Reclaiming His Bride (DiCarlo Brides book 3) (The DiCarlo Brides)

by Tullis, Heather

  He arched his brows at her and she whirled to the door, pushing her sister into the reception area.

  “Come on, we need to talk,” Lana said.

  Cami looked back at him curiously before her sister yanked her into the office next door. He heard the door slam as Lana ensured their privacy.

  Blake was torn between feeling guilty the cat was out of the bag—especially when he knew she was upset about it—and being glad that they would be able to tell the family, at last. He couldn’t see Gina’s desk from where he sat, but if she were out there, he doubted the pregnancy was going to be secret much longer.

  He decided to go with being glad Lana had been pushed to tell someone. Starting to whistle, he focused again on the report he was reviewing for the LA resort. When Cami’s voice rose loud enough he could understand her words, he just smiled wider and continued his work.

  Lana could not believe he had done that to her—practically forcing her to tell Cami about everything. She’d shut the door—how had Cami opened it so silently? Several months earlier Cami had nearly flipped her wig when she’d learned that Lana knew about their father’s affairs. How much worse was this going to feel to the older sister who was starting to put the whole mess into perspective?

  “Okay, now that we’ve had that cryptic and confusing conversation,” Cami began once she’d slammed the office door closed. “Care to fill me in?”

  “Man, I need some coffee.” Lana moved to the pot on one wall and poured herself a cup. “Would you like some too?”

  “No, and if you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t have any, either.” Cami took the cup out of Lana’s hands and passed over a baggie of mint leaves from the stash next to the coffeemaker. “And when is the baby due?”

  Lana rolled her eyes, pulled out another cup and filled it with hot water. It would be easier to humor her for now. “Around the first of May. Give or take.” Lana dunked the tea bag in the water and turned back to her sister, trying to act nonchalant.

  “And you were going to tell me about this, when?” Cami sipped at the coffee. Her voice was calmer, but her fingers turned white at the knuckles from gripping the coffee cup so hard.

  “I wanted to get through my first trimester, when miscarriage is most likely, before announcing it.” Not in the least true, but it should pass as credible.

  Cami’s eyes studied her sister. “How far along are you?”

  Lana pressed her lips together. “Fifteen weeks.”

  “That’s several weeks past the first trimester, unless I don’t understand math at all,” Cami pointed out. “Why do I get the feeling that you would have put it off even longer, given the chance? Why would Blake ask you to move in with him when he’s perfectly aware of the stipulation in the will about having to live in the house with the other girls unless you’re married? Did he really propose to you? Are you way more serious than I thought? And if so, why have you been hiding it from all of us?” Cami finally stopped to take a breath and glared, as if expecting all of the answers at once.

  Lana sat at her desk, as much because she needed the space between them as anything else. She set her cup on top and twisted it on the blotter. She really should have come clean ages ago. “We haven’t been seeing each other secretly here in Colorado. It was just a night of weakness and too much champagne.”

  “One night? And yet he asked you to move in with him?” Cami tipped her head, the initial steam of anger having blown out. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Lana released the cup entirely and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “You were right; we were involved last winter. A lot more seriously than we let on. We...” Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t she just let the words out?

  Cami’s comment a few weeks earlier that none of her sisters were going to do something stupid like run off to Vegas to get married echoed back to Lana again. She knew Cami would be hurt Lana hadn’t confided in her, but there was nothing to do about it now.

  “You...?” Cami prodded when the silence grew too long.

  “I fell in love with him. He made me feel complete.” He still had that effect on her when she allowed herself to relax enough, but Lana wasn’t ready to admit that aloud. “We didn’t date long, but it was... really intense. And then Dad sent us to Vegas for that convention.”

  “Don’t tell me it’s one of those kinky what-happens-in-Vegas things!” Cami’s brows winged up and she looked extremely curious.

