Cassandra only just held back a groan as he strode to the front door. Of all the times she didn’t want to see her in-laws it was now. It could only mean trouble, she knew, as she went to unbuckle Nicole from the high chair before following Dominic.
“Mum? Dad?” he said as she went to join him at the front door. “What are you doing here?”
His parents were in their late fifties. His father’s tallness and handsomeness were the perfect complements to his graceful wife. Both of them came from the best families Down Under. They were true members of the Australian aristocracy. And that made it all the more amazing that they had accepted her into their hallowed ranks. At first.
Laura Roth’s face was strained as she looked at her eldest son. Her eyes hardened when she saw Cassandra at his side, and Cassandra’s arms tightened around Nicole.
As if Laura noticed the movement, the older woman’s gaze slid to Nicole. In an instant, her whole face softened. “Oh, my heavens, Michael,” she said, hurrying up the timber steps. “There’s our little granddaughter.” She held out her arms and Nicole went straight to her. “Take a look at her. She’s grown in just a short time. My, she’s so like her fath—” Laura burst into tears.
Dominic was the first to move. He quickly lifted Nicole out of Laura’s arms, holding on to the little girl himself while his father rushed forward.
Michael pulled his wife into his arms. “Shh, honey. Don’t cry.”
Cassandra stood there, feeling a deep pang of sadness as her mother-in-law sobbed. No parent should have to lose a child.
“Mum, you shouldn’t be here,” Dominic muttered, a rough edge to his voice.
Laura sobbed into her husband’s chest, but it was Michael who spoke. “We had to come, son,” he said, a grave note to his voice, and Cassandra saw Dominic stiffen. Then Michael passed his wife a handkerchief. “Why don’t we go inside, honey?”
Laura took a deep shuddering breath and pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I’m fine now, darling. It was just the shock of seeing Nicole.” Tears welled up in her eyes again.
“How about some coffee?” Cassandra asked quickly. “Or perhaps something to eat? Have you had breakfast?”
“We had something on the way,” Michael said politely, “but coffee would be welcome.” He started leading Laura inside.
Cassandra stood there for a moment, then followed them. Dominic was carrying Nicole on his hip, his face closed now. Not a good sign, though for whom she wasn’t sure. She winced. Who was she kidding? Dominic’s lovemaking last night hadn’t changed his opinion of her. Like his parents, he still disliked her.
“I’ll put the coffee on,” she murmured, once the older couple were seated in the living room. She turned toward the kitchen. It would be a relief to get out of their presence.
“Wait.” Michael’s abrupt tone stopped her in her tracks. “We have something to say to you and Dominic first.”
Cassandra darted a look at Dominic. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he nodded at her, then he put Nicole down in a playpen a few feet away, before going to stand in front of the open fireplace. Cassandra took a seat on one of the armchairs. His parents sat beside each other on the full-length couch, his father holding his wife’s hand in his.
“Fire away, Dad.”
Michael nodded, a determined look about him. “Right. Well, as you can see we came home early. Last night, in fact. So imagine our incredible surprise when Adam told us about your wedding.”
Dominic’s mouth compressed. “He should have called to tell me.”
“We asked him not to,” Michael said. “We wanted to see you in person.”
Dominic raised a cool eyebrow. “Why? Is there a problem?”
“Yes, there’s a problem,” Michael snapped. “Adam told us what was in the will. He said Liam had asked you to do this.”
“That’s right.”
“And that’s very commendable of you, son, but your mother and I think you should have waited. There was no need to jump in feetfirst and marry Cassandra. We could have figured out a way around that. Hell, that’s what lawyers are for.”
Cassandra felt like her breath was cut off. During Liam’s illness her in-laws had been cool toward her, but to be so blatant in their loathing of her now was hurtful. Clearly, if Dominic had married anyone else but her, they wouldn’t be here.
Her eyes sought Dominic’s, expecting to see the slash of regret now that he knew he should have waited. Strangely, all she could see was a hardness—an intensity—that was surprisingly directed at his parents. The force of it was rather…intimidating.
“There was every need for me to marry Cassandra,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
Michael opened his mouth, then closed it briefly, as if deciding to take a different tack. “Look, we know you did it for Nicole’s sake, but—”
“Cassandra and I were both happy to do it,” Dominic cut across his father. “Don’t doubt that.”
