Rising Stars. Maisey YatesЧитать онлайн книгу.
it made a huge difference. In fact, truth was everything. Because without truth, how could there be love?
Her troubled eyes looked back at her in the mirror.
But if she told Gabriel now that he really was Robby’s father, if he knew she’d lied to him all this time, she might lose everything she had. He would never forgive her for the lie. He might—almost certainly would—call off the wedding. Why would he take her as his wife if he couldn’t trust her? Then he might sue for custody of Robby, and take her baby away from her out of duty—or even a desire to punish her.
But her conscience stung her. Didn’t Gabriel deserve to know the truth before he pledged himself to her for the rest of his life?
She heard a knock, and her mother’s smiling face peeked around the door. “All ready, sweetling? Your sisters are waiting and eager to be bridesmaids.”
Laura took a deep breath, clutching her bouquet in her cold, shaking hands. “Is it already time?”
“Just a few more minutes. The last guests are arriving now…” Then, as Laura turned to face her in her 1920s-style gown and her great-grandmother’s long veil, Ruth gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Laura,” she whispered. “You’re beautiful.”
Laura’s lips trembled as she smiled. “You look amazing, too, Mom.”
Her mother shook her head dismissively at the compliment, then came forward to embrace her, looking chic in pearls and a mother-of-the-bride suit of light cream silk. “I’m going to miss you and Robby so much when you’re in Rio,” she choked out. “You’ll be living so far away.”
Laura fought back tears. Though she adored the energy of Rio, the warmth of the people and the beauty of Brazil, the thought of moving permanently to the other side of the Equator, far from her family and home, caused wrenching pain in her heart. If her husband loved her, it might be endurable. But as it was…Choking back a sob, she squeezed her mother tight and tried to reassure her. “We’ll be just a quick plane ride away.”
“I know.” Her mother pulled away with a smile, even as her eyes glistened with tears. “My consolation is that I know you’re going to be happy. Really, truly happy.” She paused. “Gabriel is Robby’s father, isn’t he?”
Laura sucked in her breath. “How did you know?”
Her mother’s smile widened. “I’ve got eyes, haven’t I? I see how you are together. How you’ve always been. He’s crazy about you.”
Apparently her mother didn’t see as much as she thought. Blinking back tears, Laura swallowed and said over the lump in her throat, “We have some…problems.”
Her mother laughed. “Of course you do. There were times I was ready to kill your father. But now—” her voice broke “—the problems we had seem small. I would give anything to have him here again, arguing with me.” She paused. “I know love isn’t simple or easy. But you’ll do the right thing. You always do.”
Laura swallowed yet again. “Not always.”
Ruth smiled. “Your father used to call you Little Miss Trustworthy. Of all my children, you were the easiest to raise. And now, the hardest to let go.” Her mother shook her head, wiping away her tears. “Look at me. Here I am, making a mess of myself after Gabriel bought me this expensive dress.”
“You’re calling him Gabriel,” Laura said.
“Well, what else would I call my son-in-law?” She kissed her daughter on the cheek. “He’s not your boss now. A husband is quite a different matter.” With a little laugh, she turned to leave in a soft cloud of lavender perfume. “Husbands need to be reminded not to take themselves too seriously.”
“Wait,” Laura whispered.
Her mother stopped at the door. “Yes, sweetie?”
Laura clenched her hands. The bodice of her wedding gown suddenly felt inexplicably tight.
She was standing on a precipice and knew it. The choice she made today would change the entire course of her life. And her son’s life, as well.
You’ll do the right thing. You always do.
“I need to see Gabriel,” she choked out. “Will you send him up to me?”
Her mother frowned. “Right now? It’s bad luck to see the bride. Can’t it wait an hour?”
In an hour, they’d be married. Not trusting her voice, Laura shook her head. With a sigh, her mother closed the door. Five minutes later, Gabriel appeared.
“You wanted to see me, querida?” he said huskily.
A lump rose in Laura’s throat as she looked at her handsome husband-to-be, at the brutal power of his body barely contained in the sophisticated tuxedo. She was suddenly reminded of the last time he’d been in a tuxedo, when he’d kissed her in the shadowy gardens at the Fantasia Ball, then made love to her on the hood of his car overlooking the dark, moonlit ocean…
She set her bouquet on the vanity. “I need to ask you something.”
His lips curved as he came up to her, stroking her face. “What is it, minha esposa?”
His wife. She swallowed, looking up at him.
“Do you love me?” she whispered.
He stiffened. Staring down at her, his handsome eyes became expressionless and dark. She waited, her heart pounding.
“I thought we agreed,” he finally said. “I care for you, Laura. I admire you and I always will. I lust for you and want you in my life.”
Her heart fell to her white satin shoes.
“But you don’t love me,” she said softly.
He set his jaw. “I told you from the start. I can’t love anyone. Not a wife. Not children.”
“But we will have them…”
“No,” he said. He came closer, putting his hands on her shoulders as he searched her gaze. “Is that why you sent for me before the ceremony, to ask if I might want children someday?”
She nodded tearfully.
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Laura. I thought you understood. Though I can offer you marriage, nothing else has changed. I still cannot offer you love. Or more children.”
She blinked, staring up at him in shock. “No more…no more children?”
He shook his head.
“But why?” she cried.
He dropped his hands from her shoulders.
“You should know, before you marry me, why I will not change my mind.” His jaw clenched as he turned away from her. Outside the windows, rolling white fields were dotted with black, bare trees. “My parents and brother died when I was nineteen. Because of me.”
“I know you’ve spent your whole life trying to regain what you lost,” she said. “But it wasn’t your fault they died!”
“I was driving the car that killed them.” His black eyes were bleak. “My brother had just eloped with a waitress who’d had his baby while we were away at university. He’d been living with her for months, keeping it secret from our parents that he’d dropped out of school. I visited their flat in São Paulo, where they were living with their baby daughter, barely surviving on the wages he could make as a laborer. This from my brother—who should have been a doctor!”
Laura took a deep breath. “So that’s how you know how to play with a baby,” she whispered. “You’d spent time with your niece.”
He gave her a smile that broke her heart. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. “But when my brother decided to marry the woman, I was sure