One Night with Gael (Rival Brothers 2)

She didn’t know everything there was to know about Gael, but he’d laid the cards that were important to him on the table. The most commendable of which involved making their child’s wellbeing his number one priority. Despite the flipside being his threat to fight her for custody of their child, her rational and emotional sides felt satisfied that he was committed to his unborn child.

Enough to decide to turn his private life upside down for it within hours of finding out about its existence.

That quiet but powerful truth made her turn her head now to look at the man in question, who sat next to her as the helicopter flying them to Table Mountain soared over the breathtaking landscape.

The crew had left Umhlanga early this morning. Because of tourism restrictions, they had only a small window to shoot a scene on the mountain—which, ironically, was the scene in which Elena was proposed to by Alfonso.

A scene which ended with her saying yes, and then spending the rest of her fictional life fighting to save her marriage.

Dread whispered over her skin. As if he sensed her inner battle, Gael turned narrowed hazel eyes on her. He watched her silently for a few seconds before he reached across the bench seat to take her hand.

The action was unexpected, throwing her thoughts and emotions further into conflict. Provided she kept their child as their main focus, could they make a go of a five-year emotionless marriage? Because she wasn’t about to delude herself into thinking there were any emotions involved here. Gael was acting purely on a primal instinct to protect what was his. Much as he would in a business venture.

Whereas she...

Goldie stopped her chaotic thoughts as the helicopter landed. She honestly didn’t know what she felt. All she knew was the pledge she’d made to protect her child.

So, although she didn’t attempt to remove her hand from Gael’s once they alighted and were seen into the cable car that would take them to the top of the mountain, she turned her thoughts to work and the scene in front of her.

The view from the top was unlike anything Goldie had ever seen. Enough to rob her of breath for a full minute. Enough to make her feel like a small cog in the great, unrelenting circle of life. Enough to lend her the gravity she needed to utter her lines in a way that saw the scene completed in one continuous take and Ethan give yet another pleased fist-pump the moment he yelled, ‘Cut!’ But while the crew celebrated she moved off to a quiet corner of the section of the plateau, her thoughts turning inward as she drank in the spectacular view of Cape Town and the ocean beyond.

She sensed Gael before his body heat arrived behind her. Strong arms bared to the African sun came around either side of her to rest on the railing.

‘Do you really need another day to think about this, cara? You know deep inside what needs to be done, Goldie,’ he rasped in her ear.

‘Do I?’

‘Sí, you do. Don’t drag this out unnecessarily.’

‘I don’t want to. But...marriage...’

He moved closer, his body caging her in tighter. She angled her head, looked up at him. Eagle-sharp eyes stared down at her, their focus unwavering.

‘Don’t overthink it or confuse the issue. We’re not fictional characters. We can have a marriage without the melodramatic chaos.’

She gave a tiny anxiety-filled laugh. ‘How can you be so certain?’

‘Because we don’t believe in the fairy tale. We’re going into this with our eyes wide open. There is only one purpose here. We’re doing this for the sake of our child. For the chance to give it the stability we were both denied. Say yes, Goldie. You stand to gain far more than you stand to lose.’

His voice was hard, almost merciless.

She swallowed hard. Slid her hands over her flat stomach, her thoughts churning.

Gael’s hand sliding over hers, warming her hands, cradling their child, alarmed her almost as much as it settled her. He was claiming. But he was also protecting.

She would deal with the former if it threatened her at any point. The latter, she couldn’t fault.

Taking a deep breath, affirming her pledge, she gave her answer. ‘Yes.’

CHAPTER TEN

THEY LANDED IN SPAIN three days later. Once she’d given her answer things had moved at lightning speed. Papers had been drawn up, witnessed and signed, granting her unimaginable wealth and the type of acting roles that should have made her ecstatic but instead had left a faintly bitter taste in her mouth.

Somewhere along the line Gael had managed to weave her into agreeing to attend his brother’s wedding. If she recalled correctly, his answer when she’d expressed reservations at attending had been a tightly voiced, ‘You’re about to become my wife. Who else am I supposed to go with?’

The suggestion that perhaps he might go alone had been met with a frown and a firm refusal.

‘You will have to meet my family, as dysfunctional as they are, at some point. Best to get it over and done with. Besides, for once I would like to enjoy an event without Kenzo Ishikawa getting on my case about my marital status.’