Page 7 of An Inconvenient Marriage
I was about to say as much when the car suddenly came to a halt and my door was flung open.
“Ah, de la Fuente. The man tofinallymake an honest woman out of my wayward daughter. I’ll give you two newlyweds a moment, but come find me the second you’re done.” With that, Trent left my door open and stalked off.
Next to me, Natalie took a sharp breath, and when she released it, it was shaky, almost like she was holding back tears. I twisted in my seat to peek at her, but she was already halfway out of the car.
I probably had to get out, too. I just needed a minute or ten to prepare myself to deal with Trent and whatever shit was going to come out of his mouth.
With a sigh, I finally unfolded myself from the limo and headed inside. As much as it pained me, I had to admit Trent’s estate was absolutely gorgeous. The white Victorian mansion welcomed visitors with a graceful front terrace, paved in tile and flanked by fairy-light-covered lampposts.
Flowers and candles decorated the spacious lawn where people had paired off in groups, happily chatting away with servers dressed in black and white carrying trays of champagne flutes and hors d’oeuvres.
After a quick scan of the area, I spotted Trent and Natalie near the front porch. They were in the middle of a conversation. But there was something about the way Natalie kept nodding like a child being scolded that grated at something inside me.
Not giving it too much thought, I headed over to where they were. They must have heard me approach because by the time I was within earshot of them, Trent stopped talking and turned to face me with a huge grin on his pudgy face.
Natalie, on the other hand, was pale and ready to throw up.
My stomach twisted violently. Was that why Trent wanted me to marry his daughter?
“Come,” he said somewhat too cheerfully. “It’s time to celebrate.”
Keeping my gaze on Natalie, I spoke through clenched teeth, “If you don’t mind, I’d like a moment alone with my wife.”
Her head snapped up then, ice-blue eyes connecting with mine. Her plump lips parted, but her father’s voice sounded first.
“You just had all that time on the drive over. People are waiting anxiously to meet you.”
I was still staring at my wife. “A few more minutes won’t make a difference, then.”
“I… uh…” he stammered. “All right, I guess it won’t. But I don’t have to tell you how important it is to have the right people in your pocket. And making them wait too long might send the wrong message.”
I didn’t give two shits about the message I was sending to Trent’s people. I would have told him as much, but it would have just been a waste of words and breath. So I stayed silent until he slowly stalked off, mumbling something.
The moment he was gone, Natalie broke our staring contest and lowered her eyes. Thick lashes fanned her rosy cheeks while the side of her face sank in like she was chewing on the inside of it. You didn’t have to be the smartest person in the room to know she was nervous.
Good.
Shoving my hands inside my pockets, I took measured strides toward her until we were standing so close I could see the vein pulse in her neck, could smell her perfume, could count the freckles on her shoulder.
“Look at me.” My voice was hard and cold and left no room for argument.
Slowly, painstakingly slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet mine. I wasn’t prepared for the fear I saw burning behind her blue irises. But I also wouldn’t let that fear stop me from what I needed to know.
“Are you pregnant?”
Her eyes grew big and round, taking up almost half of her face. “W-what?”
“Repeating myself is a habit I do not indulge in.”
Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “Why would you ask me that?”
I gritted my teeth and continued to stare down my nose at her. “It’s in your best interests to remember that I am many things, but stupid is not one of them. I know all about you,Natalie Stevens. I’d been curious about why your father was so very persistent about this marriage. And why you’re just going along with it without question.”
She scrunched up her nose and took a few breaths. Her mouth opened and closed like she wanted to say something but immediately thought better of it.
I gritted my teeth some more. “I also expect an answer when I’ve asked a question.”
This time, there was no hesitation on her part. “You’re nothing like I thought you’d be.”
