Facets

Chapter 25

Cutter sat on a bench in the Public Garden, his heart swelling as he watched Pam and Ariana approach.

They were both beauties—Pam with her dark hair, her elegant features, and her gauzy bohemian look, Ariana with her bow of a mouth, her dark round eyes, and the shiny hair that shimmered on the ruffled shoulders of her tiny peasant dress.

Her small hand was in Pam’s, and for every step Pam took, she took a skip and a half.

She was the most beautiful child in the whole of Boston, the whole of Massachusetts, the whole of America. Cutter was sure of it, and it wasn’t simply that she was his child. He’d spent hours looking at others since Ariana was born, and none could compare.

With a grin for Pam, he leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees, and, as soon as she was before him, said to Ariana, “Hi, angel.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Hi, Cutter.”

He didn’t think he’d ever get used to hearing her sweet voice say his name.

He had Pam to thank for it. Although Ariana’s birth had been a death knell for sex between Pam and him, Pam had wanted Ariana to know him, and vice versa.

Rather than arrange visits on the sly, she had come right out and introduced him to Brendan as an old friend from Timiny Cove.

Brendan knew of Cutter’s occupation and particularly of his involvement with diamonds, and he accepted that Pam and Cutter had a lot in common.

So Cutter had been included in things like Christmas parties, Fourth of July cookouts, and even an occasional dinner party. Ariana took to him easily.

Now, sharing his pleasure with Pam in a glance, he looked back at the little girl. “I hear it’s a special day,” he said softly.

Ariana nodded and grinned.

“How old?”

It was a minute of arranging before she had four fingers standing straight and separate.

“Four? Whoa. Four is really old.”

Her eyes grew wide with suppressed excitement and she nodded again.

“Are you having a party?”

She nodded. “Saturday. Wanna come?”

He tapped her tiny nose. “I think the party’s for your friends. You don’t want me along.”

“I do,” Ariana insisted, all serious. She looked at Pam. “He can come, can’t he, Mommy?”

But before she could answer, Cutter said, “I have to be back in New York. That was why I wanted to see you today.” He lowered his voice in a teasing way. “I have something for you.”

Ariana was all excited eyes again. “You do?”

“Yup.”

“Where is it?”

“Behind me.”

Clutching his arm, she climbed up on the bench and peered behind him. A small box was sandwiched there. She tried to pull it out, but couldn’t. So she tugged at his arm to move him. He wouldn’t budge.

“First a hug,” he said.

She reached up for his neck. He helped her, scooping her into his arms and hugging her with a fierce gentleness as he rocked her from side to side.

It was a treasured moment. Eyes closed, he savored her warmth, the child smell of her, her delicate feel.

He would have held her longer if she had allowed it.

But she drew back, wanting her gift. While he continued to hold her with one arm, he reached back with the other and drew out the box.

Settling easily onto his lap, she began to pull at its wrapping.

Cutter caught Pam’s eye. “She’s precious,” he said softly.

Pam nodded. “We’re very lucky.”

“She has your nose and mouth.”

“But the eyes and the hair—” She pointed at him.

He liked that thought. There was something about children as a perpetuation of their parents that he found reassuring.

He would have hated to die without leaving something of himself behind in the world.

Not that he was planning to die in the immediate future, but he knew that he wouldn’t have children with anyone but Pam.

Ariana had been unplanned. He didn’t regret her birth for a minute, only the circumstances surrounding it.

“Is she a tomboy, like her mommy was?”

Pam blushed. “Nah. She’s a lady.”

“Like her mommy is. How was day camp?”

Pam waggled a hand. “The part she liked best was coming home.”

“Did you mind?”

“Are you kidding? I loved it.”

Ariana drew in a loud breath as she lifted a small, intricately carved gold box. “Look, Mommy. It’s so pretty.”

Cutter smiled. “Open it.” He helped. No sooner was the lid up than the music began. Ariana drew in another loud breath when a tiny ballerina started turning on her toe. She stared and stared, her eyes filled with wonder. When she darted him a look, he felt that wonder warm him from head to toe.

“Look, Mommy!” Very carefully, she turned the music box Pam’s way.

Pam sat down on the bench to take a closer look. “Oh my. It is beautiful.” She listened with a curious smile. “‘The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy?’”

“I found it in Salzburg when I was there last month.”

“It’s wonderful.” To Ariana she said, “What a lucky girl you are to get such a beautiful gift.” She leaned closer to whisper, “Do I hear a thank-you?”

