The Man She Should Have Married

Olivia needed him...and Eve...to be strong.

He thought about calling his parents, but he didn’t. The last thing Olivia needed was for his mother to come charging over to the festival with her accusations and criticisms.

But after more than two hours had gone by, and one by one the search teams reported in with no success, Matt knew he could no longer delay notifying his parents. He waited until Olivia was busy with Officer Nicholls, and then he walked a few feet away and placed the call.

His mother answered. “Hello, Matthew,” she said. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Matt gritted his teeth at this subtle dig. She never missed a chance to let him know he wasn’t living up to her expectations. “Listen, Mom. I need to tell you something. Now, don’t get hysterical, but I’m at the festival, and... Thea is missing. The police are here, and—”

“I see,” his mother said, interrupting. “And just how did that happen? Just exactly how did my granddaughter go missing?”

Matt blinked. What was wrong with his mother? She didn’t sound the least bit upset, just disdainful.

“What happened is,” he said in the most measured tone he could manage, “Olivia’s family is here celebrating her mother’s birthday, and her mother felt sick and fainted, and in all the commotion, Thea wandered off. The authorities organized search parties, but they haven’t found—”

“Of course they haven’t found her.”

“What the hell?” Matt said, losing his temper. “Aren’t you even upset? Your only grandchild is missing and all you can do is imply the security people, the police, aren’t doing their—”

“Do not swear at me, Matthew,” she said, interrupting him again. “I’m not upset because Thea is here.”

“She’s what?”

“You heard me. She’s here. Where she should be. Safe and sound. More than I can say for when she’s in her so-called mother’s so-called care.”

If his mother had been physically in his presence, Matt knew he might have choked her, he was that angry. “And just how did she happen to be there? Did someone find her and bring her to you?”

“I found her. I was at the festival myself, earlier, and I saw her wandering all alone, that family of her mother’s nowhere to be seen, so I did what any grandmother would do. I scooped her up and I brought her home. She’s even now upstairs playing happily in the nursery. In fact, I can hear her talking. I think she’s on Buddy Boy.” Buddy Boy was the name of the rocking horse that had been in Vivienne’s family since she was a child. “You know how she loves Buddy Boy and how she talks to him, just like her father did when he was a boy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back—”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Matt said, doing his own interrupting now. His heart was once again hammering, but not in fear this time. He felt murderous rage, mixed with disbelief. How could his mother be so downright cruel? He was appalled by Vivienne’s behavior and the way she had so callously disregarded the fear and worry Olivia and her family were feeling. Hell, that he’d been feeling! And all those people who had been searching for hours. The police, the security people...it all boggled his mind.

He disconnected the call and strode to where Olivia was still talking to Tom Nicholls. “Call off the search party,” he told Tom. “Thea’s been found. She’s at my mother’s.”

Ignoring Nicholls’s startled expression and the inevitable questions, Matt took Olivia’s arm and said, “C’mon, let’s go get her. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

Eve, who had heard the exchange, met Matt’s eyes. She looked stunned, but didn’t say anything.

“She’ll call you, or I will, after we get Thea,” he said. “Tell the others.”

Eve nodded and Matt knew she’d take care of things there.

“Where’d you park?” Olivia asked, her face beginning to portray her conflicting emotions. Matt still found it hard to believe his mother had done this unspeakable thing. To take Thea home and never call Olivia to tell her where Thea was defied every standard of decent behavior. He’d always known how manipulative and controlling his mother was—and how insensitive to the feelings of others when they interfered with what she wanted—but he’d never imagined she was actually heartless and devoid of compassion for a fellow human being.

“On Waterside,” he said. “This way.” Grabbing Olivia’s hand, he led her through the crowd and together, they hurried to where his BMW was parked. He hit his remote, the doors unlocked, and Olivia was in the passenger seat before he could even think of helping her. In minutes, they were on their way.

As he drove, he quickly told her a sanitized version of his conversation with his mother. From the way Olivia’s throat worked, he knew what she must be feeling, yet all she said was, “I don’t really care why your mother did what she did...or what she said. I’m just thankful Thea is okay. And I just want to get her and take her home.”

“I know.” But he also knew when she’d had time to really think about this, Olivia would feel differently. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up forbidding his mother to see Thea again. Hell, if he was in Olivia’s shoes, he might consider moving away from Crandall Lake to put as much distance between her and his mother as she could.