  Lana snorted. “No. Nothing kinky.” She fisted her hands on her lap. “We had dinner, wine—lots of wine, I guess, because somehow we ended up at one of those little chapels off the strip.”

  Cami swore low, then slumped into a chair. “You’re kidding me.”

  “No.” Lana pulled her necklace from her blouse, showing off the rings he’d given her. “We got married and decided to keep it quiet for a little while—just for a week or so, while we enjoyed the privacy and thrill of keeping it to ourselves—but when I was ready to tell everyone, we had a falling out. I’ve been trying to get a divorce ever since.”

  “Wait, hold on.” Cami stood and hovered over the desk. “I’m still stuck on the other part. Married? You married him and you didn’t tell me? In Vegas?” Her voice went up to a screech on the last word pretty much ensuring that Gina and Blake would have heard it.

  “Calm down.” Lana wanted to sink into her chair while her older sister loomed over her, but refused to show how cowed she felt.

  “This is calm. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Cami stood and paced across the room. She whipped back to face Lana. “First about Dad’s affairs, now this. What other secrets are you holding onto?”

  Lana shook her head. “That’s pretty much it. Blake’s been trying to reconcile, but I just want to end it officially. He’s been putting up roadblocks or we’d be divorced already.”

  Cami’s brows furrowed as she stared at Lana. “He made you feel complete and you’re fighting for a divorce? Why would you do that? Do you know how rare it is to find that?”

  Lana shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Cami sat again, with all the appearance of forcing herself to do something she didn’t want to. “So now you’re pregnant, how does that affect things?”

  “It doesn’t change what broke us up to begin with.”

  Brows lifted. “And what was that?”

  Finally feeling the weight of her secrets lifting, Lana explained.

  “My fiancée is seriously pissed at you,” Vince said as he dealt the first deck of cards at the guys’ poker game the next night.

  “Tell me about it. Her glare is hot enough to melt diamonds.” Blake picked up the last card and slotted it into his hand with the others. His parents had been in town for several days and he was glad they were headed down the mountain for dinner and a show so he could spend some time with the guys. He felt suffocated with so much family time.

  “What did you do?” Joel asked. “Sage couldn’t get anything out of Cami or Lana. She knows something she’s not telling, but swears it has nothing to do with why Cami’s mad—she hadn’t been able to pry that out of them yet. And she claims she’s actually tried, which is unusual for her.”

  “Maybe she’s just saying that, but holding out on you?” Blake suggested. He wondered though, if she’d figured out Lana was pregnant.

  “No way. I have her too well trained for that.” His grin was cocky. “Besides, she isn’t the type to tell lies.”

  “True enough.” Vince looked over the top of his cards at Blake. “Cami’s been a little spare on the details as well. Not on the rants, mind you, just on the specifics. All I know for sure is that it has something to do with Lana and that she thinks you’re a pig.”

  “Women are all a mystery. Go figure,” Jeremy said tossing a chip into the center of the table, starting the pot. “I’m starting with five.”

  Blake held back the immense eye rolling he wanted to do that a five in this case, meant five cents. He thought it
was funny that the guys had such puny little bets. It was like they were all still in grade school. “I’d be happier if they weren’t so keen on keeping secrets—though if Cami thinks I’m a pig, maybe it’s better that she’s not the one talking about it.”

  “We ought to invite Harrison to one of these nights,” Jeremy said, changing the subject. He was big on avoiding any subject involving the DiCarlo sisters. “He’s cool and he doesn’t know too many guys around here yet.”

  “But this is the future sons-in-law club. Harrison doesn’t qualify,” Vince pointed out. The title was one of his own making and he managed to rib his best friends, Jeremy and Gage about George DiCarlo’s intention for the three of them to all marry daughters of his. Vince had fallen into the trap eagerly, enamored with Cami from the first moment, but his buddies were not so inclined with the brides selected for them.

  “Neither do I. Technically. Not anymore,” Joel said.

