Luca cleared his throat. “And now you and that little one need to get some rest.”
This was the opening she needed. She swallowed hard as her stomach quivered with nerves. “Do you want the baby?”
His eyes widened in surprise. “I married you, didn’t I?”
“Answering my question with a question isn’t an answer.”
“It’s all you’re going to get tonight. It’s getting late and we’re both tired.”
“That’s it?” Her voice started to rise. “You’re dismissing me and my concerns.”
Luca shushed her. “We don’t want to make a scene. We’ll talk later.”
“Sometimes you can be the most frustrating man.”
He smiled at her like she’d just paid him a compliment. Then Luca swiped aside a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned toward her. Her heart lodged in her throat as she realized he was going to kiss her. She should turn away and rebuff his attempt to smooth things over. But she couldn’t move.
Then his lips pressed to her forehead. Her forehead? Really?
His voice was deep when he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow for Annabelle’s party.”
She didn’t respond.
And then her husband retreated to the waiting car.
Elena stood there watching as the car pulled away and the taillights eventually faded into the night. Had today really happened? And then she glanced down. The light along her parents’ cobblestone walk reflected off her brand-new diamond ring.
Wondering if Luca had forgotten about his ring, too, she pulled out her phone. She dashed off a quick text. Seconds later, he texted her back.
Thanks for the reminder.
“Elena, is that you?” Her mother’s voice came from the doorway.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Well, what are you doing lurking around in the dark? Come inside.”
Elena slipped the rings from her finger and slid them in her purse. It felt wrong to be hiding them, but how could she explain this to her mother when she couldn’t even explain all the conflicting emotions she was experiencing?
Not that her mother gave her much time to think about the wedding as her mother launched into a series of questions. “Did you talk to the reporters today?”
“How did you know about them?”
“Everyone on the palace grounds knows. What they don’t know is what they wanted with you. Lucky for you, the people who live around here aren’t up on reading the tabloids. But my friends read them, and I’ve been fielding calls all day. I don’t know what to tell them.”
“Tell them the stories are all lies.”
“Even the one about you being pregnant—”
“What?”
“Yes, they have photos of you visiting the doctor’s office, and some unnamed source let it slip that you’re carrying that man’s baby.”
She wanted to tell her mother the whole truth, but she’d promised Luca to keep this secret for a few more days. And her mother was known for her lack of discretion, which was why her father never talked about his work at home.
“That...that is another fabrication.”
Her mother eyed her. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure that I’m not carrying Steven’s baby. It’s not even a possibility. Now, I’m tired and I have a busy day tomorrow, so I think I’ll turn in—”
“Are you going to Annabelle’s party?”
Elena nodded.
“With Luca again?”
“We don’t have any plans, but I’m sure we’ll run into each other, since I’m a guest and he’s the brother of the hostess.”
“Have a good time.”
“I will. Good night.” She made her way to the steps, anxious to get to her room and be alone with her thoughts.
But sleep didn’t come easily. She kept replaying the events of the day. She wondered if they had made the right choice to marry. She’d always believed that people should marry for love, and now she’d done the exact opposite.
Because there was definitely no love in the relationship—not the kind that should exist between husband and wife. And she wasn’t about to put her scarred heart on the line, especially for a man who’d repeatedly rejected love from those around him. She wondered if he even knew how to love someone.
She knew his mother’s death had left a scar on him. It had set him adrift and made him willing to take needless chances with his safety. In fact, she’d worried more than once that his daring stunts of cliff diving and bungee jumping would cost him his life, but he’d made it through that rebellious period with only a couple of broken bones and a bruised ego.
He’d worked so hard to distance himself from his family. She knew what he’d been doing—protecting himself. Because the family that he knew had crumbled.
Was that what he was doing now? Was he holding her at a distance because he was afraid that if he let her in and it didn’t work out his life would crumble again? Or did he feel absolutely nothing but friendship for her?
* * *
He could do this.
He could pretend he hadn’t just married the most beautiful woman in the world.
Thank goodness Elena had thought to text him the night before about his ring, because it had completely slipped his mind. He’d almost blown it, and just after he’d promised Elena that he would keep their marriage under wraps until Sunday, when Annabelle’s engagement festivities were officially concluded.
But he had to admit to himself that spending his wedding night alone was a complete and utter downer. He’d never considered marrying, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand that the wedding night was supposed to be quite memorable. Instead, he hadn’t even gotten a good-night kiss. Was this the sort of future he’d doomed them to?
He recalled their conversation before they said their vows. Elena had made him agree that they wouldn’t share a bed. At the time, he’d been so concerned about claiming his son or daughter that he’d have agreed to almost anything. It wasn’t until now that he’d realized what this concession truly meant.