Ariana turned another shy smile on Cutter.

“Thank you, Cutter.” As an afterthought, but without any coaching from Pam, she craned her neck and planted a kiss on his jaw.

Then, holding the music box gingerly in one hand, she maneuvered herself down from his lap with the other.

Skipping across the dirt path in front of the bench, she perched on the base of a statue to listen to the music and watch the ballerina turn.

“She loves it,” Pam said.

“I’m glad. I wanted something special.”

“You found it. Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Bringing her here.” He shifted his gaze from Ariana to Pam. “Is it awkward?”

“Not really. I had promised her a ride on the swan boats for her birthday. I told Brendan that you were in town and that we’d probably stop by to say hello. He had no problem with that.”

Cutter thought of Brendan, thought of the times he’d welcomed Cutter to his home, thought of the business discussions they’d had, the give and take.

He also remembered other, earlier times when he’d begged Pam to leave Brendan.

In the last year or two, he’d come to understand why she wouldn’t—which made him more frustrated than ever.

“He’s a nice man. A good man. I wish I could hate him, but I can’t. ”

“He likes you, too.”

“He’s a good father to her.”

“Yes.”

Cutter looked at Ariana again. She was holding the music box on her knees, mesmerized by it.

In turn, he was mesmerized by her—by little fingers, little shoes, a little nose, a little chin.

As he watched, the sun glanced off her hair, giving its light caramel color an even warmer sheen. Pam was right. She had his hair.

“Do you think he suspects anything?” he asked.

Pam, too, was studying Ariana. “I’m not sure. There are times when I think he has to know—but maybe that’s my guilty conscience speaking. If he suspects anything, he doesn’t let on. He adores Ariana. And she adores him. She’s forever climbing all over him.”

Cutter felt a stab of jealousy. At about the same time, he caught a look of concern on Pam’s face. He shot a fast glance back at Ariana, thinking something had happened to her, but she was sitting just where she’d been. “What is it?”

Pam seemed surprised by his question. “Uh, nothing.”

“You looked worried.”

After a minute’s silence, she said, “Brendan’s been more tired lately. He tries not to let me see, but it’s there.”

“Is he working harder than usual?”

“No. If anything, he’s home more. He’s president of the bank. He can do it.”

“How old is he now?”

“Fifty-nine. He used to have checkups often. I remind him now, but he keeps putting it off.” More lightly, she said, “It’s probably nothing more than facing sixty.”

Cutter stretched out his legs and grunted. “I can identify with that.”

Her lips twitched. “Forty? Forty’s nothing.”

“Fine for you to say. You’re not the one turning it soon.”

“But look at you. You’re doing so well.”

He gave a negligent shrug.

“Do you miss modeling?”

“No way.” He had officially retired two years before, when his last contract expired. “I got what I wanted from it. It was a vehicle, right from the start. That’s all.”

“You don’t miss the adulation? The attention?”

He gave a firm shake of his head.

“And the business is going well?”

“Uh-huh.” He was a partner in an investment banking firm that he had formed with three others shortly before he’d stopped modeling. “My partners have the degrees, the experience, the technical know-how. I have the contacts.”

“You have the charisma,” Pam corrected. “You don’t talk all the time, but when you do, you have something to say. You don’t waste people’s time. You give them a feeling of confidence.”

He shrugged. “Something works.” Then he dropped all show of nonchalance, because nonchalance was the last thing he felt when he thought about John. “We’re getting there, Pam. The St. George package is growing.” He paused. “John doesn’t see it yet, does he?”

“No. He’s too arrogant. You’d have to pound him over the head with a takeover before he knew it was happening.”

“Good.” Cutter sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, he felt satisfaction.

He also—still—felt anger and resentment.

“That’s exactly how I want it. We’re buying small blocks of stock here, small blocks there.

Our clients use their own names or those of their businesses.

When we finally group together to form a cohesive entity, John will be stunned.

Totally outsmarted. Beaten at his own game. ”

Pam exhaled into a grim smile. “That sounds good.”

“How are things on your end?”

She pursed her lips. “I just saw the latest figures. My designs comprise nearly forty percent of Facets’ sales.

Granted, I’m not doing the actual jewelry-making anymore, but I hold copyrights on all of my designs.

” She tapped her chest with a finger. “Me. Not John. Me. And I’ve checked and rechecked that with two different lawyers.

If I were to suddenly pull out, John would be up shit’s creek. ”