She smiled at him, warming that spot in his chest. “I think we make a great team.”
“I do, too.” And he truly meant it.
“It’s a good thing I thought of it.” She sent him a teasing grin.
Carla got to her feet and pulled out her phone. She started taking photos of their surroundings. “I do like the idea of a table in the middle of a green field.”
Franco cleared the table, placing their dishes back in the cooler. Then he texted his team to come back and pick up everything. His job here was done. Well, almost...
“Do you think our families will be impressed?”
“How could they not be?” She smiled at him. “You mentioned seeing your parents from time to time. Will either of them attend the reveal party?”
He shook his head. “My father never attends public functions, especially if they’re about the family business. And my mother, well, I have no idea what she’s doing these days.”
Carla reached out, placing her hand over his. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
He didn’t like her looking at him like he was weak and not as good as everyone else—the way he felt in school when there was a special event for his parents to attend and instead he either skipped it or brought his grandparents. And it didn’t go unnoticed by his classmates, who’d make snide comments. He pushed the painful memories to the back of his mind.
Instead of speaking of his past, he asked, “You lost your mother, too. Is that why you let your father get away with so much?”
She glanced away and then nodded. “I’d been away at school when my mother got sick. She insisted they wait to tell me about her prognosis until I came home for the holidays. What neither of my parents anticipated was how quickly her disease would progress.”
“So they lied to you?”
“They did. When I saw my mother again, she was so weak and sick.” Carla swiped at the tears on her cheeks.
He’d thought he’d had a rough childhood, but at least no one had lied to him. No one ever said his parents would come back for him and his brother. No one was that good of a liar.
He glanced down where their hands were still joined. This time, he was the one to give her a reassuring squeeze.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
“I feel like if I had known, I could have done things differently, which is silly, because nothing I could have done would have saved her. But I wasn’t ready to lose her. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, things I wanted to ask and things I wanted us to do together.”
“Like plan your wedding?” When she nodded, he said, “When you get married for real, your father will be happy for you, and your mother will be smiling down upon you.”
The thing was, he’d started feeling that this marriage was the real deal. When he had business dinners, Carla was the first person he called and profusely apologized to for not being able to dine with her. The truth was he’d lost his interest in wooing new clients. He’d rather be eating on the couch while watching some comedy rerun Carla had picked out.
It was only then that he realized in the short amount of time they’d been married, they’d settled into a routine—a comfortable routine. Perhaps too comfortable. Definitely too comfortable. Because what would happen when Carla left? And she would leave.
“Enough about us.” Carla’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “We should get back to work. When we get to the villa, we need to go over the final party details for our grand announcement.” She got to her feet and then turned back to him. “Are you coming?”
“I, uh, sure.”
She smiled at him.
“What’s that for?”
“You just surprise me. I thought your whole life was about work, but it’s not.”
“It’s not?”
She continued to smile as she shook her head. “This is a prime example.”
“It is?” He wasn’t sure he was comfortable where she was going with this, because his work was what was most important to him. It was what he could count on—what he could control.
“You could have given me a presentation on all this.” She waved her hands around at the serene field and the picturesque mountains. “But instead you brought me out here for a leisurely picnic.”
He’d thought he was making a strong pitch—one she couldn’t resist. But would he have gone to such lengths for any other business associate? The answer was a resounding no.
And that worried him. Carla had him acting out of character. And worse yet, he liked doing all these things with her. But he didn’t do commitments.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
IT WAS LATE, and she was tired.
There were pressing matters on her desk. But nothing that couldn’t wait for another day.
However, there was one thing that had been nagging at Carla. The way her stomach constantly felt as though it was on a roller coaster. For the past couple of weeks, she’d been so busy putting the final touches on this big reveal party that she hadn’t had time to stop.
And dinner, well, dinner usually came from a takeaway container. Even though she’d been pleasantly surprised to learn that Franco was an excellent cook, neither of them had been home long enough to visit the kitchen for anything other than a coffee to go. And so for the past several days, she’d blamed her uneasy stomach and consumption of antacids on her poor diet.
Moments ago, she’d heard a couple of women in the break room talking about one being pregnant. She momentarily wondered if that was her problem. She quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way.
And just as quickly the memory of their wedding night came back to her. Oh yes, it was possible. In her flurry of nervous activity, she’d missed taking her birth control one day. One measly day. Was that all it took?
Carla rushed to her desk and picked up her calendar. Yes, it was a paper calendar because phones were great and all, but sometimes she needed to see things in print. Her crazy schedule was one that she wanted laid out in front of her.
