The Billionaire’s Secret Wife(50)
There was a pause. “Yes. The lawyer girl?”
“Right.”
“I thought you were dating London.”
“Well…I was. It didn’t work out.”
“And that was only a few weeks ago. How is it that you suddenly changed your mind and fell in love with Vanessa?”
Justin smiled at how outraged his mother sounded.
“Please don’t tell me you married her because of her looks. Vanessa’s a nice girl, but I’m afraid you might have gone for the looks. I’ve yet to see a girl that gorgeous, except possibly for the Fairchild girl.” Catherine Fairchild was so good-looking, she didn’t even seem human at times.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I didn’t marry her for looks. We’ve been dating on and off since college. You remember how I went to Stanford, even though Barron wanted me to go to Harvard?”
“Yes. You argued quite a bit over that, as I recall.”
“Vanessa was attending Stanford Law.”
“Oh.”
“As much as I love a pretty face, I also enjoy good conversation.”
She sighed. “I suppose I ought to have more faith, but it’s so difficult. Barron gave you too much of everything too soon. It’s just not normal for a young man to grow up the way you did and not lose some sense of proportion. I never like how he kept pushing you to be as horrible and entitled as possible.”
He chuckled. It was no secret she disapproved of Barron’s Machiavellian ways. “Don’t worry, Mom. I haven’t forgotten anything you taught me.”
“Good. But you’re going to bring her home soon? I want to see her.”
“We’ll have to see our schedule. She’s pretty busy. Besides, she’s pregnant.”
“Already?” There was a pause. “Did she get pregnant before or after you married her?”
“I…don’t know. It happened so fast.”
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter.” She let out something that sounded suspiciously like a squeal. “Oh my stars, I’m going to be a grandmother!”
“Looks like it.”
“All right then. You bring her home soon. And let me know if she’s allergic to anything. I’m going to cook.”
Justin smiled at that. His mother rarely cooked these days, but when she did it was a treat. “All right. Will do. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too. I hope you two make each other as happy as your father made me.”
Chapter Sixteen
By the time Vanessa arrived home a little after five, Justin was waiting for her. She gave him a hard look. “I can’t believe you did what you did.”
He put his hands up, palms out. “Hey, I didn’t tell anyone. Barron found out.”
“How? We were in a helicopter, and our witnesses were your lawyers. Did they talk?”
“No. It’s my fault. He noticed expenses related to my commute and decided to dig around.”
“Expenses? Since when does the world’s fifth richest man worry about expenses?”
“I know. But Barron’s suspicious. He didn’t grow up rich, so he checks everything. I should’ve anticipated that and done things differently.” Justin made a face. “Was he bad?”
“You would not believe! He forced two weeks’ vacation on me. He insisted I be welcomed ‘properly’ into the family without consulting me on the timing or anything. No, it’s what he wants, so that’s the way it’s going to happen.” Vanessa stopped to take a breath. “FYI, Mom knows about the baby. There was no way I could keep quiet about us once Barron visited the office. Then of course Mom wanted to know why we married, so I had to tell her.”
“That’s fine. Your mom has every right to worry.”
Vanessa nodded, not telling him about the rest of the conversation. Her mother had always wanted her to protect herself, and she knew that was the smart thing to do. She was comfortable, but didn’t have as much money as people assumed, since after having taken her inheritance to buy the condo and pay off her debts, she’d spent most of it setting up a nationwide non-profit organization, Just and Proper Help, to provide legal aid to the poor. The only person who knew she was behind it was Gavin Lloyd, and that was only because he managed its assets. She’d never had the time to really get involved in running the NPO, and she preferred to keep her connection to it quiet.
“We have a reservation at Éternité tonight,” Justin said. “Mark and Iain will be joining us, probably with their fiancées.”
Ah, okay. That explained why her brothers hadn’t called yet. They were probably saving all their questions for the face-to-face inquisition. At least Justin would be there to help her handle them. I should get my rings from the jewelry box for dinner. There was no reason to keep them hidden anymore.