Falling for Her Convenient Groom

by Jennifer Faye

TODAY WAS A big deal. A great big huge deal.

  This was the day they’d been working night and day toward for six very long weeks.

  Franco smiled. All the worry, all the stress and all the sleepless nights crouched over his laptop had been worth it. Because he’d done something even his own grandfather hadn’t been able to accomplish—he’d gotten Marchello Spices back into the Falco restaurants.

  There was no bigger restaurant chain in all of Italy. And as their chain expanded beyond the Italian border, Marchello Spices would go along for the ride, expanding their demographics into other locations. The sky was the limit as far as Franco was concerned.

  A smile pulled at his lips as he buttoned the collar of his crisp white dress shirt. The only thing that could make this better was if Carla was right here next to him. And yet she’d withdrawn from him last night.

  After how far they’d come from being adversaries to learning to be friends to something he wasn’t quite ready to name—now she was shutting him out. Was it because the hard work was over? Their plan was in motion. Was she afraid he was going to bail on their marriage now that they were revealing the first stage of their plan?

  Nothing could be further from the truth. Because he’d signed onto this agreement for six full months and that’s exactly what he was going to do. This wasn’t the end, this was just the beginning of their successful alliance—business and personal.

  Because as good as they were in the office, they were even better at home. In fact, these days he now looked forward to coming home to her. Carla made him smile and laugh. She was great company, even when they were just sitting on the couch together watching one of her romantic comedies that he’d previously avoided at all costs. Now he actually didn’t mind the lighthearted movies or the way Carla sighed at the end when the hero proclaimed his love and kissed the heroine.

  Carla had shown him a marriage that was centered around a friendly companionship. She’d shown him that someone could offer a friendly gesture without expecting anything in return. And he’d found himself eager to get up in the morning to see her smiling face. Because he’d come to trust her—to know that she wasn’t going to run away when things got tough.

  But he also knew he couldn’t judge what they had now like it was a real marriage. Because there was no expectation of forever. No one had laid their heart on the line. There were no entanglements to keep them trapped in this marriage.

  They were both free to walk away. Just the thought of having a choice to stay or go made him feel lighter. Maybe this marriage contract hadn’t been so bad.

  He stared in the full-length mirror as he straightened his blue tie. Blue for victory. Today was a victorious day.

  He walked out his bedroom door and headed over to Carla’s bedroom. He rapped his knuckles on the door. “Carla?”

  No response.

  He knocked again. “Carla, are you ready?”

  Still no response.

  Maybe she was in the shower. He headed for the kitchen for his cup of coffee, not that he needed the jolt of caffeine today. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He’d been dreaming about this day for a long, long time.

  When he stepped in the kitchen, he found Carla standing in front of the sink. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Her voice lacked enthusiasm.

  “It’s going to be a great day. Are you ready?” It was then that he noticed she was still in her pale pink robe that gave a teasing glimpse of her toned thighs. His gaze lowered down the length of her long legs to her bare feet.

  She turned a worried gaze his way. “Are you sure your grandfather won’t be at the party?”

  “Positive. He said he wouldn’t celebrate anything that involved your father—”

  “Because if they ran into each other—” her voice wavered with emotion “—it wouldn’t be good. It’d be very bad. And with my father’s health condition—”

  “Shh...” Franco pulled her into his embrace. As her head came to rest on his shoulder, he said, “I know you’re exhausted. You worked so hard for this moment, but trust me when I say this evening will be amazing. The hard work is done. Now it’s time to enjoy our accomplishment. Tomorrow we’ll worry about what comes next.”

  Her arms snaked around his sides, pulling him close. The weight of her body leaned into him. And in that moment, everything felt right in his world. Maybe they didn’t have to rush out the door quite so soon—

  Before he could put his plan in motion, Carla untangled herself from his arms. She smiled up at him. “You’re right. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “You know, we don’t have to rush off to the office right now—”

  “Yes, we do. We’ve worked too hard not to see to every last detail. I’m running a bit late, but you go ahead.”

  Disappointed that he was being chased away, he said, “It’s no problem. I can wait.”

  She shook her head again. “You should go ahead without me. I’ll be a while. I need my hair and makeup to be just right.”

  He approached her. “Carla, what’s the matter?”

  She turned to him and flashed him a big smile, but he noticed how it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Why would anything be wrong? This is the day we’ve been working toward.”

  He also noticed that she was a bit pale. “Are you feeling all right?”

  She glanced away. “I didn’t realize I looked so bad.”

  “No. It’s not that. You’re always beautiful.” It was the truth. With her long hair clipped up with some loose curls framing her face that lacked any makeup, he thought she was striking. But it was the lack of color in her cheeks that had him worried. “It’s just that you look a little pale.”

