Page 33 of Hayes

"I will have my say! She came onto your father, tried to seduce him, and he refused. He saw her for what she was—an opportunist who would open her legs to any man as long as it got her what she wanted."

"I don't care about that."

"What if her daughter is the same?"

She drew back in her seat as he advanced slowly, a menacing look on his face. "You are speaking about the woman who will be my wife. Be very careful mother, in saying something you cannot come back from. Am I clear?"

"You are my son–"

"So, don't make me choose, or you are going to lose." Without another word, he turned and slammed out of the room.

*****

"Darling!" Simone cried, running toward him with outstretched arms. "It seems like ages since I last saw you. Now that you are here, I am inclined to forgive you." Tucking her hand through his arm, she led him through the large space where the displays were.

"I must show you something. I know you said you wanted to talk, but this will only take a few minutes. The new shipment just came in, and this sculpture came from Italy.

It's a fascinating piece that's rumored to have been around for centuries. I have been rhapsodizing over it since it arrived this morning. What do you think?"

He wanted to end the conversation, and the delay drove him crazy. The conversation with his mother this morning had unsettled him so much that he had to call Camelia as soon as he reached the office just to hear her voice.

"It's lovely."

"Lovely." Turning to face him, she eyed him curiously. "You are distracted. Is it that troublesome negotiation?"

"No. Can we go to your office?"

"Of course," Simone said lightly, but the premonition was growing. He had been out of touch and not answering her calls for a week now.

"Daddy went to a meeting at the bank—”Opening the office door, she went to the coffee pot to pour some into a cup. "I have a feeling I am going to need something stronger," she murmured as she walked back to her desk.

"I am sorry, Simone."

"For what you are about to say or the fact that you have been avoiding me?"

"Both. And I have not been avoiding you." He did not sit but wandered over to the window to stare out at the stunning display of fall, the trees with their myriads of colors depicting the season.

"You have been with her."

"Yes." He turned to face her. "I love her."

"You said you would never forgive her for what she did to you."

"Things were revealed that I did not know."

"Such as?" The coffee was getting cold, but she had poured it to give herself something to do.

"She did not leave of her own free will, and she had a miscarriage." He shook his head. "I am in love with her and always will be."

"And the promises you made to me—the fact that I was expecting to receive an offer from you, does not matter to you."

"I apologize." He ran a hand around the back of his neck. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you."

"And yet here we are," she said bitterly. "Well at least you had the decency to come and tell me to my face. We have been going around together for several months. We have been called a couple. Now what?"

"She does not want us to go public just yet."

She looked at him in surprise. "Why on earth not?"