What he wanted to ask was “what does it mean?” and “are you here to stay?” But he held his tongue.
In lieu of an answer she pulled one hand out from behind her and dangled a room key from her fingers. “I got us a room.”
He wouldn’t jump to conclusions, he promised himself. “Uh, you got us a room?”
Lucia nodded, spinning on her heel and leading the way toward the elevator bank. “I thought the two of us should talk, don’t you agree?”
He couldn’t see her expression and her tone was unreadable, making it impossible to figure out if she was here to work things out or to plan their divorce. Either way, she was right. They needed to talk. “Yes. Yeah, sure. Of course.”
Ryan was basically speechless the entire way up to their room. Oh sure, he made some feeble attempts at striking up a conversation—“how was your flight?” and “what are you doing here?” The latter of which he realized he’d asked all of four times, at which point he forced himself to shut his mouth and keep it closed.
Lucia, meanwhile, was either doing her best mime impression or was not speaking to him. Not that he could blame her since she must think he had used her deepest darkest family secrets to get revenge for his own messed up family. But that didn’t explain why she was here. Or why she was acting so weird.
Still, he promised himself he wouldn’t speak until she did.
That didn’t last long. She keyed into the room and stepped aside to let him in. Her bags, he noticed, were already there, along with her purse, makeup case and wallet, all of which had been tossed atop the dresser….like she’d been in a hurry.
“Luce, I don’t know why you’re here but I have to tell you, I swear I didn’t—”
Before he could finish, she leapt into his arms and kissed him. Shock was quickly overcome by desire and he couldn’t care less why she was in his arms, just that she was in his arms. He pressed her closer, holding her tight and lifting her so her feet were off the ground and their bodies were pressed together.
This. This was home.
That realization was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. She was his home. His family. And he would do whatever it took to make things right, to make her understand.
Her lips were enthusiastically moving over his and he tried to keep up. He was so hungry for her, he didn’t think he would ever get enough. It wasn’t until she pulled back slightly to come up for air that he could even begin to formulate a thought. “What. The. What…”
So it wasn’t a sentence. But it was a start. He was certain that given enough time, and perhaps some distance from her amazing body which was still pressed tight against him, he might even form a coherent thought.
Despite his babbling, she seemed to realize the need for speech because she pushed against his shoulders lightly, just enough so she could slither down the length of him….which did nothing to help his fight for brainpower.
When her toes touched the ground, he reluctantly released his arms from around her and she took one step back and then another. He saw her glance up at the ceiling while inhaling a slow, deep breath.
She was trying to regain control. Good to know he wasn’t the only one.
When she looked back at him, he saw that her eyes were still dark with desire but her breathing was even and she edged ever so slightly toward the end of the bed, even further out of reach.
“What are you doing here?”
Okay, so it was the fifth time he’d asked that question but at least he’d managed to string some words together. And besides, he really wanted to know.
Lucia licked her lips in a nervous gesture that was way too seductive, Ryan decided.
“Daniel told me you’d be here.”
Ryan blinked. That did not compute. “What? Why? How?”
He thought he saw her lips twitch in a smile but the she looked down at the ground. “I asked him. I….uh….I needed to talk to you.”
Everything that had happened back in Italy flooded back to him. He needed her to know the truth. “Luce, I promise it wasn’t me.”
She looked up at him and he hurried on. “I swear it. I never told anyone the things you told me. About your mother and your—”
“I know.” Her soft voice cut him off and he stopped mid-sentence with his mouth agape.
“You do?”
She nodded and took a step closer. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Oh.” She took another step closer and much as he wanted to reach out to her, he had to understand. “How do you know? I mean, I assumed you would blame me. Everyone else did.”
“I trust you.” And there it was. Simple as that. A piece of his heart that had hardened through years of dealing with his family’s bitterness, melted then and there. Her gaze held such heartwarming faith, he nearly crumbled in the face of it. It was humbling.
“But I’m the only one—”
Lucia cut him off with a kiss. “Don’t worry, no one believes you leaked my secrets. Daniel and Grandpa are looking into it to get the truth.” She pulled back long enough to look him straight in the eyes. “I love you.”
The air rushed out of his lungs as her words struck his heart. He reached out to her and drew her up against him. There were no words to describe the aching joy of hearing those words. So he kissed her, long and deep until they were both panting for air and clinging to one another like they might drown.
He pulled back just long enough to say “I love you too.” Her answering smile was so beautiful, he had to kiss her again. And again.
* * * *
She’d done it. She’d said the words out loud and rather than being a terrifying experience, it was freeing. Happiness rose up in her chest until she thought she might explode with it as she reveled in his kisses and the feel of his arms around her.
He’d said it too. She grinned even as he kissed her which had him leaning back with a smile of his own. “What’s so funny?”
She shook her head, at a loss for words. “I’m just happy.”
