Secrets of the Playboy's Bride(9)

"Ready?" Tami asked. "Why did you stop?"

Calista had been so distracted she hadn't even noticed she wasn't moving  forward. Tami glanced in the direction of Calista's gaze and gave a  sigh. "He's pretty hot, isn't he?"

"Tami," Tina whispered. "Show some dignity. This is a wedding."

"You were the one ready to go jump on a boat before we'd even gotten to the dock," Tami retorted.

"Girls, you're supposed to be escorting me. Please stop arguing," Calista said, gritting her teeth. She began to walk again.

She felt Leo's gaze take her in from head to toe and wondered if he  approved of the full-length A-line ivory chiffon gown with fitted  sweetheart bodice that suddenly felt as if it was suffocating her. Her  hair was half up, half down in loose curls. Pearl drop earrings dangled  from her ears. She felt like a sacrificial bride from the Regency  period.

Mentally rolling her eyes at herself, she stiffened her spine. Cut the  martyr act. She was a woman taking control of her and her sisters'  destinies. She only had to last six months. Not a lifetime.

She finally stood opposite the minister and focused her attention on the  kindly faced man for a moment while she wondered if she would burn in  hell for what she was doing. She felt a stab of guilt and brushed it  aside. She couldn't have done this to just anyone. She'd chosen Leo  because of what his father had done to her family. In the scheme of  things, it was fair. It wasn't as if he would miss the money.

Lord, what thoughts to have while she was getting married. "Who gives this bride?" the minister asked.

"We do," Tami and Tina said and giggled. Tami took Calista's hand and  reached for Leo's, then put them together. "Be good to my sister," she  whispered to Leo. "Or I'll make your life a living hell. Ask Aunt  Sharon. I can do it."

Leo blinked and shot Calista a bemused look. Embarrassed, Calista shook  her head and mouthed teenagers. Leo's mouth lifted in a half grin and he  nodded, both his hands enclosing hers.

Within seconds, she was held captive by his gaze as he began to recite the vows. "I, Leonardo Grant, take you Calista French … "

The rest of the ceremony passed in a daze. She looked down at the  diamond and platinum band Leo placed on her finger. Was this real? Was  this happening?

"Calista," Leo whispered. "Ring."

Biting her lip, she took the platinum band from Tina and pushed it down  his finger. His hands were so much larger than hers, warmer and  stronger. In a different lifetime, she wondered if she could have  trusted him, relied on him. She remembered what his father had done and  dismissed the thought. Deep, underneath it all, Leo was a liar, and  she'd just joined with him in the biggest lie of her life.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Leo lowered his head and took her mouth with a kiss of possession and  the promise of passion. He'd done his part. Now she would have to do  hers.





Less than an hour later, they changed clothes and took Leo's yacht for a  ride around the lake. After a late lunch that she didn't consume  because she was still too nervous to eat, her sisters and Justin went  for a swim. Leo made friendly small talk with all of her family. He  promised her sisters that he would take them skiing next time they  visited.All too soon, the sun faded and the air turned chilly. The yacht  returned to the dock and Calista kissed her family goodbye before Leo's  helicopter took them away. She watched them go, fighting a feeling of  abandonment. She felt Leo slide his hand behind her back and around her  waist and closed her eyes, girding herself for the night to come.                       
       
           



       

"Thank you for letting them come," she said. "It meant a lot to me."

"You're welcome," he said, his lips twitching. "As long as Tami doesn't come after me with any sharp objects."

She laughed despite the way her stomach twisted with nerves. "She's a  big bluffer. Very dramatic and emotional. She's the one who has asthma.  She gives Sharon and me hives with some of the things she does, but  she's got a big heart."

"Like her sister," he said and began to lead her back to the house.

"Hmm," she said in a noncommittal voice.

"You haven't eaten anything all day," he said.

She glanced up at him again, taking in his hard jaw and the sheer maleness of his physique. "How do you know?"

"My staff told me you ate nothing before the wedding, and I noticed that  you ate nothing on the boat. Except for one bite of the cake."

"It was a big day."

"Yes, so I want you to eat something now. What shall I ask my staff to bring you?"

"I hate to bother them."

"You're not bothering," he said impatiently. "They are paid to do this.  They spend a lot of time bored, so they're actually glad to have  something to do."

Skeptical, she shot him a sideways glance. "Who told you that? Someone who wanted a raise?"

He chuckled. "If you don't tell me what you want, then I'll order a five-course meal."

"A turkey sandwich," she said quickly.

"Done," he said and squeezed her shoulders. She was still surprised at  how kind he'd been to her sisters. She hadn't expected him to be an  ogre, just distantly polite. Instead, he'd been charming. With his arm  around her, she could almost believe he felt protective of her. Almost.





Four



Leo drank a beer while he watched Calista take a few bites of her turkey  sandwich. Her gaze skittered from his and she took tiny sips from her  water. It took him a moment to read her, but then realization jolted  him. She was nervous. He'd noticed her nerves at the wedding, but  assumed they would pass after the vow-taking.

She was still on edge, he noticed, and felt a foreign twist of  tenderness toward her. Virginal nerves, he concluded. In this day and  age, who would have thought it? There was no need to worry, he thought  as he took in the sight of her. He could have easily seduced her before  now. Some odd sense of ethics he hadn't known he possessed had made him  pause.No need for that anymore, he realized as he watched her lick her  lips after she took another drink of water. "The sandwich was a good  idea, thanks," she said.

"I frequently have good ideas," he said, holding her gaze.

"I'm sure you do," she said.

"It's been a long day," he said. "We should go upstairs."

Calista's heart jumped into her throat. She'd known this would happen.  Leo was now her husband. He would pay for the security of her sisters'  future and she would pay by being his wife, albeit temporarily. Part of  her couldn't dismiss the fact that this man was connected to her  father's financial failure and subsequent death. In a way it would be  making love with the devil.

She took a deep breath. There was no need to be melodramatic now. Leo  was just a man, not a god or a devil. Right? Why was she so  apprehensive? It wasn't as if she …

Stiffening her spine, she told herself to buck up to her end of the deal. "Can I grab another water?" she asked with a smile.

"I have plenty in my room." He extended his hand and his gaze fell over  her like the heat from a midafternoon scorching summer day. She took his  hand and he led her upstairs, stopping at his bedroom door to open it.  Before she realized it, he swooped her up into his arms and carried her  inside.

"Oh," she said. "A surprise."

"It's a tradition. Since you're a new bride, I thought you might enjoy it," he said, his face close to hers.

All too aware of his strength, she spotted a bottle of champagne and a  tray of strawberries next to the huge bed that seemed to dominate the  wall facing the windows. Lit candles provided a seductive ambiance. She  clung to his shoulders. "I didn't know you were much for traditions."

"I'm not," he said. "But I don't have to buck all of them."

He set her down on the bed. "Now we can have a private toast," he said  and popped open the champagne. He spilled the light golden liquid into  one flute then another.

Giving her one of the glasses, he lifted his own. "To us and all the  traditions we'll make and break together." He clicked his glass against  hers. "Starting tonight."                       
       
           



       

Her heart hammered at the expression on his face. He looked as if he  could literally consume her. She'd known he was highly sexual from the  first time she'd seen him in person, but now she wondered if she would  be able to … Pushing the thought from her mind again, she nodded and took a  long drink of champagne, then another. She suspected, however, that she  would need to consume the entire bottle to bring her anxiousness under  control.