Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (43 page)

He was on the bench with his arms around her before she had time to even blink. But when she didn’t reciprocate the embrace, he backed off. “Whether you believe it or not,” he said. “I’m very happy about that.”

“We will divorce. Eventually. Just not now.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Tasha, I love you. You love me.” His tone was apologetic. “Why are we doing this?”

“Because I can’t get past it. I want to forgive you. I do.” Her voice broke miserably. “I want to be able to feel in my heart that you didn’t marry me for the money. But it’s there. It’s a wedge between us, and I don’t know how to dislodge it.”

“How do you wish to proceed?” he asked somberly.

Tasha was glad he wasn’t pushing her. She didn’t think she could take that right now. “Well, for starters…” she said, “we are going to carry on as if nothing has happened. We’re not going to tell anyone about the baby.”

“We can’t hide that forever.”

“No, but we will hide it for now.” She cut her eyes toward him. “I want this part in writing. Upon our one-year anniversary, I want the money you were originally going to offer me for
helping
you. I also want to know that this baby—” She patted her stomach. “—no matter whether it’s a boy or a girl, will always be your lawful heir, no matter how many other children you might have in the future. I want this child to be your heir apparent.”

“I want to be part of your life, Tasha. I want to be part of our child’s life.”

“That’s why I’ve decided I’ll stay in France. These next couple of months will give me time to find a suitable house.”

“Belle Vallee!” He perked up. “The house in Avignon. I saw the way your eyes lit when you looked at the pictures. You can have it. It’s yours.”

Tasha couldn’t take the house, but she did want her child to have it. And she loved the idea of the baby growing up where Andre’s mother had. “I will agree to raise the baby there.” She nodded. “Naturally, you are welcome there anytime. I want you in the baby’s life as much as possible.”

“I still want you to run the company with me.”

“I can’t do that.” She pressed her lips together tightly and shook her head. When she was ready to speak again, she sucked in a breath before saying, “We need to find a way to co-parent for our baby’s sake, but we also need to get on with our lives.”

“I don’t accept that,” he said surely. “I’ll never love anyone but you. I know I have my work cut out for me, but I’ll find a way to make you believe in me again.”

Andre seemed so convinced of his promise that he almost had Tasha believing it. “One thing’s for sure…” She tried to smile. “I refuse to let Cecily Mason come between Juliana and our baby’s birthrights.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ANDRE HEADED INTO THE HOUSE, elated that Tasha was pregnant again. It had been hard for him to contain his joy, but she was hurting and he was the one who’d caused the pain. And sooner or later, he’d find a way to make it up to her. He’d find a way to get her to come back.

He had to have the documents she’d ask for drawn up as soon as possible. It was the only way to ensure that she wasn’t going to walk out. Not now, and if he had anything to say about it, not ever.

As luck would have it, he ran into Claudette. “Andre,” she said. “I thought you and Tasha were leaving?”

Andre led Claudette to the small library a few doors away, guided her inside and closed the door. “I’m glad I found you and not Papa.” He raked his hand over his hair.

Claudette’s eyes darted back and forth. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing that can’t be fixed. But I need your help.”

“Anything,” Claudette said. “Just tell me what’s wrong and how I can help.”

“Well, to make a long story short…Tasha found out.”

“How?”

“Cecily Mason.” Andre rubbed the back of his neck. “She also happens to be Cecily Garceau. If I forfeit the inheritance, she and her brother will have legal claim to it.”

“Oh, just let me get my hands on her!” Claudette drew her hands into closed fists and shook them.

“I fired her, you know,” Andre said without remorse. “She tried to blackmail me. I thought I could get Tasha out of town before Cecily managed to get to her and tell her. I was wrong.”

“Okay…” Claudette said. “What can I do to help?”

“Luckily, Tasha has agreed not to divorce me before the one-year mark.” Andre released his relief in a sigh. “She has a couple of stipulations though. I need to have legal documents drawn up at once.”

“You need my help with that?” Claudette asked, wrinkling her brow.

“No.” Andre let out a chuckle and shook his head. “I just need you to keep Papa away from Tasha. Make sure he leaves her alone.” He cleared his throat. “There’s a small chance that I might find a way to convince her of my sincerity over the next couple of months, but that’ll never happen with Papa’s meddling.”

