His hopes were dashed. “And this work, it’s that important to you?”
She nodded, but her gaze didn’t quite meet his. “I’m being mentored by Francois Lacroix, one of the greatest fashion designers in the world.”
When she mentioned the name, Luca was surprised. Even he had heard of the man. As she talked about this new endeavor, she became animated. Her face lit up and it was obvious that she’d found something that brought her tremendous joy.
Luca could see why this was important to her. “He must see a lot of promise in you. I’d like to see your designs.”
Elena’s blue eyes widened. “You would?”
“Sure. I think it’s great that you are doing something you’re passionate about.”
“I don’t know why I was worried that you’d try to talk me out of it. You always supported me, even when everyone else washed their hands. Like when I wanted to test out of school early so I could move to Paris.”
“How could I tell you to stay put when I didn’t?”
“But it was more than that. You always told me that I could do whatever I put my mind to. Unlike my mother, who thought I should stay close to home and find a suitable husband. She never did understand my need to venture into the world and find my place.”
“So you’re really happy in Paris?” He braced himself for her answer.
“I am happy. I don’t know if it’s Paris or the fact that I’m chasing my dreams. Can you imagine, instead of me modeling someone else’s clothes, one day it might be my name up there and someone else might be wearing my fashions?” A broad smile lit up her face.
He didn’t want to stand between Elena and that happiness. But they did have a marriage and a baby to consider. That had to be their priority. Surely she’d agree.
“And what of the baby and our marriage?” he asked.
“I gave it some thought last night, and I think I have a compromise of sorts.”
“I’m listening.” He doubted he’d like this suggestion, because it probably had to do with Paris.
“I think you and I should stay married for the next year. By then the baby will be born, and we can decide whether to continue the marriage, or if either of us wants out, we can end it.”
Well, that sounded good so far. “I think that’s agreeable.”
“As for the living arrangement, I’ll be spending the bulk of my time in Paris, and I’m sure you’ll be spending most of your time in Halencia.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? You won’t be staying in Halencia?”
“No, we aren’t going to live apart.”
She frowned. “Of course we are. We can visit each other on holidays. This doesn’t have to change things between us unless we let it.”
His jaw tensed. It had already changed everything. As soon as he said, “I do,” his whole world seemed to shift, and he had yet to regain his footing. “And the baby? Am I never supposed to see it, either?”
“You’re impossible to talk to when you’re angry.” She turned and started to walk away.
He reached out, catching her wrist. “Elena, don’t walk away. We need to get this all out there. What about the baby?”
She sighed and turned. “He or she will live with me in Paris. You can visit as much as you like.”
“And that’s it?” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I’m just going to be the absentee father?”
She moved the sand around with her foot. “I thought about it, and I just don’t see any other alternative—at least not until the child is older.”
“And by then I’ll be a stranger to them.” His voice was filled with anger. He hadn’t even realized until this moment just how passionate he was about playing an important role in his child’s life. “Is that what you want?”
“I...I don’t know. What else can we do?”
At this point, he was the one to turn and walk away. He had to put distance between them, because he didn’t trust himself to pick the right words in the heat of the moment.
Didn’t Elena understand what she was asking of him?
Sure, maybe he’d never expected to be a father, but that choice had been taken out of his hands. And now, well, he was starting to imagine a little boy, inquisitive and daring, or a little girl with her mother’s forget-me-not blue eyes and blond locks. He was starting to put images to the concept of Elena being pregnant. With each passing day, it was becoming more of a reality to him.
And he wanted to do more for his child than give them his name. But now Elena was blocking him from doing that. She’d essentially written him out of her life as well as the baby’s. Now what was he going to do about it?
* * *
He’d really mucked things up.
Later that evening, Luca sat at the enormous wooden desk in the palace library. The remainder of the lemon grove’s financial reports had shown up while he was out. Now it was his job to formulate a plan to salvage his legacy. He needed to turn things around. He just couldn’t fail his family again.
But instead of figures and projections, all he could think about right now was Elena. After telling himself that he’d keep his cool and watch what he said, he’d blown it. He just couldn’t stand the thought of not playing a vital role in his child’s life. That fact should shock him after telling himself for years that he wouldn’t have a family, but instead the decision to be an active part of his child’s life came easily to him—as natural as breathing.
And for Elena to try to cut him out of that experience was unthinkable. He’d thought he knew her, but perhaps he was mistaken. Could that be right? Was Elena really a stranger to him?
“How does it look?” his father asked as he strode into the room.
Torn from his thoughts, Luca glanced up. “Are you sure this is everything?”
“Of course. Why? What are you missing?”
“Profits. And your debt ratio is astronomical.”
