Page 40 of Her Diamond Deal with the CEO

She shrugged. ‘It happens. I’m over it now, but I would have liked to make my parents proud.’

There was a wistful note in her voice, and he frowned. ‘You save lives. I’m pretty sure that would make them prouder than any medal.’

His shoulders stiffened; this was dangerous territory for him. But glancing over, he saw a tension in Ondine that matched his own.

‘They would be.’ She rubbed her forehead with the back of his hand. ‘But they died before I finished my training.’

Died? Jack swore silently. ‘I’m sorry.’

She was shaking her head. ‘It’s fine. You didn’t know.’

But he should have done. The marriage might be fake but Ondine was a real person, and losing your parents was a huge, life-changing moment at any age, only she was so young.

‘That must have been hard,’ he said quietly.

‘It was. That’s why Oli lives with me. He had to—he was only fourteen. And I wanted him to,’ she added, her blue eyes widening as if that weren’t obvious.

‘I know.’ He thought about how her voice softened when she talked about her brother, and the small, shabby home he’d judged and found wanting. He’d done the same to her. But the inadequacy was his, not hers: she was working two jobs to help raise her brother.

‘Is that why you have no money?’

She looked down into her lap. ‘No,’ she said finally, and there was a flatness to her voice now that he hated, but not as much as he hated himself. ‘That’s down to me and my ex-husband. The second one, I mean.’

His anger was instant and so intense that for a moment he couldn’t speak. ‘What did he do?’

‘I don’t know why I said that.’ She was shaking her head. ‘Vince wasn’t to blame. I mean, he was. He liked having fun, but I knew that right from the start. He didn’t hide who he was, and it was my choice to marry him.’

‘Did you love him?’ His heart scraped against his ribs.

Her mouth trembled. ‘No, I don’t think I did, but we met just after my parents’ funeral and Vince could see how miserable I was, and he’s like a big, stupid dog that just wants you to be happy. But he’s not a grown-up. I knew that, and I still married him.’

Jack stared at her uncertainly. He felt out of his depth. Normally, this kind of conversation was his cue to leave but he didn’t want to leave Ondine. In fact, he wanted to get closer. ‘You were grieving. People do all kinds of crazy stuff when they’re in pain.’ Look at me, he wanted to say but instead he reached out and took her hand, but she jerked it away, shaking her head.

‘You don’t understand. I married him because I was scared and sad, and Vince made me laugh. He made me forget. And I wanted to forget. I wanted to have fun and I wanted Oli to have fun. To have nice things. I didn’t think about the future or what the money was supposed to be for. Only then the bills started to come in and it was like I woke up. Or maybe I grew up.’

He heard and hated the guilt in her voice. ‘What did you do?’

‘I told him to leave, and he did. We got divorced and I got the job at Whitecaps. I was managing just fine, but then after you left that day Vince rang and he told me that Oli’s college fund was gone.’ She swallowed. ‘I rang Stanford. I thought I might be able to get a bursary but there was nothing they could do, and the bank wouldn’t give me a loan—not one that would cover the fees anyway.’

And now he understood why she had come to the bungalow. ‘That’s why you changed your mind. Why you came to find me.’

His voice was steady but inside he was knocked sideways by the truth. That the money was for Oli because Ondine felt responsible, and she had acted on that feeling with the fierce, unthinking selflessness of a mother protecting her cub, throwing aside her clear and understandable reservations to marry a stranger for money. And he had judged her for it; been happy to judge her just as people judged him, even when it became obvious that the woman sitting beside him was incapable of living the lie he had told himself.

He felt hot with shame. His head was a swirling carousel of all the other lies he’d told himself to make his life work, truths he needed to keep hidden, questions he couldn’t ask much less answer. Reaching out, he caught hold of the one solid fact.

‘You wanted the money for your brother.’

She nodded. ‘He’s lost so much already. I couldn’t take away his future as well.’

He could feel the pain in her voice inside his chest and he reached for her hand again, and this time she let him take it. ‘You haven’t taken anything away. You’ve given him a home, and love—’

‘I let him down. I’m supposed to take care of him but I was stupid and careless and selfish—’

‘You’re not any of those things.’ Jack pulled her against him. ‘You’re tough and brave and loyal and hard-working, and Oli is lucky to have you.’

She cried then, and he held her close until finally, she breathed out shakily and then he slid his hand under her chin, and tilted her head back so that she was looking up into his eyes. ‘You don’t have to worry about money, okay? You’re with me now, and I can take care of you and the baby, and Oli. Whatever you need, it’s yours.’

‘You don’t have to do that. In fact, you shouldn’t do it.’ Her voice was scratchy when she answered. ‘Marrying me is supposed to have stopped you making impulsive decisions.’

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