LITMIR.BIZ

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last long. He felt and sensed the moment she pulled herself together. She stiffened in his embrace. Though it went against his every inclination, he released her and returned to his seat on the sofa. He took a swig of sparkling water and waited her out.

      She studied a painting on the wall. It was a Vermeer he’d picked up at an auction in New York last year. The obscure work immortalized a young woman in her tiny boudoir as she bent at the waist to fasten her small shoe. The play of light on the girl’s graceful frame fascinated Luc. He’d bought it on a whim, but it had quickly become one of his favorite pieces. Impulse drove him at times—witness the way he’d agreed so quickly to this sham marriage.

      But in the end, his impulses usually served him well.

      He grew impatient. “I asked you a question, Hattie. Do you want this marriage? Tell me.”

      She turned at last, her fists clenched at her sides. “If I don’t go through with this, Eddie’s family will know I lied. And they’ll use it against me. I don’t have a choice.”

      Her fatalistic attitude nicked his pride. His heart hardened, words tumbling out like cold stones. “Then we’ll do this my way. You can’t run out on me this time, Hattie. I love irony, don’t you?”

      * * *

      His sarcasm scraped her nerves. She was being so unfair. Luc had done everything she had asked of him and more. He didn’t deserve her angst and criticism. She owed him more than she could ever calculate.

      The fact that her body still ached for his only complicated matters.

      Swallowing her aversion to the feeling that she was being bought and paid for, she sat back down and summoned a faint smile. “Giving a woman that much plastic is dangerous. Should we discuss a budget?”

      His expression was inscrutable. “I know you pretty well, Hattie Parker. I doubt seriously if you’ll bankrupt me.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, laying it on the cushion between them. “This is next on the agenda. I thought it was customary to make such things a surprise, but given your current mood, perhaps I should return it and let you choose your own.”

      She picked up the box and flipped back the lid. This was a flawless diamond solitaire. Clearly he understood her style, because the setting was simple in the extreme. But the rectangular stone that flashed and sparkled was easily four carats.

      She bit her lip. “It’s lovely,” she said, squeezing the words from a tight throat. He made no attempt to take her hand and do the honors. She told herself she was glad. When she slid the ring onto her left hand, the brilliant stone seemed to take on a life of its own.

      “So you don’t want to exchange it? I wouldn’t want to be accused of controlling your life.”

      His tone was bland, but she felt shame, nevertheless. “I love it, Luc. Thank you.”

      It was his turn to get up and pace. “I’ve made some preliminary wedding inquiries. Do you need or want a church wedding?”

      Disappointment made her stomach leaden. Like most girls she had dreamed of her wedding day. “No. That’s not necessary.”

      “Our family owns a small private island off the coast, near Savannah. If you’re agreeable, we can have the ceremony there. The location precludes the possibility of Eddie or any of his relatives showing up to make a scene. Do you have someone you’d like to stand up with you?”

      She picked at a stray thread on the knee of her jeans, her mind in a whirl of conflicting thoughts. “My best friend, Jodi, would have been my choice, but her husband is in the military, and they were transferred to Japan two months ago. With Angela gone, well, I…”

      “I’m sure Ana would be honored to help us out.”

      It was a good choice, and a logical one given the circumstances. “I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

      “A honeymoon will be important,” he said, bending to turn on the gas logs in the fireplace. The spring evening had turned cool and damp.

      “I’m not sure what you mean.”

      He turned to face her, his expression blank. “We can’t risk any accusation that our marriage isn’t real. I know you’ll protest, but I really think we should go away for at least a week. Ana’s niece is a college student working on her early childhood certification. I’ve already spoken to her, and she’s willing to stay here at the house with Ana and Sherman while we’re gone, to help with the baby.”

      Hattie gnawed her bottom lip. He’d neatly cut the ground from beneath her feet. Every argument anticipated and countered. It all made perfect sense. And it scared the heck out of her. “You seem to have thought of everything.”

      He shrugged. “It’s what I do. As far as the wedding dress and the ceremony itself, I’ll leave that to you. I have a good friend who is a justice of the peace. He’s prepared to fly down with us and officiate.”

      “Who’s going to be your best man?”

      “Leo.”

      “Does he know about me…about Deedee?”

      “I told him I was marrying someone he knew, but I left it at that. Leo will be there. But as far as he is concerned right now, this is a normal marriage. You and I will be the only people who will know the truth.”

      “You’d lie to your own brother?”

      “I’ll tell him the situation later…when it’s a done deal.”

      “And your grandfather?”

      “He’s flying over for his big birthday party in the fall. I won’t encourage him to come this time.”

      “I wonder if Leo will even remember me.”

      Luc chuckled. “My brother never forgets a beautiful woman. We’ll get together with him for dinner when we come back from our honeymoon, and you can reminisce.”

      Hattie winced inwardly. Leo probably thought she was the worst kind of tease. Leading Luc on back in college and then dumping him. Leo would side with his brother, of course. Just one more thing to look forward to in her new, surreal life.

      She took a deep breath. “When are we going to do this?”

      “May 14 works for my schedule. I’ve cleared the week following for our honeymoon. Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to go? The company has a top-notch travel agent.”

      She smiled faintly. “Since I’ve never really been anywhere, I’ll let you choose.”

      “I thought Key West might be nice…a luxurious villa on a quiet street. A private pool.”

      Her mouth dried. “Um, sure. Sounds lovely.” Why did she suddenly have a vision of the two of them naked and…cavorting in the moonlight? Dear heaven. May 14 was two and a half weeks away. This was happening. This was real.

      She couldn’t wait any longer to address the elephant in the room. Or perhaps she was the only one who was worrying about it. Luc was a guy. Sex came as naturally to him as breathing. He probably thought nature would take its course.

      But she needed to have things spelled out. “Luc?”

      He rejoined her on the sofa, this time sitting so close to her that their hips nearly touched. Deliberately, he lifted her hand nearest him and linked their fingers. “What, Hattie? Permission to speak freely.”

      His light humor did nothing to alleviate her nerves. She squeezed his hand briefly and stood up again, unable to bear being so close to him when she was on edge. “I had a feeling earlier this evening…at dinner…that one of the things you wanted to discuss in private was sex. It makes sense…to talk about it, I mean. You’re a virile man, and I assume you’ll be faithful to our wedding vows. So no one can question the validity of our marriage. For the baby’s sake.”

      His face darkened. “For the baby’s sake…right.

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