The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife (Blair and Grayson) novel Chapter 264

Chapter 264

~LORETTA~

I knew something was wrong before I closed the door.

The house was too quiet in the front and too arranged inside.

i could hear my mother’s voice, pleasant-too pleasant, like we had company that was important to her.

I heard a man’s answer, also pleasant.

I still couldn’t get Marco’s lips out of my mind. I wasn’t feeling prepared for visitors. How could I when I kept tasting my husband on my tongue?

I froze.

Did I just say husband? I inwardly screamed at that thought. He is not your husband. Well, he is. But it’s still fake even though you both signed the paper.

I was wearing the ring he had given me before I left his house. The moment I slid it onto my finger, I was surprised to realize I never wanted to take it off. These silly thoughts scared me. It was meant to come off eventually and be given to the woman Marco truly married in the future-not the fake marriage we were both using for our own gain.

Charlotte had laughed when I asked if it was fake.

“He doesn’t do fake jewelry,” she had said. “Only fake weddings. Well, just the one fake wedding with you.”

The pretty stone caught the bright light in the hall. It did not look like a prop. It looked like a problem I was about to set on my mother’s table. It was time to break the news to her. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Part of me wondered if I should have done this with Marco by my side. He would eventually have to meet my mother and I didn’t want to imagine what that first meeting would be like. For now, maybe it was better that I was here on

my own.

I stepped into the living room and froze.

Rico was on the sofa. My mother was seated beside him.

What was he still doing here? I was sure he would be gone by now.

Of course she had planned for him to still be here.

How desperate was he to marry me to stay here for hours waiting for me to return home?

“Loretta,” my mother said. The smile held but it was definitely forced. Her eyes went to my hair, my clothes, the hour I had returned. “You’re back.”

“You’re still here?” I asked the unwanted guest, unable to hide the disappointment in my tone.

Rico stood.

“You look beautiful,” he said. “I didn’t mind waiting.”

My stomach felt upset. Why did talking to him make me so uneasy, but speaking with Marco felt so natural? I could not explain it. There was something about Marco that was difficult to put into words.

I thought of the paper in my bag and the photograph of Marco kissing me. That was all it took to get Rico out of here. I simply had to show him that picture and he would understand that I was already taken.

“Thank you,” I said. “But you really shouldn’t have wasted-”

My mother moved at once. “Rico was telling me about the properties he’s interested in purchasing. Sit, Loretta. You must be tired. There is tea. Rico, she takes it with too much sugar. You will learn.”

The properties? Of course, what else did he ever talk about? I tried not to roll my eyes.

“I can learn,” he said, and looked at me as if he’d said the right thing.

I did not sit.

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I heard footsteps in the corridor. Rico’s mother came in already displeased, pearls tight around her neck, the sort of miserable woman who treated lateness like a personal debt.

She looked me over. Dress. Face. Hair.

“Hours,” she said. “We have been here since this morning. I canceled a dinner for this because you chose to show up at night.”

“Signora.” My mother was already trying to fix it. “I apologize. Loretta was delayed. It will not happen again. She is here now. Shall we begin properly?”

Begin. As if I were about to let that happen.

Rico’s mother did not stop. “Young women in this house seem to think time belongs to them. My son has been patient. I have been less so. If this is the habit, say it now.”

Did she think I actually wanted to marry her son? Ha.

“You may leave-”

“She is not usually late,” my mother said, stopping me from saying what I wished to say. “Loretta, apologize.”

I could feel the ring when I closed my fingers. Real. Heavy. For some reason, it made me feel safe. I could not

explain it.

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