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Grace winced, waiting for Luc’s tenuous control of his temper to finally snap. “You didn’t need to involve someone else,” Luc bit out, slamming his coffee mug to the counter. “You should have trusted me to take care of the work situation without interfering.”
“Perhaps.” Dom shrugged, not in the least intimidated by his son’s wrath. “But I wished to ensure you would have a full year to concentrate on work and not be subjected to irresistible temptations.” He glanced at Grace and smiled apologetically. “This will not be a problem anymore, eh? Once a Salvatore falls in love and marries, it is for life. The eyes, they become blind to every other woman.”
It was all Grace could do not to weep. How she wanted that to be true. But as much as she might wish it otherwise, Luc hadn’t fallen in love with her, merely in lust. And that minor detail ensured a broken heart at the end of their affair. Assuming they even had an affair. In the meantime, she couldn’t continue to stand there quietly as though condoning any further lies. Rinsing her coffee cup at the sink, she crossed to where Dom sat.
“Would you excuse us?” she murmured, lifting Toni into her arms. “I think it’s time we dressed.”
Dom stood. “I am happy I returned for Thanksgiving,” he said, enfolding her in a tender embrace and kissing her cheeks. “I have come home to find much to be grateful for.”
Unable to think of a single response, Grace offered a watery smile. Turning to leave the room, she shot Luc a swift, beseeching look, praying he’d understand her silent plea. Perhaps agreeing to Dom’s plan had been wrong, but it had been the offer of a lifetime and too good to refuse. Would Luc understand that? Would he listen to her explanation?
Twenty minutes later Grace returned, now dressed in slacks and a sweater. She and Toni arrived just in time to bid Dom farewell. She stood next to Luc and smiled serenely, striving to appear the perfect wife. The minute his father disappeared down the hallway, Luc turned on her.
“Every damned word out of your mouth has been a lie, hasn’t it?” he snarled, kicking the door shut. It bounced back ajar, but he ignored it, stalking after her.
“Not every word.” She backed toward the living room, clutching Toni to her breast like a shield. Realizing she couldn’t continue to hide behind a baby, she carried Toni through to the bedroom and put her in the crib for a nap, far from the line of fire. Then Grace returned to face Luc, refusing to be intimidated by his fury. “Besides,” she said, jumping right back into the fray. “What about all your lies?”
“I lied to protect the baby,” he defended himself. “They were necessary lies.”
She lifted her chin. “They’re still lies. And as far as protecting the baby, haven’t I done everything possible to help you since Toni arrived? Haven’t I lied to the police and to the social service people, in order to cover for Brand and Carina? And for what? Foryou. What more do you want from me? I even lied to your father. And that cost me the chance to start my own business.”
Her words brought home the cold, hard facts and she stared at him with anguished eyes, the full extent of her predicament finally sinking in. “My own business,” she whispered. To her horror, she burst into tears. She looked around helplessly, trying to remember where the tissues were kept.
“Here.”
He held out a box of tissues and she took it gratefully, struggling to stem the flood of tears. “I’m sorry,” she managed to say. “It must be the stress.”
Luc thrust his hands into his trouser pockets, a muscle leaping in his jaw. “Explain it to me. The deal you had withPapà.”
She waved the damp tissue. “You already know most of it.”
He paced in front of her. “I sure as hell didn’t know you were in cahoots with my father.”
“That’s the only fact you didn’t have. You knew about the disguise and the fake engagement.”
He nailed her with a disbelieving look. “And my father put you up to it?”
Reluctantly, she nodded. “He seemed to think it was the only way he could retire. All your employees kept falling in love with you and making a mess of the office situation. He thought I’d be different.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “He thought I’d be more levelheaded, that with the disguise and the engagement ring, you’d keep your distance. And because of his offer, I’d keep mine.”
“Ah, yes. The offer.” A cynical note colored his words. “A business of your own, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “When we met during the young entrepreneur’s contest, Dom realized I was desperate to open my own store and offered a deal. If I’d work for you for one year—keep our relationship strictly professional with no personal involvement—he’d finance Baby Dream Toys.”
“Desperate?” He seized on the word, his eyes narrowing. “Why were you so desperate to start your own business?”
The question hung between them. “Because of my mother,” she whispered at last.
Chapter 10
The Great Lie
Day 346 continues to darken—but all is not lost . ..
Lucstilled, watching her closely. “Your mother?”