Even the thought that Olivia might move away made him want to do something terrible to his mother.

Barely twelve minutes had elapsed since his phone conversation with Vivienne before Matt and Olivia were pulling into the long drive leading to his parents’ stately home. Matt parked in the front turnaround, and again Olivia was out of the car and dashing up the shallow front steps before he managed to get out himself.

Olivia jabbed at the doorbell, but Matt, who had a key to the house, shoved it into the lock and opened the door himself. The first thing he saw was his mother, looking coolly elegant in tailored black pants paired with a black-and-white geometric top, her expertly colored blond hair in a chin-length style she’d recently adopted. Vivienne was halfway down the curving staircase that led to the second floor. She stopped at their entrance and lifted her head defiantly. Her blue eyes met Matt’s. She ignored Olivia.

“I’ve come for my daughter,” Olivia said, her voice only betraying a tiny tremor.

Vivienne turned her icy glare to Olivia. “You’re wasting your time, because I won’t allow you to take her. It’s quite obvious she’s not safe with you, and I can’t have you putting her in danger again.”

Matt attempted to interrupt her, but she ignored him and kept going. “I’m not surprised, though. I’ve always known you weren’t a fit mother. You’re just lucky I’m the one who found her. That some crazy person didn’t abduct her.”

“Mother—” Matt stopped, took a deep breath to keep his voice calm in case they could be heard upstairs. “You can’t keep Thea here. Olivia is her mother, and she has every right to take Thea home with her. Now before—”

“Before what?” his mother said, her voice rising a notch. “Are you going to physically manhandle me? Threaten me? Your own mother? You’d better be careful, Matthew, or I will—”

Before Vivienne could finish her sentence, Olivia ran to the stairway and pushed past his mother, nearly causing Vivienne to lose her balance, but she managed to grab the banister in time. Matt didn’t hesitate. He, too, went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn’t look at his mother as he passed her. He didn’t trust himself. He couldn’t remember ever being this angry.

Olivia had already entered the old nursery where both he and Mark, as well as their younger sister, Madeleine, had spent the major part of their childhood. By the time Matt caught up, he sensed rather than saw his mother a few feet behind him.

Amelia, who had been the Britton family housekeeper since before Matt was born, sat in a child-sized chair as she watched Thea, sitting across from her, happily putting together a puzzle. “I’m sorry, Mr. Matt,” Amelia said, looking up as he entered the room. “But she wouldn’t listen to me when I told your mother she should call Miss Olivia.”

“I know this isn’t your fault,” Matt said as Olivia, with a cry, ran to Thea. She picked her up and kissed her over and over again.

“Mommy! Stop!” Thea said, looking at Matt. “Unca Matt!” She tried to squirm out of her mother’s grasp, raising her arms to Matt.

“Oh, sweetheart! I thought you were lost,” Olivia said. “I’m just so happy you’re not.”

“I wasn’t lost. Mimi found me.” Mimi was the pet name Vivienne had insisted Thea call her, saying the title of grandmother implied she was old. Matt had rolled his eyes when he heard that one.

“Good. I must thank Mimi,” Olivia said, still hugging Thea.

“Mommy, let me down,” Thea said again.

“We’re taking her home now,” Matt said to his mother, who stood behind him.

“You’re going to be sorry for this,” Vivienne muttered under her breath.

Matt knew she was keeping her voice down because she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Thea. Nor did he, and he knew Olivia felt the same way. They might have their issues with his mother, and she might be extremely misguided, but she was still Thea’s grandmother, and Thea loved her Mimi and Poppa.

“Mommy!” Thea shouted. “I said I want Unca Matt!”

Olivia, meeting Matt’s eyes, finally let Thea loose, and she ran into his arms. Matt picked her up and held her close. Laughing, she wrapped her little arms around him and snuggled in. If someone had asked Matt how he felt at this moment, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to put his emotions into words. His heart was too full. Right here in this room were the two people in the world who meant the most to him, and somehow, some way, he had to figure out how to keep them both safe forever. But at the present moment, he just needed to get them out of here.

“Where’s Dad?” he asked his mother as he motioned for Olivia to precede him out of the room.

“Playing golf,” his mother said coldly. “Where else?”

“Tell him I’ll call him later.”