Married for His Secret Heir

“Would you like me to borrow a pair of wire cutters from the palace staff?”

“You have absolutely no idea just how tempting that idea is.”

They both laughed. And he couldn’t help but stare at her. Her face lit up with happiness. Her eyes twinkled. And once again he felt an odd sensation in his chest—a warmth.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL.

Elena stood on the sidelines and smiled. Thankfully Annabelle had given them a heads-up about today’s activities so she could dress appropriately in shorts and a yellow cotton top. It’d been more years than she wanted to count since she’d hit the field, but she did have to admit that she’d played pretty well in her day.

“Okay, everybody, gather round.” Annabelle waved everyone over. “What should we do? Pick two captains and let them choose teams? Or should we play guys on girls?”

The second option definitely got more votes from the women. But the men were shockingly quiet.

“Well, it seems it’s a draw.” She turned back to Grayson, and they whispered back and forth for a minute. Then he handed her something. “Okay. Since it’s a tie, we’re going to toss for it. Heads we do coed. Tails we do boys versus girls.”

Annabelle flipped the coin high in the air. It turned end over end, reflecting the sunlight in the process. She caught it and looked up with a smile. “Looks like it’s coed. Now for captains. Let’s see.”

“You and Grayson should be captains, since it’s your party,” one guest interjected.

Elena liked the idea. “Yeah, go for it.”

As more and more people cheered on the idea, Annabelle waved her hands, trying to silence everyone. “I hate to disappoint everyone, but I’m not playing. As most of you know, I’m not coordinated in the least. So I’m going to be the cheer squad.” She rushed over to a chair a few feet behind her and grabbed two little white pom-poms. She shook them and smiled broadly. “I came prepared. In my place, I elect Elena.”

Elena couldn’t help but smile. She liked that after all these years, Luca’s sister still thought so highly of her. And since they were now family, it would certainly help matters.

But Elena thought of her condition—she didn’t think playing football with the guys was such a good idea. One misplaced ball could hit her abdomen. But how in the world did she gracefully back out without upsetting Annabelle?

Annabelle gestured for Elena to step up beside her. Maybe it’d be possible to coach from the sidelines. That sounded like a good plan. If anyone said anything, she’d blame her lack of activity on her job and not wanting to return with a black eye or broken nose.

Elena took her place next to Annabelle. It was then that she noticed Luca. He was staring directly at her with a distinct frown. What had she done now?

She glanced away, hoping no one would notice his odd behavior. If he didn’t lighten up, people were going to start suspecting that something was up between them.

Annabelle took both Elena’s and Grayson’s hands and raised them above her head. “Okay, these are your captains. And just like when we were kids, they are going to take turns picking players. Good luck—”

“Wait a second,” Luca said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Annabelle’s smile faded. “What? The game?”

“No,” Luca said, approaching them. “I don’t think Elena should play football.”

Annabelle’s forehead creased. “Is there something we don’t know?”

Elena knew what he was up to, and she didn’t like it. Her hands balled up at her sides. They might be married now, but she could take care of herself and their baby. Perhaps it was time they laid out some understandings about this nontraditional arrangement.

Not about to let Luca make a scene, Elena spoke up. “What’s the matter, Luca? Are you afraid that I’ll beat you like when we were kids?”

“No, I was thinking that you might not want the ball hitting you. You know, to the stomach or, worse, the face. A broken nose probably won’t help your career.”

They might be thinking along the same lines, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him tell her what to do. “And that’s why I was planning to coach from the sidelines.”

“Or you can keep me company.” Annabelle gave her a hopeful look. “I’ll share my pom-poms with you.”

Before Elena could respond, Grayson spoke up. “Actually, this will work out. As it was, we were going to have an extra person. Now the teams will be equal.”

“What do you say?” Annabelle asked.