by Cassia Leo
Luke
After sending Ian back to Jubilee Gardens to make sure Brina and Rhianne didn’t return, we left the Hudson House and arrived at the private hotel entrance on Davies Street a few minutes before three. The doorman nodded as he held the door for us to enter the Causerie—the hotel bar. I carried Lucas in and Violet entered ahead of us. The bar at Claridge’s was known for being one of the best in the world. The great, late Spencer Tracy once said, “Not that I intend to die, but when I do, I don’t want to go to Heaven. I want to go to Claridge’s.” It took a great deal of self-control not to sidle up to the bar with Lucas in my arms and ask for their best bourbon to wash away the stress of the past thirty minutes.
“The tearoom is near the lobby, isn’t it?” I asked Violet, and she smiled at me over her shoulder.
“Yes, tea is served in the foyer. I studied the hotel website this morning,” she replied, slowing down so she could walk next to me. “One of the bellmen offered to give me a tour of the facilities, but I didn’t think that was appropriate.”
“Appropriate?”
“I just meant…because I’m here as your employee. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to spend my time…elsewhere.”
I didn’t bother responding to this. It seemed that any amount of interaction with Violet lately only seemed to encourage this juvenile flirtation. I was beginning to think that asking her to help plan a surprise second honeymoon for Brina and me was a huge mistake. Maybe hiring her was my first mistake.
When we arrived at the foyer, I set Lucas down, but he held fast to my hand. The hostess didn’t bother looking for our reservation. Though we did have a reservation, I was the kind of man who didn’t need one, and I’d stayed in the hotel enough times for the staff to know that.
They sat us at a table, and my nerves were on edge as I lifted Lucas onto the chair on my left and Violet took the seat on my right, so we’re all seated on the same side of the table. Ian sat across from Lucas, where he would pretend to be a friend having lunch with us, but his presence didn’t make me any less anxious. Brina knew how to hail a cab and find her way back to the hotel, but I didn’t feel comfortable being here without her and Rhianne, knowing that Rhianne was the only reason we made this reservation.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon. Brina knows how much this means to Rhi,” Violet said.
She was the only one who called Rhianne by the nickname. Though Rhianne liked it, I was beginning to understand why it bothered Brina so much.
“Please refer to her as Mrs. Maxwell.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
She shifted in her seat, and I got the feeling she was trying to discreetly move her chair closer to mine.
“Daddy, I ran after the birds in the park,” Lucas said as he clumsily pushed his hair away from his pink cheeks.
“Yes, I heard. Next time, I want you to stay close to Mommy and Rhianne. If you want to chase the birds or play on the toys, you ask Mommy. Understood?”
His face was serious as he nodded. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a hug as I kissed the top of his head. He used his five-year-old arms to push me away, and I laughed as I let him go.
“You’re growing up too fast, little man.”
“I’m not a man!” he insisted.
This shouted declaration made me think of the day my father kicked me out when I was seventeen. I wasn’t a man, but I had to become one very quickly. My father’s stroke had left him unable to communicate during his final days. But I was certain that if he could have spoken to me when I was standing at his bedside, his last words would have probably been, “Don’t make the same mistakes I made.”
I would never cheat on Brina the way my father cheated on my mother, but I was beginning to think Violet took this job in hopes that I was the type of man who would hurt my family like that. I was not my father, and that was the best lesson my father ever taught me.
“Can we talk about the tickets?” Violet whispered.
I glanced down at Lucas, and he looked up at me with a smile in his eyes. “Not here,” I replied.
Lucas was not the type to keep quiet, and I didn’t want him ruining the surprise for Brina.
“But I need to call the theater to arrange for—”
“I said not here.”
“Just tell me whether you want dress circle or stall seating.”
“Daddy, I want to see The Lion King,” Lucas declared as a waiter arrived to fill our glasses with water and Laurent Perrier champagne.
“Lucas, we will see Simba later,” I assured him.
Violet continued undaunted. “I just need to know what show you want to see and which seats you want so they can shuffle the seating arrangements.”
She was not going to give up. I leaned in to whisper the name of the show and the seating level in her ear, so Lucas couldn’t hear and spill the beans to Brina. Violet giggled and reached for her ear as if my whispering had tickled her. I quickly pulled back so she didn’t get the wrong idea.
She glanced over her shoulder then smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
Chapter 8
Brina
After an excruciating twelve-minute delay on Brooke Street due to protests at the U.S. Embassy, we arrived at the main entrance to Claridge’s. I didn’t bother asking the cabbie to drive us around the corner to the private entrance. I just wanted out of this cab. I tipped him heftily and prayed the doorman recognized Rhianne and me as I raced up the sidewalk toward the hotel entrance. The smile and the tiny nod the doorman cast in my direction as he opened the door filled me with relief.
I raced across the black and white checkered tile in the lobby toward the foyer. I was ten minutes late for our three o’clock reservation, but that was amazing considering everything we had to go through to get there. I approached the hostess and she immediately recognized me.
She nodded toward the dining area. “Mr. Maxwell is waiting.”
