Curious, Lilli entered the house and overheard a woman talking with Ada, the assistant housekeeper. “I left some of my things here several months ago. I just want to pick them up.”
Recognizing the woman’s voice as Kiki, Lilli stiffened. She turned away to quietly climb the stairs. She didn’t want a confrontation with the woman.
“Oh, look, the sweet mother-to-be. Don’t run off. It’s been too long. We should visit for a little bit,” Kiki said.
Lilli reluctantly stopped and turned. “Hello, Kiki.”
Looking as svelte and perfect as ever in a fashionable black-and-white sheath, Kiki moved past the housekeeper. “Omigoodness, you look like you’re ready to go any minute. Positively glowing,” she said. “Babies are pure magic, aren’t they? They make the impossible seem possible. I mean, look at how your life has changed.”
“I just want what’s best for my baby,” Lilli said.
“Of course you do,” Kiki said. “I was surprised that I never heard back from you after we met at the charity auction. Did you lose my card?”
“Yes. I think I did,” Lilli said.
“You seem like a smart woman. I thought you might take me up on my offer. But rumor has it you’re placing your bets somewhere else.”
Lilli and Max hadn’t announced their decision to marry, so Lilli refused to confirm or deny any implications. “I should go upstairs. I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”
“You can at least show me the nursery,” the other woman said with a fake pout. “I’ll go upstairs with you. I need to pick up a few things I left here.”
Ada stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Miss Lane, but I’m not sure Mr. De Luca would be comfortable with you going through his private quarters. If you’ll wait, I can call him.”
Alarm shot across Kiki’s face. “That’s not necessary. I’ll give him a call myself. It’s just so awkward to ask a man to return lingerie,” she whispered. “But it was La Perla. One of my favorites,” she said with a sigh. “One of his, too, as I recall. Oh, well. Lovely seeing you. You can still give me a call if you change your mind about anything, but don’t wait too long.”
Watching Kiki leave, Lilli told herself not to trust the woman. Kiki was clearly desperate and would do anything to get Max back. She shouldn’t let the woman generate any doubts about her decision to marry Max. Her rebellious mind, though, hung on to Kiki’s description of lingerie. She remembered the photo of Max and Kiki in the newspaper just recently. Perhaps she had underestimated their relationship.
Chapter 10
Lilli’s day went from bad to worse when Max presented her with a prenup agreement late that evening. With the exception of the clause that gave Max custody of the baby if they separated and she was determined to be an unsuitable influence, the prenup was very generous. Financially, anyway.
Lilli slept on the agreement, not wanting to overreact. The day before she was scheduled to marry Max, she rose and looked at her large diamond engagement ring and took it off. In a calm voice completely at odds with the turmoil raging inside her, she called Max and asked him to meet her at the house as soon as possible. He arrived an hour later.
“I’m not going to sign it the way it is,” she told him and set the ring and the agreement on the patio table in front of him.
His mouth twisted as he glanced down at the ring and the unsigned agreement. “You want more?”
“No. I’m not going to leave the judgment of my ability to parent up to a court that could be bought or skewed by your influence.
He met her gaze. “It’s not money?” He paused a half beat. “Are you sure this isn’t about Kiki’s offer?”
She couldn’t hide her surprise.
He walked toward her, dressed in a suit that emphasized his height, power and attractiveness. “You didn’t know that I knew? The housekeeper told me she came to visit. She seemed to imply she’d made some prior offer and I can only imagine it was meant as a buy off.”
“Apparently she came by to collect some expensive lingerie she’d left,” she said, refusing to give in to his effect on her.
“That was a lie. I’ve never invited Kiki to stay in my bedroom. Why didn’t you tell me that she was trying to buy you off?”
Trying to digest the fact that Kiki’s La Perla lingerie had never made it into Max’s bedroom, she fought another wave of confusion. “I didn’t know if you were still in love with her.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “I’ve told you my opinion of romantic love. It doesn’t last.”
His words cut, but she didn’t want to show it. “I didn’t feel comfortable telling you. I felt like I should handle her on my own.”