“Leave your father to me.” She gave Andre an easy nod. “You just concentrate on winning Tasha back.”

“If you have any ideas on that score…” He snorted an ironic laugh.

“You’ll have to find a way to convince her that you didn’t actually marry her for the money.” She sucked in a deep breath and pursed her lips. “How you’ll go about that is something you will have to figure out.”

“Tell me about it.” Andre chuckled and they both moved down the hallway.

“Well…” She patted Andre’s arm. “You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure something out.”

“If only my mother’s uncle hadn’t made Julian and Lecie’s inheritances dependent upon my actions.” He shook his head. “I still wonder why he did that.”

“I still wonder
why
Lecie was included at all.”

C
laudette and Andre parted ways when he headed upstairs to the third floor. She, however, went to find her husband, reckoning that he was in his study. If she found him in there drinking, her wrath wouldn’t be pretty.

She knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an invitation. Inside, she smelled the sweet scent of his imported cigars. The behavior angered her, but she ignored it. She’d chastise her husband for his bad habits tomorrow. Today she was on a fishing expedition.

“Hello, darling.” Maurice propped his hands on the arms of his chair, preparing to stand.

“Don’t get up.” She waved him off, moved behind the desk and leaned against the edge. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up.” Claudette knew full well how to fish information out of her husband. “We’ve hit a huge stumbling block with Andre and Tasha.”

“Oh…?”

“Yes. It seems that Tasha has found out about the Renault will’s stipulations.”

“How did she react?”

“Not well.” Claudette shrugged. “She’s lost her faith and trust in Andre.”

Maurice’s face went
red. “How did this happen?” he huffed.

“Cecily Garceau Mason.” Claudette shook her head. “And don’t even think about retaliating. You’ll never be able to do anything worse than what Tasha has planned for her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Much to Cecily’s chagrin, she’ll be disappointed to learn that Tasha has no plans to leave Andre,” Claudette said. “At least, not before their first anniversary.”

Maurice blew out a sigh. “Good. Good. Then we don’t have to worry about the inheritances.”

“No, we don’t.” Disappointment washed over Claudette. She’d so hoped that her husband would be more worried about Andre’s heart than his wallet. “We just have to worry about Andre losing the only woman he’ll ever love.”

“She’ll change her mind.”

“I’m not so sure,” Claudette said. “Tasha trusted Andre. She had no idea that there was an ulterior motive to his marrying her. It’s a fine line.”

“But she loves him. She’ll forgive him eventually.”

“I hope you’re right.” Claudette pushed herself away from the desk and moved toward the window behind Maurice. “You know what I don’t quite understand?”

He waited a beat before responding. “What’s that?”

“I don’t understand what Edouard Renault was hoping to accomplish by putting such a stipulation in his will to begin with. Why tie Julian and Lecie’s inheritances to Andre’s? Like they have any control over Andre’s actions.”

“I supposed he was one of those old-world sophisticates who believe a man should be settled. Married.” Maurice offered an explanation.

The whole thing sounded like something Maurice would do.

Damn!
Why hadn’t she seen it before? She glared at her husband through squinted eyes. “As I recall, you spent your share of time in Avignon during the months prior to Edouard’s death.”

“Yes, I did,” he said with a bit of caution.

She slapped Maurice’s arm. “How could you?” she screamed. “How could you meddle with Andre’s life like that? Didn’t you learn your lesson with Julian?”

“The boy needed a push. I gave him one.”

“Andre hasn’t been a boy in a very long time, Maurice.” She scolded him. “You coerced Edouard into that ridiculous notion?”

“It was a mutual endeavor.” Maurice defended his actions.

“Well, your mutual endeavor may well have ruined Andre’s life. Tell me again how that was for his own good.”

“He needed a reason to marry Tasha. A girl like her would get snatched up quickly. He needed an incentive. I provided it.”

“How on Earth did you talk Edouard into leaving his entire fortune to our children?”

