Reclaiming His Bride (DiCarlo Brides book 3) (The DiCarlo Brides) (26 page)

Blake turned to face her, touching her elbow with his free hand. “Don’t punish yourself over what happened.”

“Why not? It’s my fault. I screwed things up for us.”

She wasn’t wrong, but it hadn’t been all her fault—he’d definitely had his share of culpability when he hadn’t run after her to explain. “Let it go. We can’t fix what we did, so let’s focus on now—we won’t screw it up this time, okay?”

“You should hate me for doubting you,” she said, looking at him with confusion.

“But then I would miss out on a whole lot of loving you. And right now, that seems like a waste.” His hand itched to rub across her stomach, to feel the very small bump where their child was growing. His son. But he didn’t. He held back, knowing tonight there would be plenty of time when they were back in his suite.

Delphi came into the room, said something into her radio and gestured to the string quartet that was playing in one corner. The cellist nodded and said something to her cohorts. A moment later Lana was whisked away to join the other sisters as a change in music announced the procession. Blake sauntered over to join them, thinking that despite their problems, the future looked bright indeed.

Lana lay on the sofa, wiggling her toes a couple of days later. It was so nice to be off her feet after making a last round of the resort. The day had been long but it was over now and she was glad to be settled back into Blake’s suite, relaxing. He’d promised to order some dinner up for their room and join her in a few minutes and she looked forward to a comfortable snuggle with him. Christmas was only a few days away and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy during the holidays.

Her eyes drooped and she was nearly asleep when the phone rang beside her. Who was dialing their room at this time of night?

“Hello?” Lana closed her eyes, hoping the caller had made a mistake.

“Is Blake there?” The voice was unmistakably that of his father.

“Not right now. He’s finishing up some things. Did you try his cell phone?”

“Of course I tried his cell. He didn’t answer. When’s he supposed to be back there?” Royce asked.

Lana held back a sigh. Her father-in-law was ruining her moment of bliss. “I expect him any minute now. Can I take a message?”

“I suppose he’s trying to fix problems your crooked father caused.”

Lana gritted her teeth. She’d known Royce wasn’t a fan of her dad, there’d been plenty of professional rivalry over the years, but he had never spoken to her like that before. “My father had his faults, but he wasn’t crooked.”

“He was. And immoral. Of course, you have plenty of evidence of that running around the resort, don’t you?” His words slurred slightly as if he had been drinking. “Your father cheated every chance he got—how else do you think he got as far as he did? I suppose my son is enjoying the fruits, though. I doubt he’ll ever have to worry about keeping a job so long as he’s married to you. Good move on his part.” The words were snide and sarcastic. “But self-interest was never one of his weak points.”

She saw red as she tried to keep her voice even—how could he speak that way about his own son? “Blake was hired because he’s good at what he does. He’s a great manager and terrific with people. He deserves his job and I have nothing to do with it. I don’t understand why you don’t see what a wonderful man you’ve raised, how strong and hardworking he is. You should be ashamed of yourself for not treating him with the love and support he deserves.”

A touch on her shoulder made Lana jump and she turned to see Blake. She hadn’t heard the door open when he came into the room.

“Is it my dad?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes.”

He held out a hand for the phone and she passed it over, still fuming at his father.

“Hello, Dad. What’s going on?”

There was a long moment of silence and then Blake spoke in a cool, even voice, a little louder than normal, as if he were cutting in on his father’s tirade. “Excuse me, but that’s my wife you’re talking about. You don’t have to like her, but you do have to treat her with respect and talk about her with respect around me.” Another pause as his fingers grew white from gripping the phone. “I understand, but this is my family now too. I don’t want to hear you talking bad about them. I’m sorry you feel that way. I have to go, Father. I hope to hear from you again when you’re ready to talk about something else.” He set down the receiver with careful deliberation.

Lana had never heard him speak to his parents that way, but listening to him had turned her feelings from straight-up anger for his father to appreciation for the way he had defended her and her family. It was a rough line to tread and she appreciated that he was willing to walk it to be with her. She crossed to him and slid her arms around him from the back, since he hadn’t turned to face her yet. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

His hands covered hers on his chest. “I’m never going to make him happy. I’ve done everything I can to get him to see me as an equal, but he won’t. It’s never going to happen.” He twisted to face her, pulling her close. “But I have you. I’m so glad you came back to me.”

Her heart squeezed painfully. She’d been holding back, not seeing what was going on. Not really. How could she add to his troubles by keeping a piece of herself back when she had known for a while now that he hadn’t been cheating on her? “I’m glad to be back with you. I’m sorry I put us both through that.”

She lifted her mouth to his for a long kiss. Time to show him what he really meant to her.

Lana rubbed her forehead as Joel gave her the rundown on his trouble with a drunken guest an hour earlier. “Any chance it’ll come back to bite us?” There had been a barrage of room cancellations since the murder, and fewer reservations were coming in than before. Not having a full house during everyone’s Christmas vacations was bad omen.

