‘How long will you wait until you tell your mother about the baby?’
She looked up at him, all hollow eyes and pale skin. ‘I thought maybe another month, just to be sure. That should get me over the most critical time.’
‘We’ll schedule the wedding for a month’s time, in that case. We can tell her together then.’
Her head jerked up. ‘You still plan on going through with this? You still intend to marry me?’
‘You have no choice. Your mother has been told and I certainly don’t want to be the one to disappoint her. Do you?’
She dropped her eyes to the decking, her heart hammering in her chest. There was no way in the world she’d do anything to upset her mother—Damien knew that—she’d been effectively locked in this marriage deal from the moment she’d walked through that door.
But if he thought she was trapped, it was nothing to how he was going to feel when he found out the truth.
He was determined to marry her to have control over their child and its upbringing. He had no idea he had control over her heart.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHE was married. No longer Miss Summers. Now she was Mrs DeLuca, wife to Damien. His ring on her hand, his name in place of hers.
Teringa Park, his country property, had made the perfect setting for their wedding vows. She’d imagined it was just another country home, another executive hobby farm, but she’d been wrong. The lush property dated back to early colonial times, the large home testament to the success and wealth of its first owner.
Just as this wedding was testament to the success and wealth of its current owner.
A large marquee had been set up on the expanse of lawns, which were green and lush in defiance of the dry summer heat. Filmy white fabric had been hung in drifts along the veranda of the old stone homestead and it billowed softly in the gentle breeze, while champagne-coloured helium-filled balloons jostled together in large urns bedecked with ribbons and bows, set about the gardens between bowls of fragrant apricot roses.
The service itself had been brief, though the guest list surprisingly large, considering how few family members there were between them. But obviously Damien wasn’t the kind of man who would do anything by halves. The Who’s Who of Melbourne society was in attendance along with a contingent of society page reporters, and everyone wanted to meet the woman lucky enough to snare Melbourne’s most eligible bachelor.
By the end of the day Philly felt drained, emotionally and physically, the stresses and tension of the day overwhelming her. She turned her head to the man at her side, the man to whom her life was now linked, and the magnitude of what she’d done moved through her like an earthquake—a shudder of realisation, an instant of fear as her world shook under her.
She had the perfect husband—rich, intelligent, drop-dead gorgeous. She was the envy of every woman here, if the looks from the assembled guests were any indication. She had everything, or so they thought.
Strange, how empty you could feel, when you were supposed to have everything. Strange how those things everyone seemed to want did nothing to fill the hole deep inside her, the hole that could never be filled with mere luxury and a marriage built on control.
The one bright light was her mother. She sat on a shady terrace watching the proceedings, unable to erase the smile from her face. She looked serene today, even beautiful, in a silky soft aqua outfit Damien himself had personally selected for her and it complemented her pale skin and softly waved regrowing hair perfectly. Make up enhanced her features, already looking healthier than they had in months.
Damien had been right. While news of the baby was sure to delight her mother, knowing that Philly was married and that her grandchild would therefore be raised within a family unit with both parents, would make it all the more special. Already the bloom on her face made the hastily arranged marriage worthwhile.
But it wasn’t just her appearance. It was also the apparent improvement in her health. Even the doctors were amazed by the sudden change in her well-being, the steadying of her condition and the indisputable easing of the pain. Quite simply, her mother seemed a different woman.
Philly hugged the thought to her chest. How much more so would her mother be when she discovered the whole truth? That she would have a grandchild again. And now, with her mother’s progress, it seemed more certain every day that she would get to hold that grandchild.
She watched as Marjorie handed her mother a cool drink. Damien had even managed to track down the nurse and retain her as her full-time companion. She stole a glance up at the man at her side, still confused by the person he was. For someone who ‘didn’t do family’, he’d done all he could to make Daphne’s life more comfortable. That would have been enough for Philly, she couldn’t have expected more. Yet beyond that the two seemed to share an easy relationship, a genuine relationship, and she could tell there was a warmth and sincerity from Damien that went further than mere obligation.