointments lately that haven’t gone as well as he’d hoped. That’s confidential,” Nico added with a warning look. “But it’s adding stress to this situation that wouldn’t have been here otherwise.”
“Understood. But is that why your mother hasn’t nailed down a date for the reception?” They’d suggested a date in November before the holiday parties started, but Ginny had demurred, something else that was distressing Eve.
“Yes. Dad has a procedure scheduled as soon as he gets back so they want to see how that goes.”
Dom nodded at the assistant who glanced through the window. She came in with a cart of fresh coffee and trays of fruit and pastries.
“How long do you think this will take?” Nico eyed the food. “I thought we’d agree on the high-level points and let our lawyers work out the nitty-gritty.”
“Eve’s been tied up all morning. She doesn’t really eat breakfast.”
“She’s been like that since she was a kid,” Nico said with a shake of his head. “And she runs when she’s stressed so she gets too skinny at times. If that’s what she’s been doing lately then, yeah.” He nodded with approval at the cream-filled eclairs and bagels with cream cheese. He waited until the assistant had left to ask, “She’s definitely not pregnant?”
“My assistant?” Dom deadpanned. “I haven’t asked. I’m not allowed.”
“Eve. Obviously.”
“Can I give you a word of advice?” Dom was enjoying this. “Don’t ask about my sex life with your sister unless you really want to hear about it.”
“This is why I’d rather keep hating you,” Nico said without heat and helped himself to a cup of coffee.
Dom wasn’t just protecting Eve’s modesty. She’d been quite desolate to learn on the last day of their honeymoon that she wasn’t pregnant. Dom had been surprisingly disappointed himself, not that he’d shared that with her. He hadn’t wanted to make her feel worse, as though she’d let him down or anything. He wasn’t even sure why he found the idea of having children so appealing. They’d been fresh back from watching the circus that was Astrid and Jevaun’s life, which really was a lot of work, but he kept thinking about Eve saying she wanted what they had. The affection and tag team of parenting. The trust.
And there was something very simplistic about spending time with children. They were so unreserved, wrapping their wiry little arms around his neck, secure in the belief he would keep their head above water. He’d enjoyed watching Eve play a game with the toddler when he woke, holding him in her lap while she used the tail of her braid to tickle his arm and hand and cheek, both of them grinning and giggling.
He wanted to give her that. He wanted to give her everything she asked for if it would make her smile like that.
A sensation of the floor shifting beneath him struck, as though he stood on the tip of a diving board, toes curled on the edge, muscles gathering to jump and flip.
“Here she is,” Nico said as Eve came through the door in a whirl of energy that pushed him into the deep end without any grace at all. Just a big, unexpected plunge with an accompanying rush in his ears and a loss of his breath.
“Hi.” She hugged her brother very briefly, gaze on the table. “Oh, my God. Thank you. I’m starving.” She came around the table to Dom. She clasped his arm and rose on her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Seriously. You’re my absolute hero for this.”
She took the chair he held for her and began filling a plate from the tray, oblivious to the fact he felt punched in the face for no reason whatsoever. He didn’t even know what had happened to him a moment ago. Low blood sugar, maybe?
“How did the meeting go?” Dom asked her as he and Nico also sat.
“Good. I’m leaning toward the London project, but we can talk later about how that would fit with your schedule. Why isn’t Dad calling me back?” she asked Nico abruptly.
“They’re sailing—”
“Oh. The Galapagos. Right. Mom was looking forward to that. Tsk. Okay, we can cover family stuff later, too.” She waved. “You two talk business while I eat.”
They did, discovering quickly that they were mostly on the same page, even sharing the same concerns over how much they should integrate the two companies.
“You should put together a task force,” Eve interjected. “Jackson would be a good lead, which might not be your first choice, if you’re worried about bias,” she acknowledged in Dom’s direction. “But you want someone with attention to detail, who will keep you out of trouble with the FTC, but could find where the alignments would reduce costs versus where the individual branding is an advantage.”
Dom looked to Nico.
Nico knew exactly what he was thinking and said, “I don’t hate the idea.”
“Of Jackson?” Eve looked up from her plate of fruit.
“Of you.” Dom sent a patronizing glance at Nico. “This is what happens when you hold someone back. They lose sight of how much value they bring to a given situation.”
“ Me? I’m biased on both sides,” Eve argued.
“Exactly,” Dom said. “You’d want what’s right for the whole, not one or the other. We’d need committees on both boards to provide arm’s length oversight.”
“Agreed. In fact, we can allocate a budget and let her run it as a consultant so she’s not on either payroll. She could hire her own team to evaluate and make recommendations.” Nico nodded. “But no more digs about how I can’t see her potential.”
“Sorry, Dom.” Eve’s hand came to rest on his. “Needling my brother over his colossal shortsightedness falls under my purview.”
“I defer to your expert knowledge on that front.” He shared an amused smirk with her and pinched her fingers into his palm.
“Are you two having fun?” Nico asked with heavy sarcasm. “ Would you be interested in running a team like that?”
“You know...” Eve nodded. “I think I would.”
Eve was settling into something that felt a lot like marital bliss.
She hadn’t started working yet. She had hired an agency to work out the structure of her consultation proposal and they were being absolute sharks about it. That was earning her good-natured complaining from both Dom and Nico about the cost, but there was rueful approval in those remarks, too.
The negotiations on the post-nuptial agreement were going smoothly, but the reception date was still in the air while she waited for her parents to return from their trip.
In the meanwhile, Eve had lunch with Ingrid and two more of Dom’s sisters. Dom had wanted to come with her, acting so protective she couldn’t help loving him a little bit more, but she’d finally reminded him, “I can stand up to you, can’t I? Are you really worried I can’t handle her?”
