Reclaiming His Bride (DiCarlo Brides book 3) (The DiCarlo Brides) (17 page)

Lana slumped into a chair across from his desk, her face going pale. “You did not.”

“I’m not going to lie to my mother. And just so you know, when she confronted me about whether or not I intended to marry you, I told her she should expect an announcement regarding a marriage between us. I did not tell her that it took place over a year ago.”

She covered her mouth with her hand. “Blake, that’s getting awfully close to the truth.”

His stomach tightened in frustration, but he managed to keep his voice even. “The truth is all I have, and you won’t let me share all of it. It’s going to come out this week, and I’d rather prepare the people we know in advance.”

Lana stared at the desktop, dejected. “She hates me.”

If it had been any other woman, he might have thought she was manipulating him with her long face. But Lana wasn’t like that. “She doesn’t know you. When she gets to know you, she’s going to love you. You’re too terrific not to love.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t lie to me. I’m pregnant, not stupid.”

There was a loud gasp as Cami stopped in the doorway, her mouth hanging open. “You’re what?” She glared at Blake, then Lana. “How long? When did you? Why didn’t you say anything about it? Spill, now.”

Lana stared at her sister for a moment. When she gave him a desperate look, Blake lifted his hands in defense. “Hey, your family so you get to field this one.”

“Jerk.” But her words held no anger, just resignation.

Blake touched his fingertips to his lips in a gesture they’d used as a discrete air kiss when they’d dated before. He was rewarded when color returned to her face in the form of anger. He didn’t relish having her mad at him, but at least she didn’t look like death warmed over anymore.

“Answers. Now.” Cami rarely demanded anything, but this was obviously beyond her ability to smooth over with social niceties.

“Fine, come to my office,” Lana said, standing and moving toward the door.

“Oh, no. If you’re pregnant, it’s got to be his baby, and I want to know what he intends to do to help you through it.” Cami put her hands on her hips and didn’t keep her voice down, though she had released the door, so it might muffle the sound enough that Gina didn’t understand. Unlikely, but possible.

“I’ve already offered, repeatedly, for her to move into my suite,” Blake said. “She’s remarkably stubborn, your sister. Do you think you’ll have better luck than me at getting her to see reason?”

“Reason?” Lana’s flush turned a darker red.

“Don’t explode, babe, it’s not good for the little one.” He was sick and tired of all of the subterfuge, and seeing her flustered felt kind of good—since he couldn’t be blamed for the subject coming up.

“She can’t move in with you unless you’re married—it’s part of the stupid terms of the stupid will,” Cami said. “You know that. It’s part of why Vince and I are getting married so soon. Did you propose marriage while you’re at it? Because a pregnancy is a really bad reason to get married if you’re not sure it’s right.”

Blake just looked at his wife. “You want to take that one, sweetheart?”

Lana’s teeth ground together as she glared at him. “Will you stop it with the terms of endearment already?”

He arched his brows at her and she whirled to the door, pushing her sister into the reception area.

“Come on, we need to talk,” Lana said.

Cami looked back at him curiously before her sister yanked her into the office next door. He heard the door slam as Lana ensured their privacy.

Blake was torn between feeling guilty the cat was out of the bag—especially when he knew she was upset about it—and being glad that they would be able to tell the family, at last. He couldn’t see Gina’s desk from where he sat, but if she were out there, he doubted the pregnancy was going to be secret much longer.

He decided to go with being glad Lana had been pushed to tell someone. Starting to whistle, he focused again on the report he was reviewing for the LA resort. When Cami’s voice rose loud enough he could understand her words, he just smiled wider and continued his work.

Lana could not believe he had done that to her—practically forcing her to tell Cami about everything. She’d shut the door—how had Cami opened it so silently? Several months earlier Cami had nearly flipped her wig when she’d learned that Lana knew about their father’s affairs. How much worse was this going to feel to the older sister who was starting to put the whole mess into perspective?

 “Okay, now that we’ve had that cryptic and confusing conversation,” Cami began once she’d slammed the office door closed. “Care to fill me in?”

“Man, I need some coffee.” Lana moved to the pot on one wall and poured herself a cup. “Would you like some too?”

“No, and if you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t have any, either.” Cami took the cup out of Lana’s hands and passed over a baggie of mint leaves from the stash next to the coffeemaker. “And when is the baby due?”

Lana rolled her eyes, pulled out another cup and filled it with hot water. It would be easier to humor her for now. “Around the first of May. Give or take.” Lana dunked the tea bag in the water and turned back to her sister, trying to act nonchalant.

“And you were going to tell me about this, when?” Cami sipped at the coffee. Her voice was calmer, but her fingers turned white at the knuckles from gripping the coffee cup so hard.

“I wanted to get through my first trimester, when miscarriage is most likely, before announcing it.” Not in the least true, but it should pass as credible.

Cami’s eyes studied her sister. “How far along are you?”

Lana pressed her lips together. “Fifteen weeks.”

“That’s several weeks past the first trimester, unless I don’t understand math at all,” Cami pointed out. “Why do I get the feeling that you would have put it off even longer, given the chance? Why would Blake ask you to move in with him when he’s perfectly aware of the stipulation in the will about having to live in the house with the other girls unless you’re married? Did he really propose to you? Are you way more serious than I thought? And if so, why have you been hiding it from all of us?” Cami finally stopped to take a breath and glared, as if expecting all of the answers at once.

