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Was that what he was doing now? Was he holding her at a distance because he was afraid that if he let her in and it didn’t work out his life would crumble again? Or did he feel absolutely nothing but friendship for her?
* * *
He could do this.
He could pretend he hadn’t just married the most beautiful woman in the world.
Thank goodness Elena had thought to text him the night before about his ring, because it had completely slipped his mind. He’d almost blown it, and just after he’d promised Elena that he would keep their marriage under wraps until Sunday, when Annabelle’s engagement festivities were officially concluded.
But he had to admit to himself that spending his wedding night alone was a complete and utter downer. He’d never considered marrying, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand that the wedding night was supposed to be quite memorable. Instead, he hadn’t even gotten a good-night kiss. Was this the sort of future he’d doomed them to?
He recalled their conversation before they said their vows. Elena had made him agree that they wouldn’t share a bed. At the time, he’d been so concerned about claiming his son or daughter that he’d have agreed to almost anything. It wasn’t until now that he’d realized what this concession truly meant.
He never contemplated what it would be like having a platonic marriage with a woman as beautiful as Elena, both on the inside and out. After all, he was a man. He couldn’t just not notice that she was stunning. He wasn’t the only one who noticed her rare beauty. She couldn’t even walk down the street without men whistling.
But what none of them knew was that she was now his legally and otherwise—although the otherwise had a bit of a hitch. His thoughts rolled back to the kiss they’d shared yesterday after the wedding. It had caught him off guard. He’d thought he could do this whole fake marriage thing, but now he was having serious doubts.
“Luca, what are you doing all the way over here?”
He blinked and realized that he’d been totally lost in his thoughts. And then somehow the object of his daydream appeared before him. Elena stood there giving him a strange look.
“What did you say?” he asked.
She waved away his words. “It doesn’t matter. You look like you have something on your mind. What is it? Or do I already know?”
“You know?” And then he realized that his voice came out a bit off-key.
She sent him a strange look. “Yes, I know. My mother told me about the latest story in the tabloid. I’ll give them this much—they sure don’t waste any time in going after a person.”
“I take it there was another story about you?”
She nodded. “I thought you knew.”
“Um, no. Do you think they went digging up more information on you when you didn’t appear at the gate yesterday to answer their questions?”
“Something like that. Apparently they have a photo of me visiting my doctor’s office.”
“So what does that mean? You
can’t be the only woman who visits her doctor.”
“Apparently they’ve got an unnamed source in the office, and they told them I was pregnant.”
“And your mother knows.”
Elena nodded. “But I hedged around her questions. So she doesn’t know what’s real and what’s lies. I hate this.”
He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I know you do. But it’s almost over. If you want, we can just tell everyone today.”
“The idea is so tempting, but Annabelle is so happy. I don’t want to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Your sister really went all out for this celebration, and I noticed that you two are getting closer.”
He nodded. “She’s a little less angry with me for being gone all these years.”
“So then there’s good coming out of this week?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Then I will put off my mother for a bit longer. If only I could disconnect her internet for the rest of the week, it would certainly help.”
