Page 70 of Breathtaking

but once they’re made, there’s no unmaking them.

—Lennon’s Secret Thoughts

Ilook at myself in the mirror, blown away by just how much my body has changed since the last time I saw Dr. Hayes-Sinclair. My side profile looks like I’m hiding a somewhat deflated soccer ball under my shirt. The bruising is gone, and in its place is glowing skin, which is new for me. Redheads don’t glow. We’re generally either ghostly pale or covered in freckles. I fall on the ghostly pale side most days. But today, I have a glow that even I recognize.

Maddox walks into his bedroom and grins on his way to the bathroom. “I mean, not that I don’t love seeing you in my clothes,picolla principessa, but I’m not sure that’s appropriate for leaving the house.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I murmur and pull out a gorgeous maxi-dress Everly gave me yesterday, then smile when I realize I can’t wear a bra with it. What a shame. “Are we still going to il leone for dinner?”

“Yeah,” Maddox yells from the other side of the door. “But we’ve got to get moving, if we’re grabbing lunch before your appointment.”

“What’s this new obsession with feeding me?” I call back as I slide his shirt off and my dress down. Damn. My boobs do look good. I guess there’s no mistaking I’m pregnant now.

“You’re eating for two,” Maddox hollers as the shower turns on.

This man...

I grab a sweater and search for my phone as it rings somewhere under my pile of discarded clothes.

When I find it, I wish I hadn’t.

With shaking hands, I slide my thumb over the screen and answer.

“Hello, Papa,” I try to force the pleasantry, but my relationship with my father is strained at best, and it’s rarely at its best.

“Why are you in America, Lennon? And why haven’t you been returning my secretary’s calls? And why is Monty telling me your wedding is next month instead of next spring? I’ve been summoned to your grandfather’s office, and I have no answers to give him.”

“Wow,” I breathe out. “That’s a great deal of questions.”

I doubt deflection is working for me this time, but I don’t know where to begin or how to answer him. There is nothing soft and forgiving about my father. He’s bitter and entitled, and he rules his children with an iron fist. It’s amazing any of us turned out the way we did.

“That is not an answer. Now explain.”

I’m not sure which part he’d like explained, but I’m tempted to ask him to explain how his only daughter has been in another country for weeks at this point, and he’s only now noticing. Rhys figured it out weeks ago. How has my father not noticed anything is amiss sooner?

Oh right... because unlike Rhys, he doesn’t care.

I walk through the French doors and onto the small balcony overlooking the lush backyard and close my eyes as the breeze blows warm air against my skin, balancing out the chilling dread settling in my stomach.

There’s little use lying now.

But I’m still going to.

I’m getting married tomorrow.

I’ll tell him the truth the next day, right before he disowns me.

“I’m in America on holiday, visiting a friend. You remember my old roommate, Grace?” I’m shocked my voice doesn’t shake with the blatant lie, but I somehow manage to pull it off as Maddox joins me outside. I hold a finger up to my mouth, silencing him. He’s not who my father needs to hear right now. “I’ll be home in a few days, and I’ll make sure Grandfather is one of my first stops.”

“What about Monty?” Papa demands, leaving no room to bend in his voice.

“Monty is a spoiled child, throwing a temper tantrum. I haven’t agreed to move the wedding up. Grandfather’s event coordinator has been busy, and we haven’t even discussed it, but Monty doesn’t want to hear that. He thinks because now is convenient for him, we should all drop everything.” I spin the partial truth into a lie that works in my favor. “He refuses to acknowledge the intricacies of a royal wedding.”

“I’ll talk to his family?—”

“No,” I snap, then soften my voice. “I have to learn to work with him eventually. It might as well be now. I admit I’ve been avoiding him. I’ll call him and handle it.”

“You have one job, Lennon. One. Marry this man. Strengthen relations with his family. We need them. I don’t care what you have to do to make him happy. Do your fucking duty and do it with a smile.” Venom coats his words, and I suddenly wish Maddox wasn’t here to hear this. Not when he’s grown up the way he has with such incredible parents.

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