He cocked an eyebrow and she struggled to find the right words. It seemed anger wasn’t the only thing to make English fly out the window. Passionate kisses and an overabundance of joy had the same effect.
“I didn’t think it would feel this way,” she said.
“Love?”
She nodded. “I thought it meant you were powerless and out of control…and you are but… in a good way. It’s liberating.”
That earned her a kiss on the nose, followed by a trail of kisses along her neck which were interspersed with whispered words of love, each of which added to her happiness until she was dizzy with joy. She would never tire of hearing those words from this man.
“So what now?” he asked. His voice was husky and so sexy it hurt. She knew what he meant. What was to become of their marriage? What would happen to them? Where would she live? What would they do for a living? So many unanswered questions.
And Lucia didn’t want to think about any of them. Snaking her arms around his neck, she rose up on tiptoe so she could whisper in his ear. “Now we enjoy our honeymoon which was so rudely interrupted.”
That was all she had to say before he scooped her up into his arms and strode toward the bed. Restless anticipation had her panting for air before he even set her on the bed. Their hands fumbled with buttons and zippers and a frustrating amount of layers before they were lying side by side on the bed.
He paused with his hands tangled in her hair, his lips so close to hers she could feel his breath. They were nearly naked, only a few flimsy pieces of underwear between them. “Are you sure? If you want to take things slow—”
Lucia gave his lower lip a little nip. “That’s sweet, but I know what I want.” She moved against him, throwing one thigh over his hips so she could press her aching heat up against his erection. “I want this.”
His eyes darkened as he let out a low growl of pleasure that had her trembling for his touch. One hand moved to grab he
r backside, holding her against him as he worshiped her breasts with his tongue. The feel of his five o’clock shadow against her sensitive skin had her shivering with pleasure.
His tongue teased her nipple until she was panting, her hands in his hair as she held him to her. She wanted more…needed more. “I can’t wait,” she whispered.
His answer was a moan as he dragged his mouth back to hers to kiss her long and hard as they slipped off the remainder of their clothes. She didn’t wait for him to move over her but instead pushed him back so he was lying flat on his back.
She straddled him, his desire-glazed eyes adding even more heat. Under his gaze, she was sexy. She was a woman. She was free.
His hands cupped her waist and palmed her breasts as she moved into place atop him. When she lowered herself onto him, taking him deep inside of her she thought she might lose herself completely in the mind-blowing, exquisite torture. She moved slowly against him at first until he groaned her name and it was clear he was as lost as she was. Then she picked up the pace, grinding herself against him faster and harder until they both came with a blinding ecstasy.
* * * *
She should move. There were things they needed to discuss, real life to be dealt with. But instead she nestled closer against Ryan’s side and sighed in contentment as his fingers lazily traced a pattern on her back and his lips dropped the occasional kiss on the top of her head.
Her lips were buried against his throat, her head tucked into his shoulder. There would be plenty of time for talking tomorrow. Or the next day. Or whenever this honeymoon had to come to an end.
The very next day they had to check out and not without a good deal of grumbling on Lucia’s part. The decision came over breakfast in bed. A breakfast which they’d thoroughly earned thanks to a night filled with more sex than snooze.
“So what are you doing in Vegas?” Lucia asked as Ryan popped a strawberry into her mouth. “Daniel didn’t tell me why you came, just that you were here.”
He answered while she chewed. “I came to file for an annulment.”
She froze mid-chew. She’d assumed that’s why he was here, of course, but to hear him say it aloud was oddly surprising. “Because you don’t want to be married to me?”
He flopped back against the pillows. “That’s not it and you know it. I just…I wanted to prove I’m not in this for any other reason than that I want to support you.”
Lucia tilted her head to the side with a smile. “So you plan to do that by taking away my only means of getting a show of my own?”
He leaned forward then and grabbed her hand so she was forced to meet his gaze. “You don’t need my help for that. You don’t need help from anyone, that’s my point.”
She nodded. It was something she’d been thinking about ever since her chat with her grandfather.
“And I definitely don’t need, or want, the money. Not when it means it would create a sense of distrust between us. There would always be uncertainty between us about my motives.”
Those piercing blue eyes hadn’t left hers and a nervous flutter filled her stomach. He was right, she knew he was right. But that didn’t stop her heart from aching at the thought of killing this marriage before it ever got off the ground.
She nibbled on a croissant and told herself she was being ridiculous. This marriage never had anything to do with love. Maybe not at first. The treacherous voice sounded remarkably like her grandfather’s and it was currently pleading with her to give their marriage a shot. After all, they had love and trust, the foundation for a strong marriage….
Lucia froze with the croissant halfway to her lips. Huh. Maybe she was a romantic after all.
She lunged for the coffee carafe. Clearly that was her sleep-addled brain talking. He was right. If they wanted to make a real go of things, they would need to start fresh…get to know each other.
They ate the remainder of their breakfast, packed their bags and headed down to the lobby, on their way to the county clerk’s office where they would get the information they needed to call it quits.
