High-Society Secret Baby - Maxine Sullivan Page 0,56

Nicole’s blond curls in a loving gesture that brought a lump to Cassandra’s throat and reminded her how much she valued their love for their granddaughter. It was her one comfort in a trying situation.

“How about we go in the living room and have some iced eggnog?” Dominic suggested.

They all moved farther inside the house, then came to a standstill at the arched entrance to the living room.

“You’ve got a real tree?” Michael said in mild surprise.

The unadorned Christmas tree took pride of place in a corner of the large room while Christmas carols played softly in the background. It wasn’t unusual for people to have a real tree during a hot, summery Christmas, but artificial trees were more the norm these days.

“Yes, I’ve always wanted a real tree. Do you like it?”

Her father-in-law nodded. “It’s a nice touch.”

“I think so, too, Dad,” Dominic added, winking at her.

Relief spiraled through her. Thank God she’d actually managed to do something right today.

Then Adam slapped his hands together. “Okay, where’s this eggnog, then?” he said in typical male fashion. He moved farther into the room.

“My God!” Laura choked, stopping everyone in their tracks and sending Cassandra’s stomach plummeting as she spun toward her. “I don’t know how you can be so insensitive, Cassandra. Are you trying to remind us that we no longer have our son?”

“Laura, no!” Cassandra exclaimed, hearing Dominic swear, clearly as horrified at the turn of events.

“You did it on purpose. You knew we could never have a real tree because of Liam’s hayfever.”

Cassandra shook her head. “No! This was about having a living Christmas. I thought it would be a nice touch, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to cause you more pain.”

“You expect me to believe you?” Laura said, her voice clogging with tears.

Cassandra swallowed the despair in her throat. “Yes.”

“Mum,” Dominic growled. “That’s enough.”

“Laura, this isn’t the time or place,” Michael said firmly, putting his hand on his wife’s arm.

Laura shook him off. “No, I can’t do this any longer, Michael. I really can’t.” Her gaze returned to her daughter-in-law. “I’m sorry for my attitude, Cassandra, but I can’t help it. I know you’re married to Dominic now, but…” Her face began to screw up. “It’s just that…” She took a deep breath. “You deserted my son. You deserted Liam when he needed you most,” she choked, then took another shuddering breath. “And I find that impossible to forgive.” Cassandra gasped.

Dominic swore low in his throat.

Adam muttered, “Mum…” in a warning voice.

At that moment Cassandra decided this wasn’t going to work. She’d been crazy to think it might. It was clear her mother-in-law wasn’t going to forgive her for something she hadn’t done. Michael believed the worst of her, too. So did Adam.

She blinked back tears, then realized she was actually relieved it had been brought out in the open. The time was right to get this off her chest. “Laura, what you said is not true. I didn’t desert Liam at all. He deserted us.”

Laura inhaled sharply. “No, you pushed him out of your life those last few months. He shouldn’t have had to come back home to…to…die.”

“But he wanted to go home. He wanted to be with you and Michael. He didn’t want to be with me and Nicole. That’s why he went home. It wasn’t because I pushed him away. That’s simply not true.”

“How can you say that?” Laura whispered.

“I begged him to stay with me and Nicole, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I even asked if we could go live with him at your place. He wouldn’t let us.”

“No, I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m afraid he did. There were many things about your son you didn’t know.” She had to tell Laura. “It wasn’t easy living with Liam, not before he got sick and certainly not after.”

“You were his wife. You’re the one who took his love and…” She gave a sob. “You could have helped him through all that. He loved you, Cassandra. You should have helped him, not pushed him away.”

Anguish twisted inside Cassandra. “No, I didn’t push him away. We’d both fallen out of love long before he got sick, but I stayed with him because I was his wife and because I once loved him. I felt I owed him that. In the end, he didn’t want even that from me.”

Laura shook her head, clearly determined not to believe her.

Cassandra had known this wasn’t going to be easy. “Stop for a moment and look past