“Even for a Strickland, it’s not always about the money.”
“Funny you should mention that. I just had a talk with your father and came to the conclusion that it’s not always about the money for him, either.”
“What do you mean?”
“He wanted to make sure that I knew you weren’t going to inherit a dime from the Strickland trust. He was trying to protect you from being married for your nonexistent money.”
“Oh.” Startled, Abby took a moment to process that. “Huh.”
“Can we leave now?”
“Yes,” Abby said. “We can leave. In fact, I can’t wait to get out of here.”
31
SAM GOT BEHIND THE WHEEL, BUT HE DID NOT IMMEDIATELYfire up the engine. He contemplated the warmly lit windows of the auditorium across the street. There was still a large crowd inside.
“Tell me about Kane Thurston,” he said.
Startled, Abby gave him a quick, searching look. “There’s not much to tell.” She buckled her seat belt. “He wasn’t the first man I’ve dated who thought I was in line for a share of the Strickland money. People make that mistake all the time.”
“Because everyone makes a show of pretending that you’re all just one big happy family?”
“The power of branding.”
“Who told Kane that you weren’t fated to inherit the Strickland family fortune?”
“I did,” Abby said. “As soon as I realized what he was after. Felt like an idiot for a while, because I can usually spot the con artists right away. But to give Kane his due, he is a very, very good con artist. Hedidn’t fool Gwen and Nick, though. They saw right through him the first time they met him and warned me.”
“You didn’t doubt their verdict?”
“No, although I went into denial for a while before I admitted to myself that they were right. In the end, I knew I had to trust Nick and Gwen. And once I started looking at Kane with clear eyes, I realized they were right. Sorry you got the lecture from Dad. I’ve tried to make it clear to everyone in the family that you are just a client, but they all seem to be assuming the worst-case scenario.”
“The worst-case scenario being that I might actually want to marry you?”
She winced. “I didn’t mean it quite like that. Sorry. It’s been a difficult evening.”
“I assume your stepmother wanted to talk to you about Dawson’s financial problems?”
“What else? She’s desperate to recover the family fortune, in part because she wants to end the marriage to Dad. She figures my father already has one foot out the door, which is a logical assumption. If the book and the TV series do take off, he’ll probably move on.”
“He did say something about that. I think he’s given up on plan A.”
“Which was?”
“Hoping that Orinda Strickland would kick the bucket first. He seems to think that if she wasn’t in the picture, he would be able to convince Diana to tear up the prenup.”
“Maybe once upon a time he could have done that. Dad has occasionally been known to use his knowledge of psychology to manipulate others. Got a hell of a track record in that department. But it’s too late now. Diana definitely wants out. The only reason she’s hesitating is because she does not want to end up broke.”
“Why did she stay with him this long?” Sam asked.
“Didn’t want to give her mother the satisfaction of being able to sayI-told-you-so.” Abby shook her head. “Can you believe it? Spend nearly two decades with a man because you don’t want to admit your mother was right about him?”
Sam cranked the engine. “Families.”
“A constant source of entertainment.”
“They keep life interesting. You really think your dad hung around this long because of the Strickland money?”