“Or maybe you were holding out for a better offer than I gave you in the prenup.”
Lilli felt a spurt of anger. “If you really believe that, then we definitely shouldn’t get married.”
Max met her gaze. “What do you want?”
“Strike the clause about my being an unfit mother.”
“Done,” he said. “If Kiki contacts you again, you must tell me.”
She paused a brief second. “I will,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t have some leftover feelings for her? She is more beautiful than I am,” she impulsively blurted.
He stared at her in surprise. “I disagree.”
Perhaps she should have felt affirmed. Instead her insecurities seemed to bubble up from deep inside her. “She knows how to operate in your crowd.”
“She’s manipulative as hell. Do you really think I want to be married to a woman like that?”
Lilli realized she needed to get her questions answered, or she would be victimized by her doubts forever. She took a deep breath and braced herself. “I think I need to know your stand on fidelity in our marriage. Since this isn’t a love match, do you consider yourself free to have—” she forced the word from her tight throat “—affairs?”
His face turned to stone. “Absolutely not. Once we marry, you will be the only woman in my bed and I will be the only man in yours. I take my vows very seriously. If you can’t make the same kind of commitment, then you’d better tell me, because I’ll expect the same complete fidelity that I’ll give.”
His fierce response took her breath away. Perhaps she should have known. A man like Max wouldn’t make a marital commitment easily and he would not only give, but expect to receive complete loyalty from his wife.
“I can’t even imagine being unfaithful to you.” What woman would want to?
His expression gentled a millimeter and he picked up the ring. “Then you won’t need to take this off ever again,” he said and slid the diamond on her finger. “I’m giving you and your baby my name and adopting him. Our marriage will work. I’ve decided it will,” he said. “Understand?”
Even though there was no judge or minister present, at that very moment, she felt as if they were exchanging vows. He was making a promise he would keep and she was doing the same. “Yes, I understand.”
The following day, Max arranged for the prenup to be changed. Lilli signed it and put on a cream-colored silk dress with a voluminous amount of material beneath the Empire waist that allowed for her advanced pregnancy. Her stomach jumped with butterflies. She told herself to put aside her fears, but in the back of her mind, although she feared that Max would take his commitments seriously, she knew he might never grow to love her.
A dull nagging ache in her back and those dancing butterflies continued to distract her, but she was determined to be as beautiful a bride for Max as possible. She clipped her hair back in a half up-do and added a fresh pink rose above the clip.
The ceremony was truly private with only the judge and Jim Gregory and Myrtle serving as witnesses. The weather was beautiful as usual and she and Max said their vows on the patio where they’d shared dinner the first night she’d stayed at his house. There was something right about that, something right in knowing they would share many more dinners on the very spot where they’d made lifelong promises to each other.
She told herself not to worry, but her hands were cold with nerves as Max held them.
“I pronounce you husband and wife,” the judge said. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Max drew her against him and slowly covered her mouth with his in a kiss that echoed the promises they’d just made.
Afterward, they shared a private lunch on the patio, just the two of them and toasted their marriage with sparkling water and orange juice.
“To us and our life together,” he said.
She nodded. “To us.” She took a long sip then another, her mind reeling with what she’d just done. She’d just married a man who cared for her, but didn’t love her.
“You’re very quiet.”
She nodded again. “It’s a big day. A lot to think about,” she managed.
“You can relax now. We’ll have more to think about after the baby is born. After your recovery.”
He was talking about sex, she realized. There would be no night of passion tonight. One more way this day was odd. “The doctor told me that’s usually four to six weeks,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat.
He covered her hand with his and her heart took an extra beat. “Where would you like to honeymoon? We can go anywhere you like.”
“I haven’t even thought about it,” she said.
He stroked the inside of her wrist. “You should. By the time we go on ours, we will have both earned it. Yes?”
Her chest tightened at the sight of his hand caressing hers. “I guess you’re right.”
“So tell me where you’d like to go,” he said.
She fought a sudden shyness. “Somewhere with a beach?”
He nodded. “The company has resorts all over, but I also have access to some private spots. We would have staff, but no one else around to intrude.”