Lucy looked heavenward for inspiration. Even if Joaquin hadn’t received the impression that she was a bed-hopping wanton earlier in the day, he would not have offered her such a position. Yolanda’s idea had never been destined to make it off the drawing board.
‘Thanks, but it wouldn’t have been a good idea for me—’
‘Lucy,’ Yolanda scolded. ‘You’re crazy about my brother and I like you. If he saw enough of you, he might be attracted to you.’
‘I think a little of me goes a long way with Joaquin right now,’ Lucy muttered, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.
‘Why haven’t you told him you’re the other twin yet?’ Yolanda demanded. ‘Do you want me to do it for you?’
Lucy paled to the gills at the offer, and felt even worse about what she had to go on to say. ‘Please don’t do that, Yolanda. I promise I’ll tell him in a couple of days. I’m very sorry that I’ve involved you in keeping a secret from your brother.’
‘Get real, Lucy,’ Yolanda groaned, sounding her world-weary best. ‘Do you think I tell him everything?’
Lucy climbed out of the wedding car, clutching her posy of flowers, and followed the other three bridesmaids, composed of Roger’s three chattering sisters.
All of them wore beautiful white silk brocade dresses, for Cindy had reversed the more conventional colour choices and chosen a wedding gown that was her favourite shade of pink. They congregated in the big church porch and then surged forward to greet the bridal limousine drawing up. Looking radiant, Cindy emerged and took the arm of Roger’s father who had offered to give her away.
‘You’re too early.’ One of the ushers came out to warn them. ‘Roger’s been held up.’
Cindy went white. ‘Where is he?’
‘Panicking in a traffic jam!’ the usher teased. ‘Should be here in five minutes.’
The day before, Lucy had spent a great deal of time trudging round the shops. In the early hours, Cindy had returned to London to mend fences with Roger. Lucy hadn’t the slightest idea of what had passed between the couple, but Cindy was still a nervous wreck, convinced that her bridegroom had come close to changing his mind about marrying her.
A long low-slung black sportscar shot to a halt in front of the church steps, where nobody was supposed to park. Lucy saw it first because everybody else in the porch was too busy talking. With shaken eyes, she watched Joaquin Del Castillo vault out of the car as if he was jet-propelled, his darkly handsome features fiercely set.
Having heard the sound of the car, Cindy hurried forward to her twin’s side. ‘Is that Roger arriving?’ she asked anxiously.
Like somebody just waiting for the roof to fall in on her, Lucy watched Joaquin heading for the steps. Her heart was racing so fast she was afraid that she was about to faint. It seemed that Joaquin had finally found out that she and Cindy had deceived him. What else could he be doing here? But how had he found out? Had his sister told him? Was he now prepared to confront Cindy in front of all these people on her wedding day…would he be that cruel?
‘Oh…no,’ Cindy whispered in horror, having read her sister’s face. ‘That’s Del Castillo…isn’t it?’
Joaquin mounted the steps two at a time. But he stopped dead when he saw Lucy, frozen on the top step and looking almost as pale as her dress. ‘Por Dios,’ he exclaimed hoarsely. ‘This cannot be. You cannot do this…I will not allow it—’
‘Please…please go away,’ Cindy pleaded tearfully.
Only when Cindy spoke did Joaquin take the time to glance at the woman who stood by Lucy’s side. He frowned as he focused on Cindy, the look of disbelief in his glittering green eyes instantaneous. He stared at the two sisters. ‘Infierno…there are two of you?’
It was the longest moment of Lucy’s life. ‘We’re twins,’ she muttered unevenly. ‘I’m Lucy—’
‘I know you’re Lucy!’ Joaquin gritted. ‘Do you think I’m so blind I can’t tell you apart?’
‘I think what my sister is trying to tell you is that I’m the one who ripped off Fidelio Paez,’ Cindy told Joaquin tightly. ‘I’m the one who married Mario and the one who persuaded Lucy to go to Guatemala in my place and pretend that she was me.’
