“And turned it into a billion-dollar business,” Maximus added. “You’ve got yourself quite a find here, big brother.”
Tahlia gave Lucius a sideward glance. The love in his eyes was evident as he grinned across the table at his fiancée.
“And you?” Charlotte turned her attention to Tahlia. “What is it that you do, dear?”
“Mother,” Maximus cautioned. The tone in his voice told her to tread lightly.
“I’m just being cordial,” she replied, reaching for her wineglass.
“Up until recently, I worked as an assistant at Art Gallery Twenty-One.”
“That was one of Father’s favorite galleries,” Maximus said, offering Tahlia a warm smile.
“Have circumstances changed?” Charlotte asked.
“As a matter of fact they have,” Tahlia answered. “Robert informed me that Arthur was owner of the gallery and has bequeathed it to me.”
A loud gasp escaped from Charlotte, but she soon recovered. “So now you own it? You must have made quite the impression on my husband.” She took another sip of her red wine. “Very much like other people I know.”
Her implication was clear that Arthur and Tahlia had an intimate relationship, a seedy one. Fury boiled inside Tahlia, but she needn’t have worried because Jocelyn rose to the bait.
“If you’re insinuating something, Charlotte,” Jocelyn spoke after being silent since they were seated, “just say it. Maybe then we can all end this whole charade.”
Tahlia suspected it must be very difficult for Jocelyn to sit in her former lover’s home with his wife and son, knowing she’d had an affair with the man for years and produced a child. A child who was sitting beside her but had never been acknowledged, until now.
“Au contraire, contraire,” Charlotte replied with a snort. “It gives me great pleasure to sit with the mistress of my lying, cheating excuse for a husband and her illegitimate offspring after you’ve in essence ripped my child’s inheritance right out of his hands.”
“I did no such thing!” Lucius roared from beside her. His dark eyes blazed with indignation. “I didn’t ask for any of this. Neither did he.” He flung his hands in Maximus’s direction. “Did you know Arthur was cheating on your mother?”
Maximus glared at him, and at first Tahlia thought he wouldn’t respond, but then he shook his head. “Of course I didn’t,” he finally replied. His dark brown eyes were very much like Lucius’s. “Do you think if I did I would have let Arthur continue to humiliate my mother with yours?”
Tahlia tried to speak. “Everyone, why don’t we calm down. I think dinner is coming.” Or at least the salads were. Several waitstaff entered the room carrying plates filled with mixed greens, cranberries and walnuts and what appeared to be some sort of vinaigrette. As they set a plate in front of her, Tahlia couldn’t wait to dig in.
Maximus gave her a small smile from across the table, but it was pointless because Jocelyn rose to her feet. “I’m sorry, Lucius.” She turned to her son. “I can’t sit here and break bread with these people in A-Arthur’s home. It’s just too much.” Seconds later, she pushed her chair back and rushed out of the dining room.
“Good riddance!” Charlotte said with a smile.
“That was uncalled for, Mother,” Maximus hissed. “Apologize.”
“For what? For speaking the truth in my own home?” she replied bitterly.
Lucius rose from his chair beside Tahlia, and she watched in horror as Naomi did the same. Despite her best efforts to bridge the gap between the brothers, it was all in vain.
“We’re leaving,” Lucius stated, throwing his napkin onto the table.
“You don’t have to go.” Tahlia attempted to save the day.
Lucius patted her on the shoulder, preventing her from getting up. Then he bent down and whispered in her ear. “Good try, ole girl, but you’re going to have to do a lot better than this to get us to become a family. C’mon, Naomi.” He extended his hand to his fiancée and headed for the door.
Maximus stood as well, buttoning his suit jacket that looked sexy as hell on him, and strode confidently to the dining room door and met his brother at the exit.
“Lucius.” He inclined his head. “I’m sure we’ll be speaking soon.”
“No doubt,” Lucius replied. Seconds later he and Naomi were gone.
“Did you really have to be so gauche?” Maximus asked, turning to his mother after Lucius and his family had gone. It was only the three of them remaining.
“Quite frankly I did.” She stood. “You should be happy I was willing to get through salad, given everything that woman—” she pointed to the door Jocelyn Turner had just vacated “—did to me.”
“That you let them do to you,” Maximus corrected. “Don’t try to rewrite history.”
“I—I’m not going to talk about this right now,” Charlotte huffed. She reached for her wineglass and without another word took it along with her as she stormed out of the room.
“Was it something I said?” Tahlia asked when it was just her and Maximus alone in the dining room.
He let out a loud rumble of laughter that was so infectious Tahlia couldn’t resist and joined in on the fun. Soon, they were both howling, unable to control themselves. After several moments, the chuckles finally subsided and Maximus came beside her, pulling out the chair next to her that Lucius had vacated.
“That was a complete and utter disaster,” he stated unequivocally, leaning back in his chair and staring openly at her.
She nodded her agreement. “It was.”
“I applaud you for trying to calm the waters, but considering the circumstances, you must know that this is an untenable situation. We are never going to be a family.”
“Who says? There are all sorts of families.”
* * *
“You’re not really that naive are you?” Maximus inquired, peering at Tahlia. Where the hell had she come from anyway? He knew his father liked to frequent the art gallery. And now he knew she was the cause. And could he really blame his father? Tahlia Armstrong was a bombshell.
Had she, too, been carrying on an affair with his father right under their noses? Or at least under his mother’s since she’d known for years about his father’s affair with Jocelyn Turner. How could she stomach staying in the marriage knowing he was unfaithful?
Maximus would never have tolerated such a betrayal. When he married, if he married, his wife would be his and only his. He’d kill the man who dared look at her, let alone touch her. It was why he couldn’t understand how his mother allowed the adultery to continue for decades.
“I’m not naive,” Tahlia responded. “I just choose to be positive and was trying to make the best of the situation.”
“Very noble, but wasted on us,” Maximus replied, rising to his feet. “Can I walk you out?”
She blinked several times. Perhaps she thought they were still going to continue with dinner. Not tonight. He needed time to think and strategize his next move.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” she said.
Maximus pulled her chair out and followed Tahlia as they walked down the corridor. He purposely walked behind her so he could enjoy the view of her backside. His groin tightened as she swayed, and God help him, he wanted her.
Suddenly she stopped short and turned to him. “In the spirit of keeping the peace, I want to make it clear to you that nothing happened between your father