She smiled at him through a sheen of tears and he paused, one hand on the rail, his gaze locked with hers.
“You look beautiful,” he told her hoarsely.
Gabriel lifted his head and looked between them, beaming. “Mr. Strathmore says I’m to live with you. He says we’re going to be a family and I can call him Papa and you Mama from now on.”
“Oh, Adrian,” she whispered, glancing back at him, feeling utterly humbled by his selfless gesture. She squeezed Gabriel tightly. “Of course, you can call me Mama,” she assured him. “I love you, Gabriel. So much.”
The little boy continued to beam as she sat him down and turned to her future husband. For the first time all day, she felt a glimmer of hope. “Thank you for doing this,” she told him shyly. “I wanted to ask you, but I was afraid of what you’d say.”
“The boy deserves a good home,” he told her roughly, dropping his gaze as he continued down the stairs. “I figured that despite how this came about, we could give him that.”
“You never cease to amaze me,” she said softly, stepping toward him, wanting so badly to touch him, to find the connection they’d once had. He would forgive her. He had to. But when she reached out to take his hand, he pulled back, shaking his head, all tenderness disappearing from his face.
“Shall we go? My mother will be furious if we’re late for our own wedding.”
He turned abruptly and strode for the door, leaving her staring after him sadly. He obviously had no intention of making this easy for her, despite his kind gesture.
Taking a deep breath, she took Gabriel’s hand and followed him. “Come on, Gabriel. Your new papa and I are going to get married.”
* * * *
ADRIAN WATCHED FROMhis side of the coach as Vanessa and Gabriel chatted with each other about the wedding. The boy was all excitement and wide eyes, and Vanessa was very good with him. She explained everything with patience and sweetness, and the ache inside Adrian grew with each passing moment. Thank God the trip to his brother’s house only lasted ten minutes.
The unbearable sadness and betrayal threatened to overwhelm him, and the urge to call the whole thing off welled on the tip of his tongue. He just didn’t know how he could go through with this. Lust and pure stubbornness had made him agree to it in the first place, but he very much feared he could never maintain the emotional coldness he’d need to make this work.
Already, she was creeping beneath his defenses, making him wonder if perhaps she really did care, at least a little bit. She certainly acted as though she did...
It was far too easy to imagine being her husband in truth, being the family Gabriel wanted so badly. But that way lay a slippery slope of madness and heartbreak. She’d proven that she wasn’t worthy of his trust, so how could he ever give it to her?
When the coach came to a stop in front of Lucien’s imposing red brick mansion, he threw himself out, not bothering to wait for his blushing bride. He bypassed the footmen and strode hurriedly inside, wanting to escape to his old bedchamber for just a few minutes until he could gather his wits and harden his heart.
Unfortunately, the moment he entered the house, his gaze fell upon the last person on earth he wanted to see.
His stepbrother, Roger, leaned casually against the wall just a few feet from the front door, a satisfied smirk on his face. The man was the spitting image of his father, with blond hair and green eyes, his hulking body garbed in a hideous chartreuse vest.
Adrian pinned the bastard with a glare. “What the hell are you doing here? You weren’t invited.”
In fact, the one caveat he’d impressed upon his cursed mother when he’d given her carte blanche to plan this thing was that Roger not be invited. She’d sulked, but he’d never expected her to openly defy him.
Roger lifted a hand to show a cream and gold invitation. “Oh? Then what is this?”
“An oversight, I’m sure,” Adrian gritted out, so furious that red tinted the edges of his vision. “Get out, Roger. You’re not welcome here.”
Roger’s smile widened. “I just couldn’t resist the fun, little brother. The spectacle of watching you wed one of my castoffs was worth charming our dear mother into letting me come.”
Sickness bloomed within him. “Castoff? What are you talking about?”
At that moment, the door opened again, and Vanessa and Gabriel tumbled in, their cheeks red with the cold, laughing quietly and clutching each other’s hands. When Vanessa saw them, she came to an abrupt stop, the color leeching from her face as her gaze settled upon Roger. She shoved Gabriel behind her, like a lioness guarding her young.
“Do you know this man?” Adrian demanded, his fury and disgust growing by the second. “Answer me, Vanessa. Who the hell is he to you?”
“Tell him, sweeting,” Roger coaxed, obviously enjoying himself. “Tell my dear brother about our little... arrangement.”
“Brother?” Vanessa whispered brokenly, her gaze darting between them. “Roger is your brother?” Her use of the bastard’s first name completely tore Adrian up inside.
“He’s my stepbrother,” he clarified harshly. “Please tell me that he’s lying. That you and he never...” He broke off, unable to finish in front of Gabriel, but the look on her face said it all.
Without another word, he turned away, striding up the stairs as Roger’s laughter echoed behind him.
