One Night with Gael (Rival Brothers 2)
She could tell he was trying to keep his tone even, but the flames raging through his eyes and the white lines bracketing his mouth told a different story.
She pasted a smile on her face. ‘Sure.’
He took her hand and led her into the house. Once inside, he crossed the large rotunda-shaped foyer and took the right set of sweeping wood and iron stairs that led to the second level.
‘Gael—’
He stopped suddenly in the middle of the staircase and stared down at her. One hand reached out and brushed her lower lip. His fingers were shaking.
‘You’ve been itching for an argument, guapa. And I’m about to give you the mother of them all. Just hang tight,’ he snarled, low and deadly.
He resumed climbing, his steps quickening as they crested the stairs. It was all she could do to keep up with him as he moved to the west wing and entered his bedroom.
Goldie had only caught glimpses of Gael’s suite, which was connected to hers. She’d seen it when he’d come into her room on the night of their wedding.
Seeing it in all its glory for the first time, she stopped in the middle of the room. A rich, pale wood theme was everywhere, blended from ceiling to bed to floor, interspersed with a dark marble Goldie wanted to run her fingers over just to see if it was as warm and luxurious as it looked.
Of course all that passed through her mind in a split second before the man...her husband...shut the door with a decidedly repressed click and planted himself in front of her.
For several heartbeats he just stared at her. ‘You went into town with your mother?’
Goldie blinked. ‘Uh...yes?’
He breathed in, long and deep. ‘You went into town with your mother, and then went to see a divorce attorney?’ he seethed with white-hot fury.
Oh, hell. Her heart lurche
d. ‘What? No—!’
‘You were seen, Goldie! The attorney’s office confirmed it. So did my driver.’
He started to whirl away, one hand spiking viciously through his hair. He stopped both actions halfway through and launched himself back in front of her. He looked paler than before, a vein jumping frantically at his temple as he glared at her.
‘Is this your answer when things don’t go your way? Is this your way of trying to get my attention, to bend me to your will?’
She shook her head. ‘You’ve got it wrong. Just let me ex—’
He pointed a finger at her. ‘I won’t grant you a divorce. We agreed to five years. You’re going to give me those five years, and not a day less. You do understand that, don’t you, Goldie? You do get that anything less and I’ll make sure you’re locked in a court battle you’ll have no hope of emerging from for another five years after that.’
She exhaled, exasperation eating her alive. ‘Well, no, I don’t get that. If I want a divorce you’ll have to give me one when the five years are up. That’s the agreement. But—’
‘But nothing! Santa Maria, we’ve been married less than a week and one argument sends you running to a— Wait... If?’
She tried to resist rolling her eyes. She failed. ‘I’m going to explain myself to you now, Gael. Are you ready to listen?’
His brow was thunderous. ‘I’m not a child, Goldie. Tell me what I need to know.’
She bit her tongue against a curt answer. ‘I’ve told you I don’t want your money.’
His nostrils flared but he remained silent.
‘So I went to see an attorney to give it away.’
His eyes widened. ‘What?’
‘The agreement says that on each wedding anniversary I get the sum you promised wired to my account. I got the attorney to divide that money five ways—two-fifths will go to charities here in Barcelona and two-fifths to charities in the States. The fifth portion will go to a local performing arts community near where I live in Trenton.’ She reached into her purse, withdrew the document and held it out to him. ‘Here—see for yourself.’
Mild shock blanketing his face, he took the document from her, read it with lightning speed.