Даниэла Стил - All That Glitters

“It isn’t the same for me either,” she admitted, and they both knew she had made a mistake with Nigel. His lavish spending terrified her. He wanted all of London society to be impressed by them, but that was a costly venture, and Coco was footing the bill.

Nigel was different with Sam when he came home that night. He was quieter and less engaging, and seemed slightly annoyed that Sam was there, as though Sam was spying on him. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but he was really there to see Coco and offer her whatever support she needed, and help her figure out what was going on. Things had changed since she and Nigel got married.

“That’s quite a house you two are working on,” Sam commented with a smile when they sat down to dinner at a pub nearby.

“Coco thinks it’s too big for us,” he answered glumly. “But it won’t be when we start having children. And we can give some spectacular parties there. We’ll be the talk of the town,” he said, lighting up as he said it. It was all there in what he said and his facial expressions. He wanted to make a big splash, a very big splash, at her expense. It didn’t embarrass him that she was paying for everything. He wanted to show off at any price. It was his way of making up for his brother inheriting everything. Now he had more.

Sam commented the next day when they drove to Sussex that he could see that Nigel was different. He blamed the magazine for firing him, and was bitter about it. But he liked not working. And he was annoyed that Coco was making a fuss about buying two houses at once, and thought he should get a job. He was well aware that she could afford what she’d spent, and had no remorse at all over pushing her to do so. He felt entitled to all of it, and was no longer funny and charming, and he was drinking way too much, with an edge to him when he did. And he made constant references to how rich Coco was, which embarrassed her and made Sam angry on her behalf.

The property in Sussex was beautiful and had a sense of history to it, but needed a lot of work due to deferred maintenance. The bones were there, though. When they got it fixed up, it would be an impressive estate, which it once had been, a long time ago.

“He got a great deal on it,” Coco said, trying to make her peace with it. They owned it now, so there was no point complaining. They had to either fix it up and use it, or sell it, maybe even at a profit. Sam was impressed when he saw it. Coco had agreed to keep it and do the work, so they could give the weekend parties that Nigel was dreaming of, like those his wealthy friends gave. He had found a rich American wife to help him achieve his dreams. Sam suspected that had always been his intention, but he didn’t say it to Coco. It was too late for that now, and it would only upset her. She was married to him, and said she loved him, although things had been a lot less pleasant lately.

Over dinner that night, Sam suggested that they come to New York that summer and spend some time in the Hamptons, but Nigel said he didn’t want to go anywhere until the houses were finished. They would be staying in London for the summer. Coco had told Sam he could use the house in Southampton if he wanted, but he said it would feel too odd, and sad, to be there without her. She was what mattered to him, not the house.

Their four days together flew by, and she got plenty of time alone with Sam. Now that he wasn’t working, Nigel disappeared a lot, and said he was working on the house. She wasn’t always sure it was true, but didn’t question him about it. It was easier not to. He got nasty now when she pressed him about anything, like what he spent.

When she took Sam to the airport, he looked at her with all the love he had always felt for her. “Call me if you need me, Coco.” He didn’t like the atmosphere between her and Nigel. It was tense most of the time now, and occasionally the looks he gave her were ugly. He was angry, not grateful for what she was doing for him. He felt entitled to it all.

“You too.”

“Don’t do anything stupid or buy him any more houses.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. And don’t you do anything stupid either, or let your mother boss you around.” He laughed at that.

“I’ll try to come back in the fall to see how the houses look.” She hugged him tight then, and they almost cried when they left each other, but didn’t this time.

She was sad after Sam left, and went home thinking about him. Nigel could see it, and a few days later, he came home and said he had a surprise for her.

“We still haven’t taken our honeymoon, and I thought it would be more fun with friends. We need a vacation. So I chartered a boat for us, with a fabulous owner’s cabin, and five guest cabins.” He looked triumphant as he said it.

“What kind of boat?” She liked boats, but this one sounded like a big deal to her. Her father had chartered one for them in the South of France once years ago, and they’d loved it. But she knew it had been incredibly expensive.

“It’s a motorboat,” Nigel said, smiling at her. “Two hundred and forty feet with a crew of nineteen. We can go wherever we want in the Mediterranean. Italy, France, Croatia. I think Saint Tropez would be fun. We have it for two weeks at the end of August, and when we come back, the house in town will be finished and we can move right in. We should start thinking about a housewarming party.” Using various parts of the house, they could seat a hundred for dinner and dancing.

“Nigel, that’s an enormous yacht. Chartering it for two weeks must have cost a fortune.”

“It did, but it’s our honeymoon. We deserve it, and we can take five couples with us. I’ve already made a list. It’s mostly the people who entertained us all winter.” He pulled a brochure out of a drawer and showed it to her. It was spectacular. She could imagine what it cost, and he expected her to pay for it. He had done it again, but not with a house this time. He hadn’t bought it, he had only chartered it, thank God.

“Nigel, how much did the charter cost?” Her voice was low and tight.

“Do we have to talk about that now? Are you trying to spoil it? You always do these days,” he said nastily, as though she’d refused him anything, which she certainly hadn’t. He had pressured and intimidated her into everything she’d spent.

“I’d like to know. You’re going to have to tell me eventually.” He told her and she nearly fell out of her chair. “And you didn’t think you needed to ask me first?”

“I thought you’d be excited.” She was, about the price of the charter more than the boat. She didn’t give a damn about taking five couples with them to impress them. Saying it was for their honeymoon was a thin excuse, and she saw right through it. He wanted to show off again. Those five couples would talk about the trip for years, and invite them for weekends again and again.

“Nigel, the boat is gorgeous, but it’s insanely expensive.” It was twice the price of the work they were doing on the house, which was bad enough. “Are we committed to it?”

“I signed the contract this morning. I wanted to surprise you.” And since they were married, technically, she was responsible for any debt or expense he incurred. So she was on the hook. She was no match for him. He outsmarted her at every turn.

“I’m going upstairs to lie down,” she said quietly. She didn’t want to fight with him. But he had crossed the line again, in a major way. She wondered how many times he would do it. The boat sounded like a fabulous idea. It even had a grand staircase, a swimming pool, and a helicopter landing pad, but she would never have chartered a boat that size, and certainly not for two weeks.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” he said softly, as she walked away to go upstairs. She turned to look at him. It was hard to believe that he didn’t understand what he was doing, and the kind of money he was spending. It was astronomical. “I just wanted you to be happy. You should have some fun with your money.”