His father’s face was pale and drawn. As he looked at his father, Luca could see the toll the years had taken on the duke. He didn’t look good. Luca truly had been gone too long. It had been easier to be secluded from his family than to have to deal with all the problems and responsibilities family entailed—like the problems facing him now.
But those days were over. If he were honest with himself, that decision had been made when his sister invited him back to Mirraccino for this celebration. He hadn’t fully realized it then, but where he normally avoided family gatherings, he was drawn to this one. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that his sister had also told him that Elena had been invited.
Luca just never imagined that he would arrive to find out that his father was in such deep financial trouble. It would be a miracle if they’d be able to keep their home.
His father pulled a wooden chair next to the desk and settled on it. “I tried. It just got away from me. I thought I could turn things around.”
Luca focused on the summary spreadsheet that he’d created on his laptop. “I’ve done an overview of your debt, expenses and revenue. Without a major influx of cash, I don’t see being able to turn things around.” When he glanced over at his father, he caught him blinking repeatedly. This display of emotion from his stalwart father shook Luca to the core. “I’m sorry.”
His father sniffed back the rush of emotions. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I am to blame.”
“I should have come back sooner instead of letting you deal with it all on your own.”
“What can we do?”
Luca leaned back in his chair and rubbed his jaw. “I’ll be honest—it isn’t good. If you were one of my clients, I’d tell you to sell everything, make settlements with your creditors and start over.”
“But our home—I couldn’t bear to lose it. It’s full of memories
...”
Of Luca’s mother? Was it possible that his parents cared more for each other than he would ever know? Perhaps relationships were more complicated than he’d imagined. He was certainly learning that with Elena.
“Can I ask you something?” Luca uttered the words before he evaluated the ramifications of what he was about to ask.
“Sure. You know that you can talk to me about anything.”
Luca had never felt that way about his father, but perhaps the years and loneliness had mellowed the man. “It’s about Mother.”
“What about her?”
“Did you ever love her?”
His father leaned back as though the question struck him physically. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
This was where it got difficult. Luca swallowed hard. “I heard you two. When I was little, you would fight, a lot. Annabelle was too young to remember, but I do. I remember Mother saying that she wished you two hadn’t married.”
His father’s shoulders drooped. “I’m sorry you overheard us. We thought that we were being discreet.” His father took a moment as though to sort through his memories. “Your mother and I were practically strangers when we married. It was arranged to strengthen alliances between Halencia and Mirraccino and it took us a long time to find common ground. With each passing year, our respect for each other grew, as did our friendship. It was hard won, which I like to think made our relationship stronger.”
“Why did I never know any of this?”
His father shrugged. “I guess you never asked and I never thought of it.”
“But you two ended up loving each other?”
“How could I not love your mother? She was the most amazing woman I’d ever met. She was gracious and kind, not to mention a beauty. But she had a strong spirit and was quite determined to do things her way. There were numerous areas where we had different views, including her allegiance to her brother, the king. That’s what most of our heated exchanges were about. But what you heard were words spoken in the heat of the moment. What you didn’t hear were the apologies.”
Luca couldn’t quite digest all this information. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. His parents’ story certainly wasn’t like the fairy tales. Theirs was complicated and messy.
And Luca didn’t do messy.
“Thank you for telling me,” Luca said.
“I hope it helps you.”
Luca wondered if his father knew more than he was saying, but Luca wasn’t going there. They had another matter to discuss.
“I’ve gone over these numbers for the past few hours, and at this point, I know that if something isn’t done right away, you’ll lose everything.” He took a deep breath. “I have some money set aside, which, along with my trust fund, we can use to pay off some of the more pressing debts, but it still won’t be enough to make the company solvent. However, it should give us some breathing room.”
“You...you would do that?”
“Why do you sound surprised? This is my legacy and that of my children. I want to hold on to it as much as you.”
“Children?” There was a hint of glee in his father’s voice. “Does this mean you’ve decided to settle down with a family?”
Avoiding the question, Luca said, “It means I have a vested interest in making this work. And it means I need to step up my efforts to bring in a new revenue source, and I think I know of a way.”
The answer was the king. He had connections far beyond the normal businessman. In fact, the Mirraccino palace in many instances acted as an agent for its citizens. Now, granted, the lemon grove was not part of Mirraccino, but they were family. Luca could only hope that the king did better by his extended family than Luca had done by his immediate family. Guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders for pushing away his family and ignoring his obligations after his mother’s death.
Everything was now in jeopardy—his tenuous relationship with his father and his sister as well as the lemon grove. He had to hope that if he fixed the business then his relationships would continue to fall into place. But how could he get to the king when he was sequestered behind guarded doors?
