Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom(79)

As he straightened back up, his gaze met Justine’s. Even though her eyes held a solemn expression, she was trying for a tentative smile. Its sweet vulnerability jolted him, and he realized all over again that he’d just added another person to his small circle.


His wife.

Beating back an upsurge of emotion, he forced a casual smile. “And how are you, my dear? Have you recovered yet from the shock of becoming Mrs. Griffin Steele?”

“From the look on her face,” Dominic commented in a dry tone, “I expect she hasn’t.”

“Can’t blame her if she never gets over it,” Aden said. “Wouldn’t blame her if she’d fainted dead away after she took her vows.”

Vivien pinched him while his mother launched into a little scold. Under cover of their voices and laughter, Griffin urged Justine a few steps away from the group with a simple touch on her elbow.

“I’m sorry if this is making you uncomfortable,” he said in a quiet voice. “We can leave now, if you like. There’s no reason to stay any longer.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “No, it’s fine. I certainly don’t want to be rude. Uncle Dominic has gone to a great deal of trouble to make this as easy as possible, and I know he’d be disappointed if we left before lunch. And I’m quite enjoying speaking with Lady Thornbury and Lady Vivien. I haven’t seen them in years, and I’d forgotten how nice they are.”

Griffin wasn’t fooled by her brightly babbling tone. “Something is clearly bothering you, my sweet, besides this bizarre little spectacle. What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really.” She cast an anxious glance in Lady Thornbury’s direction. “Well, yes, it is, actually. And I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

Christ.

He’d been right. Dominic was planning something, and it obviously involved Lady Thornbury and probably Aden and Vivien, too.

“Then I suppose you’d better tell me straight off what it is,” he said lightly.

She looked up at him, her pretty features pulled tight with worry. It was worry for him, apparently, and that touched him in a way he’d always thought ridiculously sentimental. Suddenly, he wished he could pull her into another room and kiss the little crinkles of worry from between her eyebrows, smoothing them away with his lips. Then he would move down from there, not stopping until he’d peeled every piece of clothing from her luscious body and tasted every inch of her skin.

She leaned into him a little, and he could smell the clean, talcum scent of her, mixed with a whiff of lemons. It reminded him of babies and warm kitchens on a blustery cold day, and he found it curiously pleasing.

“It’s Lady Thornbury and Lady Vivien,” she whispered dramatically. “They’re planning things.” From her tone, it sounded like they were planning an armed invasion.

“What sort of things?” he asked, glancing at Dominic. When he saw the calculating look on his erstwhile mentor’s face as he watched them, Griffin’s sense of foreboding took a sudden leap forward.

God, no. The old manipulator couldn’t possibly be thinking—

“Justine, my love, what are you and Griffin whispering about over there in the corner?” Lady Thornbury said in a gay voice, interrupting his thoughts. “The two of you will have plenty of time to sneak away into corners later. Right now we need to plan the party I’m going to give in your honor. There’s a great deal to be done before we can introduce you to the world as a married couple.”

Justine bit her lower lip as a sweet blush mounted her cheeks. Whether at the implication that they were whispering sweet nothings to each other or at the idea that they were to be publicly introduced as husband and wife, he couldn’t tell. At any other time, Griffin would have been highly interested in discovering the answer, but Lady Thornbury’s announcement seized his attention.