Page 31 of Fake Fiancée, Real Baby
Adrien had set up a charity for disadvantaged young people in Flandenne. It gave them opportunities for work and housing, as well as social support and companionship. But the newspapers weren’t interested in such things. They only cared about beer tankards.
“It’s all right. I don’t think Esme should know you stay the night.”
Adrien looked up at Claire and smiled. “It won’t matter soon, I suppose,” he replied.
It was as though he’d forgotten they weren’t really getting married, and yet, for all intents and purposes, they were. It seemed to Claire as though this was the natural course of things, and that she really was to become the crown princess of Flandenne. It didn’t help that they’d never really discussed how they’d extract themselves from the arrangement, or what would happen if, and when, they did. The promise of the restaurant had been absolute, but Claire had thought it would happen sooner, and in a far more businesslike manner. The fact they’d just spent the night together again clouded matters. It was making the whole thing very confusing. Sex and feelings — were they meant to be different? Claire was attracted to him. But more than that, she was beginning to realize an ever-deepening intimacy between them.
“No… it won’t,” Claire replied. “There was an article in the newspaper about us going to visit the theater.”
She was hoping Adrien would take the hint.
“Oh, yes? What did it say we did?” he asked, looking up at her with a smile.
“Just that we were there, and that they think it might be the place where I open the restaurant.”
Adrien nodded. “I suppose that’s all true — couple went out. That’s the story, isn’t it,” he said, looking somewhat bemused.
Itwasthe story, but that wasn’t exactly the point Claire was trying to make. She’d wanted him to take the hint — to talk enthusiastically about the opening of the restaurant, and about her plans. It had barely been mentioned since their arrival in Flandenne. Not in any concrete way, at least. Claire was itching to get started. The plans were all in her head — the menus, the décor, the opening night. This was her dream, and it was what Adrien had promised her in exchange for everything she was now putting up with. They’d discussed it so often, and yet words were meaningless without action.
“What did you think of the theater — for the restaurant, I mean?” she asked, trying to sound more definite.
She’d dropped enough hints.
Adrien looked up at her and shrugged. “I don’t know… perhaps it was a bit… grand.”
Claire rolled her eyes. She wanted grand, though right now she’d settle for anything. What was the delay?
“We’ll be married before I open the restaurant at this rate,” she said.
It was meant as a joke, but the expression on Adrien’s face now changed, as though there was something he wanted to say. Something he’d been keeping from her.
“Well, actually, my mother wants to bring the date forward. She doesn’t see any reason to delay, and there’s been so much attention on us.”
Claire looked at him in surprise. She’d thought they had longer. Long enough to open the restaurant before quietly going theirseparate ways. This had all been meant as a ruse. It wasn’t supposed to be real, and yet…
“But getting married… actually getting married… how soon?”
Adrien shrugged. “Soon. Obviously, these things take a little bit of time, and we can delay it as much as possible, but… I hoped you’d be happy.”
Claire felt torn. Adrien had been kind to her. She liked him. She liked him a lot, but the prospect of actually marrying him called into question everything she’d thought was the case. How did he feel about it? Did he really want to marry for convenience? This wasn’t 1850. People no longer married because it was arranged for them or because of rank or class — though to read the newspapers suggested that wasn’t the case for the likes of Adrien and others like him. But for Claire, marriage meant something. She wanted to fall in love with the person she was going to marry — otherwise, what was the point? And yet, his words brought with them a growing realization, too. Her feelings for Adrien were growing stronger with every passing day. She’d been attracted to him on board theAurora.There was a physical desire between them, one that had continued in Flandenne. But more so than that, Claire had seen Adrien for who he really was — not the “playboy prince” but a kind and generous man, of integrity and feeling. A man who cared about his nation and took the prospect of his future responsibilities seriously. Behind the playboy façade was a man Claire was falling in love with, even as how she dealt with that was somewhat confusing.
“I am, yes. I’m very happy. It’s just… come as a shock, I suppose. On the yacht, it wasn’t meant to happen like this. We’d find the restaurant, then go our separate ways. But this is serious, isn’t it?”
Adrien rose from his desk and came to sit next to her. There was a black and white photograph of his parents on their wedding day displayed on the shelf behind where he’d been sitting. The queen looked radiant — full of joy — and the king was smiling broadly. The love they had for one another was obvious, and it was what Claire wanted, too.
“Do you want it to be?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
“I… I want to be certain,” she said.
She knew it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. It was no answer at all, really. But it was the only answer she could give in that moment, neither wanting to disappoint or encourage him.
“How will you be?” he replied.
Claire smiled at him. “I suppose there’ll come a point where I just know. It wasn’t meant to be like this, was it? But feelings have a habit of springing themselves on us. I don’t know how I feel.”
It was the truth, and if Claire had learned one thing in life, it was that truth was always better than a lie.
“Lies have a nasty habit of getting the better of us,”her dad had once said, and Claire had no intention of being caught out in a lie.
