Read Let's Pretend (Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Second Chance, Sensual) for Free Online

and hugged her to his side.
    Belle glanced up in time to see a slow, disarming smile curve his sexy mouth, his gaze telling her— let me handle this . That confident grin travelled a lazy trail all the way to her toes as she looked over at Mia, who was grinning as though she was privy to some illicit secret.
    “Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to share our decision with your family, babe.”
    Belle stopped breathing, turned startled eyes to Luc, trying to convey an anxious question with frantic eye movements— what are you doing? If he was thinking this instant was a good time to tell her family of their divorce, she was thinking the complete opposite. Now that she’d embarked on her deception, she couldn’t bring herself to face the humiliation of ’ fessing up just yet.
    Even though Gran had reassured them she was fine, Belle found she couldn’t bear to witness the inevitable disappointment in her grandmother’s eyes when she and Luc told her they’d quit their marriage.
    “What do you mean, honey ?” She gave a tiny headshake, praying he got the message— not now !  
    He dropped a kiss on her mouth, ignoring her startled gasp. “Belle and I have decided—”
    “To buy a new car!” Belle cut him off. Allowing Luc to finish would be too shaming.
    “—to have a baby,” he continued without as much as a hint of remorse for the blatant lie.
    A baby ? They’d never talked about children. At least not properly. Belle hadn’t experienced the biological alarm that the women she knew talked about—that little carnal nudge to the female hormones that said it’s time to reproduce . When she thought about it, Luc had never seemed bothered about starting a family, so why would he deliberately dig them a deeper hole?
    Why was she surprised? She’d heard the mockery in his voice when he’d promised to act the devoted husband.
    “Bless my soul.” Gran clapped. The huge smile stretching her red lipstick-painted lips stabbed a dagger of guilt right into Belle’s heart. Shock tilted the room. Even the antique vase of fresh cut Alstroemeria Red Lions from Gran’s garden appeared as though it was about to topple off the mantle.
    Why had Luc said such an outrageous thing? Was this his way of seeking revenge for her placing him in this situation? Whatever the reason, he was going to have to make it right immediately.
    Just one look at Gran’s face told her it was already too late. The little woman was bearing down on them. It was all Belle could do not to run crying from the room.
    How did she get into this mess? And why was she even bothering to ponder the question, when the culprit sat next to her, grinning as though he’d just done something great?
    “What is the matter with you, Luc? Are you out of your mind? Fix this!” she whispered in an aside just as Gran grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet with surprising strength.
    “You don’t know how happy you’ve made me, Belle. I’ve been waiting for this news for the last five years.” She closed her arms around Belle and squeezed her to her bosom.
    In a haze of activity, she found herself in the middle of a group hug, getting the last ounce of breath squeezed out of her as the three other women in the room—her sister, Mia, and Tommy’s two sisters Alana and Julianne—all rushed forward to hug and congratulate her.
    She was a fraud, that’s what she was—a big, reprehensible fraud. And the worst thing was that now he’d put the idea in her head, she actually wished she and Luc were indeed planning to have a baby.

6

    B y the time Belle got Luc alone, it’d been a good hour. The only reason she now paced her room with her hands holding her head in frustration—while he lay back on her bed—was because Gran had insisted they relax in their room while the other women prepared dinner.
    She was fuming. “Tell me again why you would say such a thing?”
    His mesmerizing hazel eyes followed her progress past the foot of the bed.
    “You were drowning