‘No. Why would you think that?’
‘You have moved before for Summer. You told me you moved here from San Francisco for that very reason. I thought you might have decided that it was best for Summer.’
‘I did it once before and it was a mistake. But do you think I would make this decision and not tell you myself?’
‘Brooke was very convincing.’
‘I don’t doubt that, she’s a very good actress,’ he said as he sat down opposite Abi. ‘She’s fooled me more than once. When I met her she was a drama student sporting a black eye. She told me she and another student had collided heads when they’d been rehearsing a fight scene. Then later she told me that it was actually from her boyfriend, that he’d hit her. She’d worked out by then that I had protective instincts. She told me he was abusing her and of course I believed her and came to her rescue.
‘The truth was that she saw me as someone who would be able to provide her with financial security while she pursued her career. I was a better bet than the actor she was dating plus I would be able to keep her looking good. Brooke is self-centred and narcissistic. Everything is about her. She doesn’t want to be a wife and mother, she wants to be a successful actress, and she has used me to get herself there.’
‘I thought you might not be able to resist Brooke. After seeing her, I couldn’t blame you.’
‘You’re kidding, aren’t you? What is under the surface is far more important. Believe me when I tell you there is absolutely nothing attractive about her.’
‘Why was she here today if it wasn’t to see you?’
‘She came to see James for some minor cosmetic surgery.’
‘James? Not you?’
Damien shook his head. ‘Not me. I won’t perform any more procedures on her.’
‘You’ve done some in the past?’
He nodded. ‘She’s had her nose narrowed,’ he said, and Abi felt a twinge of satisfaction. She’d been sure Brooke’s nose was too perfect to be natural. ‘She’s also had her lips enlarged and after she had Summer she wanted her breasts reshaped and enlarged. I did all that but I refused to do any more surgery once Summer turned three.’
‘Why?’
‘Summer was old enough then to be aware of changes to Brooke’s appearance. I didn’t want her asking why her mother was always changing her looks. I didn’t want her asking why I was changing Brooke’s appearance. Hollywood is a superficial place, I didn’t want to perpetuate the idea of physical beauty being the pinnacle of success to my own daughter, and that was the danger if I continued to operate on her mother. So I stopped.’
‘But why would she lie to me? What was the point?’
‘Think of it from her point of view. It’s always about Brooke. She wants to be the centre of attention. Summer has been talking about you and Brooke doesn’t want her attention on anyone else. She doesn’t want us but she craves attention. You have to trust me when I say Brooke is not part of my life. I moved on a long time ago.’
‘But that’s the point,’ Abi argued. ‘You might think you’ve moved on but she will always be part of your life because of Summer. You can’t cut her out but you need to decide how you want this to work. I can’t invest myself in us until you’ve worked out what you want. I want honesty and I’m not prepared to play Brooke’s games.’ She wasn’t sure she could handle her games or the additional stress.
Damien reached for Abi’s hands and pulled her out of the chair. He wrapped her in his arms as he said, ‘I have never lied to you and I promise I will work this out. I don’t want you to worry about Brooke. Leave her to me.’
Abi relaxed slightly but she doubted it was going to be as easy to deal with Brooke as he would have her believe. But she would give him some time and space to sort things out. She had to make sure he had done that before she could invest in the relationship; she had to be able to trust him.
Damien grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. He had some letters to dictate but he’d have to come back later and finish those—there were things that couldn’t wait. He was furious but he knew how to handle Brooke. She would have an agenda and he’d bet his last dollar that he knew what it was.
Brooke was lying on the sofa with an icepack on her forehead—the aftermath of her visit to James—when Damien got home, but at least she had collected Summer from school. He sent Summer to her room while he spoke to Brooke. He was still furious and he didn’t want Summer to hear this conversation.
‘What did you think you were doing at the clinic?’
Brooke lifted the ice pack from her forehead but didn’t sit up. Her unlined face was a picture of innocence as she asked. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Did you think Abi wouldn’t tell me what you said? What game are you playing?’
‘It’s not a game. I want Summer with me and I didn’t think you’d let her go without you. Therefore, that means you will move to New York.’
‘I am not moving to New York and neither is our daughter.’ He knew she was just trying to make him angry so he would give her what she really wanted. He just had to find out what that was. ‘You don’t want us. You definitely don’t want me. I don’t think you ever did. Tell me what you really want. You know I’ll give it to you.’
He suddenly realised what she was after. Money and fame. It shouldn’t surprise him. That was always what it was about with Brooke. Nothing had changed. She wanted Summer with her so that Damien would fund her lifestyle. Two could play that game. ‘I won’t give you Summer. She is staying with me but she can visit. If you agree that Summer can stay here, I am prepared to help you with your rent. I want you to have somewhere nice when Summer comes to stay.’
He took a chance that appealing to Brooke’s avaricious nature would pay off. They would need to make some arrangements but he would do whatever was needed to ensure that Brooke didn’t cause more complications, and then he could work out how to fix things with Abi.
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