“Stylish?”
She’s no longer smiling, but there’s still a glint in her eyes. Trust Delphine to see the humor in this, that the woman I chose to be my wife would suddenly turn into someone who resembles my mother.
I shiver with repulsion at the thought. “I suppose you could say so.”
“What else is changing?”
Reaching for the jug on the coffee table, I pour a glass of water. “She’s becoming harder and less naïve.”
“Why is that a problem?”
I take a sip. “She used to believe in love.”
“You want her to,” she concludes correctly.
“I need her to.”
“Why? Because you still believe it somehow balances you and makes up for your shortcomings?”
I put the glass aside. “Because love is her survival mechanism. It’s how she copes.”
“Let’s approach this from a different angle.” She crosses her legs. “What are you afraid of?”
“That she’ll lose the one thing that makes her strong and pretty.” Pensively, I add, “Like a wildflower.”
“Will she be less pretty to you if she loses her faith in love?”
I frown. “Of course not. This isn’t about me. I don’t want her to lose the qualities I lack, the ones that make her humane and me a psychopath.”
“Because you care,” she says.
“I’ve already told you I do.” Goddamn, Zoe is withdrawing from me, and I don’t know how to stop it.
Delphine regards me for a moment before asking, “What do you think are the reasons for these changes?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m paying you to figure out.”
She drums her fingers on her knee again. “What happened in your lives before these changes started occurring?”
“I fetched her back from South Africa and married her. To do so, I had to break away from the mob and hand my possessions and position over to Alexis. My brother threatened her, and my mother tried to kill her. The person who did my mother’s dirty work ended up dead.” I tap my fingers on my leg, mirroring Delphine’s non-verbal body language. I like to mess with her in that way. “What else? Oh, the diamond business isn’t doing that well thanks to my brother who’s set on ruining me. I think that covers it.” More or less. I’m not elaborating about how the wedding played out or why Zoe was sick for a week afterward.
Delphine’s fingers still. She folds her hands back in her lap.
“Do I make you nervous?” I ask with a grin.
“You know you do.” Leaning forward, she gives no power to the comment by changing the direction of the conversation. She stays right on track, her worried expression not lifting. “Max, after everything you just mentioned, I’m very concerned about this young woman. What you’re describing is a lot to deal with. No wonder she’s changing. It’s called survival.”
“How do I change it back to how it used to be?”
Her look is level. “You take away the cause of the change.”
My jaw locks so tightly the joints ache. “My mother is no longer a threat. I’m protecting her against Alexis. I’m working my hands to the bone to get this business off the ground and give her the life she deserves. What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”
She shakes her head. “These are unfortunate side effects. They’re not the root of the problem.”
I see clearly where Delphine is taking me, but I can’t go there. Never. Not a chance.
“Who is the cause of the change, Max?” she asks in her cajoling voice.
I grind my teeth, looking at her with defiance, but Delphine isn’t my therapist for nothing. I may make her nervous, but she’s never backed down from making me face the truth.
“Who is the cause of the change, Max?”
I bang a fist on the table, making her jump.
She blinks and then charges straight back into the attack. “Who is the cause of the change, Max?”
The admittance tears from my chest. Like a rabid animal, I growl the single word. “Me.”
Fuck it.
Me.
She sags in the chair as if our wrestle was physical. “Only one question remains. What are you going to do about it?”
Goddamn. I came here looking for a magic cure for Zoe, for a pill or a session of hypnosis, not for this.
Too angry to give expression to my thoughts with more useless words, I push to my feet, bumping the coffee table and making the water spill from the glass.
I turn on my heel and barge from the shrink’s office.
That’s what I’m fucking doing about it.
Chapter 29
Zoe
Lying on my stomach on the bed, I beam at the trio on my laptop screen. Damian, Lina, and Josh are lounging on the couch in their living room. My brother has his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and Josh sits on his lap, running a red locomotive over Damian’s leg.
“You look stunning,” I say to Lina who’s complaining about the size of her stomach.
“That’s what I keep telling her,” Damian says, his eyes taking on that all-consuming light that seems to come from inside of him when he looks at her.
Seriously, she’s glowing. I’m overjoyed for them. They found the happiness they deserve. I’m not naïve enough to believe it was an easy road paved with rose petals, but I know what they’ve built together will last forever. It’s just that kind of love.
“Tell me more about the dress,” Lina says, always diverting attention away from herself. “Vera freaking Day? I can’t believe you’re designing Vera Day’s dress.”
“Maybe and a very big maybe at that,” I say. “She didn’t commit to anything other than trying on the dress.”
“That’s something, right?” Lina says. “You’ll win her over.”
I make a face. “She sounded lovely over the phone, but I’m competing against Valentino.” Who goes up against Valentino? I must be mad.
“Show it to me,” Damian says.
I take the sketchpad from the nightstand and hold it up to the screen.
“That’s a nice drawing, Zee,” Josh says.
“Coming from you, that means a lot to me,” I say with a wink. “Will you make me a drawing?”
