14. Chapter Fourteen | Savannah #2
“And does that philosophy extend to your personal life as well? Are you and Gigi’s mother able to be strong partners and co-parents?
” I don’t know the details, but I know he’s a single dad, or at least is single to the best of my knowledge, and I’ve never met Gigi’s mother, which is odd in a town the size of Forrest Falls.
Theo tilts his head and looks out the window. “I keep information about her mother pretty close to the vest.”
My cheeks heat with a wave of embarrassment at my faux pax. “Oh goodness, my apologies. I didn’t mean to overstep, Theo. I just thought you might have some insight into co-parenting with an ex, you don’t have to share anything, I’m sorry. Please excuse my oversight. ”
Our food arrives before he can reply. After placing the napkin on my lap, I pick up the spoon to stir my soup, but Theo leaves his sandwich on the plate and leans forward, crossing his arms at the edge of the table.
“You didn’t let me finish, Savannah. I keep information about her mother pretty close to the vest for most people.” The silence after that statement is deafening. What does that mean?
“Well, I mean, I get it, I’m the soon-to-be-ex-wife of your mortal enemy.” I laugh to try and lighten the mood, but Theo slowly shakes his head before taking a deep breath.
“You are most definitely not most people.” Before I can dwell on that comment, he continues, “Gigi’s mother was the daughter of a distant family friend and we were actually set up on a date by one of my uncles, and I should have known better.
That particular family member is every bad cliché of a trust fund baby, and I shouldn’t have trusted his judgement, but Blake was beautiful and charismatic.
It was easy to be drawn to her, but I figured out too late she was playing a very specific game with me. ”
“And what game is that?”
“A game that I believe involved tampering with birth control options. I couldn’t prove it, but I suspect she poked holes in the condoms.” I grimace, that’s awful, but he clearly knows that.
“I know, I should have been a better judge of character. But she ended up pregnant and as soon as that happened, her true colors came shining through.”
“What were they?”
“Just another run of the mill gold digger, they’re a dime a dozen, but she thought she struck the jackpot landing a Smith-Harrington.
She thought I would marry her and give her exactly the life she wanted, but her idea of parenting included an entire team of nannies, foreign boarding schools before even out of primary school, and a life of leisure without any of the responsibility of parenthood.
” Theo throws his napkin on the table and takes a long drink of his iced tea.
“That wasn’t how I grew up and I had no interest in raising a child without being personally involved, let alone shipping them off to Switzerland before they turned ten years old. ”
“Ten?! They’re still babies at ten! Well, not quite babies, but I think my girls will still be my babies when they’re in their twenties.
I could never send them away for school so young.
I don’t even like to think about them going far for college one day.
” I push my food away, I didn’t really have an appetite today anyway, and that’s before discussing mothers bailing on their babies.
“Exactly, that’s an expected response from a mother. But Blake … she wasn’t really made to be a mother. She tried different angles but couldn’t get me to agree with her plan, so a few months before she gave birth, she gave me an ultimatum.”
“Uh oh. I don’t like ultimatums.”
“Who does? Blake told me that if I didn’t agree to her terms, she would fight me on custody and already had an attorney retained.
She was smart; she picked an exceptional attorney and got them to agree to a percentage of her potential settlement, but it was the threat of her taking my child away that really was the final straw for me. ”
“What did you do?”
“I agreed to her terms but required that if she wanted the payout and freedom, she wasn’t going to play games with our child. She could be a mother, or she could leave, and she chose to leave. She suggested if I were to increase the payout by two million, she would sign away her rights.”
“And did you?”
“Of course I did. If she was willing to put a price on her parental rights, she wasn’t a mother in the first place.
It didn’t matter if she wanted twenty dollars or twenty million, she was willing to bargain her daughter—my daughter.
You cannot put a price on love, and anyone that says otherwise has no idea what loving someone really means.
I said she could be in contact with Gigi but on my terms, and in the eight years of her life, Blake has seen her in person maybe three or four times, and maybe called twice?
Blake’s integrity and my faith in her as a mother both had a price tag.
