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‘Money definitely talks, doesn’t it?’ Grace’s cousin, Jenna, remarked sourly. ‘That dress transforms you. It’s not very bridal though.’
Grace pasted a smile to her tense lips, determined not to react. It had not escaped her attention that her aunt and her cousin resented the reality that Grace was becoming the wife of a very wealthy man. In any case, Grace’s attention had already strayed to Leo, tall and dark and devastatingly handsome in a dark designer suit. Her heart hammered, her tummy flipped. She sucked in her breath, striving to stay calm as he strode across the room, his irresistible smile slashing his beautiful shapely mouth.
‘You look stunning,’ Leo told her with a dark deep husky edge to his resonant drawl that sent a responsive shiver travelling down her spinal cord. ‘Let me introduce you to my father, Anatole.’
‘And your brother, Bastien,’ the older man slotted in hurriedly as a tall dark male with coldly amused dark eyes strolled up and disconcerted Grace by leaning down to kiss her on both cheeks Continental fashion.
‘Enough, Bastien!’ Leo grated, startling Grace with that eruption even more.
‘Was I trespassing?’ Bastien quipped, devilment dancing in his mocking gaze. ‘Leo never did like to share his toys.’
Leo planted an impatient hand to Grace’s spine and spun her away from the other man. ‘Some day soon I’ll knock his teeth down his throat!’ he swore in a raw undertone.
Upset that Bastien had described her as one of Leo’s ‘toys’, Grace flushed and murmured with quiet good sense, ‘Shaking hands would have been a little formal when I’m about to join the family.’
‘I only count my father as family.’ Angry colour scored Leo’s high cheekbones.
In answer to his hostility towards his half-brother, Grace simply said nothing and instead turned back to politely address Leo’s father, who had been left hovering in discomfiture while his two sons squared up to each other.
Matt approached her almost shyly. ‘I hardly recognised you,’ he admitted, and they talked about her decision to take a year out until it was time to go into the room next door for the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Grace focused on the handsome flower arrangement on the table while listening carefully to the words. She would have preferred a church service but would not have dreamt of telling Leo that. He slid a ring onto her finger but he had not given her one to return the favour with and there was a small embarrassing pause as the registrar allowed them time to complete what was usually an exchange of rings. Clearly, Leo wouldn’t be wearing a ring, announcing to the world that he was ‘taken’, Grace reflected ruefully, wondering why that small detail should make her feel so insecure. Many men didn’t like wearing rings, she reminded herself.
A light meal was served to the wedding party at an exclusive hotel. Grace glimpsed her reflection in one of the many gilded wall mirrors in the private function room and barely recognised the refined image of the woman clad in the sleek bronze sheath. At the beauty salon the previous day every part of her had been primped and polished and waxed and trimmed, all her rough edges smoothed away. She had seen Della and Jenna’s frowning surprise at her new image and she knew she no longer looked incongruous by Leo’s side. The cringeworthy fear that her lack of grooming could embarrass Leo had made Grace tolerate the various treatments and she accepted the need to at least try to fit into Leo’s world as best she could. Grace had always believed that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well and that was the outlook she intended to embrace in her role as Leo’s wife.
‘If we’re leaving soon I should get changed,’ Grace whispered after she had drifted once round the small dance floor in the circle of Leo’s arms, every inch of her treacherous body humming at the hard stirring contact with his.
‘There’s no need for you to change. We should head to the airport now,’ Leo told her calmly. ‘I’m determined to be the one to take that dress off you, meli mou.’
Ready colour warmed Grace’s cheeks and within minutes they were walking out to a waiting limousine, having thanked their guests for sharing their day. Travelling with Leo was, she discovered, very different from going on a package holiday trip. There were no queues to slow them down. They were rushed through the airport and waited for the flight call in a private lounge where they were served with refreshments.
