Reclaiming His Bride (DiCarlo Brides book 3) (The DiCarlo Brides) (18 page)

Blake picked up a one-penny chip and flipped it against Jeremy’s forehead. “Try it and you’re going to wish you were as lucky as Joel, whose house just burned down.”

“He is lucky; he’s married to Sage, right? And she thinks the sun rises and sets with him. You wish you were so lucky with Lana,” Vince said as he added a couple chips to the pot.

“True.” Too, too true.

“So what did you mean?” Joel’s eyes narrowed on Blake’s face.

Lana was going to throw a fit, but he’d had enough of the secrets, and he had every intention of telling his parents the next night anyway. “Lana and I beat you and Sage to the altar by almost a year.”

This announcement was followed by curses, shocked looks and Jeremy spitting a mouthful of beer across the table. Blake waited for the furor to die down—and for Jeremy to grab a rag to mop up the table—then gave a very brief explanation. “Everything happened at light speed, falling hard for her, dating and then the trip to Vegas for a conference, after which we got totally drunk and found a white chapel a little ways off the strip.” He smiled when he thought of that night. “Everything was terrific, we were set to tell our parents, and then she saw me talking to a jeweler and decided I was cheating on her. She was wrong, but wouldn’t listen to me. She’s been trying to get a divorce ever since. I’m not making it easy.” He tossed his cards on the table. They were crap anyway. “I’m grabbing some more beer. Anyone else want one?”

A chorus of yeses followed him to the kitchen. He hadn’t told them about the baby, but there were now a few more people who knew he was married. Tomorrow night’s project: telling his parents.

“You told the guys we’re married.” The words were followed by the slap of Blake’s office door as Lana slammed it shut the next morning. “Joel told Sage. She asked me about it.”

Blake rubbed the bridge of his nose, then looked her in the eye. “I told you I wouldn’t wait much longer. I’m telling my parents tonight. The guys know it’s not out in general knowledge yet. They won’t gossip.”

“What do you mean they won’t gossip?” she said in a high-pitched squeal. “Sage knows! And she knows about the pregnancy, said it didn’t sound as if you told the guys that much or he would have told her for sure.”

“That’s hardly idle gossip. Your sisters care about you and want to know important things in your life.” He rubbed a finger over his eyebrow, then plucked at the hair. “I get the feeling she’s known about your pregnancy for a while now. It didn’t come from Joel, at any rate, because I didn’t mention it to the guys.”

“I’m not ready for everyone to know. We’re getting divorced.” She stood rigid, her arms crossed over her chest, but there was a note of resignation in her voice.

“They’ll find out about the marriage one way or another. The divorce is bound to make the news, what with everything else going on. And I
am
telling my parents tonight, and who knows who they’ll tell.” He stood and walked around the desk to face her. “I’ve let you have your way on this for too long. My parents deserve to know they’re going to be grandparents. They’re the only ones this baby will ever have.”

As soon as the words were out, he wished he’d curbed that last line. Did he really have to rub in the fact that her parents were both dead? He would have missed her flinch if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. He took her hand, hoping she would understand his position. “I’d really appreciate it if you joined me tonight so we could tell them together, but I’ll try to understand if you won’t come.”

“Ugh!” She stamped one foot in exasperation. “Do you have any idea how irritating it is when I’m all cranky and upset and you just take it all in stride, perfectly reasonable?” She turned her back to him for a moment, then headed for the door again. “I’ll think about coming tonight.”

He wasn’t feeling perfectly reasonable, but was glad he had seemed that way. “Six at the restaurant downstairs,” he called out to her before she disappeared. He had no idea how this would go, but just knowing she was there and would stand with him made him feel better.

Lana ran home to change into something more cocktail-ish before joining Blake’s family for dinner. The snow was falling again, making the streets a slushy mess, but it wasn’t far to the house, and she was able to make it back to the hotel in plenty of time.

“Dinner with the in-laws?” Harrison asked as he passed her in the hotel doorway. “You look nice.”

“Thanks.”
Oh, the guys won’t tell anyone, don’t worry, they’ll be totally discreet.
She wanted to wring Blake’s neck for making that comment. Every step took her closer to the confrontation, and Lana was wise enough to know that just because they were all dressed up and playing nice didn’t mean it wouldn’t be a confrontation. His mom hadn’t been happy about the two of them dating, there was no way she’d be thrilled to learn they had been married for more than a year.

Marla stood at the hostess podium when Lana arrived. “Miss DiCarlo, Mr. Bahlmann said you can go right on back. He reserved the private room for tonight.”

“That was very forward thinking of him.” Lana smiled and tried to calm the stress rolling around in her stomach. A private room meant there would be no one around whose presence would force Juliette to hold her tongue if she got angry about the news. On the other hand, it meant there would be no one around to hear if she got angry and didn’t care about holding her tongue. Considering the number of wait staff who could overhear in the normal room, Lana decided a private one was preferable.

