Let's Pretend (Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Second Chance, Sensual) (5 page)

Tears pricked the back of her eyes.

Why did Luc have to be so sweet all the time? Why couldn’t he be insensitive and mean? It would certainly make giving him up easier for her to deal with.

He’d said his wife would always be the centre of his world, but she no longer held that title. Would he remarry? Choose some other woman who could handle what he did for a living? A shard of jealous pain sliced through her as she imagined Luc with another woman—sharing love and life, laughter and children—a woman who couldn’t be her. Death had already taken one man she’d loved deeply; she couldn’t bear to lose another. To Belle’s way of thinking, she’d rather give Luc up now than wait for death to steal him from her.

He reached out and caught a lock of hair that had escaped her haphazardly finger-combed ponytail, smoothing the tress between his fingers before he released it.
 
“Besides, I love your messy look.”

Belle tucked the wayward strands behind her ear. “Lucas, be reasonable. If we behave all loved up, it’s going to be harder on Gran when I do have to tell her we’re divorced.” She stopped on the last step. “Maybe we should bicker, throw little insults at each other so they can see things aren’t so good between us.”

Luc shook his head, removed his arm from around her shoulder, and continued striding toward the kitchen.

Belle caught the back of his white cotton shirt in her fist, yanking him to a stop. “Don’t you think that’s a great idea?” she whispered, searching Luc’s grim expression for some agreeable sign. Instead, he looked ready to spit. “Luc?”

“No, I don’t think it’s a ‘great idea,’ Belle.”

“Why not?”

He exhaled noisily. “If you wanted to go with the marriage-in-trouble plan, you shouldn’t have kissed me like your life depended on it.”

“What did you expect me to do? I was shocked to see you.”

“Interesting that your reflex to the shock of seeing me was to kiss me instead of slap me. Now
that
would have told everyone our marriage was in trouble.” He resumed his course toward the kitchen.

Aggravated beyond wisdom, Belle fell into step beside him. “Can I slap you now as a delayed reaction?”

Chuckling, he tossed her a sparring glance. “And risk upsetting your
gran
? If she’s ill, wouldn’t it be preferable for her to believe we’re happy than to have to worry about us?”
 

Belle hated to admit that Luc had a point. After all, her initial plan was to let her family believe her marriage to Luc was as strong as it had been at the beginning. Then she’d come against a complication. Realising how much she still loved and wanted Luc had derailed her plot and forced her to face the renewed pain of losing him when this weekend was over.

Nevertheless, Belle knew complications needed prompt and accurate diagnosis, as well as effective treatment. Years as a trauma surgeon had taught her you’re only a true surgeon from the moment you’re able to deal with your surgical hitches. As such, she understood the need to act on the added problem to her weekend, created by her feelings toward Luc and his obvious delight in making things more difficult.

“Okay, I suppose you’re right. But don’t even think of overdoing the touchy-feely stuff.” She narrowed her gaze on him. “
Got it
?”

5

“H
ey you two, we’re in here.” Mia’s voice caught them as they passed the open door to the lounge.

Belle started as though she’d been caught up to no good.

Luc hid a smile. Belle couldn’t act to save her life. Why did she think she would be able to pull off this pretence?

“You took your time,” Mia continued. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to join us after all.”

To offer a show of unity, Luc slid his arm around Belle’s small waist, surprised by the nervous quiver he felt tremble through her. He steered her to the lounge. Leaning close to her ear, he kept his voice low. “Honey, you need to relax. Nobody is going to buy the image of our perfect marriage if you’re so nervy.”
 

“This is harder than I thought it’d be,” she whispered, showing her teeth in what he supposed she meant to be a smile, but came off more as a grimace.

If he didn’t do something soon, Belle was going to blow her plan, and her grandmother would be the first to start asking questions. He caressed her waist.

“Remember our third date?”

Call him wicked for enjoying the way her cheeks immediately grew pink, but he really did like to see that little blush. If he could remind her how it used to be between them, he was pretty sure she’d loosen up enough to act normal.

“You kidnapped me at dawn, and we—”

“I see you remember,” he cut in because they were within earshot of a roomful of Belle’s family members.

The low conversation between the five people in the room petered to a hush when Luc and Belle entered the large room. As much as he wanted to help her relax, he also wanted to keep the hottest early morning date he’d ever had private between the two of them.
 

“Hello, Gran.” He released Belle and closed in on the eighty-seven-year-old who reminded him so much of her granddaughter. He could picture Belle at that age, the same long white hair pulled into a fancy knot at the back of her head. Although, knowing Belle, hers would certainly be messy.

Belle would have the same intelligence sparkling from aged blue eyes, the soft skin and slim build. And he could definitely picture the no-nonsense set to lips he’d never grow tired of kissing. But would he even be part of her life after this weekend? Pulling himself out of the dark pit his life threatened to become, he widened his smile as he got to Belle’s grandmother.

