by Fiona Brand
“You might need my permission for that.”
Something flared in his gaze and she realized she had pushed him a little too hard. “Not on Medinos.”
“As I recall from Sienna’s wedding, I still have to say yes.”
Frustration flickered in his gaze and then she finally got him. For two years she had been focused on organizing their time together, taking care of every detail so that everything was as perfect as she could make it, given their imperfect circumstances. Lucas had fallen in with her plans, but she had overlooked a glaring, basic fact. Lucas was male; he needed to be in control. He now wanted her to follow the plan he had formulated, and she was frustrating him.
He cupped her face. “I have the special license. I don’t care where we get married, just as long as it happens. Damned if I want Panopoulos, or any man, thinking you’re available.”
Unwilling delight filtered through the outrage that had driven her ever since she had realized that Lucas had developed a coping mechanism for shutting her out. The incident with Alex seemed a lifetime away, but it had only been hours.
She understood that in Lucas’s mind he had rescued her for a second time that day, this time from a room full of men. As domineering and abrasive as his behavior was, in an odd way, it was the assurance she so badly needed that he cared. After watching him detach and walk away from her for more than two years, she wasn’t going to freeze him out just when she finally had proof that he was falling for her.
“Yes.”
His gaze reflected the same startled bemusement she had glimpsed that afternoon. “That’s settled, then.”
Warmth flared to life inside her. The happy glow expanded when he touched his lips to hers, the soft kiss soothing away the stress of dealing with Lucas’s dictatorial manner. Sliding her fingers into the black silk of his hair, she pulled him back for a second kiss, then a third, breathing in his heat and scent. The kiss deepened, lingered. The silk coverlet slid away and she went into his arms gladly.
Sometime later, she woke when Lucas left the bed and walked to the bathroom, blinking at the golden glow that still flooded the room from the bedside lamp. Chilled without his body heat, she curled on her side and dragged the coverlet up high around her chin.
The bed depressed as Lucas rejoined her. One arm curled around her hips, he pulled her back snug against him. His palm cupped her abdomen, as if he was unconsciously cradling their baby.
Wistfully, her hand slipped over his, her fingers intertwining as she relaxed back into the blissful heat of his body. She took a moment to fantasize about the possibility that right at that very moment there could be an embryo growing inside her, that in a few months they would no longer be a couple, they would be a family. “Do you think we’ll make good parents?”
“We’ve got every chance.”
She twisted around in his grip, curious about the bitter note in his voice. “What’s wrong?”
He propped himself on one elbow. “I had a girlfriend who was pregnant once. She had an abortion.”
“Sophie Warrington?”
“That’s right.”
“You told me about her. She died in a car accident.”
There was silence for a long, drawn-out moment. “Sophie had an abortion the day before she died. When she finally got around to telling me that she’d aborted our child before even telling me she was pregnant, we had a blazing argument. We broke up and she drove away in her sports car. An hour later she was dead.”
Carla blinked. She hadn’t realized that Lucas had split with Sophie before she had died. She smoothed her palm over his chest. “I’m sorry. You must have loved her.”
“It was an addiction more than love.”
Something clicked into place in her mind. Lucas had once used that term with regard to her. She hadn’t liked it at the time, because it implied an unwilling attraction. “You don’t see me as another Sophie?”
His hand trapped hers, holding it pressed against his chest so she could feel the steady thud of his heart. “You are similar in some ways, but maybe that’s how the basic chemistry works. Both you and Sophie are my type.”
Her stomach plunged a little. There it was again, the unwilling element to the attraction.
She knew he hadn’t considered her marriageable in the beginning, because in his mind marriage hadn’t fitted with the addictive sexual passion she had inspired in him. Admittedly, she hadn’t helped matters. She had been busy trying to de-stress in line with her doctor’s orders and keep their relationship casual but organized until the problems between both families had been rectified. In the process she had given him a false impression of her values. He had gotten to know who she really was a little better in the past few days, but that was cold comfort when she needed him to love her.
Fear spiked though her at the niggling thought that, if he categorized her as being like Sophie, it was entirely possible that he wouldn’t fall in love with her, that he would always see her as a fatal attraction and not his ideal marriage partner.
If she carried that thought through to its logical conclusion, it was highly likely that once the desire faded, he would fall for the kind of woman that in his heart he really wanted. “What happens when I get old, or put on weight, or…get sick?”
Physical attraction would fade fast and then where would they be?
She cupped his jaw. “I think I need to know why you can’t resist me, because if what you feel is only based on physical attraction, it won’t last.”
He stoked a finger down the delicate line of her throat to her collarbone. “It’s chemistry. A mixture of personality and the physical.”
She frowned, her dissatisfaction increasing. “If you feel this way about me then how could you have been attracted to Lilah?”
As soon as she said Lilah’s name, she wished she hadn’t. Despite having Lucas’s ring on her finger, she couldn’t forget the weeks of stress when Lucas had avoided her then the sudden, hurtful way he had replaced her with Lilah.
“If you’re jealous of Lilah, you don’t need to be.”
