Page 46 of Bargaining

“He’s not my brother.”

Her pretty eyes narrowed. “What is it with this jealousy? Why? How is it going to look if I ban your own brother from setting foot on the property? That’s not what a secure marriage looks like. Can’t you see you’re putting me in a difficult position?”

“He’snotmy brother.”

She chuffed out a humorless laugh. “You’re impossible sometimes. You know that? You put me out to pasture here all alone, as far away from you as possible. Why are you so worried about Reuben? What does it matter to you who I spend an afternoon with, as long as it’s discreet?”

“Your little drunken game of croquet is hardly discreet, and you’re not out to pasture. There are plenty of people to keep you company: Elain. Clive. Lauren.”

“They’re paid to do jobs here. They don’t have time to play croquet or sit around for a chat.”

“I can pay someone to play croquet with you.”

“That’s the answer to everything for you, isn’t it? Something’s bugging you, throw money at it.”

She was mad with me, and drunk, from the look of her shiny eyes and the way she was going at that clay like she had a personal vendetta against it. You could never get sense from drunk people. A memory forced its way into my consciousness.

My mother sprawled on the bathroom floor of her New York penthouse, with an empty vodka bottle and a tub of pills spilled across the tiles. I hauled her up in my arms and over the toilet bowl.

“Mum? Can you hear me?”

Her voice slurred. “You’re the only one ... he doesn’t care about me.”

Panic threatened to undo me, but I had to stay calm. This had happened so many times before. It would be fine. I just had to act quickly. “What did you take?”

“You’re too good to me.”

“You’re not going to think that in a minute.” I forced my fingers down her throat.

Charlotte’s sigh brought me back to the studio. “If we’re done here?”

“We’re not done. I’ve booked Rome for the honeymoon.”

“Rome?”

The shock in her voice held me at the door. I couldn’t tell if it was good shock or bad shock. “Yes. Is that acceptable?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Is that acceptable? Are you kidding me?” Her eyes softened. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

I’d booked Rome because Theo had informed me that Gabe Rivers was known to spend time training with his team in the football offseason. Since I couldn’t pin this bastard down to a meeting, I’d have to “accidentally” bump into him at his hotel.

She gazed at me with a more tender expression than I deserved. “Dad studied in Rome when he was a postgraduate. He talked about it all the time. This is a dream. I can’t believe it.”

A sliver of guilt ran through me, but if she was happy, then this worked well. “I’m pleased you’re happy.”

That part was true, anyway. Charlotte’s nose always scrunched when it was a genuine smile, and I couldn’t get enough of that.

She beamed and wrapped her arms around her middle, hugging herself. “I have so many things I want to see. Oh my God. I’m going to get to see the Sistine Chapel. I’ve always wanted to visit the Vatican.” She gave a little squeal of delight, bounced on her heels, and clapped her hands in delight. “It’s going to be so special. Thank you, Cole. I mean it. Thank you so much.” She ripped off her apron and darted past me out of the door. “I have to tell Tiff.”

My chest filled with warmth. If I’d have known it would make her happy, I would have taken her to Rome on day one.

“Wait.” She spun on her heel. “Is it OK if Tiff and the girls stay here for a while? You’re right. This isn’t a guesthouse. I should have asked. And you’re just going to have to put up with Reuben popping by if we’re going to pull this off. I’m not frog-marching your relatives off the property. It looks suspicious. You have nothing to be jealous about. He’s not my type, anyway.” Her eyes darted to me and she looked away.

“You said he was handsome.”

“That just means I have eyes. It doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it. You’re going to have to trust me if we have any hope of making this arrangement look convincing.”

I’d always prided myself on my unyielding approach to negotiations. I never gave ground. Things always went my way in the boardroom, except none of that seemed to apply with Charlotte. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t give this woman, and all she’d have to do was ask.