Any other time, any other place and my fist would’ve connected with her face. As it was, I simply clenched my hands at my side and gritted my teeth. Mike looked like he was thinking the same thing.
“Whoa now, I don’t think—” Mike started to say.
“No, it’s fine,” I interrupted. I kept my voice low so it didn’t echo through the quiet room, but spoke to Mike. “I’d be a massive fucking bitch too if I puked after every meal. I mean, it must be pretty stressful walking around with terrible breath all the time, people talking about it behind your back.” I looked back at Vanessa whose mouth hung wide open. “See, my parents raised me to be polite. Apparently that’s not something they taught you at whatever ridiculous boarding school you were dumped in.”
A thick silence fell between us. Mike was looking from me to her, almost as if he expected us to start throwing punches. I narrowed my eyes and could see her mind coming up with some comeback, but before she could speak, Tristan’s arm circled my waist.
“Vanessa,” he said coldly. I felt strangely panicked that I might have done something wrong, that Tristan might be upset with me speaking to her like that. After all, she was still an important friend of the family.
“Tristan. I…” she shook her head, collecting her thoughts. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Although, I guess it isn’t all bad news. Mike was just catching me up. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.” I still wanted to slap that horrible, fake smile right off her face.
“Thank you, Vanessa. That’s very gracious of you. You’ll come to the ceremony, of course, won’t you?” he smiled, knowing she’d never accept having her nose rubbed in it.
She glared at Tristan and for once, she actually seemed lost for words. She changed the subject abruptly, “I know this isn’t exactly the time or place to be arranging such things, but I was hoping I might be able to catch you next week for a meeting? There are some things that my father was apparently speaking to yours about, that need to be resolved.”
“I’m sure the board can handle anything business related for now,” he said dismissively.
“No, this is something personal, between our fathers. I think it’d be better if you and I had a one-to-one and go over everything.” Her tone was earnest but almost playful, like she was keeping a secret.
“I think you’re right, this isn’t the time. Thank you for coming, Vanessa,” he said blocking her out of the group.
She thankfully took the hint and walked away.
Mike glanced over Tristan’s shoulder and laughed. “Mate, you wouldn’t believe the verbal smack down your bird just dished out. You’d be proud.”
Chapter 13 – Tristan
The past few days had been bitter sweet with my father’s funeral still looming over my head. It was comforting to have Ginny there by my side even when I knew she was unsure of what to say. Just the fact that she was here, was enough to keep my dark thoughts at bay.
One thing I hadn’t expected was how quickly and how well she and my mum would get along. I watched the way her eyes lit up as she and mum chatted as if they were old friends. It made me love Ginny even more, if that were humanly possible. It was extremely difficult to hide our marriage from my mum. I hated to lie to her, especially with all of the sadness we’d experienced recently, but I hoped that she’d be happy for Ginny and me, once we decided to break the news to her.
Ginny’s phone pinged and cut off the flow of conversation. “I’m sorry, Elise. It’s my best friend, Kari, on Skype. It could be important, I’ll be right back.” She glanced at mum and excused herself. Mum waited for her to walk out of the room before turning to me with a knowing look on her face.
“Are you okay?” she said to me, quietly. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and I knew she was thinking of my dad.
“I am,” I replied, taking one of her hands in mine. “And Ginny makes me so incredibly happy and I know she’s the one for me.”
Mum nodded before leaning back. She took out the handkerchief she always seemed to have with her these days, and dabbed at the moisture in her eyes. “I know you and your father had… had…a rough relationship, but I think he’d be happy to see you and Ginny together like this.”
I couldn’t speak on that, but it felt good knowing that my mum approved of Ginny and my relationship with her. “That makes me happy, because I’m going to marry her, Mum.”
“Oh darling, are you sure? She is charming but you hardly know her.”
“Yes…I am sure. I love her more than anything.” I looked down at my mother, her face open and happy for the first time in days. “I’m going to ask Ginny to be my wife and I’d like your blessing.”
“Oh Tristan!” Mum jumped up and hugged me. It was so out of character for her and yet, it was perfect. I could feel my eyes fill with tears as I held my mum. When she pulled back, I could tell that she was so proud of me and I knew I’d done the right thing by telling her. Now hopefully, the news of our Vegas marriage would stay on the other side of the pond or I’m sure her pride would turn to disappointment in an instant and the last thing I wanted to do, was to hurt my mum, especially now.
“Oh, this is just wonderful. Ginny is such a lovely girl and I know she makes you very happy. Now, we just need to discuss the drafting of your pre-nup and once she signs, we can begin the arrangements. There’s so much to do!” Mum tittered to herself and in my enthusiasm, I’d almost missed the words she’d said.
“Pre-nup? Why would I need a pre-nup? Ginny’s not that kind of girl.” I shook my head while trying to keep the smile on my face. Surely, Mum didn’t mean to imply that Ginny was only after me for my money.
“Sweetheart, I know Ginny is a perfectly wonderful girl and I can tell she loves you very much, however, you can’t change who you are. You are an Armstrong and a prime catch for any girl. With your father gone, you’re a very wealthy man now. With that comes certain responsibilities and considerations. You have to protect the company and the family name. It’s perfectly natural dear and I’m sure if she loves you like she says she does, she won’t mind at all.”
