Secrets Of The A-List Box Set, Volume 3. Dani Collins

jerked away from the pillar he’d been leaning against. A quick glance showed their hosts again at a discreet distance.

      He preempted another outburst from Rachel by diving straight into it. “Look, it’s not you. It’s me. You’re right, my head isn’t in the game.” Wow, could he sound any more like one of the actors from D-grade rom-coms Rachel made him watch?

      If he’d thought his answer would placate her, he was seriously deluded. She widened her eyes, arms folded, waiting expectantly for him to elaborate.

      He latched onto the most obvious excuse with a pang of guilt. “I’m worried about Dad.”

      Her face immediately gentled. She started to reach for him. They both stopped as his phone blared to life. Relieved, he glanced down at the screen, then his gut clenched.

      “Rafe. Everything okay?” He couldn’t stop the snap in his voice. Luc knew his brother wouldn’t call him just to shoot the shit.

      “Did Mom tell you about the new doctor?”

      “Yeah, I spoke to her this morning.” It’d been after that phone call that his mother had emailed him a bunch of Elana’s wedding photos. “Apparently his schedule freed up. Great news for Dad, right?” Rachel, hearing his side of the conversation, smiled encouragingly.

      “I guess. Let’s hope he performs his miracles sooner rather than later, though. This shit can’t go on much longer.” He heard the hope in his brother’s voice and couldn’t help but absorb some of it for himself. “Anyway, I’m at the house. Mom wants to know whether you’re visiting Dad today.”

      “Yeah. Tell her I’ll swing by the clinic later, check out the new doctor.”

      “Cool.” His brother hung up.

      Luc slowly returned the phone to his pocket, then his gaze swept over the terrace and gardens. He wasn’t sure he believed in miracles. In his opinion, hard work and cold cash in the bank trumped faith any day. It was what had made the Marshalls a success. It was what had made him the man he was today. Except this time, he found himself hoping for just such a miracle for his father.

      “He’s going to be okay, Luc. You’ll see.”

      He turned at the sound of Rachel’s voice. Stared at the woman he’d asked to marry him. She was beautiful, poised and respectable, and their sex life was unbelievable. And yet, he felt no joy at the prospect of making her his wife. Was he making a mistake? What kind of man thought about another woman while picking out wedding venues with his fiancée? The kind who had probably jumped before he was ready?

      “Rachel, I think we should postpone the wedding,” he said before he could stop himself.

      Her face slackened in shock. “What?”

      He held up his hand. “Hear me out. My dad already missed Elana’s wedding. I don’t want him to miss mine. I don’t think he’ll want to wake up and realize he’d missed not just one but two of his children’s weddings. I don’t think that’s fair to him, do you? This new doctor is the best there is. Why don’t we wait and let him do his thing? Dad could come out of his coma by this time next week. Then we can carry on with our wedding plans. What do you say?” he cajoled lightly.

      She turned away from him, looking off into the gardens the same way he had moments before. There was a displeased stubbornness to her profile that made his stomach clench in anticipation of a fight. And he probably would stand his ground, because now that he’d spoken the words out loud, he knew he wasn’t ready for a wedding. Not just yet. Not until he had his head on straight about a few things. Mainly Vanessa.

      “You’re right. It would be great if Harrison woke up to the news of our engagement and another wedding in the works. It would make missing Elana’s a little easier to bear, right?”

      Relief punched through him. “Exactly. Thank you, baby.”

      She turned and slid her arms around his waist. “Of course. I won’t intrude on your time, but I hope you don’t mind if Mama and I keep working in the background. We don’t want to lose the momentum we’ve got going, and of course we’ll be in constant contact with your mother with all of the details. But in the meantime...” She let her voice trail off.

      Relief turned to something else. Something not so pleasant. “Yeah?”

      “We should get back home and think of other things that might please your father to know when he wakes up.”

      Tension ramped up his spine. “Things like?”

      She toyed with the collar of his T-shirt. “Oh, I don’t know. My birthday’s coming up. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a party? I know what I want. And what would possibly make everyone else happy.”

      “What’s that?” he pressed reluctantly, knowing in his gut her answer wasn’t one he wanted to hear.

      “Why, news of a baby on the way, of course, provided we get started right now. Wouldn’t that be the absolute best news ever for your father to wake up to?”

      * * *

      Nora grimaced at the unflattering hospital gown the technician had asked her to put on. Even before the material touched her skin, she knew the cotton would be scratchy and uncomfortable, nothing like the satin gown her doctor in Paris had provided before she’d been forced to switch practices.

      In the not-too-distant past she would’ve gone to a much more exclusive practice than this one. But with her funds fast dwindling and the situation with Harrison still not resolved, she had to watch her spending. Much to her displeasure.

      She wouldn’t have made an appointment with this ob-gyn at all. At least not here in Santa Barbara and this close to the Marshall family. While the word confidentiality was tossed about when reputations needed to be protected, she knew the chance to reap rewards from a scandal was never far away and more often than not trumped confidentiality.

      She was probably being overly cautious, but after flinging herself into the Marshall family’s orbit twice in a few weeks, perhaps it was time to pull back a little. She couldn’t afford to let the cat out of the bag. Not just yet. Not when she hadn’t gotten to the bottom of where Harrison was hiding. Harrison had once told her she had an unforgettable face. Compliment or not, all it would take was some keen paparazzi to see pictures of her at the Marshall wedding for speculation to start. She couldn’t afford for her bargaining power to lose value before she had all the pertinent facts.

      Anonymity was the reason she’d chosen a clinic on the outskirts of town.

      She massaged the small of her back after she tugged off her Zac Posen sweater dress and draped it over a nearby chair in the sterile ultrasound room. Even that small effort was draining.

      And that was the main reason she’d made an appointment with the specialist. The bone-deep tiredness had come out of nowhere. Despite her healthy diet and religious prenatal vitamin regimen, she couldn’t shake off the weariness.

      For a couple of days, she’d tried to dismiss it. But now she was worried. This baby was her insurance and a passport to a far better life than she’d dreamed of. She couldn’t afford for either herself or the baby to be unhealthy. So although this was costing her a small fortune, she’d thought it best to get herself checked out before she boarded the plane back to Paris.