“Why?” But the question was suddenly unnecessary, because the final piece of the puzzle had just dropped into place. Lucas hadn’t wanted Lilah for the simple reason that he had barely had time to get to know her. She had been part of a coldly logical strategy. An instant girlfriend selected for the purpose of spelling out in no uncertain terms that his relationship with Carla was over.
Fourteen
Carla stiffened. All the comments he’d made about her not needing to worry about Lilah and the quick way he had ended his relationship with her suddenly made perfect sense. “I have no reason to be jealous of Lilah, because you were never attracted to her.”
His abrupt stillness and his lack of protest were damning.
“You manufactured a girlfriend.” Her throat was tight, her voice husky. “You picked out someone safe to take to the wedding to make it easy to break up with me. You knew that if I thought you had fallen for another woman I would keep my distance and not make a fuss.”
He loomed over her, his shoulders blocking out the dim glow from the lamp. “Carla—”
“No.” Pushing free of his arms, she stumbled out of bed and struggled into her robe.
She yanked the sash tight as another thought occurred, giving her fresh insight into just how ruthless and serpentine Lucas had been. “And you didn’t pick just anyone to play your girlfriend. You were clever enough to select someone from Ambrosi Pearls, so the relationship covered all bases and would be in my face at work. That made it doubly clear to me that you were off-limits. It also made it look like you wanted her close, that you couldn’t bear to have her out of your sight.”
The complete opposite of his treatment of her.
Through the course of their relationship she had been separated and isolated from almost every aspect of his personal and business life.
Suddenly the room, with its romantic flowers, her clothes and jewelry draped over furniture and on the floor, empha
sized how stupid she had been. Lucas’s silence wasn’t making her feel any better. “You probably even wanted to push me into leaving Ambrosi, which would get me completely out of your hair.”
He shoved off the bed, found his pants and pulled them on. “I had no intention of depriving you of your job.”
She stared at him bleakly, uncaring about that minor detail, when his major sin had been his complete and utter disregard for her feelings and her love. “What incentive did you offer Lilah to pose as your girlfriend?”
“I didn’t pay Lilah. She knew nothing about this beyond the fact that I asked her to be my date at Constantine’s wedding. That was our first, and last, date.”
He caught her around the waist and pulled her close. “Do you believe me?”
She blinked. “Do you love me?”
There was the briefest of hesitations. “You know I do.”
She searched his expression. It was a definite breakthrough, but it wasn’t what she needed, not after the stinging hurt of finding out that he had used Lilah to facilitate getting rid of her.
His gaze seared into hers. “I’m sorry.”
He bent and kissed her and the plunging disappointment receded a little. He was sorry and he very definitely wanted her. Maybe he even did love her. It wasn’t the fairy tale she had dreamed about, but it was a start.
A few days ago she had been desperate for just this kind of chance with Lucas. Now too she was possibly pregnant. She owed it to herself and to Lucas to give him one more chance.
After an early breakfast, Carla strolled into the conference room Ambrosi had booked for its sales display. Lucas had phone calls to make in their suite, then meetings with buyers. Carla had decided to make herself useful and help Elise put together the jewelry display and set out the sales materials and press kits.
The fact that, if Lilah had been here, setting up the jewelry would have been her job was a reminder she didn’t need, but she had to be pragmatic. Lilah was likely to be a part of the landscape for the foreseeable future, and she probably wasn’t any happier about the situation than Carla. They would both have to adjust.
Security was already in place and lavish floral displays filled the room with the rich scent of roses. Elise had arranged for Ambrosi’s special display cases to be positioned around the room. All that remained was for the jewelry, which was stored in locked cases, to be set out and labeled.
Elise, already looking nervous and ruffled, handed her a clipboard. “Just to make things more complicated, last night Lilah won a prestigious design award in Milan for some Ambrosi pieces. The buzz is huge.” She snapped a rubber band off a large laminated poster. “Lucas had this expressed from the office late last night.” She unrolled the poster, which was a blown-up publicity shot of Lilah, looking ultrasleek and gorgeous in a slim-fitting white suit, Ambrosi pearls at her lobes and her throat. With the pose she had struck and her calm gaze square on to the camera, Carla couldn’t help thinking she looked eerily like the Atraeus bride in the portrait both she and Zane had studied at the prewedding dinner.
Elise glanced around the room. “I think I’ll put it there, so people will see it as soon as they walk into the room. What do you think?”
Carla stared at the background of the poster. If she wasn’t mistaken Lilah’s image was superimposed over a scenic shot of Medinos—probably taken from one of the balconies of the castello. It was a small point, but it mattered. “Lucas ordered that to be done late last night?”
If that was the case, the only window of time he’d had was the few minutes after he had abducted her from the party when he had suddenly lost all interest in her because he had been so absorbed with what he was doing online.
Ordering a poster of the gorgeous, perfect Lilah.
Elise suddenly looked uncertain. “Uh, I think so. That’s what he said.”
Carla smiled and held out her hand. “Cool. Give the poster to me.”
Elise went a little pale, but she handed the poster over.
