He frowned. ‘I promise I never received any messages.’
‘Well, I did leave them.’
‘I’ll look into it, see what happened to them.’
Gabriel thought that if he was trying to pacify Daisy he wasn’t going the right way about it and wondered just how well this man did know his daughter. They’d obviously spent some time together over the years because she seemed to be fairly familiar with him, if a little distant, but something wasn’t right, that was certain.
‘I shouldn’t bother,’ Daisy said. ‘It’s too late now anyway.’ She walked towards the door. ‘I think I’d better go in case I say something I might regret.’ She looked at Gabriel. ‘Thank you for letting us chat in here,’ she said. ‘And I’m sorry I was rude earlier. None of this is your fault.’
He followed her to the door. ‘It’s fine. Anything I can do to help.’ He instinctively took her by the shoulders and bent down to give her a kiss on her cheek.
Daisy left the room without saying anything further to her father or his wife.
Gabriel turned and held the door open. He looked at the couple, both lost in their own torment. ‘I hope you all find a way to overcome what’s happened.’
Peter waited for Stella to leave the room. ‘So do I,’ he said.
Gabriel closed the door after them and walked over to the office window, staring out at the car park at the back. He hadn’t seen Daisy going to her room, so assumed she must have returned to reception. How like Daisy, he thought, to have a shock like this and immediately return to work. His heart contracted. Seeing her so stunned and hurt had upset him. Despite her seeming resilience and constant insistence that she was perfectly fine by herself, he couldn’t help thinking that everyone needed someone in their lives, and at the moment it seemed to him that she didn’t have anyone at all.
As he stared out of the window and went over whathe’d just witnessed, he could see why she’d refused to be with him when he was still married to Bella. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to push her back in their affections. He didn’t blame her. He needed to sort out this divorce, and as quickly as possible if he wasn’t going to lose his chance of being with her.
He sat down at the desk and dialled his lawyer. He was put through immediately. ‘Hi, this is Gabriel Wilson,’ he said.
‘Gabriel, I’ll have to be brief,’ replied his lawyer, an old family friend. ‘I’ve got a client waiting in reception for a meeting.’
‘I was wondering if you’ve been able to find a way that Bella and I can bring this divorce forward somehow? Your secretary seemed to think it was possible.’
‘Unfortunately my secretary is new and doesn’t fully understand the divorce laws. Other than in special situations – of which your divorce is not one – your request for a divorce cannot be heard by the court until you’ve been married for at least three years. I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do apart from wait.’
He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. ‘There must be some way we can make it happen,’ he said, trying not to sound pleading. ‘I’ve met someone,’ he admitted, hoping it would help sway the lawyer, but knowing that if there was any way he could help Gabriel he would have done so by now.
‘I thought as much,’ he said, sounding sympathetic. ‘But there really isn’t anything I can do. Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush, but if I do come up with anything I’ll let you know. I can’t see it happening though. I’m sorry, but I won’t give you false hope.’
Gabriel sighed. ‘I’m grateful for your honesty. Thank you.’
He hung up and replaced the phone on the receiver. Lowering his head into his hands he closed his eyes. Hewas usually so positive about everything, but this time there didn’t seem to be an upside to his situation. He needed to stop panicking in order to think more clearly. There had to be a way to sort this out.
After leaving the hotel for the day, Gabriel headed over to his grandmother’s house for a bite to eat.
‘What’s wrong, darling?’ Lydia asked, when he could only manage half of the omelette she’d cooked him. ‘You’ve barely touched your food and you usually have such a good appetite. Is there something wrong at the hotel?’
He shook his head.
‘Then is there a problem between you and Daisy?’
He smiled at her. ‘You know me so well,’ he said, wondering how it must feel to Daisy not to have someone like his grandmother in her life. ‘I’ve discovered that in Jersey a request for a divorce can’t be heard by the court during the first three years of a marriage. I’ve only been married to Bella for nine months, so I can’t get divorced for over two years and Daisy won’t consider being with me if I’m married to someone else.’
He watched his grandmother mull over this news. ‘Three years? That’s ridiculous.’
‘What am I going to do?’
She thought for a moment. ‘Does Daisy know that you and Bella aren’t a couple in any way?’
‘Yes, I’ve told her and I’m pretty sure she believes me.’
‘It’s not as if you and Bella are still together and you’re seeing Daisy behind her back,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘I don’t understand why she’s got a problem seeing you.’
‘I understand her reasons,’ he said, thinking about what he’d learned of her mother’s situation with herfather. When his grandmother shrugged one shoulder and raised her eyebrows wishing for him to enlighten her, he shook his head. ‘I can’t tell you, it’s her story. But I do know why she feels this way. I just don’t know how to sort things out between us.’
