Her stung pride goaded her into saying, “I have
money, too.”
Gavin snorted. “The ten thousand from your mother’s life insurance? You can’t even buy a closet with that, much less maintain the kind of life you’re accustomed to.”
“You have no idea what kind of life I want.” It never included a fortune in clothes she’d never choose for herself just to fit in with his family and friends, or a man who was hardly ever home.
“Enlighten me.”
“If I have to stay with you for four months, I want everything you just offered plus I expect you to give up all parental rights to the baby if things don’t work out.” Amandine put a hand over her belly. “Since you’re so confident about the outcome, surely you can gamble that much.”
“Hold on a minute!” Craig leaned forward over the table. “The child deserves to know his father.”
“I never said he couldn’t come near the kid. Just that I want full—and sole—custody.”
“Fine,” Gavin said, the word clipped and final. “Have it your way.”
“Great,” Samantha interjected. “Draft a document with all these items and send it to my office for review, will you?”
“Expect it in the next two hours.” Gavin rose and started to leave with his lawyer. Then he paused at the door and lowered his voice. “You just raised the stakes to the point where I’d lose more than I could afford.”
Her mouth dry, Amandine watched him walk away, his limbs loose and relaxed. Had she pushed him too far? He might as well have said, “I’m going to nuke your world, baby.”
“You okay?” Samantha asked.
“Yes. I’m fine,” Amandine lied.
Did it matter how Gavin felt about the reconciliation conditions? He wasn’t the only one who was risking more than he could afford. If she let him charm her for four months, got into a situation where she fell even more deeply in love with him but still couldn’t stay, then she’d be the real loser.
* * *
“That went well,” Craig said in the elevator.
“Nothing I hadn’t expected,” Gavin said flatly.
“Why do you want to salvage the marriage so much? Your wife seems eager to leave with the baby. You could’ve gotten rid of her without paying a penny. She would’ve taken the deal if she could keep the kid,” Craig said. When Gavin shot him a hard look, he raised a hand, palm out. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I just want to understand where you’re coming from so I can help you better.”
Gavin considered. Amandine was kind, sweet and patient. Most importantly she was loyal, and loyalty was everything. “She’s a good wife,” he told Craig. “Do I need any other reason?”
Craig’s brow creased but he didn’t ask any more questions, which was a relief. It wasn’t his job to understand. It was his job to make sure Gavin got what he wanted.
Gavin had hoped Amandine wouldn’t insist on sole custody of the child, but if he hadn’t agreed to it, she would’ve walked.
Why couldn’t he himself, as a man, be enough?
Gavin hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told her the stakes were too high for him. People thought he was reckless with his trades, leveraged to the point of suicide. But he never bet more than he could afford on any trade.
Amandine wanted to be convinced to stay married to him? She’d get some convincing. For the next four months he’d devote his full attention to the matter, until she couldn’t remember why she’d wanted a divorce in the first place.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, his body tight like a boxer before the bell. He’d win, by fair means or foul.
But first, he needed to make a call. He dialed as soon as he was in the privacy of his car.
“Uncle Tony.”
“Hey there, favorite nephew!” came a booming voice.
Gavin chuckled. “You say that to all of us.”