He never contemplated what it would be like having a platonic marriage with a woman as beautiful as Elena, both on the inside and out. After all, he was a man. He couldn’t just not notice that she was stunning. He wasn’t the only one who noticed her rare beauty. She couldn’t even walk down the street without men whistling.
But what none of them knew was that she was now his legally and otherwise—although the otherwise had a bit of a hitch. His thoughts rolled back to the kiss they’d shared yesterday after the wedding. It had caught him off guard. He’d thought he could do this whole fake marriage thing, but now he was having serious doubts.
“Luca, what are you doing all the way over here?”
He blinked and realized that he’d been totally lost in his thoughts. And then somehow the object of his daydream appeared before him. Elena stood there giving him a strange look.
“What did you say?” he asked.
She waved away his words. “It doesn’t matter. You look like you have something on your mind. What is it? Or do I already know?”
“You know?” And then he realized that his voice came out a bit off-key.
She sent him a strange look. “Yes, I know. My mother told me about the latest story in the tabloid. I’ll give them this much—they sure don’t waste any time in going after a person.”
“I take it there was another story about you?”
She nodded. “I thought you knew.”
“Um, no. Do you think they went digging up more information on you when you didn’t appear at the gate yesterday to answer their questions?”
“Something like that. Apparently they have a photo of me visiting my doctor’s office.”
“So what does that mean? You
can’t be the only woman who visits her doctor.”
“Apparently they’ve got an unnamed source in the office, and they told them I was pregnant.”
“And your mother knows.”
Elena nodded. “But I hedged around her questions. So she doesn’t know what’s real and what’s lies. I hate this.”
He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I know you do. But it’s almost over. If you want, we can just tell everyone today.”
“The idea is so tempting, but Annabelle is so happy. I don’t want to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Your sister really went all out for this celebration, and I noticed that you two are getting closer.”
He nodded. “She’s a little less angry with me for being gone all these years.”
“So then there’s good coming out of this week?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Then I will put off my mother for a bit longer. If only I could disconnect her internet for the rest of the week, it would certainly help.”
“Would you like me to borrow a pair of wire cutters from the palace staff?”
“You have absolutely no idea just how tempting that idea is.”
They both laughed. And he couldn’t help but stare at her. Her face lit up with happiness. Her eyes twinkled. And once again he felt an odd sensation in his chest—a warmth.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL.
Elena stood on the sidelines and smiled. Thankfully Annabelle had given them a heads-up about today’s activities so she could dress appropriately in shorts and a yellow cotton top. It’d been more years than she wanted to count since she’d hit the field, but she did have to admit that she’d played pretty well in her day.
“Okay, everybody, gather round.” Annabelle waved everyone over. “What should we do? Pick two captains and let them choose teams? Or should we play guys on girls?”
The second option definitely got more votes from the women. But the men were shockingly quiet.
“Well, it seems it’s a draw.” She turned back to Grayson, and they whispered back and forth for a minute. Then he handed her something. “Okay. Since it’s a tie, we’re going to toss for it. Heads we do coed. Tails we do boys versus girls.”
Annabelle flipped the coin high in the air. It turned end over end, reflecting the sunlight in the process. She caught it and looked up with a smile. “Looks like it’s coed. Now for captains. Let’s see.”
“You and Grayson should be captains, since it’s your party,” one guest interjected.
Elena liked the idea. “Yeah, go for it.”
As more and more people cheered on the idea, Annabelle waved her hands, trying to silence everyone. “I hate to disappoint everyone, but I’m not playing. As most of you know, I’m not coordinated in the least. So I’m going to be the cheer squad.” She rushed over to a chair a few feet behind her and grabbed two little white pom-poms. She shook them and smiled broadly. “I came prepared. In my place, I elect Elena.”
Elena couldn’t help but smile. She liked that after all these years, Luca’s sister still thought so highly of her. And since they were now family, it would certainly help matters.
But Elena thought of her condition—she didn’t think playing football with the guys was such a good idea. One misplaced ball could hit her abdomen. But how in the world did she gracefully back out without upsetting Annabelle?
Annabelle gestured for Elena to step up beside her. Maybe it’d be possible to coach from the sidelines. That sounded like a good plan. If anyone said anything, she’d blame her lack of activity on her job and not wanting to return with a black eye or broken nose.
Elena took her place next to Annabelle. It was then that she noticed Luca. He was staring directly at her with a distinct frown. What had she done now?
She glanced away, hoping no one would notice his odd behavior. If he didn’t lighten up, people were going to start suspecting that something was up between them.
