Caroselli's Accidental Heir (14 page)

Thirteen

L
ucy and Tony’s wedding day turned out to be the most magical day of her life.

She’d never been to a formal wedding, nor had she ever expected to get married, so she was totally clueless when it came to the task of planning one. But Sarah and Tony’s sisters Chris and Elana, and Nick’s sister Jessica, were more than happy to do it all for her. And they spared no expense.

With the help of a wedding planner, they transformed the backyard of his parent’s mansion, which sat on the shore of Lake Michigan, into a vision of satin swags, delicate pink roses, and twinkling, miniature white lights. As Tony’s parents walked with her down the aisle, one on either side, she felt a little like Cinderella on her way to the ball. And with her due date only a week away, a hugely pregnant one.

When Lucy saw Tony waiting for her at the steps of the gazebo dressed in a tuxedo, looking more handsome than she’d ever seen him, her heart felt like it would burst with happiness.

They spoke their vows at sunset, the waves of Lake Michigan crashing against the shore behind them. As they exchanged rings, and kissed for the first time as man and wife, Lucy knew without a doubt that she had found her happily ever after.

After the ceremony, Tony’s parents threw them a reception in their backyard. First came a delicious, four-course meal, then the cutting of the cake, then she and Tony were called onto the dance floor for their first official dance. After that, in true Caroselli form, the reception turned into a bash. The alcohol flowed, and a DJ blasted dance music over enormous speakers. When the neighbors enquired about the noise, they were invited to join in. By the time Lucy helped
Nonno
to the spare bedroom to rest later that evening, she was pretty sure half the neighborhood was there.

It was the perfect wedding. The perfect day.

Right up until the second that it wasn’t anymore.

Lucy was on her way back outside when she ran into Carrie, Rob’s wife, just outside the bedroom. She was blonde and pretty and nearly as petite as Lucy, with a cute little baby bump under a formfitting top.

Other than the occasional, obligatory greeting at family functions, she and Lucy avoided each other. They never spoke of it, but it was obvious that Carrie held Lucy responsible for what happened to Alice.

“Nice wedding,” Carrie told her, and though she sounded sincere, there was something in her eyes, the way she was looking at Lucy, that set Lucy’s nerves on edge.

“Much nicer than his
last
wedding,” Carrie added.

This was ridiculous. Like it or not they were family now. Couldn’t they find a way to bury the hatchet?

“Carrie, I know you don’t like me, and I don’t blame you for feeling that way.”

“That’s charitable of you,” Carrie said, not even trying to hide her disapproval.

“For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry about what happened to Alice.”

“Getting dumped at the altar, you mean? Call me crazy, but you sure didn’t look sorry. Alice on the other hand was devastated.”

Twist the knife a little deeper.
Oh, yeah, this was not shaping up to be a pleasant conversation. Maybe tonight was the wrong time to bring this up. Maybe the sad truth was that she and Carrie would never get past this.

“I should get back outside,” Lucy said, hoping that would be the end of it. But when she tried to leave, Carrie stepped in her way.

“Do you know what you’re having?” she asked, but there was something dark and calculating in her expression. What was she up to?

“I wanted it to be a surprise, but I’m pretty sure it’s a boy. I feel like it is.”

“I’ll bet Tony is pretty happy about that.”

“Sure.” What man wouldn’t be excited about having a son? Though she was sure he would be just as happy with a daughter.

“So how does it feel to be walking around with thirty million dollars in your belly?”

Lucy frowned, getting a very bad feeling. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Tony’s deal with his grandfather. He’ll get thirty million for producing a male heir. That’s the only reason he was going to marry Alice. They had a deal. But then along you came, already pregnant. Rather convenient, don’t you think?”

It wasn’t true. She was just messing with Lucy, playing with her emotions. “If you say so.”

“But first he had to marry you. That was part of the deal. And now he has.”

It was a lie. She knew it was. Carrie’s way of getting back at her for hurting Alice. It
couldn’t
be true.

“Ask him. He’ll tell you.”

