Twin Deception: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (4 page)

        In one swift motion, Luke surprised Sadi by picking her up. He carried her to their bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. She expected him to do something else, remove her clothes, kiss her… but he just took her into his arms and held her. Sadi hung onto him as well. She could feel his pain, his stress, all his pent up emotion pouring into her.

                She couldn’t remember the last time Luke held her, or let her hold him. He was just always so busy, always in such a rush. Their relationship had really lacked the intimacy Sadi hadn’t realized she craved. She took a deep breath and clung to Luke, more thankful than ever that he was still here with her. She thought that if they could just get through the next couple weeks, maybe they would have a shot at making it after all.

              Sadi stood beside her husband, trying to let her presence be the support he needed. She slipped her hand into his. She didn’t miss the trembling that started in his fingers and spread to his palm. She gave a firm squeeze and the trembling stopped.

                Despite Luke’s protests, they had decided to hold a memorial service for Connor. Luke hadn’t been in a hurry. Sadi thought he was trying to delay as long as possible; to give his brother the time he needed to show up. Sadi found it hard to believe that Connor was gone.

      No body had been found. It just didn’t make sense. Sure it had been explained to them that the blast could have obliterated any remains, but Sadi found that hard to buy. Surely there would have been something left. They had advanced forensic science for god sakes.

              Yet nothing had turned up. No remains. No Connor. If he was alive where was he? Nothing added up. Sadi could understand Luke’s hesitation to bury his brother, to move on with a life that seemed so incomplete, so unfinished. Greeson had convinced Luke that having a memorial ceremony was what the company and the world needed to move forward. Sadi knew Luke hadn’t moved on, but he had finally agreed.

                Here they were, the grey morning sky echoing Sadi and Luke’s bleak moods. The ceremony was for close friends and acquaintances only. They had gathered outside in the park to release lanterns into the grey sky and to say a few nice words. Luke was willing to honor his brother’s memory, but he wasn’t willing to close the book on the hope that somehow, somewhere, he was still alive.

                Sadi glanced at the lantern Luke had moved to light. The fragile white paper glowed yellow from the fire within. She looked around at the scattering of people there. Some she knew well, others she was surprised that she didn’t.

       Sadi should have made more of an effort to get to know Connor. She felt a stab of guilt go through her chest. She found herself sending up another thought, another hope, sending her wishes that if Connor was alive, he would somehow hear her and know how sorry she was. She wished that Connor understood how much Luke still needed him.

              Sadi saw Luke look up into the cloudy sky, taking in the lanterns that were floating away, into the wind and impending rain. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his back. He surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.

              “Let’s go home Luke,” Sadi whispered. She saw herself reflected in his eyes as he glanced down. He gave her a soft smile and nodded.

                When they were back in the safety of their own home, away from the worried eyes of their friends who were at Connor’s ceremony, Sadi noticed Luke relax slightly. His shoulders lost their horrible rigidity. He made coffee, poured himself a cup and sat down at the kitchen table. Sadi joined him, taking his hand in her own.

              “It’s a dumb question Luke, but are you alright?” Sadi knew the answer. How could anyone be alright after losing his brother? His
twin
brother?

              “Sadi,” Luke whispered. He tilted her face up with his free hand and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I know Connor’s out there somewhere. I just know it.”
              “Luke…” Sadi wanted to caution him against false hope, yet she didn’t have the strength to contradict him. Who was she to shatter his world?

              “If he was dead Sadi, I would know it wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t I feel it, right here, that he was gone?” Luke pointed to his chest.

              Sadi had to shrug. She had no brother or sister, and certainly had no concept of what the bond between twins was like. Other than what she had read, she would never be able to feel what Luke instinctively felt.

              “Maybe.” Sadi squeezed Luke’s hand. She didn’t want him to give up. She had no words that wouldn’t offer false hope or destroy Luke’s current optimism. “Tomorrow will be better,” she whispered because it was all she could think to say. “It has to be.”

              “How do you want your eggs?” Sadi asked, turning from the burner. Luke sat at the kitchen table, a huge smile on his face. A couple days had passed since Connor’s ceremony. Sadi had expected Luke to be quiet, and she had almost feared the onslaught of his grief, but she could tell he still hadn’t lost hope. Instead of going into work to deal with more lawyers and more meetings, he had surprised her by spending time with her by relaxing in the sauna with her, by the pool, reading with her in the library. He had asked her about her thoughts on a book they read together. He had been caring, kind, and interested in her in a way he hadn’t ever been. 

              Sadi had wanted to do something for Luke in return. He had given her all of his devotion and she felt loved like she had never felt with him before. She had decided to give the household staff a couple weeks off.