  Blake considered his words for a second before plowing ahead. He’d had enough of the secrets. “Neither do I. Technically.”

  “What, you and Lana on the outs?” Jeremy asked. “Because she’s gorgeous. I’d give her a try if you clear the way.” He wiggled his brows, but his smile made it clear he wasn’t serious.

  Blake picked up a one-penny chip and flipped it against Jeremy’s forehead. “Try it and you’re going to wish you were as lucky as Joel, whose house just burned down.”

  “He is lucky; he’s married to Sage, right? And she thinks the sun rises and sets with him. You wish you were so lucky with Lana,” Vince said as he added a couple chips to the pot.

  “True.” Too, too true.

  “So what did you mean?” Joel’s eyes narrowed on Blake’s face.

  Lana was going to throw a fit, but he’d had enough of the secrets, and he had every intention of telling his parents the next night anyway. “Lana and I beat you and Sage to the altar by almost a year.”

  This announcement was followed by curses, shocked looks and Jeremy spitting a mouthful of beer across the table. Blake waited for the furor to die down—and for Jeremy to grab a rag to mop up the table—then gave a very brief explanation. “Everything happened at light speed, falling hard for her, dating and then the trip to Vegas for a conference, after which we got totally drunk and found a white chapel a little ways off the strip.” He smiled when he thought of that night. “Everything was terrific, we were set to tell our parents, and then she saw me talking to a jeweler and decided I was cheating on her. She was wrong, but wouldn’t listen to me. She’s been trying to get a divorce ever since. I’m not making it easy.” He tossed his cards on the table. They were crap anyway. “I’m grabbing some more beer. Anyone else want one?”

  A chorus of yeses followed him to the kitchen. He hadn’t told them about the baby, but there were now a few more people who knew he was married. Tomorrow night’s project: telling his parents.

  “You told the guys we’re married.” The words were followed by the slap of Blake’s office door as Lana slammed it shut the next morning. “Joel told Sage. She asked me about it.”

  Blake rubbed the bridge of his nose, then looked her in the eye. “I told you I wouldn’t wait much longer. I’m telling my parents tonight. The guys know it’s not out in general knowledge yet. They won’t gossip.”

  “What do you mean they won’t gossip?” she said in a high-pitched squeal. “Sage knows! And she knows about the pregnancy, said it didn’t sound as if you told the guys that much or he would have told her for sure.”

  “That’s hardly idle gossip. Your sisters care about you and want to know important things in your life.” He rubbed a finger over his eyebrow, then plucked at the hair. “I get the feeling she’s known about your pregnancy for a while now. It didn’t come from Joel, at any rate, because I didn’t mention it to the guys.”

  “I’m not ready for everyone to know. We’re getting divorced.” She stood rigid, her arms crossed over her chest, but there was a note of resignation in her voice.

  “They’ll find out about the marriage one way or another. The divorce is bound to make the news, what with everything else going on. And I am telling my parents tonight, and who knows who they’ll tell.” He stood and walked around the desk to face her. “I’ve let you have your way on this for too long. My parents deserve to know they’re going to be grandparents. They’re the only ones this baby will ever have.”

  As soon as the words were out, he wished he’d curbed that last line. Did he really have to rub in the fact that her parents were both dead? He would have missed her flinch if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. He took her hand, hoping she would understand his position. “I’d really appreciate it if you joined me tonight so we could tell them together, but I’ll try to understand if you won’t come.”

  “Ugh!” She stamped one foot in exasperation. “Do you have any idea how irritating it is when I’m all cranky and upset and you just take it all in stride, perfectly reasonable?” She turned her back to him for a moment, then headed for the door again. “I’ll think about coming tonight.”

  He wasn’t feeling perfectly reasonable, but was glad he had seemed that way. “Six at the restaurant downstairs,” he called out to her before she disappeared. He had no idea how this would go, but just knowing she was there and would stand with him made him feel better.