Carrie would love that, wouldn’t she? If she made such a horrible accusation Tony would be hurt that she didn’t trust him.

This time when Lucy tried to walk away, Carrie let her pass, calling after her, “Enjoy the rest of your party.”

She would, damn it. She would not let this ruin the happiest day in her life.

Brushing off the bad vibes, Lucy walked through the family room to the French doors that led out onto the deck. But when she put her hand on the knob, she couldn’t seem to make it turn.

Tony loves you, he’s your husband, you have to trust him.
Go to him, have fun.

But her feet betrayed her. She walked back to the spare room instead. Heart in her throat, she knocked softly, half hoping
Nonno
was asleep.

“Yes,” he called.

She opened the door and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, almost as if he’d been waiting for her. He would tell her that it was a terrible lie.

“I need to talk to you.”

He looked so tired and sad. “I know.”

“Did you hear what Carrie said to me?”

He nodded.

“Is it true?”

“Why don’t you ask your husband?”

Oh, no. No, no, no. “Because I’m asking you. Did you offer Tony money to have a male heir?”

“The Caroselli name was about to die out, and those boys aren’t getting any younger. They needed incentive.”

Her heart splintered, then split down the middle, with a pain so intense she couldn’t draw a full breath. “You were supposed to be my friend. The grandfather I never had. How could you plot behind my back like that? How could you not tell me?”

Pride leveled his chin. “My loyalty will always be to my grandson. Family comes first.”

“I don’t have a family. I thought I did. Clearly I was mistaken.” She turned, started to walk out.

“Lucy, stop.” He wasn’t used to people walking away from him, and when she didn’t stop immediately, his tone went from arrogant and entitled to pleading. “Lucy. Please. This was my fault.”

She paused just outside the door, despair tugging at her soul.

“Don’t make Tony pay for my mistake. He’s a good man. A loyal grandson.”

She turned to him. “But not a very loyal husband.”

At least now she knew why Tony was so eager to marry her, and why he waited until
after
the ultrasound to propose a second time. All those things he said about her being his hero...were those lies, too? Just a way to manipulate her? Was anything he said to her true?

“Lucy, he loves you.”

He had an unusual way of showing it. “I’m sure you’ll understand when I say that sometimes that’s just not enough.”

She closed the door and walked away, not even sure where she was going, reminding herself to breathe. Inhale, exhale. Breathe in, breathe out. Every part of her ached. Even her hair seemed to throb. Old wounds in her heart swelled, then burst, poisoning her blood with the vile seeds of hurt and rejection. She felt like she was falling apart, one piece at a time.

The repercussions were almost too much to bear. This was why Tony was okay about buying a house, and spending so much of his money. He
knew
he had a big chunk of money coming in when the baby was born. He knew he was set.

Congratulations, Mom, you hit the nail on the head.
Men like him only kept girls like her around for one reason. And she sure had been keeping him happy in that department lately, hadn’t she? He’d played her, and the worst part was that she didn’t know if he even realized he was doing it.

“Lucy?”

She turned to see Tony standing behind her and her knees went weak. He was so beautiful it hurt to look at him. How could he do this to her?

Looking worried, he said, “Is everything okay?”

Talk about a loaded question. She refused to give Carrie the satisfaction of knowing she had ruined Lucy’s wedding, even if it was all just an illusion. A deal between relatives.

Because family always came first.

She pasted on a smile and said, “I’m just tired, and I’ve had a nagging backache all afternoon.”

At least that much was true.

“I’m exhausted, too.” He walked over and hugged her, kissing her forehead. It took everything in her to hold her tongue, to stop herself from beating at his chest and asking him why. Why, after all she had shared with him, after all they had been through, would he do this to her? Was he really that heartless? That cold? Or maybe this was his twisted interpretation of what he thought love was supposed to be.

She closed her eyes, concentrated on not falling apart. Loving him and hating him all at once.

He looked down at her, cradling her face in his hands, “The party has taken on a life of its own. I doubt anyone would miss us if we left.”

