Therewasmore. She pressed her lips together and wished he’d just spit out what had happened as she said, “Pierre.”
In one fast breath he said, “Talk to you later, Your Highness.”
And just like that he hung up on her.
She paced as she tried to understand. Leo had married her. He’d said he wanted her love. They’d talked about children earlier.
So Francesca couldn’t mean much. She’d even cashed the check that Anna had hand delivered.
There was no way she could have something on Leo, was it?
He would tell her. Francesca wasn’t a secret between them, but then her mind swirled. Why hadn’t he told her Francesca had been at the palace on their wedding day?
She replaced the phone and straightened her shoulders, then headed into the sitting area toward Leo as he read his mail. She stood above him and glanced down. He had her heart. She said a little prayer to herself that she was overreacting as she sat beside him. “Leo, I just got off the phone with Pierre.”
He folded an envelope and turned toward her, instantly pressing his hand on hers. He gestured to the window and the dark clouds. “The storm is here, so I’m thinking we can have a nice dinner in our room.”
Thunder echoed through like it highlighted his words. She shrugged, narrowed her eyes and ignored the speed of her heartbeat. “That’s fine, but why didn’t you tell me Francesca went to see you on our wedding day?”
His eyes widened as he asked, with his voice pitching higher, “Pierre told you?”
Huh. Her gut twisted. Francesca was a problem. She blinked, unsure what to do as she tilted her head and said, “He hadn’t meant to and he rushed off the phone, but why didn’t you tell me she was there?”
He lowered his head. “I was waiting.”
He hadn’t left her that day, and they’d grown closer. She tried to hold onto hope while she blinked and asked, “Waiting for what?”
“Till the time came up.”
Her heart contracted but she folded her hands in her lap, taking them from him as she asked, “When were you expecting that to be?”
He squared his shoulders like he was a soldier as he said, “I guess when we got home. I didn’t invite her on our wedding day. She came to find me.”
Something in her head whispered there was more. She swallowed, unsure what to say or think. Anna crossed her arms and asked, “Will you leave me for her? Or are you planning to continue some affair and rebel against me too?”
He stroked her shoulder. “Never. Anna, I married you. You’re wearing my ring on your finger and I swear I will never be unfaithful to you.”
The ring. Her finger became hyper aware of the gold she wore. But he was right. He had walked into the church and married her of his own free will. She stood and stared at the rain that tapped against the window as she asked, “So why didn’t you just tell me? Why keep this all a secret?”
He stood and she saw his reflection in the glass pane right behind her. She turned toward him while he said, “I need to know everything Francesca said was true and not just believe the story I was told.”
Story. Her gaze sharpened but her heart slowed down. The woman she’d been, his secretary, nodded with understanding. “So you think she lied about something?”
“I hope she did.”
Okay. If this was more about exposing some scandal that would blow over, and whatever had happened had been before the wedding, she’d be okay. But her pulse zipped like there was something important she’d missed. She stepped closer to him and stared into his brown eyes that fascinated her as she asked, “And you’ll know tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
The last thing she’d do is let another woman ruin her honeymoon or her chance with Leo. Right here, in this room, with him, she’d been happier than she’d ever been. Doubts didn’t need to exist in her mind. She reached up and caressed his jaw. “Then I can wait. Dinner sounds lovely.”
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up as he said, “Anna, you won’t regret this.”
A laugh escaped her lips and she kissed his forehead before her feet touched the ground again. “I don’t regret marrying you, Leo. And I knew about Francesca and how she wanted to be queen.”
He squeezed her hips before he let her go. “That would never happen.”
Good. She licked her lips as her body heated. This was what she wanted. Right here. Right now. She asked her burning question, “Leo, do you think one day you might love me?”