“It could, it always could, you know it, but everything was handled by the book, so we should be covered.” Joel leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. “The deputy who took him in seemed satisfied, anyway.”

“Great. It’s just what we need right now, don’t you think?” Her head pounded so she rubbed her temples again, even though she knew it wouldn’t help.

“Do you need something? Can I get your some ibuprofen or something?” Joel looked concerned.

“Nope. The doctor won’t let me have that anymore. And a single Tylenol isn’t likely to make a dent in the headache.”

He gave her a commiserating look. “Sage is working late tonight. I’ll have her come by to try some pressure points. See if she can do something for you.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate it.” Her cell phone rang and the display showed an unfamiliar number. She considered sending it to voice mail, but decided it would be better to answer. “Hello?”

“Lana, this is Royce, Blake’s father. I hope you don’t mind me calling you on your cell. I wasn’t sure if you’d still be in the office.”

Her forehead wrinkled. Why was calling her after the fiasco of a phone call the previous evening? And how had he gotten her cell phone number, anyway? “Yes, I mean, no, that’s fine, Mr. Bahlmann. And yes, I’m in the office still. A hotel never really sleeps, as I’m sure you know.”

Joel looked surprised, and a little confused—that was only fair as it was how she felt.

“Good. Look, I’m here at the resort. I was hoping we could talk, straighten out the misunderstandings we’ve been having. I don’t want the history between your father and myself to be a problem for you and Blake. I hoped if we talked things over, we can make everything easier. You are going to bear my grandson, after all.”

He was here and hadn’t told Blake? Or did Blake know, but he hadn’t mentioned it? “Sure. Where would you like to meet?” Lana asked.

“I’m in room 432. Can you come up now?”

“Yeah, 432. No problem. I’ll be right there.” She stood from her desk—her meeting with Joel was pretty much over anyway. “I’m really glad you’re willing to work this out, Mr. Bahlmann. I know how much it has bothered Blake that there were problems between our families.”

“See you in a few minutes.” He hung up.

Lana stuck the phone in her pocket and turned to Joel, puzzled, but a little relieved by Royce’s change of attitude. “Blake’s dad is here. He came to work things out with us.”

“That’s great,” Joel said. “You don’t look happy, so where’s the bad?”

“No bad, it’s just odd.” She sat back in her chair. “That’s a major change of heart for him considering the way he’s always acted about us. Yesterday he was telling me I was the devil.”

“Was he mad when you told him about your marriage and the baby? I heard things didn’t go well.”

“It’s not so much that he got angry—at least not then. His wife got angry. He seemed less surprised, actually.” She decided not to puzzle over it right now. “Anyway, I’m going to go chat with him. I know Blake will feel better if we can all get along.”

Joel stood and moved to the door. “Well, good luck with that. I hope it works out. Call when you finish and I’ll send Sage up to deal with the headache.”

“I will.” Lana watched Joel double-check the door locks as they walked into the hall. It was after hours and most of the day staff had gone home by now.

It only took a few minutes to reach room 432. Lana sucked in a deep breath and knocked. He may have said that he wanted to work out hard feelings, but that didn’t mean their meeting would be smooth sailing.

Royce answered the door a couple of seconds after she knocked. “Come in.” He moved back to give her more space. “I wasn’t sure if you could be pried from your office. I hear you’re a very dedicated hotel manager.”

“Blake said that?” She smiled, more pleased by the compliment than she probably should be.

“Not Blake. Someone else.” He shut the door behind her. “Working there by yourself until all hours. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to be at the helm of a place like this.”

“It does. It helps when you have a really great staff to work with, though. Mine is all very competent.” There were chairs set out, but she didn’t sit right away. If he continued standing it would have him towering over her—in the position of power. Considering their history, she wasn’t ready to concede to him.

“Your father always did like to keep things in the family. He must be thrilled to have all of his girls working together.” He walked around behind her, coming to her right. “Take a seat. Would you like some tea? I understand pregnant women are discouraged from drinking coffee these days.”

“Not to mention that it would keep me awake if I had any at this time of night. But no, thank you. I’ve had more than my share of tea lately. Cami and Blake are both militant about my caffeine intake.” She ignored the question about her and the sisters.

“What do you really think about your father, now that you know about all of his dirty little secrets, Lana?” His voice was hard and cold this time—much more in line with what she had expected.

 She turned to face him directly. “He was my father. I might wish some things were different, but nothing will ever change the fact that I love him.” It had taken her long enough to realize it, but now she said the words with peace and really meant it. “We can’t do anything now about what my father did or was. So how about if we tackle what’s really bothering you.”

“Forthright. That’s a good quality. I think my son really has met his match. It’s really too bad.” He frowned a little, his hands clasped behind his back.

“What do you mean, too bad?”

“It makes this really unfortunate.” His right hand came out from behind him holding a pistol with a long silencer attached. “It’ll make it much harder for Blake to move on when you’re dead.”

Terror ripped through Lana when she looked up into his face and saw the hard-eyed anger there.