I couldn’t believe that I was having this conversation, with my mum of all people. I would have expected it from my father, and possibly even a little joking from Mike, but never my mum. “I understand that. But…why would you think Ginny would want me for my money?”
“You can never be too sure, son. Your father and I had a pre-nup drawn up so we can get the company lawyers to draw one up for you too.”
I was getting annoyed, “But, Mum—”
Just then, Ginny let out a little cough and Mum said, “Ginny dear, I’m glad you’re back. Now, you were telling me about your parents. Will they be coming over with you on your next visit to London?”
“Well, I know…”
The rest of the conversation was drowned out by the thoughts running rampant in my head. I hoped she hadn’t heard too much. I was sick. Did mum really think Ginny wanted me for my money? I’d never even considered asking Ginny to sign a prenuptial agreement. I knew my money and wealth meant nothing to her in the grand scheme of things. She actually spent a lot of time actively ignoring it.
And to prove it, I’d have her sign a pre-nup even though we were already married. Ginny wasn’t that kind of girl, was she? Fuck!
I knew Ginny was uncomfortable with the amount of money that I had at my disposal, but would she ever be comfortable with it? Would there eventually be a time when she expected expensive things. Would she eventually come to crave money like Vanessa? I wanted to say no, but after my experience with her, I had that nagging doubt.
I forced those thoughts from my mind as we made our way to the airport. “Every time you leave, it gets harder and harder to let you go,” I whispered into the fragrant softness of Ginny’s hair. My arms were wrapped around the heat of her and I could have stayed like that forever.
“I know, Tris. I miss you so much when we’re apart.” She pulled back until I was looking down into her reddened eyes. My thumbs brushed th
e tears from her cheeks and I leaned in to kiss her softly. The sigh she gave made me want to forget about everything and just keep her safe in my arms. But I knew I had to let her go and eventually have to talk to her about what my mum had brought up. I just didn’t think now would be the best time. Not when both of our emotions were running so high at the thought of our impending separation…once again, we’d have the Atlantic between us.
“I’m going to miss you too baby,” I replied, “but I’ll be on Skype when you get in the air. They’ve got wifi and I got you the best seat on the plane.”
Ginny nodded, though her eyes were still wet with unshed tears. “Okay, honey. But it’s still just so hard. I wish I could fly out to see you every week but I still have to tie up these loose ends at work. Once these cases are handled, I’ll be able to stay longer. I just wish I knew when we’re going to be together for good?”
I tried not to think about money or the pre-nup and instead, I pulled her back into the circle of my arms. “We’ll be together for good soon, sweetheart. I promise.”
Three days after Ginny left and I still wasn’t any closer to figuring out what I wanted to do with the whole pre-nup issue. Talking to Mike had gone about as well as I’d thought it would. He seemed to think the whole thing was hilarious.
“I think Ginny is the only person I know who counts your wealth as a negative, mate.”
Of course, I agreed whole-heartedly with Mike, but my mum wasn’t known for throwing idle words around, and with her being the person I’d normally go to for guidance, I was feeling the pressure to do what she wanted. She was still raw after my father’s death and I didn’t want to say anything to upset her. I could tell that my uncertainty was starting to show when, during one of our Skype sessions, Ginny stopped and gave me with a worried look.
“Tris, are you okay?”
“Uhm, not really…we need to talk.” I winced at that terrible start. “I mean, it’s nothing bad, I promise! Just, my mum brought up something that I forgot to consider before we were married in Vegas. It’s uhm… a pre-nup. To protect me and the assets my father left to me. I meant to talk to you about it, but then we got so distracted with other things—”
Her eyes narrowed and I knew I’d fucked up big time. “Why are you asking me about a pre-nup now?” I could hear the hurt in her voice and I winced again. I really hadn’t planned this out very well.
“It’s just for—“
“Oh my God! Does your mom think I’m some kind of gold-digger?”
“No!”
“Because that’s your money. I don’t even want it and honestly, I think it’s a little strange that you bring it up now. Have you been talking about me the whole time I’ve been gone? What else does she think? Maybe I’m a fat slob who isn’t good enough for her uppity son—?”
“No! Not at all. My mum loves you, baby girl. Relax, please.”
I could see her eyes cloud up with tears. “Why didn’t you say something when I was there? Or, why didn’t your mom mention something? I am NOT a gold-digger!”
“I know! Trust me Gin, I know you aren’t. But it isn’t just me I have to worry about now. Mum is all alone and I have the company. There are a lot of responsibilities that come with being an Armstrong and I can’t just ignore them because I fell in love with you.”
Ginny went quiet. She glared at me in the grainy video on my screen and I wished I knew exactly what was going on in her head.
“I’m not saying anything will happen with us, Gin. It’s for ‘just in case’, not because I don’t trust you.” Her continued silence was starting to get to me. “Honey, why are you being so difficult about this? I don’t get it, baby. If you love me, why does it make a difference whether you sign the agreement or not?”
That probably wasn’t the right thing to say. Even in the video, I could see her eyes flash with anger.
