Page 3 of Married to the SEAL
“Well then, I guess they’ll just have to accept it.”
“You know as well as I do, they will do no such thing. The election will be a close race, closer than any before in our history. When the people find out you have a bastard, many will vote for Trane instead.”
Her gaze was steely. “Don’t call him that.”
“That’s what they’re going to call him. That’s why the intruder chose that word. To show us that he knows about Nico and the effect he will have on the campaign.”
“The campaign! That’s all you care about. When is it going to be enough for you? How many years must you lead this country?”
“If Trane is elected, he will back Russia’s bid to take over the country once more. My sources say he’s already accepted their deal. He has a majority stake in Parliament, and two of those who disagreed with him have died tragic, unexpected deaths.”
He could see the impact of his words registering on her features. She knew what that would mean for the citizens. She had a fine political mind, could have been a politician herself if she had the inclination.
“We have to stop him…”
“Yes, Grace. We have to stop him from obtaining absolute power. We have to stop him from winning this election.”
“And you think Nico is going to make that more difficult.”
“Nico is going to make that impossible. You’ve spent too much time abroad. Conservativism is alive and well here. I had the pollsters add a question to last week’s phone survey. Sixty-eight percent of those over fifty would not vote for a candidate whose immediate family had children out of wedlock. They consider it to be a sign of moral weakness.”
He gestured for her to sit down, noting the high color in her cheeks and how she hesitated before settling in the chair. It was as if they were separated by a thick brick wall, and it struck him they had built it together, piece by piece, since Lenore died.
That wall would not be coming down today.
“You will marry the American. He will keep you and the baby safe and provide you with the husband I need you to have.” He glanced at the baby in her arms. “Do we have a deal?”
He watched her face. She was a smart woman who understood her actions had consequences outside of herself.
She would do the right thing, he was nearly sure of it. Only one thing could stand in the way. “Unless you’d rather marry the real father?”
Her head snapped up.
What he wouldn’t give to find out who that was.
“We have a deal,” she said.
3
Marry the fatherof her child?
She would’ve jumped at the chance to marry her baby’s father, would have fallen over her own feet in her haste to the altar, but she didn’t know where he was or even if he was alive.
Grace instinctively pulled the baby more tightly to her chest, the pressure on her overly full breasts making her aware she needed to nurse. As if on cue, Nico stirred in her arms, searching for her nipple with his mouth.
She didn’t want to nurse the baby here in front of her father. The thought made her feel so alone. The last few days had been difficult.
No, the last few weeks.
In the days since Nico’s birth, she had missed her mother more than she would have thought possible. Every time she had a question about how to do something, how to handle a rash or her son’s nighttime fussiness, she longed for her mother’s sound advice and warm sense of humor.
But her mother wasn’t here, hadn’t been here in more than a dozen years, and it hurt to no end that her sweet son would never know his grandmother.
Her hands clutched at her son’s little body. She never knew until he was born just how much she could love another person, the purity and intensity of a mother’s love. She would do anything for this child, to protect him or make him happy. Anything at all.
She narrowed her eyes. “And this man you hired, he is willing to pretend to be my husband? Or did you fail to mention that little tidbit?”
“Technically, he wouldn’t be pretending. We would need the marriage to be legally binding in case the media suspects anything. You will get a divorce after the election is over.”