Thank God, because she wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

“How about we say our goodbyes and go home?”

Home. That word had taken on a whole new meaning in the past fifteen minutes, but she smiled and said, “Let’s go.”

They made the rounds, her cheeks aching from forced smiles. There was nothing about it that didn’t completely suck. Emotionally, she was barely hanging by a thread when they finally made it to the car. Just fifteen more minutes she told herself as he started the engine, then they would be at the apartment where she could unravel in private. Decide what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

She’d never felt so sad. So utterly and completely alone.

Arching against the dull ache in her back, she turned her head to the window, rolled it down so she could feel the warm air on her cheeks, to dry the tears that had started falling.

It wasn’t fair. But life never was. Not for her.

He dropped her at the door and she went upstairs while he parked. For a brief moment she caught herself thinking how nice it was going to be to have a garage. Would she? What would happen now? Divorce? Annulment?

She stepped into the apartment. They’d left the light on in the kitchen—they always forgot that one—and the lamp beside the sofa was lit. She looked around at his things and her things all mixed in together, like they belonged that way. It felt like home. But it was all an illusion.

She set her backpack down, and armed with a box of tissue, locked herself in the bathroom, giving herself permission to let go and sob her heart out. But of course the tears refused to come. Maybe she was so broken, she was numb.

Giving up, she walked to the bedroom and flopped down on the bed in the dark. Now what? Pack a bag? Wait it out?

She heard Tony come in, the jingle of his keys as he dropped them on the table, where he would inevitably lay the newspaper, or forms from the contractor. Which would instigate a search for said keys, and Lucy would usually find them before he did. It was almost a routine.

Was she just supposed to forget that?

“Still awake?” Tony asked upon seeing her sprawled out. Probably looking a bit like a beached whale. One with stretch marks and fat ankles.

She felt like she could close her eyes and sleep for a month, and at the same time she felt as if she would never sleep again. He had turned her entire world upside down.

“I’m awake,” she said.

He switched on the light by the bed. “It’s too bad we can’t fool around.”

“The doctor said not in my last month. You wouldn’t want to prematurely induce my labor, would you?” She shifted, trying to get comfortable. Her back was really killing her now. She’d been fanatical about not taking any sort of pain reliever while she was pregnant, but she might have to break down and take an aspirin.

“You look uncomfortable,” he said.

“Of course I’m uncomfortable,” she snapped. “I’m eight and a half months pregnant, as big as a house, my feet look like balloons and my back is killing me.”

He winced, as if he could feel her pain. “Maybe you could try rolling on your side and hugging a pillow.”

She wished he would stop being so nice. He seemed so sincere. So concerned. And damn it, it did feel better when she rolled on her side.

She couldn’t do this anymore. Not with her heart breaking. She had to say something.

He walked to the bathroom, and a minute later she heard him brushing his teeth.

Do it, Lucy. Be brave.

“So I guess Rose kinda hit the nail on the head about this family having secrets, huh?” she called to him.

She heard him mumble something incoherent.

“Because everyone has secrets,” she said. “Even you.”

He poked his head out the bathroom door and grinned, toothpaste on his chin, looking so adorable she wanted to punch him. “My life is an open book.”

With pages missing. Big pages.

Time to fill in the blanks.

“Are you sure about that?”

She heard him put his toothbrush away, and knew he was wiping his chin on the towel hanging beside the sink. He would shove it back in the ring haphazardly, backward so the stripes were on the wrong side. She knew his routine like the back of her hand.

He walked out of the bathroom wearing only a pair of boxers. “Nothing is coming to mind.”

“Think harder.”

He sat on the mattress beside her, stroked her belly. “Lucy, what’s wrong? Did something happen at the party? Did someone say something that hurt your feelings?”

Rather than throw Carrie under the bus, since she was only supporting her best friend, Lucy said, “Thirty million dollars. Now, that is a
sweet
deal.”

Tony dropped his head and mumbled a curse. He knew he was busted. “Who told you?”