‘In private?’ Luc started to frown.
* * *
‘Look over there at Luc and Belle,’ Luc’s mother sighed disappointedly at her husband as she caught sight of her son’s frowning face.
‘Just when I thought that the pair of them seemed to be getting on so well. I suppose I should have known it was too good to be true. And to think I’d actually begun to hope…’ She shook her head ruefully. ‘They always seemed so right for one another, and I can’t help wishing…’
‘Leave them to lead their own lives,’ her husband advised her gently.
* * *
‘In private,’ Luc repeated with concern.
‘Mmm…’ Belle responded dreamily.
Belle’s face was slightly flushed and Luc could almost feel the excitement bubbling up inside her. Her eyes, when he looked down into them, shone with barely concealed happiness. So much so that he could almost feel it radiating from her. She looked, Luc decided wryly, buoyed up with a secret—and with love.
‘It must have been a very special call—and a very special caller.’ Luc couldn’t resist challenging her.
Belle’s smile deepened, and so did her pretty pink colour.
‘It was,’ she admitted candidly.
‘Belle, quick. She’s leaving. Here…’
A handful of rose petals were pushed into Belle’s hand by her mother, to shower onto the bride. Obediently, Belle turned her attention away from Luc and towards her niece and her new husband.
‘Belle looks wonderful, doesn’t she?’ one of Belle’s female cousins commented to another.
‘Positively glowing…’
Belle, who had overheard their comment, waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Luc and remarking in a very, very soft whisper, ‘Positively blooming might have been a more appropriate description—under the circumstances. Doubly so, in view of the fact…’ She added mock coyly.
She stopped and waited for the penny to drop.
‘My call was from the doctor’s surgery,’ she added helpfully, her own face breaking into a wide grin of excited happiness as she saw the enlightenment dawn in Luc’s eyes.
‘It’s quite definitely twins,’ she told him breathlessly.
‘Twins… Two babies…’ Luc gazed at her in adoring awe.
‘Yes, twins does mean two babies,’ Belle agreed teasingly, tongue in cheek.
She had had her suspicions for a while that she might be pregnant—she had even gone out and bought herself a home pregnancy test But Luc had been away at the time, and in the end, she had wanted him to be there to share the moment with her. After all, he had been there—very much there—when their baby had been conceived, and they had agreed that this time round they were going to share their lives as true partners, true lovers.
Luc had been with her when she had first been told that she might be carrying twins, and today’s phone call was the formal confirmation of the news they had already unofficially been given.
‘Luc—Luc, stop it,’ Belle protested as Luc suddenly wrapped her in his arms and gazed deeply into her eyes before starting to kiss her.
‘Luc, people are watching us,’ Belle protested huskily beneath his mouth. ‘Luc… Luc… Mmm… Mmm…’
‘Let them watch,’ Luc whispered back hoarsely.
Around them Belle could hear the astonished whispers of the other guests as they turned away from the departing bridal car to stare at Belle and Luc.
‘I think we’d better tell them, don’t you?’ Luc whispered lovingly. ‘Otherwise, if we don’t…’
His hand covered her still flat stomach protectively, and even though she knew technically it was impossible as yet Belle could have sworn the two beings they had created with their love were kicking their assent to their father’s suggestion.
‘Well, they’re going to have to know some time,’ Belle agreed philosophically as she glanced down at her body. ‘But a lot of them might not approve,’ she warned him. ‘After all, it’s not exactly conventional.’
‘We have the right to live our lives the way we want to live them, unconventional or not,’ Luc argued softly.
And then, still holding her in the protective circle of his arm, he cleared his throat and began, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends. Belle and I have an announcement to make.’
As he looked down at her, Belle looked back up at him, all the love she felt for him showing clearly in her eyes. A shaft of light touched the gold of the new wedding ring she had just removed from her purse and slipped onto her wedding finger—they had had it made from the gold of her old ring and Luc’s, a symbolic fusing of the old to create new in a bond that could never be broken.
Her sister saw it first, pre-empting Luc’s announcement by screaming excitedly,
‘Belle, you’re married—you and Luc have remarried! Oh, how could you, without saying anything. Oh, Belle…Luc…Oh, this is so wonderful…’
‘Wonderful,’ Luc echoed as he raised Belle’s hand to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers.
Through the excited hubbub that followed, Belle could hear her great-aunt Alice saying quite clearly to her mother, ‘There you are, Mary, I knew I was right They are married…’
As their relatives pressed happily around them, Belle could feel the joy bubbling up inside her.
Oh yes, they were married—had remarried. In a small, perfect, private ceremony on the island on the lake at Cheringham House, two weeks ago.
She had wanted to keep it a secret for just a little longer but… She patted her stomach tenderly.
Some events had a way of precipitating their own celebrations.
Above the heads of their excited audience Luc mouthed softly to her, I love you—and them.
Blissfully Belle returned his smile. One day—not this time, perhaps, but one day——they would have a little girl, and when they did, when they did, she rather thought they might call her Alice.
* * * * *
Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of Dani Collins’ next book,
CLAIMING HIS CHRISTMAS WIFE
After their marriage ends in heartbreak, Travis never wants to see Imogen again. But to avoid a scandal they must agree to a temporary reconciliation—leaving Travis tempted to reclaim his wife…for good!
Read on for a glimpse of
CLAIMING HIS CHRISTMAS WIFE
CHAPTER ONE
“MR. TRAVIS SANDERS?”
“YES,” he confirmed shortly, willing the woman to hurry to the point. His PA had interrupted a high-level meeting with this “extremely important” call. “What is this about?”
“Imogen Gantry. She’s your wife?”
Memory washed through hi
m in a rush of heat and hunger. He tensed against it and glanced around, lowering his voice. That broken teacup had been swept firmly under the rug four years ago.
“We’re divorced. Are you a reporter?”
“I’m trying to locate her next of kin. I’m at…” She mentioned the name of one of New York’s most beleaguered public hospitals.
Whatever old anger had sent him soaring at the mention of his ex-wife exploded in a percussive flash. He was blind. Falling. Wind whistling in his ears. Air moving too fast for him to catch a gulp.
“What happened?” he managed to grit out. He was dimly aware his eyes were closed, but she was right there in front of him, laughing. Her green eyes glimmered with mischief. Her hair was a halo of flames licking at her snowy complexion. She swerved her lashes to cut him a glance. So enchantingly beautiful. Gaze clouding with arousal. Sparking with anger. Looking so wounded and vulnerable that last time he’d seen her, his heart still dipped thinking of it.
He’d quickly learned it was a lie, but that didn’t make any of this easier to accept.
Gone? He couldn’t make it fit in his head. He had told her he never wanted to see her again, but discovered he had secretly believed he would.
From far away, he heard the woman say, “She collapsed on the street. She’s feverish and unconscious. Do you know of any medication we should be aware of? She’s awaiting treatment, but—”
“She’s not dead?”
He heard how that sounded, as if that was the outcome he would have preferred, but leave it to Imogen to set him up to believe one thing, contort his emotions to unbearable degrees, then send him flying in another direction. That betraying, manipulative—if he could get his hands on her, he’d kill her himself.
“And she was taken to that hospital? Why?”
“I believe we were closest. She doesn’t seem to have a phone and yours is the only name I’ve been able to find in her bag. We need guidance on treatment and insurance. Are you able to provide that?”
“Contact her father.” He walked back toward the door to his office, saying to his PA behind her desk, “Look up Imogen Gantry’s father. He’s in publishing. Maybe starts with a W. William?” He hadn’t met the man, only heard her mention him once or twice. Hell, they’d only been married fifteen minutes. He knew next to nothing about her.