  She shrugged off his concern. “It’s no big deal. I didn’t sleep well last night. A little makeup and I’ll be good as new.”

  He glanced down at her hands. He’d expected to find her drinking coffee to give herself a boost of energy after a night of tossing and turning, but instead he found her drinking milk. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? Because if not we’ll have to figure out somehow to explain your absence from today’s events—”

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying. Now if you’ll get going, I’ll be able to get ready in peace.”

  He hesitated. He had this feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him, but maybe that was just a bit of his old insecurities surfacing, because over the process of putting together this large and complex project, he’d learned that he could trust what Carla told him. Why should today be any different?

  “Okay. Do you need anything before I go?”

  She shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll see you soon.”

  And with that he walked away. The door clicked shut behind him. Though there was a part of him saying that he should have stayed just to make sure everything was fine with her, the other part of him said to trust her.

  * * *

  He was right.

  Everything was going to be all right.

  Carla had taken comfort in his words. She really needed to believe that everything would be all right. She wanted to believe all the worry over her father’s health and then taking part in this fake marriage was what had her body all out of sorts.

  And now that she thought it over in the light of day, it sounded quite plausible. After all, last night’s pregnancy test was negative. Today’s test would be negative as well. She was all worked up for nothing.

  She dumped out the remainder of her glass and placed it in the sink to deal with later. Right now, she had other matters on her mind—matters that had kept her awake most of the night. She had to know for certain one way or the other.

  She rushed to her room and once again went through the process. This time she took three tests at once. She wanted an actual reliable result—something she could count on.

  Carla lined the three tests up on the count
ertop and then set the timer on her phone. She’d never known that five minutes could last so long.

  She had a lot of things she needed to do that morning. She didn’t have time to waste. She should be choosing her wardrobe from her work attire to her little black dress for the big cocktail party, but instead she paced back and forth just as she’d done the night before.

  Her phone rang. She let it go to voice mail.

  Her phone chimed with a new text message. She ignored it.

  A minute or so later, her phone rang again. She also let it go directly to voice mail. Work could wait. This could not. She felt as though life as she knew it was on the line. And once she got the results, positive or negative, life would not go back to the carefree way that it had once been with Franco. She felt as though their relationship had been altered, even if he didn’t know it. This marriage was more than business—much more. But what did she want from it?

  Ding. Ding. Ding.

  It was her time of reckoning. She silenced the timer and then rushed to the bathroom. The breath caught in her lungs as her heart pounded. She picked up the first test.

  Positive.

  What? No. No. No.

  She picked up the second test. Positive. Her heart was beating so hard it echoed in her ears. Her breaths came faster and faster. This can’t be happening.

  One last test. She picked it up. Positive.

  By now her breathing consisted of short, rapid gasps. She felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. She sank down on the white tile floor. She put her head between her knees to try and keep the world from spinning madly around her.

  She was pregnant with Franco’s baby. How was she going to tell him?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THIS DAY WAS GREAT.

  Carla was amazing!

  And Franco couldn’t stop smiling. The day had been a whirlwind of interviews and photo ops celebrating the new Falco-Marchello project. Carla’s office had handled setting up all the PR, and they’d done a fabulous job. The conference room had been filled with eager reporters and plentiful cameras.

  When he’d first had the idea of getting Marchello Spices back in the Falco restaurants, he’d just thought about getting a couple of spices back on the tables. But with Carla’s help and vision, they’d gone so far from his basic vision to something with momentum.

  This project had taken on a life of its own from general spices to carefully blended combinations exclusive to the Falco restaurants. To new menu items that utilized Marchello Spices. And finally to the new ads featuring that special place Franco had taken Carla for that very special lunch. Every time he caught a glimpse of Gianna’s prints, he couldn’t help but smile.

  They did great work together. And his grandfather was wrong when he said that working with a Falco was a mistake. Carla had proven time and again that he could trust her. And though he’d been leery of the marriage in the beginning—okay, more like downright opposed to it—it’d worked out. They hadn’t gotten too caught up in it. At least nothing that couldn’t be undone without destroying either of them.

  And he was going to see if Carla wanted to continue seeing him after the divorce. Because he just couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. Every time he thought of her, he got this warm feeling in his chest. He refused to put a name to it.

  Maybe she wanted the same thing—maybe that’s why she’d tried a couple of times that day to draw him away for a private word. But each time she’d approached him, right behind her was a member of the press. They’d latched onto this story because it had a lot of history—most families in Italy had at one time or another eaten a memorable meal in the Falco restaurants, and the red, white and green Marchello Spices shakers had at one point been a staple in most households. So their reunion was something that touched many lives. There was a lot of excitement.

  But now as evening rolled around and they were about to head into the cocktail party, he didn’t see Carla anywhere. He was eager to find out if she’d had the same thing on her mind about them giving in to their rising desires. He really hoped so.