“Of a train?” he asks.
My heart melts. “Of whatever you want.”
“Okay.” He scrambles off Damian’s lap. “I’ll start now.”
“Bye, Josh.” I blow a kiss before his small, sturdy body disappears from the screen. “How is he getting cuter each time we speak?”
“He’s a great kid.” Putting a hand on Damian’s leg, Lina gives him a loving look. “Your brother is very good with him.”
Lina flushes a little as Damian brings her hand to his lips and gently bites down on a finger. It’s tender and possessive, and my body suddenly misses my husband. Not my heart. Never my heart. That part of me, I locked away in a stone chamber deep under the water where a pulse is nothing but a distant sound.
“Maybe I can help you make up Vera’s mind,” Damian says.
“How?” I ask, resting my chin in my hand.
“I’m sure a black diamond necklace to compliment the outfit will sway her.”
“Really?” I sit up. “Do you have something that will work?”
“Nothing that will go with the dress,” he says, “but I can get my designer to make something.”
“The festival is in two weeks,” I exclaim.
“It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Are you sure?” I’m breathless with excitement. “That sounds almost impossible.”
“Anything is possible when you’re the owner of the mine.”
“Are you serious? You’ll lend something so precious to us just for a night?”
“Anything for you, Zee.”
I shift to the edge of the bed, balancing the laptop on my knees. “What about security?”
“She’ll have to agree to extra measures and bodyguards, but it’s doable. I’m sure Maxime will help you out wi
th that.”
Clapping my hands, I say, “Damian, you’re a genius.” I’ve seen some of the Hart designs. They’re stunning.
“I’ll send you a couple of sketches. Let me know what your ideas are, but don’t wait too long. Tony will have to hurry if he’s to create something before your deadline.”
“Won’t the courier be a problem?”
“Regardless of what Ms. Day decides, Maxime can keep the necklace to present to his buyers. We were going to extend the business to jewelry anyway. This way, it’ll just happen sooner.”
“I can’t say thank you enough.”
“You don’t have to.” Damian smiles. “It’s what brothers do.”
We talk for a little while longer, and when we say goodbye, I’m more motivated than ever. Pulling my pencils closer, I sketch in a necklace. The dress boasts a reversed collar with the V running down the back instead of the front. Vera has a beautiful back. In my opinion, it’s the most gracious part of her body, which is why I choose to accentuate it. A necklace of black diamonds will form a good contrast and draw attention to her pale skin. I make a sketch of what I have in mind, take a photo with my phone, and send it via a text message to Damian.
Unable to contain my excitement, I pull on a pair of shoes and a fleece jacket and drive to a fabric wholesaler. The shopping is easy. I know what I want. I select a golden fabric with an embossed baroque print and take a few extra meters just in case. My stomach twists into a ball when I present my credit card to pay. The fabric is expensive. I can only hope Maxime won’t be furious. If the dress doesn’t sell and I can’t cover my costs, he’ll no doubt be angry. It’s debt we can’t afford.
On the way home, I make a detour to Maxime’s office. It’s best I tell him before he gets the bank statement.
Chapter 30
Maxime
I’m halfway through the auction stipulations draft when my receptionist announces I have a visitor. I’m not excepting anyone. To say I’m doubly taken back when my sister-in-law walks into my office is an understatement.
“Max,” Izabella says when I’ve seen her inside and closed the door, offering her hand instead of her cheek.
I kiss her fingers, taking care not to touch her skin with my lips. “This is unexpected.”
“I believe congratulations is in order.” She looks me over. “How’s married life?”
Indicating the visitor’s chair, I do a quick evaluation of her person. “I should ask you the same.” She’s wearing a skirt that reaches her knees and a matching jacket. No bruises on her neck or legs. “I take it my brother is treating you well?”
Instead of taking the chair, she drops her handbag on my desk and faces me standing. “Alexis and I don’t see that much of each other.”
I search her face. “Did he send you?”
She holds my eyes without blinking. “No.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
She lifts her chin. “No.”
“Is that wise?”
“I’m here now anyway.” She shifts her weight.
“I guess you are. Tea?”
“No.”
Izabella is young, but she’s a no-nonsense girl. She’s made that clear during the first and only one-on-one audience we’d had when she stated her demands for the marriage that was supposed to take place between us. That’s the only reason I’m not throwing her out. It’s the history we would’ve shared if I hadn’t stood her up.
“Then I suppose you’ll want to get straight to the point,” I say.
“Alexis is in trouble.”
I move to the door. “You’ve come to the wrong place.”
“Wait.” She catches up with me and grabs my arm. “Hear me out.”
I look at where she’s clutching my jacket. “I’ve heard enough from Jerome and Raphael.”
She removes her hand. “You haven’t heard this.”
Already gripping the door handle, I say, “I don’t want to.”
“Someone is blackmailing him.”
“Not my problem.” I push the handle down.
“Francois Leclerc.”
The name stills me. Leclerc is the man who tortured a prostitute with my brother, and I made both pay for by giving them a taste of their own medicine. I drop the handle. “I’m listening.”