With a grumble, he acknowledged Eve was a “pretty tough cookie” and let her go alone.
Thanks to Astrid paving the way, it hadn’t been too painful. His sisters were stilted, but Eve had the sense Ingrid’s presence kept them from being as welcoming as they might have been if she hadn’t been there.
Ingrid came across as cold and self-centered, but she also struck Eve as someone who lived in fear. Fear of being irrelevant, fear of losing what she had, fear of being judged. Eve left feeling sorry for her and the children who had to bear the weight of all that insecurity.
At least Ingrid had promised to put together a guest list which told her she was willing to attend. It was small progress, but progress all the same.
Finally, Eve’s parents returned home. They stayed in the Martha’s Vineyard house for a couple of nights to recover, then came into the city the day before her father’s procedure was scheduled.
Eve invited them to the penthouse for an early dinner. She kept the menu light, conscious of the fact her father would have to fast before his surgery tomorrow.
“You’re nervous,” Dom noted, stilling her hand as she tremblingly shifted a butter knife two millimeters—as though its position would affect the outcome of this meeting.
“This is a lot bigger than Daddy’s Little Girl marrying the town bad boy. I know you’re ready to let bygones be bygones, but I’m not sure he is and that puts me in the middle.”
“I would never ask you to choose between us, Evie.” He rubbed her arm through the soft wool sweater she wore over tailored blue trousers. “You asked me once how our marriage would bridge the divide. You’re it. You’re the bridge.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean I get walked all over,” she said wryly.
“No.” He cradled the side of her face in a warm hand. “You’re one of those feats of engineering that everyone marvels at because they thought it was impossible.”
“Your poetic turn of phrase is a marvel,” she teased, starting to lean into him, lifting her smiling mouth to invite a kiss.
The elevator sounded and she abruptly pulled back, then ran her suddenly clammy hands down her hips. They moved to greet her parents as they came out.
“Mom. Dad.” Eve hugged each of them, feeling their stiffness as she did. “Have you two ever actually met Dom?”
“No.” Her father stared coldly at her husband while he ignored the hand that Dom started to offer. “Nico said this was your choice. Is that true?” her father asked her bluntly.
“Romeo,” her mother murmured.
“Yes,” Eve answered firmly. “Come in. Let’s talk.” She waved toward the lounge.
Her father didn’t move. He flicked his gaze around and shook his head. “This isn’t right.”
“Dad. Dom isn’t his father. I know you had—”
“You don’t know,” he near shouted, making her jump.
“Let’s keep this civil.” Dom touched Eve’s elbow and stepped forward so she was shielded half a step behind him.
“We’re still out of sorts from travel,” Ginny excused, earning a glare from Romeo.
“My mother would tan my hide for this.” Her father’s eyes dampened. “She refused to marry a Blackwood and I cannot believe Nico made you do it instead. We have options, Lina. I don’t blame Nico for the mistakes he made. No one has a crystal ball, but he never should have pressured you to fix the problems he created. We’ll restructure. You don’t have to do this.”
“Dad.” She felt Dom’s hand tighten on her arm. “It’s done. We’re married. Happily.” Mostly.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. I—” She looked up at her husband, not having expected to tell him like this, but she let the words spill past her lips. “I love Dom. I have since the first time we met.”
His expression only stiffened further, which put a coil of tension into her belly. His cheek ticked.
Oh, no. He didn’t welcome her feelings. A chill entered her chest, one that warned her she’d made a horrible mistake.
“And you?” Romeo challenged Dom. “Do you love my daughter? Is that why you married her?”
Dom took his time answering, jaw working as though he was looking for the right words.
“If you’re asking me if I married her as an act of revenge, the answer is no. The feud no longer exists. Not in this house. If you’re still carrying it, you should take it elsewhere.”
She gasped, as did her mother, but Dom wasn’t finished.
“Eve can come to you anytime she likes,” he continued. “I told her I wouldn’t ask her to choose between us and I meant it, but I won’t fight you for her. I won’t fight you. Not anymore.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” her father pressed.
“Romeo.” Ginny touched his arm.
“You’re really going to stay here?” her father demanded of Eve, eyes wet with outrage and disappointment. “Married to a man who doesn’t love you?”
You don’t love Mom, she bit back saying.
She was trying to keep this from devolving into something that none of them could come back from. Trying to keep from dissolving into tears when she was being forced to face that her husband didn’t return her love.
She was hurt enough that she easily could have gone home with her parents and crawled into her old bed and cried for a week, but that’s what an immature version of herself would do. She was a woman who had made a decision for herself that had far-reaching consequences, but she was willing to live with them.
“It’s a good match, Dad.” That felt like such a weak thing to say in the face of what he wanted for her. She was both shaken and touched that he did want more for her, but, “This is good for both families. You know it is. I can’t walk away from it now.”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” her mother murmured. “It’s done and we need to accept it.”
“You don’t deserve her,” her father said in quiet thunder at Dom before he turned to press the button for the elevator. It was still there so the doors opened immediately.
“Dad.” Eve’s heart lurched as he stepped into the car.
“I’ll talk to him,” her mother promised as she stepped into the elevator with him.
“I’ll come to the hospital tomorrow and sit with you,” Eve promised her mother while her father looked through her as though she was dead to him.
The doors closed and they were gone.
“Eve—” Dom tried to turn her to face him, but his touch burned past her skin, into the marrow of her bones.
“I want to go for a run. Please?” She pressed against his chest, refusing his touch.
He nodded curtly and released her.