I’d only taken a few steps into the foyer when I spotted Lucas, Luke, and Violet at a table forty feet away. My heart stopped.
Luke was leaning toward Violet, his lips on her ear.
My hold on Rhianne weakened as my muscles slackened. I set her down on the floor and she immediately reached toward me to pick her up again. But all I could do was watch in horror as Luke pulled his lips away from Violet’s ear. She glanced at me over her shoulder then smiled at Luke with such admiration as she giggled—a tinkling sound that vibrated cruelly inside my chest.
“Mommy,” Rhianne whined. “Mommy, pleeeease!”
Tearing my gaze away from Luke, I scooped up my baby girl. I squeezed her in my arms and she grunted from the force of my hug.
“Mommy!” she complained.
“Sorry, baby,” I whispered as I loosened my grip.
I followed the hostess toward the table, my heart pounding harder with each step I took. I felt as if I was having an out-of-body experience. This was happening to someone else. My husband would never cheat on me. This was someone else’s life.
We reached the table, and the hostess with the perfectly coifed bun motioned to the seat next to Ian. Luke immediately stood up. Was that a guilty look on his face?
No. Oh, God, no.
“Baby,” he breathed, and the very sound of his voice made me sick.
My vision blurred, the sound of blood rushed through my ears as I clumsily helped Rhianne into a chair next to Ian. “I’m going to work out. I…I have to go.”
I couldn’t confront Luke or Violet here. Not in front of Rhianne and Lucas.
“Brina,” Luke called to me as I made my way toward the lobby with haste.
His voice faded as the sound of my heartbeat thrumming in my ears grew too loud to disregard. The cries of the heart are too loud to ignore. I read this somewhere. I didn’t realize until now that this was not a metaphor.
Chapter 9
Luke
By the time I climbed the two flights of stairs to the first floor and arrived at the lift, Brina was gone. I
darted down the hallway to the emergency stairwell. There was a chance I might get to the penthouse level before the 115-year-old elevator.
Taking the stairs three at a time, I thought of what Brina must have seen in the foyer. I whispered the name of the show in Violet’s ear so Lucas wouldn’t blurt it out to Brina before tomorrow night’s surprise. I already chartered a boat and hired a crew to host a romantic midnight dinner as we sailed down the Thames. Then we were going to board the jet and take a four-day second honeymoon to Paris. I’d been fantasizing about all the ways I was going to have her: on the boat, on the jet, in Paris with the Eifel Tower framed in the window. It was such a fucking cliché that the very act of keeping this trip a secret would be the very reason it failed. I should have planned this honeymoon with Brina from the beginning.
Reaching the penthouse level, I burst through the stairwell door into the corridor. Racing across the plush blue carpet, I stopped at the door to the penthouse.
“Don’t open it,” I ordered the security guard as he reached for the door handle. “Give me a moment.”
I took a few deep breaths to slow my heart rate after that epic race through the stairwell. My marriage might very well depend on the next few minutes inside this hotel suite. I needed to approach Brina calmly.
I didn’t realize how true this was until the guard opened the door for me and I glimpsed Brina through the open glass doors leading out onto the rooftop terrace. A soft breeze swept her hair up as she leaned over the steel railing.
Chapter 10
Brina
I closed my eyes, my grip on the warm steel rail loosening as I attempted to get closer to the breeze. I could breathe out here.
My whole body pulsed with the aching memory of what I just saw. The memory played over and over in my mind, torturing me. It wasn’t even the act of Luke pressing his lips to Violet’s ear that was most shocking and hurtful. It was the fact that he did it out in the open, in front of Lucas—in front of everyone! Making a fool of me and a mockery of our marriage.
All this time, all my suspicions about Violet were not as silly as I tried to convince myself they were. Maybe this was their way of telling me. They knew I wouldn’t cause a scene at one of the most dignified afternoon teas in all of London. They were probably down there enjoying their champagne and tea without me.
Maybe Violet was pouring Rhianne some tea while Rhianne giggled. Maybe Luke was laughing along, or maybe he had his hand on Violet’s thigh as he leaned in to whisper something naughty in her ear.
“Brina.”
My muscles tensed painfully at the sound of his voice, and my torso fell forward as I lost my grip on the railing. In the span of half a second, my feet lifted away from the slate tiled terrace and my body tipped forward to the point of no return. I was going to die. Just like my brother did.
Chapter 11
Luke
My first instinct, as I flew toward her, was to grab a chunk of her t-shirt in my hand to slow her momentum. Then I wrap my other arm around her chest and pull her backwards. I locked my arms around her chest and waist as I pulled her tight against my chest.
“What are you doing?!” I demanded.
“You scared the hell out of me and I slipped! Let go of me!”
She attempted to wriggle out of my grasp, but I only tightened my arms around her. “Get off me! You asshole!”
“Brina, stop!” I commanded. “You don’t know what you saw!”
“Don’t touch me!” she cried, her fingers prying at my hands, which were locked tightly around her. “I can’t believe you would do this to me!”
“Stop fighting and listen!” I insisted.
“You’re hurting me!”