Annabelle took both Elena’s and Grayson’s hands and raised them above her head. “Okay, these are your captains. And just like when we were kids, they are going to take turns picking players. Good luck—”
“Wait a second,” Luca said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Annabelle’s smile faded. “What? The game?”
“No,” Luca said, approaching them. “I don’t think Elena should play football.”
Annabelle’s forehead creased. “Is there something we don’t know?”
Elena knew what he was up to, and she didn’t like it. Her hands balled up at her sides. They might be married now, but she could take care of herself and their baby. Perhaps it was time they laid out some understandings about this nontraditional arrangement.
Not about to let Luca make a scene, Elena spoke up. “What’s the matter, Luca? Are you afraid that I’ll beat you like when we were kids?”
“No, I was thinking that you might not want the ball hitting you. You know, to the stomach or, worse, the face. A broken nose probably won’t help your career.”
They might be thinking along the same lines, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him tell her what to do. “And that’s why I was planning to coach from the sidelines.”
“Or you can keep me company.” Annabelle gave her a hopeful look. “I’ll share my pom-poms with you.”
Before Elena could respond, Grayson spoke up. “Actually, this will work out. As it was, we were going to have an extra person. Now the teams will be equal.”
“What do you say?” Annabelle asked.
“Looks like I’ll be joining the cheering section.” Elena refused to look at Luca.
Annabelle glanced around. “And now I need a replacement captain. Luca, since you caused the ruckus, you can be the captain. Get over here and start picking players. We have a game to play.”
Elena joined Annabelle off to the side of the field that had been painted up with white lines just like a regulation field. Even nets stood at either end. And the part Elena liked best was the hot dog and refreshment cart. She was getting a little hungry...and since she was eating for two now, she had the perfect excuse to ditch her diet for the day.
“So what’s up with you and my brother?” Annabelle took a seat in one of the fold-out chairs.
Elena sat next to her. She willed herself to act normal. “Not much.”
“Sure seems like something to me. The looks you two were sending each other were rather stormy. I hope you two aren’t fighting. You barely see each other anymore.”
“Oh, we’re not fighting. I promise.” At least not yet—not until she was alone with Luca.
“You’re sure? Because I could say something to him. Now that my brother has reemerged into our lives, he seems to think he knows what’s best for everyone. Don’t let him push you around.”
“Trust me, I’ve known him long enough to know all his tricks.”
“Good.” Annabelle smiled. “Us girls, we have to stick together.”
“Yes, we do.”
Was it wrong that Elena was starting to feel like she would have an ally in Annabelle? Her friend didn’t even know the truth yet. Would Annabelle be upset when she learned that her brother had eloped? Would everyone think that he had married beneath himself?
Elena lifted her chin a little higher. She was, after all, famous. That had to count for something. She would make sure people respected her, starting with her husband.
* * *
“What was that back there?”
The hiss in Elena’s voice drew Luca up short.
He stopped on the beach and glanced around to make sure they were alone. They’d meandered toward the beach while everyone else headed back to the palace to get cleaned up before dinner. But right now, food was the last thing on Luca’
s mind.
He turned back to her. “What are you talking about?”
“That scene you made before the football game. You shouldn’t have done it.”
“Well, excuse me for worrying about my—” he caught himself before he said wife “—my child. I was just doing what I thought was best.”
“That’s not for you to do. I can take care of myself. I was about to back out of playing the game before you interrupted.”
“I didn’t know.” He suddenly felt as though he’d done something wrong when all he’d meant to do was make sure that everyone was safe. Being a husband and father was trickier than he’d imagined.
“I think the problem is that we rushed into this marriage and we didn’t take time to figure out how it was going to work.”
He had a distinct feeling he wasn’t going to like what she said next. “And how do you think it should work?”
“Well, my life is in Paris. I plan to return there.”
He didn’t like the thought of her being so far away. “When do you plan to leave?”
“My flight is scheduled for next week.”
He nodded, but he didn’t speak right away. Time was running out for them. He took a moment before he spoke. He’d already learned the value of carefully considering his words where Elena was concerned. “You do realize the paparazzi is going to follow you around and dig up whatever dirt they can find?”
She shrugged it off, but he caught a glimpse of the worry in her eyes. She didn’t like living her life in the spotlight. So why was she in such a rush to get back to that world? Was it truly her career? Or was she anxious to get away from him?
“How will you work? Soon you’ll be showing.”
She said something, but it was so soft that he couldn’t quite catch it. “What did you say?”
“I was fired.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” And then another thought came to him. “So this means you don’t have to leave?”
“I’ve been hoping to work in another area of the fashion industry. Something behind the scenes. So my pregnancy won’t be an issue.”
Married for His Secret Heir Page 12