“How’s my girl?”

She clasped his hands in a tight grip. “Better now you’re here, son.” A mischievous twinkle sparked in her faded eyes. “I see you and my Belle are still as fresh as newlyweds.” Her girlish giggle told Luc he hadn’t mistaken her emphasis on the word
fresh
. He got the feeling Gran was referring to more than the newness of a relationship.

Chuckling, he kissed her soft, wrinkled cheek. “Tell me now, gorgeous, are you sick?” His words may have been jocular, but he kept his tone resolute.

She laughed, patting his hand, then tapped his cheek as she looked deep into his eyes. “Son, I plan to outlive all of you.”

Belle hunkered down beside her grandmother’s chair. “You didn’t answer the question, Gran. Are you sick?” Though she tried hard to hide her panic, Luc heard the slight inflection in Belle’s voice.

Gran turned her gaze on her. “What would make you think that?”

“You said—”

“I’m not ill,” Gran cut in. “My heart started to break a little, but now the two of you are here, its fine again.”

 
The crafty, little old lady...Luc shook his head with a smile of admiration. It seemed Belle’s
gran
had outfoxed them. She’d obviously orchestrated a family gathering to force her children and grandchildren to visit her.

Tommy snorted and left the room. Luc ignored him, not surprised when Belle did likewise. He was unsure why, but Tommy had hated him soon after their first meeting ten years ago—when Luc was on an exchange program with Tom’s fire department—and didn’t bother to hide it.

For Luc’s part, he had to admit meeting Tommy had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. It was through her cousin that he’d met Belle. How could he regret that? To Luc, Belle was an adrenaline rush. An exhilarating sensation—a feeling in his gut that reminded him he was alive. He’d never been more aware of that than right this second as she tried to make sure her
gran
was indeed fit and healthy.

That same caring nature had attracted him. Her gentle touch seemed to erase every grievance. Had transcended the anger he’d carried when he’d driven Tom to the nearest hospital, after breaking the other man’s nose for insulting his heritage. Belle had been the
resident
on duty.

“Are you telling me the truth, Gran? You’re really okay?” Belle glanced at him, and he shrugged, reading the question in her worried eyes. What did they do now? Continue pretending or come clean?

He was all for the continued pretence, but ultimately, it was Belle’s decision. She must have read his message, because she bit her lip and drew her brows together in a pensive frown.
  

Luc almost held his breath. Now her grandmother had reassured them all was well, would Belle choose to disclose the truth about their relationship? He found himself silently praying for her to continue the pretence.

Gran cupped Belle’s face between her worn hands. “Is something wrong, child?”

She took so long to answer that the other occupants in the room began to murmur.

Luc waited.

In the end, Belle took a deep breath, then let it out. “No, Gran. Nothing except you scared me half to death with your ambiguous statement that you’ll tell us your reasons for bringing us all here this weekend in your own time.”

Luc released his arrested breath. Belle was going to continue their pretend marriage.

“And I will, but not everyone is here.”

“It’s pointless asking how many more you expect to arrive, isn’t it?”

Gran nodded, gave Belle the same tap on the cheek she’d given him a short while ago. “Now sit and tell me all about what’s been going on between you and Lucas.”

~*~

BELLE’S HEART flipped. She jumped to her feet, unsure of how to proceed with her grandmother’s request. Did Gran know about her and Luc’s divorce?

The innocent smile on the elderly woman’s face persuaded Belle that she did not. If Gran knew, she would’ve been straightforward about her knowledge.

Nevertheless, Belle gulped. “Um...going on? What do you mean?” Drat, her voice actually squeaked.

Luc must have noticed she was close to losing it, because he snagged her hand and pulled her onto the sofa beside him. His hard bicep flexed against her back as he wrapped his arm around her and hugged her to his side.

Belle glanced up in time to see a slow, disarming smile curve his sexy mouth, his gaze telling her—
let me handle this
. That confident grin travelled a lazy trail all the way to her toes as she looked over at Mia, who was grinning as though she was privy to some illicit secret.

“Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to share our decision with your family, babe.”

Belle stopped breathing, turned startled eyes to Luc, trying to convey an anxious question with frantic eye movements—
what are you doing?
If he was thinking this instant was a good time to tell her family of their divorce, she was thinking the complete opposite. Now that she’d embarked on her deception, she couldn’t bring herself to face the humiliation of ’
fessing
up just yet.

Even though Gran had reassured them she was fine, Belle found she couldn’t bear to witness the inevitable disappointment in her grandmother’s eyes when she and Luc told her they’d quit their marriage.

“What do you mean,
honey
?” She gave a tiny headshake, praying he got the message—
not now
!
 

He dropped a kiss on her mouth, ignoring her startled gasp. “Belle and I have decided—”

“To buy a new car!” Belle cut him off. Allowing Luc to finish would be too shaming.

“—to have a baby,” he continued without as much as a hint of remorse for the blatant lie.