  Lana ran home to change into something more cocktail-ish before joining Blake’s family for dinner. The snow was falling again, making the streets a slushy mess, but it wasn’t far to the house, and she was able to make it back to the hotel in plenty of time.

  “Dinner with the in-laws?” Harrison asked as he passed her in the hotel doorway. “You look nice.”

  “Thanks.” Oh, the guys won’t tell anyone, don’t worry, they’ll be totally discreet. She wanted to wring Blake’s neck for making that comment. Every step took her closer to the confrontation, and Lana was wise enough to know that just because they were all dressed up and playing nice didn’t mean it wouldn’t be a confrontation. His mom hadn’t been happy about the two of them dating, there was no way she’d be thrilled to learn they had been married for more than a year.

  Marla stood at the hostess podium when Lana arrived. “Miss DiCarlo, Mr. Bahlmann said you can go right on back. He reserved the private room for tonight.”

  “That was very forward thinking of him.” Lana smiled and tried to calm the stress rolling around in her stomach. A private room meant there would be no one around whose presence would force Juliette to hold her tongue if she got angry about the news. On the other hand, it meant there would be no one around to hear if she got angry and didn’t care about holding her tongue. Considering the number of wait staff who could overhear in the normal room, Lana decided a private one was preferable.

  She played with the rings she had donned for the first time in months, twisting them around her fingers as she walked. They felt odd and foreign on her fingers and she fought to act as though this was just another dinner with people she barely knew, and nothing that mattered much.

  Now if she could survive the evening.

  She sucked in a deep breath and forced a more genial smile before entering the room. “Mr. and Mrs. Bahlmann, Ms. Lanier, it’s so good to see you all again.” She greeted them like old friends and accepted Blake’s assistance in sitting, tossing him a smile as well. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here at our hotel. I know Blake was glad you were able to take some time to visit.”

  “It’s a lovely area. Summers are spectacular,” Royce Bahlmann said. “I remember from the time I spent in the area scouting out this piece of land.” His genial smile took on a bit of a bitter twist.

  Lana was grateful for the conversation starter and happily engaged in it, though she tried to guide him away from thinking about his scramble against her father for the property rights for the hotel. There had been some bad blood between them for years. That would make the evening’s announcement all the more difficult for him to hear.

  Everyone seeme
d to avoid discussion of her relationship with Blake until desserts and final cups of coffee had been brought and the wait staff disappeared again. She kept her left hand on her lap as much as possible, not wanting to draw attention to her rings yet.

  “You must be so glad to have Blake here.” Juliette used her fork to slice off a miniscule bite of chocolate cake. “Our son is quite the catch for someone like you.”

  Lana took the slap and ignored it. “He’s a great asset to the company, and great to work with. I’ve been very fortunate to have the chance to get to know him better.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you appreciate him all that much. At least not the way a girlfriend should,” Juliette said, her eyes narrowing on Lana.

  “Mom,” Blake protested.

  “No, you act like the two of you are getting serious, talking about marriage, but she’s not behaving like a woman in the flush of a new love.” She set down her fork without eating the cake she had balanced on the tines. “That begs the question of why she’s with you in the first place. Is it just that her options are limited in an area like this, so she’s latching on to you? She can’t do any better for the moment?” Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew together in a sour pucker.

  In that instant, Lana hated her mother-in-law with a passion. How dare she talk as if Blake wasn’t more than worthy to draw any woman’s eye, regardless of whatever other options were available? “Actually, Blake and I first fell in love when we were still living in Chicago, where there are plenty of options to choose from. I feel very lucky to have found your son. He’s a terrific man.” She wanted to bite her tongue because she felt pushed to elaborate about all of the things that had drawn her to him—the things that she still loved about him. But doing so only would make it harder to keep herself aloof.

  “So you think you can convince him to marry you?” Juliette asked. She folded her hands carefully on the edge of the table and looked down her nose at Lana.