Elena’s image came to mind. Her father was the only person the king had been seeing since the truth of Luca’s mother’s murder had been revealed. The news had hit the king especially hard, since Luca’s mother had been trying to protect him from one of his own trusted employees.
Luca dismissed the idea of involving Elena. It didn’t feel right. Besides, with the way they’d left things, she wouldn’t be in any frame of mind to help him. There had to be another way.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THERE WAS NO avoiding this evening’s festivities.
As it was, Elena had pleaded a headache the day before and stayed home, missing out on the croquet and bocce ball tournaments. She had been looking forward to them, too, because they were activities she could do and not worry about the baby. She had to admit that she did have a bit of a competitive streak.
But she knew that Luca was upset with her. In fact, their last conversation had been the angriest she’d ever seen him. He was usually so laid-back and let things roll off his shoulders. But this thing with the baby—it really got to him.
Was it possible the self-proclaimed bachelor was more excited to be a father than he was willing to admit? If so, it would be the first sign that Luca was letting his guard down. Was it possible? Or was she only seeing what she wanted to see?
Elena rushed around her bedroom in her parents’ home. Tonight was a dinner and dance that would wrap up the weeklong celebration. This morning Annabelle had phoned to check on her and make sure that Elena would be in attendance for the evening’s festivities.
Knock. Knock.
“Dear, are you almost ready?” Her mother’s voice echoed through the closed door.
“Almost.”
“I just don’t want you to be late. And the car is here—”
“What car?” Elena rushed to the window.
Was Luca out there waiting for her? Her stomach quivered with nerves. They’d left things in such an awkward spot that she wasn’t sure what to say to him. She had no answers, just more questions.
“I assume Annabelle sent it for you.”
Not Luca. Okay. “I’ll be down in a jiff.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No. Thanks. I’ve got it.” She rushed back to the full-length mirror.
Tonight she was wearing another one of her own creations. It was a light blue material. The shade was similar to her eyes, or so she’d been told. It had a strapless beaded bustier and attached to it was a long chiffon skirt in the same shade. It wasn’t one of her more daring designs, but this was, after all, an appearance at the palace. Traditional trumped experimental in this particular scenario.
She wondered if Luca would like it. He had no idea that she was going to wear an Elena Ricci original. But on second thought, her clothes would probably be the last thing on his mind tonight. She’d hoped that he would have calmed down enough to call her by now, but there was still no word from him.
She slipped on white sandals that strapped over her pink-painted toes and wrapped around her ankles. She pulled up the zipper in the back of each shoe. When she grabbed her clutch purse from the bed, it was time to put on a show.
With each step, her nerves became more taut. She had no idea what to say to Luca, and there was no avoiding him this evening. She truly wanted to make things better between them. Their marriage had barely made it twenty-four hours before they’d had their first major fight. If she believed in omens, this would be a worrisome one.
The clap of hands had her gazing at the bottom of the steps. There stood not only her mother but also her father.
“Father, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the king?”
“Your mother told me you were getting all dressed up tonight and I couldn’t miss it.”
She rushed over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug. She loved her father. He might not have been around as much as she’d wanted, but when he was there, he was alert and attentive.
And then she turned to her mother, who now had tears in her eyes. They hugged. Her mother might be difficult, but her heart was always in the right place.
As Elena made her way out the door, she realized her child deserved a loving home just like that, not a home filled with heated words or, worse, stony silence because the parents were frustrated with having to give up their dreams. If she couldn’t find a way to build a genuine marriage with Luca, she knew she’d have to end things. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to any of them.
This acknowledgment hit her in the chest, knocking the air from her lungs. What would happen to Luca if she walked away? In the end, would he be relieved?
She halted the disturbing thoughts. She was jumping too far ahead. First, they had to get through this evening, and considering where they’d left things, it would be a challenge.
The car ride to the palace was short, and in no time she was being ushered inside. The grand dining room was set for the party. The table was the longest Elena had ever seen in her life—it would easily accommodate fifty.
Elena had only been in this room once. She had been quite small, and she and Luca had been sneaking around the palace. The room had been opened up for cleaning, and she had been floored by its vastness. She knew instantly that she didn’t belong there, but it didn’t stop her from having a quick look around. She had been a curious kid, anxious to find out what she’d been missing out on.
Now as an adult, she was still awed by the room and its elegance. The room was decorated in red brocade wallpaper. On each wall were portraits of family ancestors. Crystal chandeliers lined the long table.
And once again, she didn’t feel as though she belonged in this room with royalty, statesmen and dignitaries. Even if she had known them when they would play in the flower gardens and swim in the sea, she wasn’t one of them. Even with her secret marriage to Luca, she didn’t feel like a member of this prestigious group.
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