        She wanted to try and do something herself for a change. She found that the cleaning, the cooking, and the taking care of Luke had kept her grounded. She hated that she felt proud of herself for being useful, but she did. Luke had beamed at her when he caught her vacuuming.

       He had smiled at her when she presented him with breakfast, lunch, and dinner that she had cooked herself, even if it was basic, slightly unhealthy, and sometimes even burnt or borderline inedible.

              “Over medium? But I’m not fussy.” Luke looked down at his paper.

              “Over medium?” Sadi asked, confused. Luke never ate his eggs any way other than scrambled. He found the sight of running yolk generally disgusting.

              “Yes, like a little runny, but not slimy….” Luke looked up to see if Sadi knew what he meant.

She nodded, flipper in hand and turned back to the frying pan. Luke had been all about making the changes he stated he would. He had been living his life like a new man. This was just weird though. How could almost dying change a lifetime aversion to food?

              “Actually Sadi, never mind, just scramble it,” Luke mumbled, still leafing through his paper.

Sadi sighed in relief. Okay. So he had just been trying to do something new. She found that she was proud of him as she put her flipper into the eggs and scrambled them around the pan.

                She set the plate in front of Luke, along with a couple slices of bacon and toast. He had surprised her by asking her to buy and make the bacon. The old Luke would never have eaten that before. He had shrugged and said that he didn’t want to spend his life worrying about salt and calories anymore.

              “Sadi, I was thinking,” Luke said when he bit into the slice of toast. “What do you think about just having a private ceremony for our wedding? Just me and you and the JP?”

              Sadi paused. She thought of the crazy amount of money they had already wasted on a wedding they had had to postpone. What would it be like, just her and Luke? Just them declaring their love for each other and making a vow to each other that should last for the rest of their lives?

      She felt a tremble go through her body. She looked at Luke and saw his love for her reflected in his eyes. She felt it wash over her, warm and peaceful, a promise of an amazing future together.

              “Yes Luke,” Sadi whispered. “I think that would be amazing.”

              “I want to take some time off after the wedding. A couple weeks at least. Do you have anywhere you would like to go for a honeymoon?”

              Sadi frowned. She had thought they had settled on Mexico. She said as much and Luke shrugged. “I thought maybe you would like to go somewhere different now,” he said.

              “I would love to see Europe.” Sadi held her breath. Last time she had said that, Luke had flat out refused. He had said he didn’t want to spend his vacation traipsing all over the country, sleeping in nasty hotels with drafty rooms. He said they could go to Europe some other time, meaning no time soon.

              “I think that’s a great idea.” Luke’s face broke into a huge grin. “I know you’ve wanted to go there for a while. You used to talk about wanting to see the castles in Scotland all the time.”

              Sadi couldn’t believe Luke remembered that. She hadn’t mentioned that for years; not since they had first been dating. “Yes,” she said. “They would be beautiful, I’m sure.”

              Luke reached out his hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “Not as beautiful as you.”

Sadi blushed at Luke’s compliment and at his frank appraisal.

              “Sadi, you should dye your hair back. I feel awful about what happened…” Luke’s comment came out of nowhere, but when Sadi glanced at him, he was still studying her, a slight frown wrinkling his otherwise perfect brow. She had got her hair fixed after the disastrous day she had ran from the salon. The bleach had done terrible damage to it and she had had to cut a lot of it off as it had fried completely.

“Do you not like it short? I can get extensions?”

              “No,” Luke shook his head. “I love it like this. I would love you no matter what, Sadi. I just know you hate getting it dyed all the time. I’m sorry that you probably heard all those rumors about how I only liked blondes. I thought your dark hair was beautiful.”

                Sadi was shocked now. How could Luke even remember that first week she had worked for Pearson and Pearson? She had thought he didn’t notice her until she had changed her hair and wardrobe a couple weeks into her job but obviously she had been wrong. She felt her face heat up again, an unfamiliar feeling of intimacy stealing over her. She realized that was what she had been missing before.

     Sadi had always felt that Luke had wanted to romance her, but she had never felt like he treasured his time with her. That he noticed any of those small details. She was floored that he had watched her for weeks before she even realized it.

              Sadi felt something odd deep in her chest. She felt treasured, like Luke cared about what she wanted. She realized that when he had said he wanted to start over, he had truly meant start fresh. He had made her feel like she was worth more than his company, his money, his home, his cars, himself even. That he truly needed her, loved her more than he loved his own life.

