Page 22 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

“Your divorce is in the national headlines.” He reached for an empty wineglass and set it on the island. “Your phone has been ringing.” He nodded at the table.

“Oh.” Her stomach plummeted. She looked to where she’d left her phone with her art supplies.

“I thought you said it was off.” He poured the crisp wine from yesterday into the glass and returned the bottle to the fridge.

“That’s the new one,” she murmured. It wasn’t really a throwaway, either. It was a new-model smartphone that she had kept on and charged andclosefor this very reason. “If it’s ringing, Hunter has the number. He’ll want to talk to me.”

This is it. It’s done.

But it wasn’t. Not really. She had miles to walk before it was finalized, but the bomb had been dropped. She stared at the phone with anticipation and dread.

“Are you going to tell him you’re here?” Jasper sipped his own wine, expression impenetrable.

“Not if you don’t want me to.” She sat down on the far side of the table so her only backdrop would be the black windows behind her.

She drew a breath and collected herself, piling all her fears and misgivings behind a mask ofeverything’s fine, then pressed the button.

Hunter answered on the first ring.

“—join you after I talk to her,” he was saying before slamming his full attention through the screen and onto her. “Vi.”

“Hi.” She forced a bright smile. “What a gorgeous view.” Blue-green water stretched behind him toward an island with a massive misshapen rock upon it. “How’s the trip?”

“Great.” He shrugged off the paradise that was Bora Bora, demanding, “Are you okay?”

“Of course.” She was aware of Jasper blatantly eavesdropping and could hear him saying,Don’t lie, Vienna. I hate liars.

“Vi.” Hunter’s frown scolded.

“I know. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it first so you weren’t blindsided. Neal didn’t want anyone to know we were separated, but he didn’t want a divorce, either. This was the only way.”

“Don’t apologize. Tell me what you need from me.” Hunter pitched his voice into a gruff gentleness she’d only heard once and very recently, when Peyton had bopped her brow against his chin and started to cry.

“That, actually.” Vienna blinked, fighting the unsteadiness that accosted her vocal cords. “For you to tell me you’re not disowning me.” She tried to make it sound like she was joking, but the fear had been real. She bit her lip, unable to keep her chin from crinkling and revealing her distress.

“Never,” he swore. “I’m worried about you, though. The press will come after you pretty hard and I’m not there—”

“No! This is why I did it while you were away, so you wouldn’t be bothered by all of that. I’m handling it.”

“You’re never a bother, Vi,” he insisted, in a way that abraded her nerves.

He wasn’t trying to invalidate her feelings, but the net result was the same. She bit the corner of her mouth.

He looked disgruntled, as if he knew his abrupt words had stung and regretted it.

“Listen. I would be more upset if you stayed married to someone who was making you miserable.” That was a nod to the person who was really to blame for how fragile her sense of self-esteem was.

Their father had stayed married to Irina despite constant scandals and affairs. She was the reason the Waverly name still went viral. She was finally out of their lives, though, remarried and living in Palm Springs, torturing some other hapless man and his family.

“Where are you?” Hunter asked. “Do you need extra security? What can I do from here?”

“Nothing. Really. The B-team will have been given my instructions. I’ll check in with them shortly and I’ve already asked for a security detail when I head back to Toronto. For the moment, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Don’t go to Toronto. Stay with us. Or we could meet at the cabin. Are you in Calgary? I don’t recognize what’s behind you.”

“I leave for Germany before you get back. Oh, you probably don’t know. Quinn and Micah are getting married.”

“Really.” He took a moment to consider the news that Eden’s best friend was marrying Eden’s brother. “I could never figure those two out, but wish them well for me. Add our names to the gift.”

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