Free Redemption in Love (Hearts on the Line) by Nadia Lee Page B

Guess nobody got the memo his wife was leaving him, so there was no reason to have only one light anymore.
    He went inside. Amandine might be sleeping in the bedroom. He might be able to talk her out of the rash decision. If he was lucky, maybe—
    What the hell was he thinking? Amandine wouldn’t change her mind because of a post-midnight chat. He needed a plan.
    What if Pete’s right? What if you’ve killed her love?
    No. That couldn’t possibly be true. Their marriage was still salvageable.
    “Gavin,” Luna said the moment he stepped inside the foyer.
    “Luna, what are you still doing here?”
    “Waiting for you.”
    “You could’ve called.”
    “Amandine took her things in the afternoon.”
    He felt like he’d been kicked in the head. Moved out? Completely? He should’ve run after her at La Mer. No, scratch that. He should’ve never let her go in the first place. “I see.” He pressed his mouth together then forced a smile for the housekeeper’s benefit. “Is that all?”
    “No. I found this in the bedroom when I was cleaning.” Luna handed him an envelope.
    He glanced down, not recognizing the logo on it. “What is it?”
    “I don’t know. But it looked important.”
    “Thank you. I’ll take care of it.” He put it in his breast pocket.
    Luna shuffled her feet.
    “Yes?” he said, doing his best to keep his voice low and gentle. It wasn’t her fault his life was falling apart.
    “Would it be all right if I sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight? My kids are staying at their cousins’.”
    “Sure. Feel free. Good night.”
    “Good night, Gavin.”
    As Gavin went up to the second floor, dread filled his gut. How would he bear the sight of a half-empty suite? She had—
    He stopped short at the open door and blinked. What the…?
    Amandine had supposedly taken her things, but nothing seemed to be missing from the room. The pink and ivory music box he’d bought her a month after they’d gotten married was still on the night table, and he knew Amandine loved playing it when she read before going to bed. Her silk night robe was draped over a chair. For some reason it reminded him of a lavender colored corpse.
    He went to the closet. All her dresses, blouses and pants were still in there, along with her shoes. What had she taken then?
    He started the conveyor. It showed him everything, including his own clothes, until it got to the section that used to have her old things. Those were gone.
    He went into the bathroom. All her toiletries were still there…but not her favorite brush, which she’d had for years.
    So she’d taken her old things back? Why not take her new clothes as well? Was it because he’d mentioned the prenup? Or because she wanted a clean break, with nothing from their life together to remind her of him?
    He rubbed the back of his neck. The muscles there felt like obdurate pebbles under his hand. The prenup was specific about how she’d get nothing except the presents he’d given her during their marriage. She was entitled to take the Mercedes, the private jet…and all her designer clothes and shoes.
    Question answered.
    Sighing, he poured himself two fingers of bourbon and surveyed his surroundings. Having her things still in the room made the situation even more painful. It felt like she’d come out of the bathroom at any moment, or maybe from her newly finished studio and say, “Look, if you finally understand how angry I was then it’s all good. Now come kiss me.”
    He shook his head. The key to being a successful investor was the ability to separate reality from wishful thinking, and Gavin was very good at it. Too good to believe that Amandine would magically appear now.
    He put the drink down and walked to the studio on the other side of the mansion. When she’d mentioned converting one of the unused bedrooms, he’d hired an architect and construction crew instead. She deserved better than a spare room.
    The studio’s walls were made of round glass panes that