Page 66 of Peyton's Price

She rubbed her fingers together, trying to find the right words. “Did you know Matthias had been married before?”

Liam stroked his chin. “Yeah, he mentioned it when we first met. Why?”

“And did you know his wife was pregnant at the end?”

His eyes widened, face clouding. “I didn’t know that. All I know is what he told me. He didn’t mention anything about a child.”

“Well, the baby was lost when she died. Apparently, it’s an open secret on theOrmen Lange. But that’s why your talk of children is premature. We were being insensitive. It’s not your fault—we didn’t know.”

“Um, Peyton, what are you talking about?”

“That you can’t charge through and dictate how things are going to be. Not about this.”

Why didn’t he understand?

“But, Peyton, you’re wrong. Matthias didn’t lose his wife. He divorced her.”

* * *

“What did you say?”Needing the support, Peyton sat on the conference table.

“Lise, Matthias’ ex-wife—the woman isn’t dead,” Liam repeated. “She lives in Paris.”

“Oh.” Peyton didn’t think Priya would have lied to her. “Well, that’s what the staff believes. And they think he lost both wife and child in some sort of tragic accident.”

Liam pursed his lips. “It sounds more like a patented Matthias misinformation campaign.”

“You mean he intentionally lies about his marriage?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, I hadn’t heard this widower rumor before. But it wouldn’t be the first time Matthias let someone believe something about him that wasn’t true. And this detail about a pregnancy is rather specific, isn’t it? It could be the truth. We should ask him. I wouldn’t want to poke an open wound.”

Peyton groaned, wondering how their secretive billionaire partner would react to such invasive questions. “You’re sure his ex is alive?”

“And kicking,” Liam drawled. “I took the liberty of checking her out after he brought her up the first time. After the divorce, she settled in France, in a huge apartment just off the Champs-Elysees. She is a renown hostess, spending her king’s ransom of a divorce settlement on parties, art, andhaute couture.”

“Maybe she’s treating her loss with some tried-and-true retail therapy,” Peyton suggested. “A lot of couples have a tough time making it work after losing a child.”

“Well, should we be so unlucky, we won’t let something like that happen to us.”

Peyton raised an eyebrow. “The three of us, Liam. We have to be in this together with Matthias.”

“Babe, I wasn’t excluding him. It’s simply hard for me to talk in a way that makes that clear.”

“It is clear,” a third voice said.

Peyton nearly threw out her neck twisting so fast to face the doorway. Matthias stood there with his hands in his pockets. His expression suggested he’d been there for some time.

“How much did you hear?” Liam asked.

Frowning, Matthias scratched his head. “Enough to know you’re both misinformed. My ex-wife didn’t suffer a miscarriage. She terminated her pregnancy.”

Chapter 29

Peyton felt as if someone had slapped her. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Matthias shrugged. “I got over it a long time ago. And in the years since, I’ve learned to appreciate the fact there’s not a child being used as a bludgeon by two bitter exes.”

Peyton mumbled inarticulately. She didn’t know what to say to that.

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