by Kate Hardy
‘Thank you.’
The meal was exquisitely cooked and exquisitely plated, and each course was served with the perfect matched wine. After coffee, and the nicest petits fours Luc had ever eaten, the limo took them to a small, intimate jazz club.
‘Would you dance with me...?’ He paused. ‘Are you still Dr Phillips, or will you be known as Dr Bianchi?’ It was the one detail they hadn’t discussed—and it was an important one.
‘If I kept my name,’ she said, ‘it might look suspicious, so I guess I’ll be changing my name to yours.’
‘Then will you dance with me, Dr Bianchi?’
‘With pleasure, Mr Bianchi,’ she said.
* * *
Kelly loved the little basement space, with the jazz trio playing old love songs and the singer crooning into an old-fashioned radio-type microphone.
‘The perfect evening for an elopement,’ she said. Even if it wasn’t a real one.
As she’d pretty much expected, Luc was an excellent dancer with a good sense of rhythm, and he guided her expertly through the steps of the dances she didn’t know, whisking her through foxtrots and quicksteps and a cha-cha-cha.
And then everything slowed right down and he held her really, really close for an old-fashioned rumba. Kelly found herself holding Luc just as tightly, their movements so tiny and slow that it was as if they were swaying, rather than moving across the dance floor.
She looked up at him and there was a slash of colour across his cheeks. His eyes were huge and his mouth was slightly parted. And she couldn’t help reaching up and stealing a kiss.
‘Kelly,’ he whispered, and kissed her back.
The whole world melted away.
She had no idea how long they kissed, what was playing, who was near them. All she was aware of was Luc—the warmth of his body, the scent of his skin, the feel of his mouth against hers.
When he broke the kiss, they were both shaking.
‘This isn’t supposed to be happening,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she said. It was a marriage in name only. The rules were simple. And yet things were changing. This whole thing felt like a fairy tale—a dream. ‘It’s our wedding day,’ she whispered.
‘Yes.’ He kissed her again. ‘My beautiful bride.’
In name only. Except right now that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted him.
The sensible side of her knew that this would be complicating things. That if she followed her heart right now, tomorrow would be awkward and full of difficult questions. But she’d spent the last two years hiding away, burying herself in work. Since Luc had come into her life, things had started to change. She’d enjoyed their dates and getting to know each other. He’d reminded her that life could still be fun—that you could be a serious doctor and dedicated to your work, but at the same time you could enjoy a show or sit on a merry-go-round or dance to the kind of music that heated your blood.
Life was short. You couldn’t predict what was going to happen.
Tonight, would it be so bad to give in to the desire that pulsed through her veins?
‘Kiss me,’ she whispered.
And he did.
* * *
It’s our wedding day.
This was supposed to be in name only.
He really shouldn’t have brought her to the jazz club, where the music oozed sensuality and the dance steps made him aware of every move she made. He should take a step back right now. He should definitely not be kissing her.
Yet he couldn’t resist her.
Not when her green eyes were huge, when her lips were parted, when her voice was all soft and she was asking him to kiss her.
They both regret this tomorrow. It was so far away from their deal.
But he couldn’t stop himself.
He kissed her. Danced with her, hardly aware of the beat of the music because the beat of his blood was thrumming in his veins. Held her close. Wanting her.
Being with her made him feel different. Made him want things he’d trained himself not to want, because it wouldn’t be fair to start a relationship and then change all the rules.
Yet that was what was happening right now. Here, on the dimly lit dance floor. On their wedding day. Their wedding night.
‘Kelly,’ he whispered. ‘It’s our wedding night.’
She stroked his face. ‘I don’t want to dance any more.’
He needed to do the right thing. ‘I’ll take you back to the hotel.’
‘And stay with me?’
His heart skipped a beat—and another. ‘Kelly...’
‘As you said, it’s our wedding night.’
And they were both sober. It wasn’t alcohol making him dizzy, it was desire. Desire he could see matched in her eyes—or was he just seeing what he wanted to see?
‘Kelly...’ He was lost for words. Tongue-tied. At sixes and sevens.
‘Luc.’ She reached up and kissed him, and he was lost.
He took her hand and led her out of the club to the limo. They didn’t talk on the way back to the hotel, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. When they arrived at the hotel, Luc’s fingers tightened around hers and he helped her out of the car. Federico shadowed them to the lift, and then it was just the two of them.
Kelly looked suddenly nervous. And Luc could guess exactly why. It was their wedding night. They were alone. And her doubts and common sense were clearly creeping back in.
He kissed her lightly. ‘If you’ve changed your mind, I won’t pressure you.’
‘I’ve not changed my mind. Just... It scares me a bit,’ she admitted.
‘I know. This kind of scares me, too,’ he said softly, and kissed her again.
That strange, dizzying feeling was back, and she made no protest when he picked her up and carried her across the threshold of the suite.
‘Tradition?’ she asked, her voice husky.
He set her back on her feet. ‘Tradition.’ And he wanted that feeling back, the way things had been at the club. Romantic and sensual, just the two of them in a bubble and tomorrow could take care of itself. ‘Dance with me again.’