  With a plan to seek out Carla, he started to move around the room. His progress was hampered by business associates. He pasted on a smile and shook hands, but all the while his gaze darted around the room, searching for Carla. Where could she be?

  And then he reassured himself that there was nothing to worry about, as she probably wanted to make a spectacular entrance. That was something his stunningly beautiful wife could do without even trying.

  When his gaze strayed to the door, he came to an abrupt stop. The breath caught in his lungs. He didn’t so much as blink as his mind rushed to make sense of what he was seeing.

  It was his grandparents. They’d shown up at the party. Sure, they’d been invited—it’d been a matter of formality—but his grandfather had blustered on about not stepping foot in a Falco building or celebrating this ill-advised venture. Was his grandfather finally willing to admit that he’d done something even his grandfather hadn’t been able to do—make Marchello Spices relevant once more?

  Once the initial shock had passed, Franco moved toward his grandparents. “Hello.”

  His grandmother beamed at him. “I’m so proud of you. You’re finally living the life I’d always hoped for you—a sweet wife and making your mark upon the company.”

  “Thank you.” He wasn’t so sure what else to say. His grandmother didn’t usually speak to him in this manner.

  And then she did something so out of character for her—she stepped forward and hugged him. The simple gesture had a profound effect on him. Franco hugged his grandmother back. He blinked repeatedly—all the flowers in the room must be making his allergies act up.

  When they parted, he turned to his grandfather, wondering if he felt the same way. His grandfather wore a noncommittal expression. “I still can’t believe you’re not only married to a Falco but also doing business with one. I told you they can’t be trusted.”

  “And how many times do I have to tell you that Carla is different? She’s not like her father. She’s up front and honest. She’d never take advantage of anyone.”

  “Don’t be too trusting.” Just then his grandmother elbowed his grandfather, and not subtly, either. His grandfather cleared his throat. “But you’ve done a great job with the business.”

  His grandfather did something that Franco hadn’t been expecting at all—he held his hand out to him. When Franco gripped his grandfather’s hand, he gave him a firm handshake.

  Then the most amazing thing of all, he saw pride reflected in his grandfather’s eyes. He hadn’t known how much he’d been craving that until this moment.

  He walked his grandparents around the room, introducing them to some associates from the Falco group. They stopped at the buffet table. The spread was all finger foods with Marchello Spices being prominently displayed as well as utilized.

  While his grandparents perused the table, Franco’s thoughts turned to Carla. He couldn’t wait to share his grandparents’ reactions to this joint venture. She was never going to believe it. Because the success of this venture would be a hollow victory without Carla to share it with him.

  * * *

  She was a mess of emotions.

  And she was scared. Her world was imploding.

  And worst of all, she still had to tell Franco. Carla had tried repeatedly that day to draw him aside, but there had been one interruption after another. She felt as though she was sitting on a powder keg that was about to explode at any given moment.

  She was hoping by telling Franco sooner rather than later that he would take the news better. After all, how could he blame her when it definitely took two of them to get into this predicament?

  And so she’d skipped out on a few media events that day, letting her trusted staff and Franco handle the countless questions, including the one about why the two brands had ceased working together
years ago. No one wanted to answer that question, but the more they evaded, the more insistent the media became.

  Instead she’d spent time closed up in her office, finishing up some final details. It was all she could do to focus. Her insides were twisted in a nervous knot. She had to do something to calm down, because she couldn’t show up at the party all frazzled. Everyone would know something was wrong—especially Franco.

  She needed something familiar—something to ground her. As a matter of instinct, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. It was time to go home.

  Because when all was said and done, it was the place where she’d been raised, and her father was there. She might be upset with him right now, but it didn’t mean she loved him any less.

  When she entered her father’s living room, she found him on the couch. His brows lifted in surprise. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

  “I...” She searched for a plausible excuse. “I needed to take a break before the party.”

  “Everything’s all right?” His concerned gaze probed her.

  She nodded. “The project is running ahead of schedule.”

  “Maybe then you’ll be able to slow down and eat a meal with your father.”

  “We’ll do that real soon.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if that invitation included her husband, but she stopped herself. She didn’t think she could keep her emotions at bay if she started talking about Franco.

  “You must be excited about tonight. I’ve gone over all the information about this joint venture. I know I was totally opposed to it in the beginning, but now I think you’ve done a great job. And I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  His kind words broke the dam around her rising emotions. She blinked repeatedly, but a tear escaped and landed on her cheek.

  Her father stepped up to her. “Carla, what’s the matter?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “You don’t cry for no reason. Tell me what it is.”

  She swiped away the tear and forced a smile to her lips. “You’ve just never said anything like that to me before.”