So was it the cool, rational part of your mind that helped you fuck Vanessa last night?
Justin forced the thought aside. He hated it when his subconscious tried to overanalyze his personal life.
* * *
Vanessa arrived at the housewarming party alone, with Justin scheduled to show up anywhere from half an hour to an hour later. Ceinlys’s new place was on the top floor of a condo complex equidistant from her three children’s homes. Currently Shane didn’t live in the city, and Dane might as well not have had a place either, given how rarely he occupied his penthouse.
The sound system played Debussy, her mother’s favorite composer. The place was sparsely but elegantly appointed with comfortable cream and champagne couches and soft rugs over hardwood flooring. A few expensively framed photos of Vanessa and her brothers sat on the shelves. There was no sign of Salazar anywhere.
Her brothers Iain and Mark were already there with their fiancées Jane and Hilary. Iain and Mark both had the classic profile the Pryce men were famous for. Jane and Hilary glowed, and Vanessa felt sort of guilty about getting married before Mark and Hilary. They’d set their date for a June wedding. At least she wouldn’t be stealing their thunder since she and Justin would keep their wedding quiet until July.
She greeted everyone, and her mother emerged from the open kitchen.
Ceinlys was in a chic Chanel dark blue dress that stopped half an inch above her knees. Her glossy hair was twisted into an elegant bun, and a sapphire hairpiece glittered under the recessed lights. She hugged Vanessa. “I wasn’t sure if you could come, what with your firm working you half to death.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Good, good.” She peered at Vanessa. “Have you lost weight? You look so tired.”
“I’m fine.” Vanessa wasn’t telling her mother she was pregnant. “Nothing a few good nights’ sleep won’t cure.”
“See that you get some sleep tonight then.”
There was another arrival, and Ceinlys went to meet them.
It looked like her mother had invited everyone in their social circle. The place became packed with people both young and old, every one of them dressed to be seen and admired. Maybe they were privy to something Vanessa wasn’t, because as far as she knew, her mother had a horrible prenup that left her with nothing. Or maybe they wanted to see how the female half of The Eternal Couple was doing. So many had assumed it would be Salazar leaving Ceinlys, not the other way around.
“They’re probably wondering when her boyfriend’s going to show up,” Iain muttered from behind her.
“You’re such a cynic,” Vanessa said.
“I actually agree with him,” Mark said. “They’re probably wondering who she’ll marry once she gets rid of Dad.”
“You two are awful. Where are Hilary and Jane?”
“Making themselves scarce,” Iain said.
Sure enough, they had vanished. They were never sure how Ceinlys would receive them.
“But this isn’t as bad as I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Mark grew thoughtful. “At least nobody’s shunning her. They’re treating her like a genuine friend. I think she could use a few right now.”
Shame dampened Vanessa’s mood. She’d been too worried about her mother’s prenup to ask how she was doing. No, it had been worse than that. She’d questioned her mother numerous times about the divorce, whether or not she’d thought it through. And that wasn’t what her mother needed. “You think she’s happier?”
“Who knows? She’s not talking about it, but I think she’s doing better than before. Don’t you?”
Iain finished his wine. “Anything has to be better. I don’t think Dad made her very happy.”
“Do you think he ever truly loved her?” Vanessa asked before she could bite her tongue.
Her brothers stared at her like she’d grown a third breast…between her eyes. “No. Never,” Iain said. “He probably married Mom because she was the best-looking woman he could find.”
Mark nodded.
Vanessa said nothing as she watched her mother hug a friend. Salazar must have loved Ceinlys at some point. She didn’t know what had killed that love. She never got the sense that their feelings had merely cooled with time. If so, they could’ve at least been polite and considerate. But there was always a subtle undercurrent of meanness to what her father and mother did and said, like the