Carla studied the larger-than-life photo. Her first impulse was to fling it into the ocean so she didn’t have to deal with all that perfection. With her luck, the tide would keep tossing the poster back.
“I need scissors.”
Elise found a pair and handed them over. Carla spent a happy few minutes systematically reducing the poster to an untidy pile of very small pieces.
Elise’s eyes tracked the movement as Carla set the scissors down. She cleared her throat. “Do you want to sort through the jewelry, or would you prefer I did that?”
“I’m here to help. I’ll do it.”
“Great! I’ll do the press kits.” She dug in her briefcase. “Here’s the plan for the display items. With all of the other publicity about, uh, Lilah, our sales have gone through the roof. We’ve already received orders from some of the attending clients so some of that jewelry is for clients and not for display. With any luck, they’ve kept the orders separate.”
Carla slowly relaxed, determinedly thinking positive thoughts as she checked off the orders against the packing slip and set those packages to one side. Her mood improved by the second as she began putting the display together, anchoring the gorgeous, intricate pieces securely on black velvet beds then locking the glass cases. Lilah may have designed most of the jewelry, but they were Ambrosi pieces and she was proud of them. She refused to allow any unhappiness she felt about Lilah affect her pride in the family business.
A courier arrived with a package. Elise signed for it, shrugging. “This is weird. All the rest was delivered yesterday.”
Carla took the package and frowned. The same courier firm had delivered it, but this one wasn’t from the Ambrosi warehouse in Sydney. The package had been sent by another jeweler, the same Atraeus-owned company from which Lucas had purchased her engagement ring. That meant that whatever the package contained it couldn’t be either an order for a customer or jewels for the launch.
Anticipation and a glow of happy warmth spread through her as she studied the package. She had her ring, which meant Lucas must have bought her something else, possibly a matching pendant or bracelet.
Her heart beat a little faster. Perhaps even matching wedding rings.
The temptation to open the package was almost overwhelming, but she managed to control herself. Lucas had bought her a gift, his first real gift of love, without pressure or prompting. She wasn’t about to spoil his moment when he gave her the special piece he had selected.
She studied the ring on her finger, unable to contain her pleasure. She didn’t care about the size of the diamond or the cost. What mattered was that Lucas had chosen it because it matched her eyes. Every time she looked at the ring she remembered that tiny, very personal, very important detail. It was a sign that he was one step closer to truly loving and appreciating her. After what had happened last night, how close they had come to splitting up again, she treasured every little thing that would help keep them together.
Elise finished shoving boxes and Bubble Wrap in the bin liner the hotel had provided. She waggled her brows at the package. “Not part of the display, huh? Looks interesting. Want me to take it to Lucas? I’m supposed to take the Japanese client he’s meeting with to the airport in about ten minutes.”
“Hands off.” Carla’s fingers tightened on the package. Despite knowing that Elise was teasing her, she felt ridiculously possessive of whatever Lucas had bought for her.
A split second later, Lucas strolled into the conference room. Immediately behind him, hotel attendants were setting up for morning tea, draping the long tables in white tablecloths and setting out pastries and finger food. Outside, in the lobby, she could hear the growing chatter. Any minute now, buyers and clients would start pouring into the conference room and there would be no privacy. The impulse to thrust the package at Lucas and get him to open it then and there died a death.
Lucas’s gaze locked with hers then dropped to the glossy cut-up pieces of poster still strewn across the table. He lifted a brow. �
�What’s that?”
“Your poster of Lilah.”
There was a moment of assessing silence.
Lucas was oddly watchful, recognizing and logging the changes in her. As if he was finally getting that she was a whole lot more than the amenable, compartmentalized lover he had spent the past two years holding at a distance.
In that moment Carla knew Lilah had to go completely, no matter how crucial she was to Ambrosi Pearls. If she and Lucas were to have a chance at a successful marriage, they couldn’t afford a third person in the equation.
Lucas lifted a brow. “What’s in the package?”
“Nothing that won’t keep.” She pushed the package out of sight in her handbag then briskly swept all the poster fragments into the trash.
Whatever Lucas had bought her, she couldn’t enjoy receiving it right at that minute, not with the larger-than-life specter of Lilah still hanging over them.
* * *
The weekend finished with a dinner cruise, by the end of which Lucas was fed up with designer anything. Give him steel girders and mining machinery any day. Anything but the shallow, too bright social whirl that was part and parcel of the world of luxury retailing.
He kept his arm around Carla’s waist as they stood on the quay, bidding farewell to the final guests.
Carla was exhausted—he could feel it in the way she leaned into him—and her paleness worried him. The last thing she needed was another viral relapse.
He had insisted she fit in a nap after lunch. It had been a struggle to make her let go of the organizational reins, but in the end he had simply picked her up and carried her to their room. He had discovered that there was something about the masculine, take-charge act of picking Carla up that seemed to reach her in a way that words couldn’t.
She had been oddly quiet all day, but he had expected that. He had made a mistake with the poster. The second he had walked into the conference room that morning and seen the look on Carla’s face he had realized just how badly he had messed up. He had grimly resolved to take more care in future.