And on her calendar, she kept some personal notes. She religiously marked the first day of her period with a little star in the bottom corner of that appropriate day. Now she just had to locate the little star. Surely it couldn’t be that long ago.
There was no way she was pregnant with Franco’s baby. No way at all. Because that would definitely complicate things in so many ways.
She’d just flipped a page in her weekly planner when there was a knock on her open door. Why in the world had she left the door open? Now was not the time for interruptions.
“Hi.” Gianna stuck her head inside the doorway. “Can I come in?”
Carla pushed away her day planner and waved her cousin into the office. She sent her a weary smile. “I’m surprised to see you.”
As Gianna stepped into the office, Carla couldn’t help but notice how her pregnancy was already starting to show. Carla’s hand instinctively moved to her still-flat abdomen. Would she look like her cousin soon—all round with a baby?
When she realized what she’d done, she glanced down, grateful that the desk had shielded her action. She didn’t need Gianna asking any questions, because she had absolutely no answers. She didn’t even know what questions needed to be asked.
The only question that came to mind at the moment was...was she pregnant?
“I wasn’t sure you’d still be around.” Gianna’s voice focused Carla’s thoughts on their conversation instead of the frantic, rambling thoughts floating around in her mind.
“I had some last-minute things to do.” Her gaze moved to her open day planner. There were no stars on the exposed page. But her search would have to wait for a couple more agonizing moments.
Gianna arched a brow. “Is everything ready to go for tomorrow?”
Carla nodded. Though internally she felt everything was anything but good. In fact, if
her suspicions were right, everything was so very wrong. “We’re all set for the big announcement.”
“And how’s your father taking all this?”
“So far he hasn’t acknowledged my husband. All he can think about is how I married the enemy. But he’s intrigued by the changes to the restaurants.”
Sympathy radiated from Gianna’s eyes. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
Carla shook her head. “It’ll all work out in the end. My father may be stubborn, but even he can’t argue when presented with profits.”
“I’m just so glad this is going to work out for you and Franco. You two make a good couple. Not only do you get along at home, but you also work well together at the office.”
Did they work well together both in and out of the office? As she thought back over the last several weeks, she realized that in the beginning things had been a bit rough, but as time went by, they’d learned to complement each other. Where one was focused on the cost, the other was focused on the creative end of things. Together, they balanced each other out.
But if she was pregnant, would that balance shift? Would the alliance they’d formed shatter? Or would Franco surprise her and be eager to be her partner through this, too?
“Carla?” Gianna waved her hand in front of her face. “Where did you go?”
“Sorry. I was just distracted...wondering if everything had been taken care of for tomorrow.”
“Then I should leave you to get back to your work. I just wanted you to know that I have delivered the last of the prints.”
They’d hired Gianna to photograph not only the facelift at the flagship restaurant but also the meal in the field just as Franco had imagined it. And Gianna’s work was stunning. No wonder she was an award-winning photographer.
“Your work is awesome!” Carla stepped out from behind her desk. “Thank you. You did a wonderful job making the colors pop. It’s almost like you could step into the photos. And you really brought Franco’s image to life with the mountains in the background. He was so pleased when he saw the proofs. I’m sure he’ll tell you when you see him.”
“I kind of thought he’d be here with you.”
“He had a last-minute business meeting. It seems the word is out about our collaboration, and his company is picking up a lot of new distributors.”
“That’s great!” Gianna smiled. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. I’ll see you then. Thanks again.” They hugged.
And then Carla was once again alone in the office with her thoughts—her ominous thoughts. She closed the door before rushing back to her desk. She couldn’t bear any further interruptions right now. She felt as though the world she knew was about to explode.
She had absolutely no idea how she felt about the idea of a baby. At this stage in her life, she hadn’t even considered whether she was going to have a family or not. Instead she’d been focused on her career and taking care of her father.
She drew the day planner closer. Her gaze scanned the page again for the elusive star that appeared to be missing from page after page. Where is it?
Was it possible she’d forgotten to make the notation? Yes, that was possible. Right now, she was willing to grasp any reasonable explanation, but at the same time she knew the missing star hadn’t been a clerical error on her part, because she didn’t recall having her period in a quite some time.
She groaned. This is not good, not good at all.
She flipped through too many pages for her comfort. And then she came to the week of her wedding. She noticed now that she’d doodled on it with wedding bells. She kept going. And then two weeks before the wedding, she found the little star.
She groaned again.
This can’t be happening. Not to me. Not now.
There was only one way to tell. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She had a pregnancy test to pick up on her way home.
Please say it isn’t so.
* * *
The pregnancy tests were in her hand.
All four boxes.
