Chapter 32
Zephyr
What the hell had just happened?
I closed my eyes and recounted what I”d just said to Grace. Shame immediately corroded my insides.
”Z, you”re an asshole,” Nick informed me. ”She”s been working hours and hours on end on this operation while she”s managing her regular caseload. You don”t agree with her, that”s fine, but you have no business talking to her the way you did.”
”She doesn”t go after family,” I blistered.
”Hell, Z, Henri is not family,” Rome snapped. ”Get the fuck over it, okay. He”s been siphoning money out of BBH for years. Have you seen his house? How the fuck do you think he affords that lifestyle?”
”His wife came from money,” Blaze barked in response.
”No.” Nick sighed. ”She didn”t. She inherited like two hundred grand, and that”s it. He”s been lying. He has no clients but the Doucets. You pay him well, don”t get me wrong, but you don”t pay him that well.”
”Think about it. Do you think anything would happen at Bayou Belle Holdings, the mansion, anywhere without Henri knowing about it? Think, damn it.” Rome was angry, furious. Gaia went to him and put her arms around him. He kissed her forehead.
I stared at the two couples in front of me. They were not in agreement; hell, they were in total disagreement, and yet, none of them had insulted their partner as I had Grace.
Shit! I was a douchebag.
”I can”t believe it of Henri,” Gaia said, ”but everyone is capable of terrible things. We, of all people, know that. I don”t want Grace”s career to hurt. I don”t want our lives to continue to be in danger.”
I got up. ”I”ll go talk to Grace.”
”I don”t think so.” Rome put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. ”You stay the fuck away from her. You know her history of abuse and went off on her, called her a bitch, and raised your voice. You fucking triggered her. I have half a mind to rearrange your face.”
Talk about behaving out of character. This was not who I was. But everything was changing, and Henri was a piece of the past that was a constant. I didn”t want all that to be a lie. Henri, who showed up every time I ended up in jail for drunk and disorderly. Henri was there to bail Angela out. Henri helped me go through the contracts of Jazz Sessions. He mediated for me with Grandpère when I had to sell my shares. He was there when Gaia got hurt and when Rome needed him.
Blaze took a deep breath. ”I trust Nick on this.”
”That”s a lifetime of knowing someone, Blaze,” I protested.
”I trust my girl, Z. I”ll fucking die for her. Her gut says Henri is wrong, then it”s true.”
I didn”t have that kind of blind faith in Grace, did I? I thought I loved her, but if I did, I”d be like Blaze and Gaia, still respectful, still trusting. Had I gotten carried away? I saw my siblings find love and their happily ever afters, and I wanted it to. Sex with Grace was mind-blowing. Had I confused lust with love?
”Well, someone needs to talk to Grace so she doesn”t crap all over this op,” I muttered. ”I got to go play now and pretend my whole family hates me. I”m sick of this shit.”
Blaze put a hand on my shoulder. ”Thanks for carrying the big load on this one, Z. I appreciate it.”
”I”ve lost her, right?” Damn it! I didn”t want to lose her. It wasn”t lust. I fuckin” loved her. But I was new to relationships. I had zero fucking practice.
”Yeah,” Blaze didn”t hesitate to answer.
”Maybe it”s for the best.” I felt my heart literally break.
Blaze slapped the back of my head. ”Stop being a Goddamn pussy and get the girl back, you asshole.”
”Really?” I looked at him in surprise.
”You should see the shit Nick and I say to each other when we fight.”
I looked at Nick, and she shrugged. ”Couples fight. I mean, you were out there, sha, and you”ll have to do some major groveling.”
”I told Gaia once that I hated her,” Rome offered unhelpfully.
”You both don”t fight,” I reminded them.
”Gaia gets sad if I raise my voice at her,” Rome agreed, dropping a kiss on his wife”s lips. ”I think she”s had enough sad for a lifetime.”
”Christ, you guys make me want to puke.” I ran a hand over my face. Grace wasn”t Gaia. She wasn”t Nick. She was a special kind of woman, and I was a special kind of fuck up.
”You get angry like once a decade, and you decide to take it out on your new woman.” Blaze looks at me with resignation. ”When you screw the pooch, baby, you go all the way.”
”Fuck you, Blaze.”
They were all enjoying seeing my misery; that much was evident. They were all also on Grace”s side. It made me feel good to know she had people on her side, especially since she didn”t have many before she walked into my life at that Masquerade Ball and fucked me the hell up.
”Go makeup with your girl, you idiot.” Gaia kissed me on the cheek. ”You hurt her. You go fix it right away so it doesn”t fester.”