COUNTERPOINT
An original romantic serialFrom Alina Adams the author of "When a Man Loves a Woman" (DELL 4/00), "Annie's Wild Ride" (AVON 8/98), "Inside Figure Skating" (METROBOOKS 11/00 & 9/99), "Thieves at Heart" (AVON 12/95) and "The Fictitious Marquis" (AVON 6/95)
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CHAPTER 53
To say that, during the week that Nicole dropped out of sight Robin was worried about her, would be inaccurate. He did wonder where she was. The same way he imagined a hunter would worry if he entered a jungle known for its man-eating lions only to encounter an eerie quiet; a calm before the storm, as it were. He wondered where Nicole was only inasmuch as he wondered what the hell she was plotting.
Victoria, for her part, was busy wondering about Gabriel's disappearance. He wasn't at the clinic, she stopped by to check, but Sheila insisted she had no idea where he was. He wasn't at his apartment. Victoria called and called and even drove by once and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Considering what'd happened with Douglas, she didn't blame Gabriel for wanting some time alone, but she was, nevertheless, worried about him.
It never occurred to either Victoria or Robin, however, that the missing pair could be together. That would just have been too weird.
But not as weird as, one afternoon, Nicole simply barging unannounced into Robin's Cooper Shipping office, and, without a word of explanation, dropping a sheaf of documents in his lap.
She looked different, Robin thought in the fleeting instant between her confidently striding in and the torrential downpour of paper raining past his face like crisp sleet. Was it her clothes? She seemed to be dressed particularly modestly. Navy, tailored pants, and a white blouse. It was new look for her, but hardly an unflattering one. And her hair. She had it pulled back off her face and swept up, a classic style Robin also couldn't ever recall seeing her sport. And then there was her make-up. She seemed to be only wearing one layer. Well, two, tops.
Robin supposed it was all supposed to mean something. But, he hardly had time to ponder the implications. Not once the words 'Divorce Decree' jumped out at him from amongst the torrent of papers raining down on him, smacking Robin between the eyes with the subtlety of, well, with the subtlety of Nicole's new look.
He'd spent so many years trying to bully, bribe, and cajole her into at least taking a look at what he barely dared hope these papers were, that, upon finally seeing them in the flesh, all Robin could think was that this was some sort of sick joke. And he reacted with instinctive anger.
"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
Nicole didn't seem surprised by his outburst. To be fair, she was the only person he'd ever known who always seemed to accept his bad humor without question. "You've forgotten how to read in the past week?" Nicole inquired politely.
Robin let her jibe pass. It had actually been years since he'd even bothered to pretend to be listening to her.
"Where have you been, anyway?" he asked as he sifted through the papers. "What kind of game are you playing, now?"
"It's your precious divorce decree." Nicole flicked her finger at the bottom line. "Signed and even notarized."
"Very funny."
"Am I laughing?"
Robin looked down at the papers. "What is this?"
"God, but, you're slow. I'm starting to reconsider my high opinion of Harvard."
He smirked, ignoring the insistent hope popping in his chest like a soap bubble, the one whispering that this could be the real thing. He couldn't take the risk of believing it. Too much was at stake for Robin to let down his guard and allow Nicole to play him for a fool. He had to stay focused. Not just for his own sake, but for Victoria's.
And so, even while smirking, Robin chose his words with great care. "Let's just say, for the sake of argument - "
"Oh, lets."
"That this is - "
"Oh, it is, believe me."
"Why now? Why all of a sudden?"
"Gabriel," Nicole said simply. To her, there was no more to be said; that one word easily encapsulated everything she was thinking and feeling.
"Gabriel?"
"Your big brother, remember?"
"You know where Gabriel is? Victoria's been going crazy trying to find - "
"Robin, we seem to have stopped talking about me. You know how I hate that."
He did actually. It was one of the few things they had in common.
"All right. Fine. Gabriel." He was loathe to lead her off-track. Not when things were suddenly getting so intriguing. "You're signing our divorce papers because of Gabriel?"
"Yes."
She looked so - Robin couldn't put his finger on it - was confident the word? He couldn't be sure. In the past, Robin had seen Nicole confident of her looks, her allure, her ability to enchant men and her ability to manipulate them. But, never in the middle of a conversation that didn't involve flirtatious double-entendres, had Robin ever seen Nicole look so poised or so sure of herself and her actions. To be honest, it sort of freaked him out.
"Gabriel convinced you to give me a divorce?"
"You could say that."
"Why? Because of Victoria?"
"Oh, God, no." Nicole practically laughed in his face. "Gabriel wants his precious sister with you about as much as he wants me with you. Your new brother thinks you're scum, Robin."
"Then why would he - "
"Why does it matter? I'm giving you what you want. Be happy. And a little gratitude wouldn't be amiss, either."
Robin's head spun. A part of him insisted that he was hearing good news. Great news. The best news ever. But, the dominant part of him insisted that there had to be a catch. None of this made any sense. It was too good to be true. There had to be some part of the equation he was missing here.
"Okay," Robin said. "Fine, you won't tell me Gabriel's reasons for talking you into giving me a divorce. But, the least you can do is tell me yours for going along with it."
Nicole smiled. She looked as if she'd been waiting, waiting and licking her chops, until somebody thought to ask her just that question.
"Because," unlike Robin who was choosing his words with care lest the wrong one set her off, Nicole seemed to be dwelling over the taste of each syllable simply so she could savor each morsel. "I know something Gabriel doesn't."
"Which is?"
"None of this matters." She indicated the divorce papers. "Whether we're legally married or not, the fact remains, you always come back to me in the end. I'm the only woman who can put up with you, and you know it. So, the way I see it, go ahead, get your divorce. Run back to Victoria Morgan clutching it in your little puppy teeth. In the meantime, I get to sit back and watch it happen all over again. Frankly, darling, I can't wait to see you do to her what you've spent years doing to me."