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A dashing smile spreads across his face. “And by the look of it, I’ve given you a fright.”
“She’s been ridiculously jumpy all morning,” Maria steps in smoothly, lying like she was born to it. “Must be the pregnancy hormones.”
“Maria!” I scold, turning back to my sister so I can collect myself.
She smiles at me, giving a one-shoulder shrug. “What? I’ve heard it’s a thing.”
“Well then, that must explain it,” Leo teases, his voice dry.
I turn to look at him once more, searching for any evidence that he knows what we were talking about, but his gaze is inscrutable.
With a cordial smile, his eyes leave mine to find Maria’s. “I hate to ask it, but might I steal your sister away earlier than expected? I have a… surprise for her.”
The color drains from Maria’s face slightly, and her eyes dart to mine, the hint of fear glimmering behind her well-composed features. It’s a silent question. Should she leave me alone with my husband? Or does he know?
“We can make up for the lost time when I see you next,” I offer, patting Maria’s hand reassuringly, giving her a subtle indication that I’ll be alright.
Regardless of whether he overheard me or not, I’m confident Leo won’t hurt me while I’m carrying his child. Not after the transformation I’ve witnessed over the past week. However he might feel about me and our marriage, I’m confident in one thing at least. He loves our child—even before he’s met her.
“Okay,” Maria agrees hesitantly. She stands from the bench and bends to give me a light peck on the cheek. “Call me later?”
“Of course,” I say, knowing that will put her mind at ease.
She gives my fingers a light squeeze before heading back down the garden path toward the house. Only when she’s safely out of sight do I turn to face Leo, fully addressing my nerves for the first time as I consider the likely possibility that he might have overheard our schemes.
I brace, ready for the full force of his fury. Instead, my husband gives me a wicked smile, then puts his fingers to his lips and gives a sharp whistle that makes my heart skip a beat.
“What…?” I glance past his shoulder as the maid named Trudy steps around the wall of shrubbery, holding a beautiful evening gown.
Made of a deep hunter-green satin, the dress appears to be a draped collar wrap ruched cami dress, a deep slit running up one side. It’s far more scandalous than any dress I’ve ever worn before, but it’s breathtaking.
“What’s this for?” I breathe, rocking forward on my crutches to run my fingers down the silky fabric.
“Are you up for an adventure?” he asks playfully. And the glint in his eyes makes my stomach quiver.
Excited that I might be getting outside the walls of my prison for an evening, I beam. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Taking my crutches out from under my arms, he passes them to Trudy. Then he picks me up in the hold I’ve grown quite familiar with over the past several days.
“I think I’m going to have to relearn how to walk after so many days of being carried around like a queen,” I say cheekily, but inside, guilt gnaws at my stomach to know that while Leo was planning a surprise for me, I was plotting a very different kind of surprise for him.
“Would you prefer I let you do it yourself?” he asks, though his tone assures me he won’t be letting me out of his arms.
“No, actually, I was just contemplating how I might convince you to provide this service indefinitely,” I joke to cover the tumult of emotions that plague me.
He laughs, the sound low and enticing. And without an answer, he carries me back toward the house.
35
LEO
Putting together an adventure worthy of Tia proved rather challenging on such short notice and with her ankle making movement that much more difficult. But I want to do something nice for her, even if I can’t take her much farther than our own backyard just yet.
And though I fully intend to make good on my promise to take her on a true adventure, this will have to do for now.
“Ready?” I ask as Tia checks her image in the mirror one last time.
She turns to me, a grin stretching across her lips. “Ready,” she agrees, holding her arms straight, her wrists cocked in a look of girlish excitement.