“If I really love you? Are fucking kidding me, Tristan? Do you know how hard it is to be away from you? My husband? I cry at night thinking I made a big mistake and you have the fucking nerve to think I’m a gold-digger? Tristan, why don’t you just tell your mom we’re already fucking married? Huh? Or am I not good enough to be a true Armstrong?”
“Babe…Stop.” I pleaded. I loved this girl, but I didn’t need all this right now. What would mum say if I told her now? Mum, were already married and she didn’t sign a pre-nup. “Even though we both know I have to stay here for a while, you still refuse to move to London, but then you complain about us being apart. Baby, you know you could quit your job and come live here in London with me, but you won’t. You say you love me, but now you’re freaking out about a pre-nup. What am I supposed to think?”
“Think whatever the fuck you want to think. I can’t believe after everything we’ve gone through, you’d question my love for you…” Ginny’s voice cracked and the sound of defeat was one I never wanted to hear again.
“Baby…Ginny, I just—”
“I need to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she interrupted before abruptly cutting our video chat. I was left staring at a blank computer screen and all I could hear was the screaming of my inner voice.
What the fuck did I just do?
Chapter 14 — Ginny
Even though I knew everything was eventually going to work out between us, especially now that we were married, I was still incredibly bummed out after the Skype fight. I tried to accept that difficulties like this came with the package. I knew marrying a rich foreigner was never going to be easy, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to throw a tantrum.
Kari, being the incredibly kind and loving friend that she was, saw I was having a hard time, and by kind and loving, I mean prone to giving me swift kicks in the ass after a few days of me moping around.
“Your attitude sucks,” she said to me one morning. We were standing in the kitchen, sipping our coffee and waking up for the day. I wanted to be angry, but she was right. I’d been moping around for quite a bit and I was sure I wasn’t much fun to be around.
“Well, don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel,” I laughed.
“No, seriously. You should be happy, but instead you’re moping around here like someone died.” I thought for a moment she might actually waggle a finger at me.
“In case you didn’t notice, I just got married and my husband had to leave me within a day of saying I do. Oh, and did I forget to mention, his father did die?” I took another sip of coffee to put an end to the whining. I knew Kari hated when I got this way, but I couldn’t help it. Going from being ecstatically happy to being overwhelmingly sad and lonely in what felt like three seconds was stressful. “I think anyone in my same situation would be feeling upset and shitastic as well.”
“Yeah? But you’re married, married to an amazingly sexy man who is head-over-heels crazy about you.” She took me by both shoulders and shook me gently. “Be happy!”
“Alright, alright,” I laughed. “I’m happy.” Holding my hands up in surrender, I resolved to shake off my crappy mood and be happy. Like Kari said, I did have a wonderful, sexy husband who loved me. That was definitely more than most people get in their lifetime.
“And you get to have two weddings, you lucky shit. Of course, the next one is going to be amazing with me as your maid of honor, so come on, let’s go out and do something. Let’s go to the mall and spend some of your man’s money. You still have his card, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’d make me very happy. I get dibs on the shower,” I cried, as I rushed past her, laughing at her indignant squawk.
A couple hours later, we’d spent more money than we should have and we were absolutely starving.
“Since I just spent more money on shoes and lipstick than we spend in an entire month on food, why don’t we just get a smoothie or something?” I suggested. “I’m feeling kind of guilty. I don’t like spending Tristan’s money.”
“Well, It’s your money too, chicky, but if you insist, how about over there?” Keri pointed to a new green smoothie pl
ace that had just opened.
“Sure.” I tried to talk myself into getting one of the healthy looking green ones but opted for a strawberry banana one instead. We found a couple of seats at a table in the food court and started comparing our shopping victories.
I happened to glance over Kari’s shoulder and spotted someone I thought I knew. It was more the way he moved than anything else, because on second glance, I hardly recognized him at all.
My eyes went wide. “Holy shit, that’s Brad,” I whispered harshly. Kari whipped her head around to get a look at him before I could tell her to act casual. “Fuck me, he spotted us. Good job,” I hissed.
My stomach was in knots as he came closer. I couldn’t believe how much weight he’d lost! He was easily thirty pounds lighter and well-tanned. I even caught a glimpse of a flat stomach under his shirt as he approached. Brad gave us a little half wave.
“Hello ladies,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Prick,” Kari said with a mock perky tone.
I was tempted to do the same but I hated conflict. If we could find a way to be civil, I would try. So what if he tried to assault me in my own kitchen. I once followed a guy around for two weeks after he didn’t call me back from our first date. We all have our psycho moments.
“How ya doing?” I said, trying to sound casual.
“I’m great, great. You look fantastic.” He was clearly ignoring Kari, his attention focused solely on me. It was unnerving, feeling his eyes on me, familiar and strange all at once. It made my skin crawl and suddenly, I wanted to get as far away from him as possible and yet I could feel my face flush with pleasure at someone noticing me in a good way. Take that, weight gain!
“You do too!” God, don’t sound too excited, Gin. “Whatcha up to?”
“Just killing some time. My girlfriend is getting her hair cut over there so I was just wandering around.”
Oceans Apart 4 Page 9