“Leclerc has information that Alexis doesn’t want to come out. Alexis is paying him bribes.”
I cross my arms. “You know this how?”
“I heard them talk.”
Mm. Izabella is an eavesdropper. “What information?”
“I don’t know.”
I widen my stance. “Why tell me?”
“Apparently, it’s something you’d like to know.”
Tilting my head, I consider her. “What are you asking of me?”
“Nothing. I’m just dropping a lead in your lap.”
“Why?”
“Someone needs to take care of Leclerc.”
I laugh. “You think that someone is me.”
Her eyes flash with annoyance. “Alexis can’t. Leclerc has measures in place to let whatever he’s holding over Alexis’s head go public if anything happens to him. You have a reputation of extracting things from people like no one else can. You can make Leclerc give the evidence to you.”
“I’m no longer part of the family as you very well know.”
“It concerns you. It’s a private matter.”
She’s done her homework and put her ducks in a row. “Why come to me? Why not your brother or father?”
She smiles. “You must know how ambitious my brother is. He’s only waiting for the day Alexis goes under so he can take his place. As for my father, he’s never been on my side.”
In other words, Leonardo and Paolo will rather use the information to destroy Alexis and take the power for themselves, and I’m guessing Izabella doesn’t want to fall back under their thumbs.
“All I ask,” she says, “is that you share that information with me.”
Ah. She wants power, something to hold over her husband’s head. Well, well. Ms. Zanetti is a game player.
“I need insurance,” she says. “For myself, you see.”
I do see. In the family, it’s always like a game of chess. The winner isn’t necessarily the one with the biggest muscles. It’s the one with the brains. Who am I to deny her a survival plan? In any event, my curiosity is piqued. I’d like to know what Leclerc is hiding from me.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll look into it.”
She holds out a hand. “Thank you.”
I don’t shake on it, because this isn’t a deal. “No more surprise visits.” If Alexis founds out she came to me, it won’t end well for her.
She opens her mouth, but whatever she was going to say is cut short when the door opens and my wife walks in.
What is this? Surprise me day? Not that I’m not happy to see my wife. Her dark hair is windblown and her cheeks red from the cold. Prettier than a princess. After all the avoidance she’s done lately, I can’t help but feel a spark of excitement because she looked me up. Isn’t that why I gave her space? To let her have some of her own power in our relationship.
Zoe looks between us, her lips parting in a silent oh. “I didn’t know you had a visitor.”
“I should go,” Izabella says, snatching up her bag from my desk.
She walks past Zoe with a straight back, not saying goodbye or closing the door behind her.
Zoe stares at me. She doesn’t say a word, but questions run through her eyes. Her expression is tainted with a hint of the pain she carried so openly on the day she caught Izabella and me making engagement arrangements.
“It was about Alexis,” I say.
Her mouth tightens. Swiveling on her heel, she says, “I don’t want to know.”
I cut her off before she can walk out the door. “I didn’t know she was coming.”
She moves to the right, trying to scoot past me. “I don’t care.”
I close the door and lean a hand
on the wood. “Is that why you’re running, because you don’t care?”
She taps a foot on the floor. “I’m not running.”
“Leaving before you even got here doesn’t count as running?”
She motions at the door. “You’re blocking my way.”
Lowering my head, I study her through my lashes. She’s jealous. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t appreciate the attention, but she has no reason to feel uncertain of me. “I left her for you, Zoe.”
Her nostrils quiver. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“You didn’t give me a choice.”
Her blue eyes widen. “You don’t want to throw that accusation at me.”
I straighten. “It’s not an accusation. It’s a fact.”
“What choice did you give me?” She takes a step toward me and stabs a finger against my chest when I don’t reply. “Answer me.”
I grab her hand. “I’m not saying I regret it.”
“Don’t you? Can you honestly tell me you don’t miss the power and money? Can you honestly say you wouldn’t rather be living in your old house as Izabella’s husband and still get to fuck me?”
I think about that. I do miss the business. Not having the money certainly complicates matters and gives me sleepless nights. However, I do see it from Zoe’s point of view. I understand why such an arrangement would hurt her. Between the business and Zoe, there isn’t a choice.
“I’d do it again,” I say.
She jerks her hand from my hold. “That’s not what I asked. Do you miss it?”
“Of course I do.” Looking at her unhappy face, I feel a ping in my heart, an uncomfortable pull where there used to be nothing. “But you’re worth it.”
She blinks fast. “Do you regret not marrying Izabella?”
Yes, but only because it put us in this godawful position of financial risk. If the business goes under, I’ll lose everything. What will I have left to give Zoe? Yet I’d do it again in a wink just to have her. I’d do whatever it takes to keep her.
“Tell me, Maxime.”
This isn’t the kind of truth Zoe wants to hear. I can only answer it with a question. “Do you regret marrying me?”
Diamonds are Forever: A Diamond Magnate Novel (Diamonds are Forever Trilogy Book 3) Page 17