I let go immediately and she turned around and slapped me. “Fuck!” I growled as I rubbed my face to quiet the sting.
“How does it feel?!” she shrieked as she stormed off into the living room. “I knew you were doing something behind my back, but this?!”
Following after her, I was struck by how ridiculous I’d been to assume I could keep anything from Brina. She came into my life six years ago as a professional spy, and she had always known me better than any woman ever had. What was I thinking?
“Baby, what you saw in there was not what you think you saw.”
“Don’t call me baby or I may vomit.”
She stopped for a moment at the bedroom door and appeared to swallow her disgust. I seized the opportunity to grab her hand to keep her from entering the bedroom.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Brina, you’re making a huge mistake here. What you saw downstairs was Violet and me discussing our plans for tomorrow.”
She dry heaved again. “Don’t say her name. And, for God’s sake, don’t tell me about your plans with her!”
“Not my plans with her! My plans with you!” I shouted, unable to keep my cool any longer. “We’ve been planning a surprise for you!”
She closed her eyes and drew in a stuttered breath. “What surprise?”
“The surprise you didn’t know about, because we were trying to keep it a fucking surprise. A second honeymoon.” I was breathing heavily with all the fear and adrenaline coursing through me. I couldn’t lose Brina. I wouldn’t fucking survive.
“Baby, please listen to me.” I placed my fingers under her chin and slowly tilted her face up. “I’ve been planning this second honeymoon for us for over a month. I just wanted to be alone with you. With no kids. No nannies. No fucking security guards. Just you and me. Please tell me you believe me.” Her eyes were locked on my mouth, as if she could discern the truth there. I tilted her face up a little more. “Look me in the eye. I would never, ever betray you. You’re not just my wife. You’re the air I breathe and the fucking blood in my veins. I can’t live without you. Do you understand me?”
She nodded, and I let out a huge sigh as I wiped the tears from the outer corners of her eyes. I took her face in my hands and pressed my lips to her forehead, drawing in a breath to take in the scent of her hair.
“I hate you for putting me through this,” she said as she pushed me away. “I’ve been going crazy for weeks thinking you were cheating on me.”
She entered the bedroom, and I followed closely behind her.
“I was wrong to plan this without you. I just wanted you to be surprised. I wanted this honeymoon to begin the way we did six years ago, with a secret that brought us closer together. I never imagined Violet would go to these lengths for a stupid crush. She’s fired. I don’t give a fuck if she’s Jerry’s niece. That girl is dead to me.”
She stopped at the foot of the bed and I stopped close enough so that my chest was pressed against her back. She sighed as I swept her hair over her shoulder to expose the back of her neck.
“I’m sorry I worried you,” I whispered in her ear. “Let me make it up to you. Let me give you a honeymoon you’ll never forget.”
Chapter 12
Brina
Though I knew Luke was telling me the truth, and I had nothing more to fear, I couldn’t stop shaking. As if my body was having trouble catching up with the truth.
“Why are you shaking?” he whispered as his hand came to rest on my hip. “Are you okay?”
He turned me around and his eyes were like a signal flare guiding me back from the depths of my wrecked soul. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his shoulder. His arms encircled my shoulders as he held me firmly and kissed the top of my head.
“You owe me,” I said, and the rumble of his laughter was comforting against my cheek. “Where are we going for our honeymoon?”
“No way. I’ve spent too long planning this and nearly lost you for this secret. I’m not giving it away now. But I will tell you that we’re leaving after the benefit tomorrow, and you may want to bring an umbrella.”
I pulled my head back to look at the devilish grin on his face. “Umbrella? It’s not raining tomorrow.”
“I’ll give you a hint.” He grabbed my hand and twirled
me around as he hummed a very familiar tune.
“Oh, my God! Singing In the Rain!” I shrieked as I threw my arms around his neck.
He laughed as he lifted me off the carpet. “I told you the surprise would be worth it.”
Leaning my head back, I couldn’t help but sigh as I realized what an idiot I was to even think Luke could cheat on me. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“I’m sorry I gave you a reason to doubt me.”
I softly pressed my lips to his and allowed my mouth to hover there for a moment as I breathed him in. “I trust you,” I whispered, because I knew that was what needed to be said more than anything else.
He smiled as he pinched my chin. “I trust you most.”
Chapter 13
Luke
The charity dinner for the Give Love Foundation went spectacularly. Of course, any time I had Brina speak at a benefit, she always wowed the crowd and the donations and partnerships poured in. The show at the Palace Theater was everything I hoped it would be. I hadn’t seen Brina laugh and smile like that in weeks.
By the time we arrived at the marina and boarded the sixty-foot sailing yacht, my tuxedo and Brina’s red gown had just begun to dry from the soaking we got at the theater. The people sitting in the first few rows at the Singing In the Rain show were warned we might get wet. That was a bit of an understatement.
“We should have brought a change of clothes,” Brina said, holding up the damp skirt of her dress in one hand as I held her other hand to help her onto the boat.
A table had been set for us to have a light dessert and drinks before we retreated below deck. I guided her toward the table and she shivered as she looked around the deck.
