“Some things aren’t negotiable. Some things shouldn’t be negotiable. My child isn’t a bargaining chip. She never will be,” she said fiercely.
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All I ask is that you see my side of the equation. As determined as you are to retain custody of your child, I am equally determined not to let go of mine.”
Something in his expression caused her to soften, some of her anger fleeing and leaving her oddly deflated. For a moment, she could swear he seemed afraid and a little vulnerable.
“I do see your point,” she said quietly. “But I won’t apologize for reacting as I did. It was a sneaky, underhanded thing to do.”
“I apologize then. It was not my intention to upset you so. I was simply seeking to keep my child where she belongs.”
“Maybe what we should be doing is working to prevent a divorce in the first place,” she said tightly. “If we manage to make this marriage a success as you have suggested, then we won’t have to worry about custody battles.”
He nodded and opened the car door for her. She settled in but he stood there for a long moment, his hand on the door. “You’re right. The solution is to make sure it never comes down to a divorce.”
He quietly closed her door and strode around to his side. He slid in beside her and started the engine.
“Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, we should move on to the more enjoyable aspects of planning a wedding.”
Thus began an afternoon of shopping that made her head spin. Their first stop was at a jeweler. When they were shown a tray of stunning diamond engagement rings, she made the mistake of asking the price. Piers clearly wasn’t happy with her question, but the jeweler answered her with ease. It was all she could do to scrape her jaw off the floor.
She shook her head, putting her hands out as she backed away from the counter. Piers caught her around the waist and pulled her back with tender amusement.
“Don’t disappoint me. As a woman it’s supposed to be ingrained for you to want to pick the biggest, most expensive ring in the shop.”
“Indeed,” the shop owner said solemnly.
“It’s not good form to ask the price anyway,” Piers continued. “Just pick the one you want and pretend there are no price tags.”
“Your fiancé is a very wise man,” the man behind the counter said. Laughter shone in the merchant’s eyes, and Jewel relaxed at their teasing.
Trying not to think about the fact that what one ring cost could feed an entire third world nation, she went about studying each setting. After trying on no less than a dozen, she found the perfect ring.
It was a simple pear-shaped diamond, flawless as far as her untrained eye could tell. On either side was a small cluster of tiny diamonds.
“Your lady has exquisite taste.”
“Yes, she does. Is this the one you want, yineka mou?” Piers asked.
She nodded, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach. “I don’t want to know how much it cost.”
Piers laughed. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll match the cost of the ring with a donation to the charity of your choice.”
“Now you’re making fun of me.”
“Not at all. It’s nice to know my new wife won’t break me inside of a year.”
He was trying hard to keep from laughing, and she leveled a glare at him. She marveled at the ease in which he flipped his credit card to the cashier, as if he were paying for a drink instead of a ring that costs thousands upon thousands of dollars.
He slid the ring on her finger and curled her hand until it made a fist. “Leave it on. It’s yours now.”
She glanced down, unable to keep from admiring it. It was a gorgeous ring.
“Now that the ring is out of the way, we should move onto other things like a dress and any other clothing you might need.”
“Wow, a man who likes to shop. However have you existed as a single man this long?” she teased.
His expression became shuttered, and she mentally sighed at having once again said the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Determined to salvage the rest of the day despite its rocky start, she tucked her hand into his arm as they left the jeweler.
“I’m starving. Can we eat before we attack the rest of the shopping?”
“Of course. What would you like to eat?”
“I’d love a big, nasty steak,” she said wistfully.
He laughed. “Then by all means, let’s go kill a cow or two.”
Nine
T he fact that Jewel hid in her room didn’t make her a coward exactly. It just made her reserved and cautious. Downstairs, Piers greeted his family who had flown in for the wedding. She still couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t as if this was a festive occasion, the uniting of kindred souls and all that gunk that surrounded marriage ceremonies.
All she knew about the rest of the Anetakis clan was that Piers had two older brothers, and both were recently married, and at least one child had been added. Hers would be the second.
And from all Piers had told her, his brothers were disgustingly in love.
She closed her eyes in recognition that she was green with envy, and she dreaded having to meet these disgustingly happy people.