                He had done it all with a couple touches and a few tender words. Sadi hadn’t realized how much she had missed those things. Not just lately, but throughout their whole relationship. The bombing had been one of the worst things to happen to them, but it had also given Sadi her joy back. It had given her Luke in a way she never imagined she could have.

              Waiting for their wedding was one of the most difficult things Sadi had ever done in her life. She marvelled at what a change her life had undergone. She had had so many doubts about marrying Luke but they had vanished. He was like a new man. In the months leading up to their private wedding ceremony, Luke was much more tender. He was more interested in Sadi’s dreams, her thoughts, and her feelings. He continued to take more and more time off work; time that they spent together falling in love all over again.

                For months after Connor’s funeral, Sadi and Luke hadn’t made love. Finally, one evening Luke had lured Sadi into a bath filled with rose petals.

       Two glasses of wine had been set out on the bathroom counter. It was one of the most romantic things Luke had ever done for her. Sadi had been confused about Luke’s lack of desire for her, even when the intimacy they shared seemed to increase. There was always hand holding, stolen kisses, gentle hugs. Luke held her close to him at night but he had never made a move to touch her.

                Sadi had chalked it up to grief. She understood that it would take some time for everything to return to normal for Luke. He had lost his brother after all. And rebuilding the business, literally rebuilding their office and getting everything back on track was taking a toll on Luke. He was trying to work less, Sadi could tell, but was often bombarded with demanding hours, late night phone calls, and stressful meetings.

        She could tell Luke really missed the guidance of his brother in all aspects of his life. Connor had been a huge part of the business, not just Luke’s brother.

                When they had finally made love, it was cataclysmic. It was even better than Sadi had remembered, even at their best. Luke was creative and bold in a way he hadn’t been before. He had worshiped Sadi’s body as if it were their first time. His desire for her only seemed to increase after that. It was if he couldn’t get enough of her.

                Sadi had begged Luke again to reach out to his parents, to let them know about Connor and about their wedding, but he had told her they likely already knew. It was their choice to remain distant.

        Sadi hadn’t said another word about it. She felt it wasn’t her place and she could tell how wounded Luke really was by their actions, though he put up a tough exterior. She remembered his mother and father hadn’t answered their first wedding invitation; not that she was sure she had sent it to the correct address.

Sadi looked out the window of the car Luke had rented for their time in Scotland. She glanced over at him. She wouldn’t have been brave enough to drive on the twisting, turning roads. Then there was the small matter of her complete ineptitude when it came to driving a standard.

              Luke had surprised Sadi by throwing himself into the details of their honeymoon planning. He had never had an interest in Europe before but he seemed to now. He had planned an amazing trip in Spain, Italy, and France, saving Scotland for last, as he knew it was one place Sadi had always wanted to see. They had set aside two weeks for the first half of the honeymoon and saved the last week for Scotland. Luke had been very mysterious about what he had planned for her. 

              Luke had also taken care of the details for their wedding ceremony. He had rented a nice spot in a private park, where it was just him and Sadi, expressing their love for each other in front of a JP.

         Sadi would have never imagined her wedding turning out like it did, but she was glad it had. She could still remember the ways her hands shook as she said her vows, the way Luke gripped them and steadied her. He had kissed her, his eyes slightly misty, like it was going to be the last time, leaving her completely breathless. Her dress had been simple:  just a knee length white dress. They had forfeited a fortune in lost deposits for booked venues, DJs, caterers, and a fancy dress that was left sitting at the dress shop.  Luke had just shrugged when Sadi had brought it up and told her not to worry about it. The wasted money was less important to him than the wedding he truly wanted to have.

  Luke finally stopped the car in front of a massive looming stone structure.

              “A castle?” Sadi cried, clapping her hand over her mouth, embarrassed by her high pitched outburst.

              “That’s right,” Luke smiled back. “I thought that if we were coming, we should do it right.”

                Sadi laughed and quickly got out of the car. She was half way to the huge wooden door before she turned around, remembering Luke and their bags. He grinned at her as he hauled the heavy luggage out of the tiny car’s trunk and up the cobblestone walkway.

                Luke checked them in and Sadi held her breath while she listened to the kind, elderly woman at the front desk talk to them. Sadi had always thought accents were beautiful, but this completely outdid anything she had ever heard before.

                Once they were settled in the room, complete with a huge four poster bed, woven rugs, a cheery fireplace with a fire already set, heavy drapes, and stone floor and walls, Sadi looked at Luke.

              “This is amazing,” she said again. She noted the sparkle in his eyes and the way his gaze roved over her body. He seemed to love that she was pleased by his choice. She saw the familiar fire ignite in the depth of his blue grey gaze.