He whispered, “What don’t you know?”
Anna knew without a doubt that his nearness made her weak at the knees and she ached for his touch. None of which helped her situation. Her mind already became mushy around him. “How are you so certain she’ll just take money and disappear?”
He shrugged and acted like this was a done deal. “My mother is handling Francesca. I almost feel sorry for her as Mom will have her signing away every right she might ever have.”
“I’ll help if you want.” Her heart sank. He expected her to steal his child for him. Her brain screamed at her that Francesca just wanted cash, but her heart saw a woman and child being ripped apart.
He didn’t say anything.
She stared at his leather loafers. “So you don’t want that?”
He patted her on the back like they were still working together and this was just another pay-off she’d deliver. “Pay her fairly. This is my child but I don’t want her doing anything rash because we or I put pressure on her.”
“Fair.” Anna wished nothing more than what was best for all, so she’d find out for herself and make her own choice on what was the right thing to do.
Her heart whispered that she needed other answers from Leo. She glanced into his brown orbs and asked, “So you’re okay with finding a family for this baby that you can watch over…”
Her voice trailed off.
The last thing she needed to do was cry.
“Yes. As long as I get you.” She hugged her waist until he tenderly tugged her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. “I still want you. You said you loved me. Anna, now is the time I need you to prove that.”
Her heart lifted and dropped as her breathing became short. She wasn’t sure of anything as adrenaline crashed through her. “You want me to prove I love you when you’re the one who lied to me?”
His nod spoke volumes as he said, “I’m asking for faith, yes.”
Anna stilled and the quietness of the air was cloying. Her lips tingled and her heart seemed to want to do what he asked when she knew she shouldn’t. She choked out, “Faith. When…”
She couldn’t finish. She wasn’t sure what she’d say. He’d want his family. Francesca wanted to be queen. In the end, the unborn baby mattered.
And it was real and coming.
Leo broke the air like shattering glass with his words, “You knew about Francesca.”
All she’d known back then was that the woman had taken royal money to disappear. But she hadn’t left. She’d held her cards. Anna’s eyes moistened as she shook her head. “I didn’t know she was pregnant when she came to see you on your wedding day…”
His voice was deep and it broke through the ice building around her soul. “I chose to marry you, even after she told me. I still chose to be with you.”
And if he loved her, it would be different. Entirely. But he didn’t. He loved how she cleaned up his life, and that couldn’t be confused. The holes in her defenses were widening. He had chosen her. She widened her stance like that might stop her knees from knocking. “Why? Why do you pick me? Because I clean up your life and make everything easier for you.”
His tongue clicked behind his teeth, and the sound startled her. She glanced at him and his gaze seemed laser-sharp as he said, “That would be why I don’t want to love you.”
That stopped her in her tracks and she held her head high. “What?”
He reached for her hands. “You’re sweet and kind and beautiful, but underneath the surface you’re strong, resilient and smarter than me. Can’t you open your heart to understand I made a mistake?”
Of course. She wasn’t horrible, but Francesca’s face flashed in her mind as she took her hands out of his and said, “I don’t know how this all plays out.”
“I don’t either.” Leo countered, “Are you saying Francesca won’t take the money and Lord Pascal’s hand?”
Money. A title. Both of those seemed exactly what Francesca wanted though neither was a crown. She sighed and ignored the pang in her heart. “She probably will, but-”
He interrupted, “And you’re not going to ensure that she can never utter the name Aussa without consequences from an air-tight contract you make her sign?”
Right. Her job. She was always good at that and this was exactly what she was to him. He valued her as an employee. “That was the plan,Sire.”
This time he flinched at her words and her mind went blank. This was all they had with each other… work. “Let’s go back to my question, Anna.”