They’d know it wasn’t all hearts and roses between her and Piers. For that matter, she was sure Piers had told them the entire truth and that they were marrying because of a one-night stand and a faulty condom.
She stared back at her reflection in the mirror and tried to erase the glum look from her face. The dress she’d chosen for the occasion was a simple white sheath with spaghetti straps. The material gathered gently at her breasts, molding to her shape then falling over her belly where it strained and then hung loose down her legs.
She’d debated on whether to put her hair up or leave it down, but Piers had seemed to delight in her hair the night they met and so in a moment of sheer vanity, she brushed it until it shone and let it hang over her shoulders.
And now she procrastinated like the coward she was, knowing everyone was downstairs waiting for her.
Still bereft of the courage needed to walk down those stairs, she walked to her window to look down over the gardens. The sky was overcast and light fog had descended over the grounds. A perfect fit to her melancholy mood.
For how long she stood, she wasn’t sure. A warm hand slid over her bare shoulder, but she didn’t turn. She knew it was Piers.
Then something cool slithered around her neck, and she did turn her head.
“Be still a moment,” he said as he reached under her hair to fasten a necklace at her nape. “My wedding gift to you. There are earrings to match, but I honestly couldn’t remember if your ears were pierced or not.”
She put a hand to the necklace and then hastened to the mirror so she could see. A gasp of surprise escaped when she saw the exquisite diamond arrangement.
“Piers, it’s too much.”
He smiled over her shoulder. “My sisters-in-law inform me that a husband can never do too much for his wife.”
She smiled back. “They sound like smart women.”
“There, that wasn’t so bad was it?”
Her brow crinkled. “What?”
“Smiling.”
Her eyes flashed in guilty awareness. He held out the box with the earrings, and she gazed in wonder at the large stones twinkling back at her.
“Are your ears pierced?”
She nodded. “I seldom wear earrings, but they are pierced.”
“Then I hope you’ll wear these today.”
She took them and quickly fastened them in her ears. When her gaze returned to his, she found him watching her intently.
“Speaking of my sisters-in-law, they’re anxious to meet you.”
“And not your brothers?” she asked.
“They are a bit more reserved in their welcome. They worry for me. I’m afraid it’s a family tradition to try and ruin the nuptials of the others,” he said dryly.
She di
dn’t know whether to laugh or feel dismay. Finally laughter won out. “Well at least you’re honest. For that I’m grateful. It will keep me from making a fool of myself in their presence.”
He shrugged. “You have nothing to be reserved about. You are to be my wife and that fact affords you the respect you are due. Theron is the soft touch in the family anyway. You’ll have him eating out of your hand in no time.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone related to Piers being a soft touch.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he slipped his hands over her shoulders. He squeezed reassuringly as if sensing her deep unease. “We have just enough time for you to be introduced to my family before the minister is due to arrive for the ceremony.”
Inhaling deeply, she nodded. He took her hand firmly in his and led her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. As they neared the bottom, she heard the murmur of voices in the living room.
Butterflies scuttled around her stomach, and the baby kicked, perhaps in protest of her mother’s unease.
When they rounded the corner, Jewel took in the people assembled in the living room with a bit of awe. The two men were obviously Piers’s brothers. There was remarkable resemblance. Both were tall and dark-haired, but their eyes were lighter than Piers’s, a golden hue while Piers’s were nearly black.
The two women standing next to his brothers were as different as night and day. Before she could continue her silent perusal, they looked up and saw her.
The brothers gave her guarded looks while the two women smiled welcomingly. She was grateful for that at least.
“Come, I’ll introduce you,” Piers murmured.
They closed the distance, stopping a few feet from the two couples.
“Jewel, this is my oldest brother Chrysander and his wife Marley. Their son, Dimitri is with his nanny for the day.”
Jewel offered a tremulous smile. “I’m happy to meet you.”
Marley smiled, her blue eyes twinkling with friendliness. “We’re happy to meet you too, Jewel. Welcome to the family. I hope you’ll be happy. When are you due?”
Jewel blinked and then returned her smile. “I’m a little over five months along.”
“Hello, Jewel,” Chrysander said in his deep voice.