Rising Stars. Maisey YatesЧитать онлайн книгу.
“Our son!”
For a long time, she stood, staring at him. Her lips parted to speak, and his cell phone rang in his pocket. Emotionlessly, he turned away from her. “Santos.”
“I’m afraid I have to back out of our deal, Santos.”
Gabriel recognized the voice at once. Felipe Oliveira. His eyes widened in shock as he stepped away from Laura. “Is that some kind of joke, Oliveira?” he growled into the phone. “Some attempt to drive up the price? Because you’ve already signed the papers.”
“Just the preliminary papers. And Théo St. Raphaël has just offered me three million euros more for Açoazul than you. Best of all, he’s throwing in his prize vineyard to sweeten the offer.” The man gave a laugh. “I’ve always wanted to make my own champagne, and his vineyard is legendary.”
“You can’t do that!” Gabriel exploded. “We signed a contract!”
“A preliminary contract,” the man pointed out gleefully. “All I need pay for reneging on the terms is a small penalty—a million American dollars. Which St. Raphaël has also offered to cover.”
Gabriel cursed aloud. “But why? Why betray me like this, Oliveira, after we helped you see Adriana’s true nature?”
The older man cackled. “Now that I’m rid of her, I suddenly find I’m interested in business again. Sorry, Santos.” He paused, then said with greater seriousness, “Sorry, young man. But you’ll live to fight another day.”
“I’ll leave within the hour,” Gabriel said desperately. “I can be in Rio by tonight, and we can talk further—”
But Oliveira had hung up. Gabriel stared for a long moment at the phone in his hand. He felt dizzy with the vertigo of how much he’d lost in the last two minutes.
He’d lost…everything.
He whirled on Laura, who was staring up at him with big eyes. “Let’s get the wedding over with,” he growled, stomping toward the door. “As soon as it’s over, we’re leaving for Rio.”
Her trembling voice stopped him. “No.”
He frowned, looking back at her from the doorway. “No? What do you mean, no?”
She licked her lips, coming closer. Her eyes were luminous in the morning light.
“I could accept you not loving me,” she said. “I told myself that my love could be enough for both of us.” Her eyes narrowed, glittering like a frozen blue sea. “But I can’t accept you not loving Robby. He can’t just be your duty.”
“I just found out he’s my son,” he retorted, “after a year of your lies. What do you expect from me? That I declare my love and fall at your feet?”
She looked at him, and her lips trembled in a smile. “That would be nice.”
He shook his head angrily. “Accept what I can give you. And be grateful!”
“Grateful?” she cried. With an intake of breath, she held up the hem of her wedding dress and marched right up to him. Her beautiful face was outraged. “I waited five years for you to love me,” she said. “I dreamed of you for the whole last year! All I wanted was for you to marry me…”
“And I will,” he said impatiently. “Come on.”
“But I was wrong.” She lifted her chin. “Love is what matters. Without love, this marriage is nothing but a lie.” She shook her head fiercely. “And I won’t let Robby settle for that. I won’t let him grow up wondering why his father doesn’t love him, why his parents’ marriage is so strained, what he’s done wrong!”
Gabriel stared at her. It suddenly seemed as if an ocean divided them. He reached out his hand. “Laura…”
She slapped it away. “No!”
He glared at her. “I don’t have time for this.”
“So go.”
He briefly considered the idea of dragging her forcibly down the aisle. But she was surrounded by farmers and ranchers and strong neighbors with guns, while to their eyes he was just some stranger who was taking her and Robby away.
But he wasn’t just a stranger. He was Robby’s father.
Gabriel sucked in a deep breath, overwhelmed by the flood of emotion in his heart. He couldn’t give in to the feeling. Couldn’t…
Grabbing her wrist, he started to pull her towards the door. “We will marry, then leave for Rio—”
She ripped her arm out of his grasp. “I’m not going.”
“You’re being ridiculous. Don’t you understand? Oliveira is backing out of the contract! If I don’t change his mind, I’ll lose everything!”
“I understand,” she said softly. “You should go.”
“I’m not leaving the country without you and our son.”
“I’m not marrying you. Not like this.” “You’re being selfish!”
Laura swallowed, her cheeks pink. He could see he’d hurt her with the accusation. But she wasn’t going to let him manipulate her so easily. “I’ll never try to stop you from seeing Robby whenever you want. Our lawyers can work out some arrangement. But I won’t marry you, and I won’t leave the people who love us for someone who doesn’t.”
“So that’s it?” he said incredulously. “You’re giving me an ultimatum?”
“Yes.” Her eyes filled with tears as she gave him a trembling smile. “I guess I am.”
Gabriel swallowed against the sudden lump in his throat. He couldn’t force her to marry him. He couldn’t seduce or charm or bully her into it. When did she get so steady? When did she get so strong?
Raking his hair back, he looked at her. “Laura,” he said slowly. He exhaled a deep breath. “I can’t do it. What you’re asking. I wish I could, but I can’t. I can’t…love you.”
Pain flashed across her face, raw and sharp. Then she straightened her shoulders in her wedding gown.
Reaching up, she pulled the vintage lace veil off her elegant blonde chignon. Her blue eyes were stricken but steady.
“Then I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “But if you can’t love us…you can’t have us.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
GABRIEL had to hurry. Every second he wasted with Laura was like a grain of sand falling through a fatal hourglass. He had to leave at once. And yet he couldn’t.
Leaving her felt like a death. He took a deep, shuddering breath. “This isn’t over,” he said hoarsely. “I’ll be back after I close the deal in Rio.”
“Of course.” Laura’s shoulders straightened, even as her lower lip trembled. “I will never stop you from seeing Robby. I hope…I hope you’ll see him often. He needs his father.”
Gabriel heard the music start to play downstairs and thought of the guests surrounded by white roses and candlelight, waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin. He clenched his hands, feeling that same strange spinning, sinking feeling in the region of his chest.
“Remember,” he said tersely, looking at her. “This was your choice. I wanted to marry you.”
She swallowed as tears streamed unchecked down her pale cheeks. “I’ll never forget that.”
No, he thought suddenly. It couldn’t end like this. Not like this!
With a sudden, ragged breath, he seized her in his arms. Pressing his lips against hers, he kissed her with every ounce of passion and persuasion he possessed.