Page 8 of Married to the SEAL
He looked at Grace. She held herself stiffly. She was all bravado, but underneath she was scared. He imagined she would bolt from the room like a spooked horse if given the opportunity. He offered her his arm and she looked at him warily.
“You don’t need to be nice to me. None of this is real, anyway,” she said.
Matteo looked from her to the priest and back again. “Looks pretty real to me.”
“You know what I mean.” Her eyes shifted to the other side of the room and she took in a quick breath. “My father’s here.”
Matteo’s arm was still out, waiting for her, and after a moment she took it. They crossed the room to President Vasile.
“Good afternoon, sir. I am Matteo Cruz.”
Vasile’s stare went pointedly to their joined arms. “I see you’re already in character. Let’s get started.”
Grace’s eyes flicked to his and he saw they were lightly bloodshot. She was trying not to cry, and a wave of sympathy washed over him. If this was hard for him, what must it be like for her?
Women were sentimental about their wedding day. From what he’d heard, some of them thought about it from the time they were little girls.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“Nope.” She took in a shaking breath. “Let’s do this.”
Her voice was steely and he decided in that moment he liked her. When most women would have crumbled, she straightened her spine.
The cry of a baby in the distance echoed through the house and she jerked, her gaze shifting from Matteo to her father and back. “Nico—”
Her father’s voice was gruff. “You can go to him when the ceremony is finished.”
Matteo could feel her arm shaking, as if she was physically fighting with herself. The baby’s wails got louder. “We’ll hurry,” Matteo said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today,” the priest said.
“Skip that part,” she said. “Get to the vows.”
“Do you, Grace Louisa Vasile, take Matteo Cruz to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Matteo Cruz, take Grace Louisa Vasile to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“Then by the power invested in me by the holy Church and the People’s Republic of Lutsia, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
She pulled her arm free of his, turned, and left the room. He was alone with the priest and Grace’s father.
The distant cries stopped abruptly and the priest put on his hat. “I hope you have a happy life, despite this rough beginning,” he said. “God works in mysterious ways to bring us the people we are meant to have in our lives.”
There would be no happy life together for the two of them, but Matteo nodded his head anyway as he wondered what he’d gotten himself into. It was time to get used to lying, that was certain. “I’m sure we will. Thank you.”
The president turned to Matteo. “There is a small reception this evening to formally welcome back my daughter and her new husband. I suggest the first thing you do is inform your bride.”
“She doesn’t know?”
“No. As my employee, you are notably easier to deal with.”
He walked away, leaving Matteo standing in a strange room, in a strange house, in a strange country. He spun in a circle, taking it all in. He needed to get the lay of the land, just as soon as he touched base with Grace about the reception.
He headed back through the house in the direction the cries had been coming from. His mind flipped through the last hour, landing on a shot of Grace’s red eyes. He wanted to know who had put that sadness there, why her life seemed so difficult.