Luckily Carla had taken her oversized purse to work that day. She stuffed the tests inside the bag. They barely fit. But there was no way she was leaving something this big up to one measly test. Whatever the outcome, she had to be sure. She had to be absolutely positive she wasn’t pregnant. Though the more she evaluated her symptoms and the amount of time since her monthly, she was more and more certain she was carrying a little Franco or a little Carla. She inwardly groaned.
All she could hope was that Franco’s dinner meeting ran late.
What was she going to do if Franco was home when she got there? She probably should have called him to see what time he expected his meeting to end, but she was worried he’d detect the worry in her voice. And then the questions would come one after the other. She just needed a little time to herself. A chance to take the test alone. Because if her instinct was right, she’d be in shock. A baby was not in her plans. Not now. Not ever with Franco.
As she pulled into a parking spot, she groaned when she saw Franco’s car. What was he doing home so soon? Usually his business meetings dragged on and on. But then she realized he might have left his car at home and gotten a ride to dinner. That thought bolstered her mood a tiny bit.
She headed inside and took the elevator to the top floor. She slipped her key in the lock and let herself inside. She paused and listened.
She didn’t hear anything. Thank goodness. She unbuttoned her coat. It was such a relief to be home alone—
“There you are.”
Carla jumped. Her heart lodged in her throat.
Franco stepped into the hallway and smiled at her. “I was surprised to beat you home.”
“You...you’re here?”
“Of course I’m here.” He arched a dark brow. “I live here. Remember?”
“I... I know.” Heat swirled in her chest and rushed to her cheeks. Act natural. Don’t let him suspect anything. “I’m just surprised.”
She slipped off her coat and flung it over the bulging purse. The last thing she needed was for it to spill open.
Because there was no way she was mentioning any of this to Franco. If she ended up not being pregnant, he’d get worked up for no reason at all. And right before the biggest day of their careers just wouldn’t be fair to him.
And if she was pregnant? Her stomach took a nervous lurch. Well, she’d deal with that hurdle when she got to it.
“Carla, are you all right?”
“Sure. Fine.” She plastered a smile on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be? Tomorrow is our big day.”
“It’s just that you look a little gray.”
“Gray? Boy. No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend with compliments like that.”
“Excuse me. But I can’t have a girlfriend because we’re married.” He sent her a flirtatious smile. “Remember? Or should I remind you?”
“No. No. I remember.” She ducked around him, hoping to escape to her room.
“Carla, have I done something to upset you?”
She paused and turned to him. His concern for her feelings would have normally made her heart flutter, but not tonight. Right now, all she could think about were the tests in her purse.
“Not at all,” she said, “I’m just wiped out. I’m calling it a night.” She headed for her bedroom. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“But—”
She kept going. She just couldn’t keep pretending that everything was all right. And she was scared that he was going to figure out what was going on with her. Though the logical part of her mind said there was no way that he could guess. But Franco knew her better than any other man ever had.
Finally she closed the door behind her. She didn’t have time to stop. She needed to get this over with—just like removing a bandage, it needed to be done qu
ickly. She took one of the tests and headed for the bathroom.
And then the waiting began. She checked the timer on her phone. Barely thirty seconds had gone by. Not able to sit still, she paced back and forth in front of her king-size bed.
Her phone buzzed. She checked her messages to find a text from her assistant. It would have to wait. She couldn’t concentrate on business right now. She couldn’t think about anything but the test result. It had to be negative. It had to be—
Knock. Knock.
No. No. No. Not now.
“I’m busy,” she called out.
“Sorry. I just wanted you to know I brought home some food for you. It can be reheated.”
“Thanks. I’ll be out later.”
She could hear his retreating footsteps. That was thoughtful of him. Franco was a really good guy, but she distinctly remembered him telling her he didn’t want to be a father.
She resumed her pacing.
Five minutes later, the timer on her phone dinged. The moment of truth had arrived.
She rushed into the bathroom, picked up the test and found it was negative. A big whoosh of air escaped her lips. It was over. She’d been worried about nothing.
She picked up the box to throw it away when a folded piece of paper slipped out of the box and fell to the floor. It was the instructions to the test. She probably should have read it before she took the test, but she’d been so anxious. And she had read the instructions on the back of the box. But this slip of paper had so much more information printed on it.
Her curiosity prompted her to unfold the paper. She started reading. A negative test result could not be guaranteed to be truly negative. A future test could be positive as the pregnancy progresses. But a positive test was a hundred percent accurate. Carla frowned.
She continued reading and found the test was most accurate first thing in the morning. She sighed. There was more waiting. But if this test was negative, she told herself the next one would be negative, too. She was worried about nothing.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Falling for Her Convenient Groom Page 12
