A Facade to Shatter(23)

Lia bit the inside of her lip. In all the drama, she’d never considered the press. It was true the paparazzi flocked around her family like piranha. But she’d never been their target, probably because she was so humdrum and uninteresting in her family of brilliant swans.

But this baby was a game changer, especially considering who Zach was. His family was even more famous than hers. American royalty, if there was such a thing. A family with incredible wealth and power. She’d read all about the Scotts on her way across the Atlantic.

And she’d read about their heroic son, a man who’d returned from the war after a dramatic plane crash behind enemy lines. Her gaze drifted to where she’d set her purse. Inside, in a little zippered pocket, she still had Zach’s medal. A medal he hadn’t cared about.

She thought of him flat against the ballroom wall in the Corretti Hotel, his eyes tightly closed as he fought against something, and knew there was more to the story than had been reported.

“We’re the only ones who know,” she said. “And I have no plans to inform them. I think the secret is safe for now.”

His gaze was steady, cool, and she realized he didn’t entirely trust her. It stung.

“There are always leaks.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “There’s only one way to deal with this. One way to keep everything from exploding into an even bigger problem than it already is.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. And it hurt, too. Hurt because he’d called her—and their baby—a problem.

“Congratulations, Lia,” he said, his voice chilling her. “You’ve won the jackpot, after all. You’re about to become a Scott.”

“This is not how I wanted this to happen,” she said on a throat-aching whisper. Tears pressed the backs of her eyes. She couldn’t let them fall.

“You came here,” he said, his voice hard. “What did you expect? Did you think I would be happy?”

She dropped her gaze. A single tear spilled free and she dashed it away, determined not to cry in front of him. Not to be weak.

“I had hoped you might be, yes.” She lifted her chin and sucked back her tears. “Clearly, I was mistaken.”

“We’ll marry,” he said. “Because we must. But it’s an arrangement, do you understand? We’ll do it for as long as necessary to protect our families, and then we’ll end it when the time comes.”

Anger started to burn in her, scouring her insides. He was no better than her father had been. He didn’t care about his child any more than Benito Corretti had cared about her. He was making a deal, nothing more. It made her sick. And furious.

“Fine,” she said tightly. “I accept. But if we are having an arrangement, as you so nicely put it, then I want it understood that this arrangement is in name only.”

She didn’t know what made her say that, but once she said it she knew it was right. Because this situation was so out of her power that she needed something she could control. Something she could have a say about.

He stared at her for a long moment. And then his sexy lips curled up in a smile, surprising her after he’d been so hard and cold. “I can’t guarantee that, sugar. But we’ll try it your way to start. Just know that when you do surrender to me, I won’t be saying no.”

Lia pulled herself erect and looked at him with all the haughtiness she could muster. Which wasn’t much, she was sure. But damn if he hadn’t infuriated her. “There will be no surrender, Zach. Not ever again.”

“We’ll see,” he said with all the arrogant surety of a man who was accustomed to getting his way. And then he headed toward the door. “I’ll let you know when the arrangements are made.”

“How long will this take?” she asked as he opened the door.

He turned back to her. “Eager, Lia?”

She sucked in a breath. No, she was just worried about her ability to stay in this hotel. And about her family sending someone to fetch her if they figured out where she was. “No, but I have no idea how long these things take in America. I can’t stay in this hotel for weeks, Zach.”

His eyes slipped over her. “No, you can’t. The media will descend soon enough. You’ll move in with me. I’ll send someone for you later.”

He closed the door before she could say another word. She stood there for a long time, uncertain whether she’d found salvation by coming to D.C.

Or whether she’d damned herself instead.