She nodded, and he flicked into the Internet on his phone to find some soft, slow music. When he opened his arms, she walked into them and swayed with him to the music. When he kissed her, she kissed him all the way back. And when he picked her up and carried her to his room, she made no protest...
* * *
The next morning, Kelly woke in Luc’s arms. In Luc’s bed.
Memories of the previous night came rushing back, and her cheeks flooded with colour. She couldn’t even blame last night on drinking too much, because they hadn’t. They’d drunk wine with their meal, but not massive amounts.
Last night had been because they’d both wanted it.
But would things be different today?
‘Good morning,’ he said.
‘Good morning.’ What was the etiquette in this sort of situation—when you woke up in the bed of the man you’d married in name only? She didn’t have a clue. Right now she was going to take her lead from Luc.
‘I know we didn’t plan last night,’ he said.
He could say that again. ‘No.’
‘And we’re going to have to decide what happens now.’
‘We could pretend it didn’t happen,’ she said.
‘If that’s what you want.’ He paused. ‘Or maybe we could look at this another way. We’re here for a couple more days. Maybe we could have this as a kind of time out. Make this a real honeymoon.’
And did that mean the start of a real marriage? She hadn’t let herself think of that possibility. It wasn’t part of their agreement. But she really liked the man she was getting to know. The physical attraction was there, too. Did he feel the same?
She wasn’t a coward, so she asked, ‘And when we get back to
London?’
He looked at her. ‘It could get complicated. In London, it would be sensible to stick to Plan A.’
‘A marriage in name only.’
‘A marriage in name only,’ he agreed.
The sensible side of her knew he was right. If they let themselves get emotionally involved, it would start to get messy when they had their quiet divorce in a few months’ time. Besides, while they were out here they needed to take some convincing photographs to make their families believe that they were in love and had got married in a rush—and being intimate with each other was the best way to make it look convincing. So they needed to keep the here and now separate from the future.
‘A real honeymoon here,’ she said, ‘and Plan A when we’re back in London. That works for me.’
He stroked her face. ‘Thank you.’
Kelly still felt a little shy with him, but at the same time she was starting to be more confident. Room service brought them coffee and the photographs that Patty had dropped off.
‘She’s done a fantastic job,’ Luc said. ‘And our sales assistant was right about the monochrome photos with an accent.’
‘They’re perfect. We should send her one of these with the flowers,’ Kelly said.
‘Agreed.’ He kissed her lightly. ‘Give me five minutes to sort it out, and we can go down for breakfast.’
‘OK.’
Funny, this time round she hadn’t married for love. But the way she and Luc were looking at each other in the photographs was very, very convincing. Either Patty was a genius photographer, or she’d spotted something that Kelly and Luc hadn’t quite admitted to themselves was there...
She shook herself. This wasn’t a good idea. She couldn’t fall for him. They didn’t have a future.
‘It’s all arranged,’ Luc said. ‘Patty’s going to courier a photograph over to the florist, and everything will be there this morning.’
‘Perfect,’ Kelly said with a smile.
After breakfast, the limo took them to the Met. They spent the morning wandering around, enjoying the art, and then headed for the Cloisters which housed the Met’s medieval art collection.
‘This is gorgeous,’ she said. ‘Those arches make this feel like being in the middle of medieval Italy.’
‘It reminds me of the old parts of Bordimiglia,’ Luc agreed.
They wandered through the gardens hand in hand, and visited the famous Unicorn Tapestries. Then Luc glanced at his watch. ‘We need an early dinner. Is Times Square OK with you?’
She smiled. ‘I’m happy to go wherever you like.’
He’d booked a table at a small place where they served the nicest pizza she’d eaten outside of Italy.
‘Ready for this?’ he asked, looking pleased with himself.
‘Ready for what?’
‘A couple of minutes and you’ll see for yourself,’ he said, shepherding her down Broadway. He stopped outside a theatre.
She looked up to read the sign and blinked. ‘No way. No way have you got tickets for Hamilton. It’s booked up years in advance!’
‘There are certain advantages,’ he said, ‘to the other side of my life.’
She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe this.’
‘Believe it. Here’s the proof.’ He produced tickets from his pocket and smiled at her. ‘I think we need a selfie.’
She threw her arms around him. ‘Luc, you’re amazing. I’ve wanted to see this show so much—and, even though Susie calls me the Ticket Whisperer, I couldn’t get tickets for us. Now I’m seeing it. On Broadway. With you. It’s a real dream come true.’
She posed for a selfie with him, making sure to get the tickets and the theatre’s sign in the shot. Then she looked at the picture and noticed the time. ‘Oh, it’ll be gone midnight back home. I’ll send this tomorrow so I don’t wake anyone up.’
Just as he’d done with Les Misérables, Luc had organised a box. ‘Better get the programmes,’ he said. ‘We need four.’
‘Four?’ Kelly was mystified.
‘You’ll find out why later.’
‘Why can’t you tell me now?’