So intense was Lucy’s concentration on Joaquin’s stunned stillness she was conscious of nothing else. She couldn’t even concentrate on what her sister was telling him.
Cindy just kept on talking, as if by talking she could keep any threat Joaquin might offer at bay. ‘Lucy didn’t want to do it but I made it very difficult for her to refuse…I took advantage of her—’
Joaquin cut right across her. ‘Which one of you is the bride?’
‘Me…Cindy,’ Cindy responded, in visible bewilderment at such a question.
A dark line of colour flared over Joaquin’s fabulous cheekbones. The silence smouldered for what felt like for ever. ‘Enjoy your wedding day, Cindy,’ he murmured without expression.
Cindy backed away like someone who very badly wanted to pick up her skirts and run but who was afraid that any sudden movement might provoke exactly what she most feared. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered unevenly.
Only now was it dawning on Lucy that Joaquin had thought that this was her wedding day!
‘And for your sister, that selfish, frivolous user and abuser of other people, you lied to me,’ Joaquin breathed in a terrifyingly quiet voice.
The buzz of the chattering bridesmaids in the background might as well have been a million miles away. Lucy’s world had stopped spinning and flung her off into frightening freefall when she least expected it. It was as if a pool of rushing silence enfolded her and Joaquin.
‘I believed it was you who was marrying Roger Harkness today. Your sister’s neighbour laughed when he saw me outside the apartment. “All away to the church,” he said.’ Joaquin breathed in very deep and studied the pale oval of her stricken face with cold hard eyes. ‘I cannot abide lies, and every word you have ever spoken to me has been a lie, every single moment
has been based on deceit.’
At that harsh condemnation Lucy made a tiny instinctive movement with her hand, as though she would have touched his sleeve. But Joaquin’s distaste and anger was a potent barrier and her hand dropped weakly back to her side.
‘No…no, it wasn’t,’ she attempted to protest.
‘I don’t even know your name…’ Joaquin flung back his proud dark head and surveyed her with speaking contempt.
‘Lucille Fabian,’ she framed chokily. ‘Joaquin, please—’
‘This is not the place. My presence is not welcome here. Surely you did not sacrifice so much just to cloud your sister’s wedding day?’ Joaquin said very drily, and he swung on his heel to stride back to his fabulous car.
If Lucy had been in freefall prior to that moment, she now felt as though she had hit the ground with a bone-jarring crash. After an instant of hesitation, Lucy flew down the steps in Joaquin’s wake.
‘There’s Roger’s car!’ someone exclaimed behind her. ‘They’re coming in by the side entrance.’
Before Joaquin could get back into the Ferrari, Lucy caught at his sleeve with desperate fingers. ‘I’m sorry!’
Ice-cold green eyes clashed with hers. ‘You’re making an exhibition of us both.’
Lucy fell back from him. A slow, painful surge of pink washed her cheeks. Turning away, she walked back up the steps, horribly conscious that the little drama being played out before their eyes had finally attracted the attention of the rest of the bride’s attendants in the porch.
Cindy hurried forward and closed an arm round her twin. ‘I’m sorry…I am so sorry,’ she whispered shakily.
‘It wasn’t going anywhere anyway,’ Lucy framed, trying to force a smile and relieved when, a few minutes later, the church doors were opened and it was time to get into place with the other bridesmaids.
Joaquin had come to the church believing that she was the bride. Had he had some mad idea of preventing the wedding from taking place? ‘I will not allow it,’ he had said. Well, what did his motivation matter now? She had never been able to believe that her relationship with Joaquin Del Castillo could have a future. But her failure to tell Joaquin the truth the day he saw Roger in the apartment had probably been the finishing blow. Right to the bitter end she had kept loyal to Cindy—but shouldn’t she have had a greater sense of responsibility towards the baby she had conceived? Ensuring that Joaquin despised her would scarcely benefit her unborn child.