But that ended now. Yes, he let his wife down, but he was here to make it right.
Gabby—his Gabby must be disappointed. She was excited to be nominated. Another stab of guilt cut to his heart. Still reeling from Claire’s death, he hadn’t been excited with her. Why couldn’t he have pretended to feel something when she showed him the gold-embossed nomination notice?
Regret was always an afterthought. So was guilt.
“I thought you had the flu.” Claudette stepped into his path, running a finger down his arm. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end—she was the last person he wanted to see.
“Have you seen Gabby?” His tone was curt.
“Oh, lover’s quarrel?” She tilted her head and batted her eyes.
“If you haven’t then—”
“She’s busy.”
“Do you or do you not know where she is?”
Claudette sighed. “I don’t think she wants to be disturbed.”
Something in her tone, in the way she studied her blood-red fingernails, raveled a knot of anxiety in his gut.
“Don’t have time for this shit.” He made to move past her.
“Last bedroom on the second floor,” she said. There was almost pity in her eyes.
His chest went tight and he had to force himself to inhale and exhale as he took the steps two at a time.
The second floor was mostly empty of revelers and he walked briskly to the last bedroom. There were two facing rooms, but the door to the one on the right was slightly ajar.
He approached, heart pounding, and he pushed it open.
The light of the hallway illuminated two bodies writhing on the bed. So involved in fucking they didn’t even know someone had entered the room.
“Oh, Gabby, waited so long, baby.”
“Nick …st—”
“Let me. I’ll—”
“Declan?” Gabby gasped when her eyes fell on him. She couldn’t see his face, but she recognized him, nonetheless.
What followed was a blur. He remembered yanking Nick off Gabby and breaking his nose, relishing the crunch of cartilage. Rage. So much rage. He spun around to deal with his cheating wife as she hastily put her dress back to rights. He gripped her shoulders and she yelped. He wanted to crush her, strangle her.
“Why?” He roared into her face before throwing her on the bed. “You fucking slut.” Then he glared at Nick. “You two deserve each other.”
Anger vibrated through him as he made himself walk to the door, bile rising to his throat as fury mixed with the horror that he’d been so close to hitting Gabby.
“Dec …” her voice croaked.
He stopped at the door and turned slightly, not looking at her. He couldn’t stomach the evidence of her betrayal.
“We’re done,” he told her in a flat voice. “I’ll pack your clothes and send them to the studio. Don’t you fucking come to the apartment if you know what’s good for you because ….” He hissed in a ragged breath. “I might just kill you.”
Steeling himself against the thought that he was leaving his wife with another man, he walked out the door, out the house full of people who never thought he was good enough, and out of Gabby’s life.
Had he judged Gabby harshly that night? Declan wondered as he realized he’d been staring sightlessly at his bed, taking a much-needed peek into the past. He walked further into the room and sank into the mattress.
“Nick …st—”
Did Gabby try to stop Nick? Had second thoughts? Declan never got the full story from her. But did it matter now? Pride destroyed their relationship. They both were at fault with what happened to their marriage. He realized that over the years when the Army made a man out of the boy, far away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
Sleeping around for revenge wasn’t in the cards for him because he didn’t trust women even for a one-night stand. Even when Gabby married Nick, he didn’t go on the rebound. Instead, he gave his best to the Army and was fast-tracked for Ranger school.
The rest was fucking history.
There’d been women eventually. Some were faceless one-night-stands and others were short-term girlfriends. Certainly no one became close enough for him to want commitment.
Bitterness had slowly faded away and he thought he’d put the past behind him. But seeing Gabby again turned his world upside down. This infuriated him, as well as gave him relief that he hadn’t become too jaded. That he hadn’t turned into someone like Garrison who’d throw his own mother under a bus if it was for the fucking greater good.