She played with the rings she had donned for the first time in months, twisting them around her fingers as she walked. They felt odd and foreign on her fingers and she fought to act as though this was just another dinner with people she barely knew, and nothing that mattered much.

Now if she could survive the evening.

She sucked in a deep breath and forced a more genial smile before entering the room. “Mr. and Mrs. Bahlmann, Ms. Lanier, it’s so good to see you all again.” She greeted them like old friends and accepted Blake’s assistance in sitting, tossing him a smile as well. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here at our hotel. I know Blake was glad you were able to take some time to visit.”

“It’s a lovely area. Summers are spectacular,” Royce Bahlmann said. “I remember from the time I spent in the area scouting out this piece of land.” His genial smile took on a bit of a bitter twist.

Lana was grateful for the conversation starter and happily engaged in it, though she tried to guide him away from thinking about his scramble against her father for the property rights for the hotel. There had been some bad blood between them for years. That would make the evening’s announcement all the more difficult for him to hear.

Everyone seemed to avoid discussion of her relationship with Blake until desserts and final cups of coffee had been brought and the wait staff disappeared again. She kept her left hand on her lap as much as possible, not wanting to draw attention to her rings yet.

“You must be so glad to have Blake here.” Juliette used her fork to slice off a miniscule bite of chocolate cake. “Our son is quite the catch for someone like
you
.”

Lana took the slap and ignored it. “He’s a great asset to the company, and great to work with. I’ve been very fortunate to have the chance to get to know him better.”

“It doesn’t sound like you appreciate him all that much. At least not the way a girlfriend should,” Juliette said, her eyes narrowing on Lana.

“Mom,” Blake protested.

“No, you act like the two of you are getting serious, talking about marriage, but she’s not behaving like a woman in the flush of a new love.” She set down her fork without eating the cake she had balanced on the tines. “That begs the question of why she’s with you in the first place. Is it just that her options are limited in an area like this, so she’s latching on to you? She can’t do any better for the moment?” Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew together in a sour pucker.

In that instant, Lana hated her mother-in-law with a passion. How dare she talk as if Blake wasn’t more than worthy to draw any woman’s eye, regardless of whatever other options were available? “Actually, Blake and I first fell in love when we were still living in Chicago, where there are plenty of options to choose from. I feel very lucky to have found your son. He’s a terrific man.” She wanted to bite her tongue because she felt pushed to elaborate about all of the things that had drawn her to him—the things that she still loved about him. But doing so only would make it harder to keep herself aloof.

“So you think you can convince him to marry you?” Juliette asked. She folded her hands carefully on the edge of the table and looked down her nose at Lana.

“We married over a year ago.” Lana dropped the bomb, wondering why Blake was leaving it to her. “And we’re having a baby in May.” She received perverse pleasure from the shocked expressions on her in-laws faces.

There was a second of dead silence before Juliette spluttered a denial. She put a hand to her head as if she were about to swoon. A pale and anxious Charity came around to her.

“What? Why did you keep it a secret?” Mr. Bahlmann asked. He was growing red in the face, but managed to keep his words and tone under control.

Lana knew she should have approached it more delicately, but she’d been so angry at the way Juliette talked about her own son. “Because I asked him to. I imagine you recall Blake inviting you to dinner last year, and then cancelling at the day of. We had a disagreement. A really big one, and I wouldn’t listen to reason, so I called things off.” She felt her face flush, knowing she really hadn’t given him a chance to explain; she’d been too hurt, and her action had been automatic. “We’ve been talking things out since I arrived here this summer.”

“More than talk, obviously. Why are you being so impossible to deal with?” Juliette asked. “I know your parents obviously didn’t have the most
functional
relationship ever—”

“Mother, her family dynamics are not up for discussion. Leave it alone,” Blake interjected, his voice stony. “Just tell us how pleased you are, congratulate us on the baby and start thinking about how you’re going to spoil your grandchild. That’s all you have to do.”

Juliette stared at him for a long moment as if she didn’t know him, her hand fluttering at the base of her neck. “Oh, well, right. Yes, of course. We do love being grandparents.” She seemed to find her conversational feet. “We already have two adorable grandbabies. Joseph’s kids are so cute, and the most well behaved children you ever met. He’s an amazing father, and his wife, Lottie is just the cutest with them.”

Lana pretended Juliette hadn’t just minimized Blake’s announcement by bringing up his brother, and forced a smile. She really didn’t care for her mother-in-law and couldn’t wait until the whole party left the next day.

“Did you mean what you said, about wishing you’d listened to reason?” Blake asked after he’d said goodnight to his parents and was walking Lana to her car.

“I don’t know what I mean, or think or feel right now.” Lana held tight to his elbow as they crossed the icy parking lot. “What disgusted me most about the evening was how every time I tried to give you a compliment, she found a way to compare you unfavorably with your brother.” She turned to him, fire in her eyes. “Would it really kill her to just be happy about you having a child? To be proud of you for everything you’ve accomplished?”