Betrayal

Meeting her hurt gaze head on, Fin despised himself right then. His discomfort deepened, took another uncomfortable dive then surfaced again leaving a trail of anger and profound regret in its wake. As much as he’d been loyal to his friend, Fin had had no idea what he was getting into when he’d agreed to do him this ‘small favour’. And it was only now when faced with the consequences of Nick’s behaviour that he realized what deep implications it had all round. Brenna didn’t deserve this. She’d done a damn good job as far as he could detect of bringing up their daughter alone. The last thing she needed right now was the kind of routine invasion of privacy that Nick and many of their colleagues had to contend with. This wasn’t Hollywood and she had every right to just be allowed to get on with her life unimpeded.

‘Nick’s enjoyed terrific success in his work. He directed two of the top box-office rated movies last year. He just reached a point where he knew it wasn’t the be all and end all, I guess … he wanted family. He wanted to finally know what it was really like to be a father. That’s what he told me, anyway. I honestly don’t believe he wants to hurt you, Brenna. It was Andrea who pressed him to bring their wedding date forward. They’d originally planned to get married in the spring. Knowing Nick, I can honestly say he wouldn’t have wanted things to get as complicated as this.’

‘That doesn’t help me or Nancy, does it?’

‘Look … why don’t you both try to get away for a while? Maybe even out of the country? At least until things die down a bit.’

The ache in Brenna’s throat got worse.

‘Get away? It’s impossible. I have to work, Fin. I’m our total means of support – mine, Nancy’s and my mother’s.’

‘Nothing’s impossible,’ he answered. ‘I’m on a month’s leave. I’d planned to tour round the country for a while before heading off to see a bit of Europe. I’ve even rented a house. You and Nancy could come with me. You won’t have to worry about money. Whatever you need you can have, I mean it. I’m a wealthy man and I don’t have a family of my own to take care of. I’d gladly do this for you and the baby.’

Something tingled inside her at the way he referred to Nancy as the ‘baby’. It was the same term she often used herself when referring to her daughter. But acknowledging Fin’s kindness was one thing, accepting it was quite another. And in Brenna’s book it was totally out of the question.

‘None of this is even anything to do with you. You shouldn’t feel remotely responsible for our welfare. It’s bad enough that Nick would put you in such an untenable position in the first place. Thank you, but I can’t possibly accept your offer. Whatever happens concerning the Press I’ll just have to deal with it in the best way I can.’

Fin scowled. He found it almost unbearably painful that he had to tarnish her innocence with the tawdry truth.

‘You can’t possibly know what you’re letting yourself in for,’ he said. ‘Those people are about as mercenary as they come. They’d sell their own mothers to get a story! If you think you can appeal to their better natures, you’re wasting your time because they don’t even understand the concept. They’ll camp on your doorstep morning, noon and night, they’ll follow you to work … go wherever you go. You’ll have flashbulbs popping in your face every which way you turn. Listen to me, honey, I know what I’m talking about.’

It was a nightmare scenario he was painting for her and that was a fact. Moving her head despairingly from side to side, Brenna tried hard to ward off the unwanted images that were gathering like storm clouds inside her mind.