‘Bye, son.’ I shook my head, fighting the smile that was threatening to form on my lips. I didn’t even know if the Ferrari was Gabriel’s or if it was Nico’s. But at least if Ricky was making a joke about borrowing it, that was a good thing.
‘You can’t blame me for asking!’ Ricky chuckled again. ‘Bye, Mum, and stay safe. I’m too old to have a baby brother or sister! Laters!’ He hung up.
I had no intention of becoming a mum again, which I knew could be an issue as given Gabriel’s age, he’d probably want children.
But I couldn’t even think that right now.
I had bigger things to consider.
I needed to speak to Gabriel.
All this time I’d thought he was perfect.
I’d believed that he was the definition of a walking green flag.
I thought he was truthful and honest.
And now I’d just discovered he’d lied to me.
And I needed to know why.
38
LAILA
‘I am back!’ Gabriel entered the villa and walked out to the patio where I was still sitting there trying to get my head around the bombshells that had just been dropped. ‘Room service will deliver breakfast in ten minutes. They are just making the?—’
‘Why didn’t you tell me you sold your app?’ I snapped.
Gabriel froze and his face dropped.
As secrets went, I supposed it wasn’t a bad one. It wasn’t like he was hiding a family or that I’d discovered he was married after telling me he was single. But it was still a secret and I wanted to know why he didn’t want to share it with me, especially when judging by the articles online, it was already public knowledge.
And Gabriel having money was yet another reason why things could never work between us. He led a completely different life.
‘I did not want you to treat me differently.’ He rubbed the back of his head. ‘I just wanted to… feel like me for as long as possible. When people find out I have money, it changes things.’
‘Does your mum know?’
‘Non.’
‘How the hell have you managed to keep it a secret for so long? What if she looks you up online?’
‘Have you met my mother?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘She does not Google people. Unless she wants to find out how rich a prospective lover is or if she thinks the effort will benefit her. It is mostly people who work in the industry who are aware of the sale. The average person in the UK is unlikely to know or care who owns the app and my mother no longer has any friends in France who would tell her if they read something about it in a French newspaper.’
‘Andyoudidn’t think to tell her?’ I asked. Gabriel laughed like it was the most ridiculous suggestion in the world. ‘Why are you laughing?’
‘Again, have you not met my mother? She loves money. If she got the slightest hint that I had made a lot of it, she would take the first Eurostar to Paris and ask for an allowance.Non. The longer she does not know, the better. She is getting nothing from me.’
‘Why don’t you two get on?’
‘Because she…’ His voice trailed off. ‘I try not to speak badly about people. Why were you googling me?’
‘Ricky called. He knows about us. And he knows you have money.’
‘Comment? How?’
‘Let’s go inside,’ I suggested.
