How could she have been so stupid? How could she have forgotten about Sophia Redgrave?
She’d had her doubts when the woman implied that she and Pierce were more than just friends. She hadn’t heard Mrs. Simpson mention her so then she’d thought the woman was probably exaggerating. Maybe she just wanted Celine to think they had something going on.
But if she’d had any doubts about the veracity of the woman’s statement she didn’t have any such doubts now. The way Pierce’s face lit up, the way he’d run off after the woman told her all she needed to know. Pierce D’Amato was taken and if she knew what was good for her she’d stay as far away from him as possible.
CHAPTER FIVE
Next day Pierce flew out to Texas and it was another four days before Celine saw him again. Not that she minded. She needed time without him near, time to build up her defenses and accept that Pierce was her employer and that was all.
Who was she kidding? The man was a billionaire. Why would he want her? Women like her were just playthings for men like him, toys to be used and discarded when you got bored. Sophia, on the other hand was in his class. She had lots of money, Celine was sure, and she certainly had the attitude.
She, on the other hand, had nothing. How could she compete?
That evening when Pierce got home Celine was prepared for him. Her heart was encased in a steel vault and nothing he said or did would have any impact on her. She would keep her face neutral and she would greet him with a professional smile. As hard as it was, for the sake of Kylie and for the sake of her own sanity she would divorce herself from her emotions. She would be as cool as you please and she would be the perfect employee. Nothing more, nothing less.
That was her plan.
But when Pierce walked in the door the look of dejection and sadness on his face dashed all her well-made plans.
Shocked, she rushed to his side. “Are you alright?” she asked, searching his face. What in the world could have happened for him to look so terrible?
“I need a minute,” he said and dropped his bags on the floor. His eyes swung past her to Kylie who seemed to have sensed that something was wrong. She hadn’t come running to jump into her Uncle Pierce’s arms. She just stood there, her fingers twisting the sash that hung from her dress, her blue eyes huge in her pixie face.
Pierce straightened and as he did so he took a deep breath and looked at Celine.
In that moment she knew. No words were exchanged between them but the anguish in his eyes, the extreme exhaustion on his face, were all she needed. The worst had happened. Sweet, gentle Kylie had lost her mother.
Celine’s lips trembled and even though she’d never met the woman she felt like she would burst into tears. When she felt her face begin to crumble she bit down on her lip and inhaled slowly. No, she would not break down. This was not her moment. This was Pierce’s loss and more than anyone, it was Kylie’s.
“What do you want me to do?” Celine whispered as she looked up into Pierce’s grief stricken face.
“Take her,” he said. “I need a few minutes. Just take her to her room and I’ll be up soon.”
Celine nodded and went over to Kylie and took her hand. “Come, Sweetie,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “Uncle Pierce will come visit you in your room. Let’s just give him some time to rest for a bit.”
Kylie said nothing. For a moment she continued to stare up at Pierce then she nodded, her face now looking far older than her four years, and turned with Celine and walked away.
Kylie Nichols was the bravest little girl Celine knew. Like a miniature soldier she sat quietly, her hands in her lap as Pierce told her how he had gone away to visit her mother after receiving an urgent call from the hospital. Unfortunately, she’d slipped away before he arrived. But the nurses told him she’d passed peacefully, just like falling asleep for a very long time.
“Is Mommy in heaven now?” Kylie asked in a barely audible whisper.
“Yes,” Pierce said, his eyes shiny with emotion. “The angels are taking care of her now.”
Only then did Kylie’s tears begin to flow. As Pierce kneeled on the floor in front of her he opened his arms. She walked into the hug and laid her head on his shoulders. Then her tiny body shook with her sobs.
Pierce let her cry and as she did he rubbed her back soothingly and crooned soft words of comfort into her ear. It took several moments before the crying stilled and Kylie lifted her face to look into Pierce’s eyes. “I wish Mommy could have stayed with me,” she said with a sigh, “but I think Daddy needed her more. I know they’re together now.”
When Celine heard her utter those words she felt like pulling her into her arms and bawling. What a stoic little four year old. She was acting with a maturity far beyond her years, handling her tragedy with a courage that many adults would not have been able to muster.
That night Kylie slept in Celine’s bed, in her arms. There was no way she would have let her sleep alone. As the child slept she stroked her hair until she, too, drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Days later Pierce flew them out to New Haven in his private jet where Kylie said her final goodbye. For her sake it was kept a quiet affair with only close relatives and friends attending. She spent the entire ceremony sitting on Celine’s lap, wrapped in her arms.
When they returned home they were especially nice to Kylie, never letting her spend much time alone but allowing her enough space to grieve. Even Sophia went out of her way to be nice, bringing her toys and a book about angels. Still, it took a few days before the first smile appeared on Kylie’s face and even more days before they heard her laugh. It would take a long time for her to heal but Celine knew that her little soldier would pull through.
***
“I want a change of environment for Kylie. Since the funeral she hasn’t left the house. She needs to get out, to breathe again.” Pierce folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the marble top island in the middle of the kitchen.
He’d been thinking about it for some time now. He wanted to take her to a place where she could play and laugh again, somewhere that didn’t remind her of her loss.