“Well, he was already determined to leave it to the boys, mostly Andre because he knew Julian was set to inherit the bulk of the de Laurent fortune. It wasn’t hard to talk him into providing Andre with a little guidance. I told him if he included Lecie, Andre would feel more beholden to follow through. That it was possible he might dismiss Julian’s inheritance, saying his brother had plenty already. But Andre would never rob his sister of such an inheritance.”

Claudette threw her hands in the air. Her frustration poured out in a shrilling cry. “When will you learn your lesson?” She glared at him. “Or are you hell-bent on giving it one more try with Lecie first?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ANDRE AND TASHA DE LAURENT’S one-year anniversary was fast approaching, with less than a week to go. Cecily had been waiting by the phone for Harvey Martel’s call ever since she and Daniel had moved to Monteux, a little town just north of Avignon, last month. Surely the attorneys had learned by now that Andre de Laurent was separated, and on the verge of being divorced from his wife.

Unable to stand it any longer, she took the initiative and called Harvey Martel, Edouard Renault’s attorney. As she waited for him to get on the line, she tapped her manicured fingernails on the table.

Finally, she heard his voice, “Martel.”

“Mr. Martel. It’s Cecily Mason.” She waited, but he didn’t say anything, so she continued, “I’m calling about the Edouard Renault will.”

“Hello, Ms. Mason. I appreciate your calling, however, I’m afraid I can’t discuss the particulars with you at this stage.”

“Why not?” she asked. “Am I not named in that will?”

“Yes, yes you are. But only as an alternate heir. So unless the principal heirs forgo their claims, I’m afraid there’s not much I can share with you.”

“The principal heirs…?” This made no sense to Cecily. “But Andre de Laurent has not met with the will’s stipulations.”

“On the contrary.”

“That’s not true. His wife left him two months ago.”

“I don’t know where you got your information, but you’ve been grossly misled.”

“I don’t think so. I know for a fact that she left him back in the summer.” Heat flushed through Cecily’s body.

“Again, madam, I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed. Not that I owe you explanations, but Mr. de Laurent, his wife, and his siblings were in my office yesterday, at which point final documents were signed and the de Laurents have officially inherited Edouard Renault’s fortune.”

And then Harvey Martel had the nerve to hang up on her.

Cecily let out a shrilling scream and ran stomping from the room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TASHA HAD TWO SUITCASES LINED up side-by-side on the bed. She was filling them with her favorite garments. The luggage would accompany her to Belle Vallee in Avignon. The staff at Pacifique de Lumière would pack up the rest of her things, and they’d be brought to Belle Vallee in a day or two. Tasha had given in that much with Andre, who hadn’t wanted her to lift a finger throughout the whole process of moving to the house in Avignon.
“There is the baby to consider, after all,”
he’d said. To which she’d responded that she was pregnant, not terminally ill.

Considering that Andre was about to become her ex-husband, he and Tasha had a remarkably cordial relationship. Of course, they still loved each other. Neither of them were denying that. And Tasha hoped that one day she’d find a way to get past the trust issue, but so far that hadn’t happened.

She pulled a nightgown out of the dresser drawer. It was one of Andre’s favorites. He’d always said she looked divine in the peacock-green satin and lace garment. Tasha clutched the garment to her chest for a moment before stepping toward the bed and tossing it into the suitcase.

For as much as she knew she had to, leaving Andre was hard. She still loved him. She would always love him. But until she could whole-heartedly believe that he loved her more than he wanted the Renault money, it was a hopeless case.

Tasha blew out a sigh, propped her hands on her hips and glanced around the room. She’d made a lot of memories with Andre in this room. She hated that the last ones were without him.

“Thinking about leaving here is always easier than actually doing it.” Claudette was standing in the doorway. How long she’d been there, Tasha hadn’t a clue.

“Yeah.” Tasha nodded.

“We wish you’d stay,” Claudette said.

“I’ll be in Avignon.” Tasha tried to smile. “It’s not that far. And you know you’re welcome to see the baby anytime you want.”

“But we want to see you too, Tasha.” Claudette moved toward her and reached for her hand. “You’re a member of this family.”

“Very soon I’ll be an ex-member of this family.”

“There isn’t a document in the world that will ever make you an
ex
around here.” Claudette pushed a suitcase aside and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Andre loves you. We all love you.”