But then Lucia spotted it. Down the end of a long hallway, she recognized the door and the telltale trail of glitter leading to it. Refusing to overthink her actions, Lucia grabbed Ryan by the hand and dragged him along behind her as she led the way.
“Where are we going?” The words were barely out of his mouth when she threw open the door and he let out a loud laugh.
She had to admit, in the cold, sober light of day, their wedding chapel looked tackier….and dirtier…than ever. “I just wanted to see it again.”
He came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “And? Does it live up to your memories?”
She had to laugh at that. “Not quite. Was it always so….what’s the word…?”
“Garish?” he offered. “Gaudy? Ridiculous?”
“Colorful?”
She felt him nuzzle her hair and could feel his lips against her ear. “I don’t know, I was too busy watching you.”
Lucia spun around then so she could wrap her arms around him. “Good answer.”
He gave her that sexy-as-hell smile—the one that had nearly melted her on her barstool when she’d first met him. There was a connection here, between them. Something more than physical and something that had been there from the first moment they’d met and had grown exponentially with every passing hour.
She couldn’t let that go.
“I don’t want to do this.” It came out as a whisper and Ryan leaned in a little closer.
“You don’t want to do what?”
Lucia pursed her lips, suddenly shy and nervous now that the words were about to leave her mouth. “I don’t want to annul the marriage.”
Ryan’s eyes widened but he didn’t protest in horror. That was a good sign.
“And not because of the money. I know this sounds crazy but…”
“I don’t want to either.”
Lucia wasn’t sure who was more surprised by his words because he had a dazed expression in his eyes like he was having an out of body experience. But when she raised her eyebrows in a silent question he nodded with far more certainty.
“Not yet, at least.”
Lucia leapt at that. “Yes, exactly! Maybe we will, someday. But I don’t see why we have to end it all today.”
“Right,” he added. “We still have the option to but we’ll just….press pause. For a bit. I love you, Luce, and I love being married to you. Is that crazy?”
“Probably,” she said with a laugh. “But I feel the same exact way. I love you and want to be your wife.”
He looked slightly uncertain but excited, nonetheless. Pretty much exactly how she was feeling. Giddy and terrified and ecstatic.
“So we’re agreed,” she said.
“Agreed.”
Lucia thought she might float out of that glitterbomb of a room she was so happy but she settled for linking her arm in his and smiling up at him. “Then let’s go home.”
Chapter 15
Ryan didn’t want to see their marriage end any more than Lucia did but now, they were back in the real world and he had no idea how this marriage thing was supposed to work. He loved calling her his wife. Whether it was crazy or not, he stood by the decision. They’d made the right choice. That was what he told himself as he scrubbed at the bar with a wet rag. They’d put the annulment plan on hold. But what now?
He wasn’t naïve enough to think they could leap right into a full-fledged marriage without getting to know one another. That was just idiotic.
This was something they should have talked about in Vegas—or on the plane ride home at the very least. But they’d been so busy celebrating their newfound relationship they’d spent more time making out than in talking. When they had talked it had been about their individual futures. Lucia needed space to figure out her next steps with her design career and he’d decided to go back to his job at the bar, since Daniel agreed to keep him on
. It wasn’t his long-term plan, obviously, but he needed time to sort out what direction he wanted to head in next. Without the weight of his family on his shoulders, he was free to pursue any career he wanted.
The only thing they’d established is they both needed time. But how much time? A full twenty-four hours had passed since they’d returned to New York City with no word from her.
She was probably knee-deep in planning her fashion line and maybe she’d already lined up her ticket to London to meet with Eleanor.
He slammed the rag into the sink with more force than necessary. It wasn’t that he thought she was using him for the money. He knew her better than that. But the fashion line was her priority and he wasn’t about to stand in her way. So he was left to wait. Which was fine, he told himself. He had a resume to work on and a career of his own to pursue.
Still. That little internal pep talk did little to ease the uncomfortable tightness in his chest. What happened next?
“You’re late,” he called out to Javier when he heard the back door click open. “Don’t try sneaking in, you know I always catch you.”
When Javier didn’t come back with one of his typical crude comebacks, Ryan turned to the door and froze. “Lucia.”
She was hovering in the doorway looking incredibly adorable in her oversized winter coat and hat. She also looked more than a little shy.
“I didn’t mean to sneak in,” she said. “And I don’t think I’m late.” She looked down at her watch. “Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m early.”
“What are you–? I mean…hi.” Ryan shook his head at his own stupidity. One day away from her and he was back to being a pre-pubescent teen with a crazy crush. But holy hell, she looked amazing.
He moved from behind the bar so he could go to her. He couldn’t have stopped himself from going to her side if he tried. She returned his hug but when he went to kiss her she put a hand on his chest to stop him and pulled away a bit. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Oh.” Ice water ran through his veins and he shoved his hands into his pocket. “Yeah, sure.”
The Accidental Elopement Page 19