‘Because I’m annoying,’ he said with a grin, refusing to enlighten her.
The musical was every bit as good as she’d hoped, and she loved every second of it. And then, after the show, he shepherded her down to a restricted area where they got to meet the cast. At that point, she realised why he wanted four programmes: because the cast signed one each for her mother, Susie and Angela as well as one for her.
‘That was so nice of you, tonight,’ she said when they were finally back at their hotel. ‘You really didn’t have to organise that.’
He shrugged. ‘I thought you’d enjoy it—and that your mum, Susie and Angela would appreciate a souvenir you definitely wouldn’t get elsewhere. And if you can let me know some appropriate dates, my press team will organise tickets for you all to go together in London.’
She smiled. ‘That would be amazing. Thank you so much.’
* * *
The next morning, before breakfast, Kelly sent the photographs to her mum, sister and Angela.
All three texted straight back with messages along the lines of How awesome is that? Can’t believe how lucky you are.
Not just me. Luc says he can organise tickets for us all in London, she texted back. Just let me know dates.
Five minutes later, she looked at her new husband. ‘According to the barrage of texts I’ve just received, you’re now officially the new hero of three women in London.’
He laughed. ‘Let me know the dates and I’ll organise it.’
They went sightseeing again, taking the ferry out to Ellis Island and went to see the Statue of Liberty; Kelly bought paperweights for her dad, her brother-in-law and Angela’s husband. They spent the afternoon in the Museum of Natural History seeing the dinosaurs and got models for the twins, and Luc’s nephew and niece. Finally they watched the sunset from the Empire State Building before heading out to dinner.
But better than all the sights was being with Luc. Something seemed to have shifted in their relationship, and she was seeing him differently. As a lover, not just as a colleague.
This was a dangerous game. Kelly knew they were going back to Plan A once they were back in England. But, for now, it was fun to dream.
On their last morning in New York, they headed back to the Clerk’s Office to sort out the paperwork to authenticate their American wedding certificate in Europe with an Apostille. And then it was time to go back to London.
‘Time to tell everyone,’ she said.
At the airport in New York, Kelly texted her parents.
About to catch flight. Can we come and see you tonight when we get back? Ask Susie, Nick and the boys, too, please.
Luc put his arms round her. ‘Don’t look so worried. Everything’s going to be just fine.’
She hoped so. She really, really hoped so.
CHAPTER NINE
‘SO DID YOU have a wonderful time in New York?’ Caroline asked, hugging Kelly and Luc in turn.
‘We did, Mum,’ Kelly said. ‘And we brought presents.’
‘Dinosaurs!’ Jacob and Oscar chorused in delight when they opened their parcels, and they disappeared to play some complicated game about pterodactyls and a T-Rex.
‘Dad, Nick, we hope you like these,’ Kelly said.
The men duly exclaimed over their Statutes of Liberty.
‘Mum and Susie...’ Kelly handed over the parcels with a grin.
‘Oh, wow!’ Susie hugged them both when she saw the signed programmes. ‘That’s amazing.’
‘And the tickets are booked for next month, in London,’ Luc added.
‘That’s so kind of you.’ Susie and Caroline were all smiles.
Kelly’s pulse felt as if it had doubled. ‘Um, we also hav
e some news.’ She swallowed. ‘While we were away...’ Her throat dried, and so did the words.
‘It was all my fault,’ Luc said. ‘I kind of got swept away by the romance of New York.’
‘You got engaged?’ Caroline asked.
‘Um—not quite.’ Kelly held out her left hand.
‘Hang on. There are two rings on your finger. Are you trying to tell us you got married?’ Susie demanded.
‘It’s my fault,’ Luc said again. ‘And I apologise. And we’ll have a proper celebration with you now we’re back in London.’
‘You got married.’ Caroline’s voice was flat, and Kelly realised just how her mother was feeling. Hurt and pushed out—because Kelly hadn’t confided in her. Because Kelly had resisted all the suitable men paraded in front of her, and then got married to someone her family had only met once.
‘Mum, we never meant to hurt anyone,’ she said.
‘If the other side of my life got involved, everything would be stuffy and formal, and I didn’t want to put Kelly under that sort of stress,’ Luc said. ‘We really didn’t do it to leave anyone out or hurt anyone.’
‘We just wanted to keep it low-key,’ Kelly said.
Luc put his arm round Kelly. ‘I know it’s fast and we’ve only known each other for a couple of months. But I have a huge amount of respect for Kelly. She’s a brilliant doctor and one of the nicest people I know.’
‘What about love?’ Robin asked softly. ‘You haven’t said anything about love.’
Kelly went very still. Was Luc going to lie?
* * *
He’d really miscalculated this. Kelly had warned him that her family would be hurt, but Luc had been so focused on proving a point to his father that he’d brushed her worries aside. He’d thought of how his own family would react, with coolness and all emotions buried. Which wasn’t how Kelly’s family was at all.
And now he had to fix this. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause a rift between Kelly and her family.
He knew what Robin wanted him to say. That yes, Luc loved his daughter.