I didn’t care about the cost, I would pay it to protect my daughter because if not?
” Theo huffs. “What else would she be willing to sell if it benefited her personally? What would my daughter’s life look like?
Who would she be exposed to in her mother’s pursuit of what she thought she was owed from this world?
The thought terrified me.” Theo looks down at his hands as he shakes his head.
“Gigi hasn’t really ever questioned her absence.
Thankfully, her Aunt Pippa has stepped into that role as best she can, as well as my own mother, and my family has ensured that Gigi is surrounded with love. ”
“What about Blake’s family?” I can’t imagine a grandparent or maternal aunt not wanting to know a sweet girl like Gigi.
“It was just her mother, and last I heard, she’s usually traveling with her and whoever her boyfriend of the month is.
Blake likes to frequent the French Riveria and Paris.
Bon débarras … good riddance. I don’t keep that close of tabs on her, I just have it set up to be notified if she’s stateside in case she grows a conscious and gets a wild hair about popping by. ”
Gross. Blake is gross and so is her mother, who chooses the French Riveria over their child or grandchild?
I can understand wanting to keep something like that private, and I feel slightly bad for asking about it, but also kind of special that he shared that information with me.
“What does Gigi stand for? Or is that her full name? Or maybe Georgette?”
Theo’s face lights up at the subject change.
“Gigi is a nickname; her full name is Georgiana Elizabeth. My beloved grandmother’s middle name was Georgiana and Pippa thought Elizabeth sounded nice, like a name fit for a queen.
And no, Blake didn’t have an input in her name, she probably would have named her whatever the latest trendy celebrity name was at the time or something she thought was cool. ”
“I think her name is beautiful, both the full version and the nickname. I don’t know her that well other than what my girls have said, but she has a good reputation at school and is known as a kind little girl.
I know our girls have played together at recess occasionally throughout the years, but I think being in separate grades makes a difference at that age. ”
“Do you keep close tabs on the other kids at school?” Theo teases.
“Of course. I always want to know who is in my girls’ lives, whether it’s who they’re friends with or who made them cry at recess.
Girls are vicious, Theo. You have to stay on top of that, and when your daughter finds good girlfriends, you do everything you can to support that friendship.
A good girlfriend is a priceless treasure and should be nurtured as such. ”
“Hmm. You’re a good mama, Savannah.” The left side of his mouth slightly raises in the smallest smile I think I’ve seen on his face.
“Does that surprise you?” I tilt my head. “I did marry your nemesis, after all.” Theo’s bark of laughter makes me grin in response.
“No, not surprising. I think when you see one extreme of a situation, it makes you more aware to what the opposite of that looks like, or maybe what it could look like if there hadn’t been a void in the situation you dealt with.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, the girls told me that Gigi’s daddy does better French braids than any other daddy at school, so you aren’t so bad yourself, sir.
” If I wasn’t mistaken, I would have sworn that Theo’s eyes seem to darken at that comment, but movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention and I turn to see one of my brothers walking toward our table.
“Hey, Jack!” I call out and slide out of the booth to hug him.
I wasn’t expecting to see him in town today, but it’s hard to keep track of his insane traveling schedule.
“Hey, Sav. How are you? I’m sorry I couldn’t be here earlier for the hearing, my flight got delayed.
” He wraps me up in a big hug and I release a deep exhale I didn’t realize I was holding from the day’s events.
I know he was trying his best to support me at court today, but as powerful as my brother is, he can’t always control everything.
“Hello, I’m Jack Callahan.” My brother extends his hand to Theo, who also stood to greet my brother .
“Hey, Jack. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Theodore Smith-Harrington, but please call me Theo. I believe you helped connect your sister with our law firm.” Recognition dawns on Jack’s face.
“Is Ms. Lawrence here? Daphne spoke so highly of her.” Jack looks around and acutely takes in the table that clearly shows it was just the two of us having lunch together.
Theo laughs and shakes his head. “You must realize how rare it is for Daphne to speak highly of anyone, right? Did she break out in hives?”