“Already taken care of.” He moved to the chair opposite Camille and dropped down onto it. “I had her removed and barred from the estate. That’ll give me time to figure out how to proceed.”
“You have to tell Tasha.”
Andre stared down at his hands. He rubbed his palms and then laced his fingers together before looking back at Camille. “And you know very well what’ll happen next. She’ll leave.”
“No.” She shook her head. “We don’t know that.”
“You’re kidding yourself.”
Camille sucked in a breath as a look of worry crossed her face. She blew out a sigh and nodded. “Yeah. She would. She’s just too damned proud for her own good.”
Andre laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You two are very much alike, you know.”
“Well, you know what they say about birds and feathers.”
Birds and feathers? Andre was mildly curious but didn’t want to get Camille started on something else. He had a real, not to mention immediate, problem. A problem he was beginning to realize that he needed help in fixing.
“Nevertheless…” Camille said. “I doubt Cecily will go away so easily, considering that busting up your marriage will be rather profitable for her.”
“What am I going to do?” The thought caused Andre’s entire body to tense up. “I had her removed from the estate, but let’s face it…there’s no way to stop her, short of keeping Tasha hostage here on the grounds.” He sucked in a breath and tightened his mouth. After exhaling, he said, “I can’t do that.”
“That’s why you have to tell Tasha.”
“I don’t care about the money myself.” He looked at Camille. “But it’s not just my money at stake. There’s you and Julian and Lecie. How can I be responsible for the three of you losing one hundred million dollars?”
Camille hated the thought of hiding anything from Tasha, but she also had her child’s future to consider. A fifty-million dollar trust fund for Juliana, and any other children Camille might one day have, would go a long way toward securing their futures. She looked at Andre. “But what’ll we do?”
“I’d like to say I could hide it from her forever.”
“But that’s not very realistic, is it?”
Andre shook his head.
“Far as I can see,” Camille said. “You have one of two choices. You can tell Tasha now, and hope she doesn’t do what we both know she will.”
“Or…?”
“Or, you can take her away until the two months are up…and you, Julian, and Lecie have received your inheritances.”
“I could do that.”
“If you do choose that route, you have to tell her before you bring her home. If she finds out from anybody else, she will never forgive you.”
“I don’t think she’s going to forgive me no matter what.” Andre shook his head.
“If she hears it from you, I think she will. Eventually.” Camille shrugged. “It’s just a matter of how much time that’ll take.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Andre laughed as if it were a ridiculous notion.
“The question you have to ask yourself is…do you want to stay married to Tasha?”
Of course, Andre wanted to stay married to Tasha. A year ago, he hadn’t thought getting married was a good idea, that it would only lead to trouble. But that was then and this was now. Now he was married to Tasha and he wanted to stay that way. He also wanted to make sure his brother and sister got their inheritances.
Was it possible that he could do both?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
TASHA LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW at the gardens below, the rolling hills beyond, and the Mediterranean off in the distance. The storm clouds had moved on, leaving only blue skies.
She moved away from the window and headed for the bathroom. She’d been expecting her period for the better part of a week now, but she wasn’t getting her hopes up. She’d done that last month and had been disappointed three days later.
Tasha turned sideways and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her tummy was still flat. She wasn’t even bloated, which was something that always happened when she got her period. She used her upper arms to squeeze her breast. They were sore, sorer than usual for the onset of her period.
The last time she’d experienced anything like this—
No! Tasha shook her head. She wasn’t going there. Not today. Not now.
She sucked in a breath, took one last glance at herself in the mirror and left the bathroom. The jewelry she’d picked out for the day had been laid out on top of the dresser. Emeralds to match her perfectly-fitted chartreuse pant suit.
She picked up the ring and slipped it on the ring finger of her right hand. The white gold ring was set with a five-carat emerald surrounded by an entourage of four carats of round and baguette diamonds that trailed across the band. The ring’s design made Tasha think of movie stars from days gone by. She envisioned Carole Lombard or Greta Garbo wearing something like this on the red carpet.
She picked up the earrings and pinned them to her ears. Fifteen carats of emeralds and more than six carats of diamonds. The earrings were heavy, to be sure, but she’d endure them for a little while. Their sleek, shimmering and sophisticated droplet design made her feel like a princess.
Next, she scooped up the bracelet. It was the least flashy of the set, with three and a half carats of round diamonds and one and a half carats of emeralds on four dangling rows of glittering elegance.
The emerald-and-diamond-studded choker was a display of refined elegance, showcasing more than thirty-eight carats of vibrant green emeralds and over sixteen carats of shimmering diamonds. Tasha picked up the necklace, an end in each hand, lifted it to her shoulders and held it there. Latching these expensive, jewel-heavy necklaces that Andre had been giving her had proved to be quite the chore.
“Need some help?” From behind, Andre slipped the ends of the necklace from her hands and latched it around her neck. “There,” he said, caressing her shoulders. “You look positively marvelous.” In the mirror he gave her a smile.
“Thanks to you.” She chuckled.
“Nonsense.” He swung her around in his arms and embraced her. “You make the jewelry I give you look good.”
“You are a wonderful liar.” Tasha slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was long, slow and deep.