Lana sat at her desk, as much because she needed the space between them as anything else. She set her cup on top and twisted it on the blotter. She really should have come clean ages ago. “We haven’t been seeing each other secretly here in Colorado. It was just a night of weakness and too much champagne.”

“One night? And yet he asked you to move in with him?” Cami tipped her head, the initial steam of anger having blown out. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Lana released the cup entirely and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “You were right; we were involved last winter. A lot more seriously than we let on. We...” Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t she just let the words out?

Cami’s comment a few weeks earlier that none of her sisters were going to do something stupid like run off to Vegas to get married echoed back to Lana again. She knew Cami would be hurt Lana hadn’t confided in her, but there was nothing to do about it now.

“You...?” Cami prodded when the silence grew too long.

“I fell in love with him. He made me feel complete.” He still had that effect on her when she allowed herself to relax enough, but Lana wasn’t ready to admit that aloud. “We didn’t date long, but it was... really intense. And then Dad sent us to Vegas for that convention.”

“Don’t tell me it’s one of those kinky what-happens-in-Vegas things!” Cami’s brows winged up and she looked extremely curious.

Lana snorted. “No. Nothing kinky.” She fisted her hands on her lap. “We had dinner, wine—lots of wine, I guess, because somehow we ended up at one of those little chapels off the strip.”

Cami swore low, then slumped into a chair. “You’re kidding me.”

“No.” Lana pulled her necklace from her blouse, showing off the rings he’d given her. “We got married and decided to keep it quiet for a little while—just for a week or so, while we enjoyed the privacy and thrill of keeping it to ourselves—but when I was ready to tell everyone, we had a falling out. I’ve been trying to get a divorce ever since.”

“Wait, hold on.” Cami stood and hovered over the desk. “I’m still stuck on the other part. Married? You married him and you didn’t tell me? In Vegas?” Her voice went up to a screech on the last word pretty much ensuring that Gina and Blake would have heard it.

“Calm down.” Lana wanted to sink into her chair while her older sister loomed over her, but refused to show how cowed she felt.

“This
is
calm. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Cami stood and paced across the room. She whipped back to face Lana. “First about Dad’s affairs, now this. What other secrets are you holding onto?”

Lana shook her head. “That’s pretty much it. Blake’s been trying to reconcile, but I just want to end it officially. He’s been putting up roadblocks or we’d be divorced already.”

Cami’s brows furrowed as she stared at Lana. “He made you feel complete and you’re fighting for a divorce? Why would you do that? Do you know how rare it is to find that?”

Lana shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

Cami sat again, with all the appearance of forcing herself to do something she didn’t want to. “So now you’re pregnant, how does that affect things?”

“It doesn’t change what broke us up to begin with.”

Brows lifted. “And what was that?”

Finally feeling the weight of her secrets lifting, Lana explained.

“My fiancée is seriously pissed at you,” Vince said as he dealt the first deck of cards at the guys’ poker game the next night.

“Tell me about it. Her glare is hot enough to melt diamonds.” Blake picked up the last card and slotted it into his hand with the others. His parents had been in town for several days and he was glad they were headed down the mountain for dinner and a show so he could spend some time with the guys. He felt suffocated with so much family time.

“What did you do?” Joel asked. “Sage couldn’t get anything out of Cami or Lana. She knows something she’s not telling, but swears it has nothing to do with why Cami’s mad—she hadn’t been able to pry that out of them yet. And she claims she’s actually tried, which is unusual for her.”

“Maybe she’s just saying that, but holding out on you?” Blake suggested. He wondered though, if she’d figured out Lana was pregnant.

“No way. I have her too well trained for that.” His grin was cocky. “Besides, she isn’t the type to tell lies.”

“True enough.” Vince looked over the top of his cards at Blake. “Cami’s been a little spare on the details as well. Not on the rants, mind you, just on the specifics. All I know for sure is that it has something to do with Lana and that she thinks you’re a pig.”

“Women are all a mystery. Go figure,” Jeremy said tossing a chip into the center of the table, starting the pot. “I’m starting with five.”

Blake held back the immense eye rolling he wanted to do that a five in this case, meant five cents. He thought it was funny that the guys had such puny little bets. It was like they were all still in grade school. “I’d be happier if they weren’t so keen on keeping secrets—though if Cami thinks I’m a pig, maybe it’s better that she’s not the one talking about it.”

“We ought to invite Harrison to one of these nights,” Jeremy said, changing the subject. He was big on avoiding any subject involving the DiCarlo sisters. “He’s cool and he doesn’t know too many guys around here yet.”

“But this is the future sons-in-law club. Harrison doesn’t qualify,” Vince pointed out. The title was one of his own making and he managed to rib his best friends, Jeremy and Gage about George DiCarlo’s intention for the three of them to all marry daughters of his. Vince had fallen into the trap eagerly, enamored with Cami from the first moment, but his buddies were not so inclined with the brides selected for them.

“Neither do I. Technically. Not anymore,” Joel said.

Blake considered his words for a second before plowing ahead. He’d had enough of the secrets. “Neither do I. Technically.”

“What, you and Lana on the outs?” Jeremy asked. “Because she’s gorgeous. I’d give her a try if you clear the way.” He wiggled his brows, but his smile made it clear he wasn’t serious.