“But darling, you could get an annulment,” Laura said quickly, making it clear she didn’t think they would have already slept together. “We’d be very happy to pay her a lump sum. It would make up for any money she loses from Liam’s will.”
The words stabbed at Cassandra’s heart. It was like she wasn’t even in the room, not to mention how much of an insult this was to her. She couldn’t take much more from this family.
“So I’m to be a bought woman now?” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
“Aren’t you that already?”
Cassandra sucked in a sharp breath. “I can’t believe you said that, Laura.”
Laura at least had the grace to wince. “I—”
“Enough,” Dominic snapped in a low, harsh voice. “Mum, Dad, listen to me. Cassandra is my wife now whether you like it or not. I suggest you learn to accept it or—”
“Or what, son?” Michael faced him off.
Two strong men.
Dominic’s eyes darkened dangerously. “Don’t force me to make a choice, Dad. Nicole is our main concern. If you want to be a part of her life, then you’ll have to learn to live with her mother.”
There was a moment’s shocked silence.
Laura’s face twisted with anguish. “But she turned Liam against us, Dominic. And now she’s turning you against us, as well.”
Cassandra gasped. “I didn’t. I’m not,” she mumbled, stunned, seeing Dominic give her a slight shake of his head, telling her to stay out of this. Oh, God. Wasn’t she even allowed to defend herself against these people?
“It might be a good idea for you to go make the coffee,” Dominic suggested. “But—”
“Make the coffee, Cassandra,” he said firmly. “Please.”
It was the please that did it. She glanced briefly at Nicole playing happily in the playpen, then left the room, unable to look at the others. She couldn’t.
In the kitchen she refilled the coffeepot and turned it on, her movements automatic. Then she went to the sliding patio door and stood looking out over the swimming pool. She could hear the murmur of voices coming from the living room, but she didn’t want to know. It was clear what they all thought of her.
It hadn’t always been this way between them. That was the hardest part to take. If they’d been against her from the beginning, instead of making her feel like a part of the family… If she hadn’t fallen in love with them on sight…then this wouldn’t be so hard to take now. She loved Laura and Michael, and now she felt betrayed by them.
Worse, it was apparent they reciprocated the feeling. They blamed her for many things, and she could only blame Liam for that. Liam, who’d been jealous of her relationship with them from the start. Liam, who’d later taken every opportunity to twist things around to make her look bad. Liam, who’d wanted her to have his baby, then shunned her and Nicole when he insisted on going home to die. And finally, Liam who’d forced her to marry his brother.
To give Nicole a Roth upbringing?
Or to make her life a misery?
“Is the coffee ready yet?”
She spun around. “What! Oh, yes.”
Dominic stared at her across the width of the kitchen, some sort of indefinable emotion in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Of course.” She stood there, trying to compose herself. It wasn’t easy pushing her thoughts aside when she’d just been knocked down so hard by his parents.
“I’m sorry about what they said back there.”
She blinked. She was grateful he’d stood up to his parents, she really was, but it hadn’t been for her benefit at all. Not even a little bit. Dominic had made love to her last night, but he really hadn’t changed his opinion of her. She doubted he ever would.
She angled her chin, aware that staying angry helped her to cope. “Why? It’s only what you were thinking yourself.”
His mouth tightened. Those blue eyes of his turned cold. “Whatever I think isn’t important right now. I married you, Cassandra, and we’re going to stay married. So let that be the end of it.”
Her insides ached at the circumstances that had brought them to this. She had to accept that her situation wasn’t going to change.
She gave a sharp nod. “I’ll be there shortly.”
He held her gaze a moment more, then turned and left the room. Somehow she made herself move. She had to make the coffee and she had to walk back in that living room and face far more hostility than she’d ever imagined. Ye Gods! What had she ever done to deserve this?
Then she remembered Nicole. Forced to marry Dominic or not, she had done the right thing for her daughter. Nicole would have her birthright. Nicole would be raised a Roth. And if Liam’s intention had been to make her own life a misery because of it, then she would cope.
She always had.
She always would.
When she came back in the living room, Laura gave a stiff smile. “I’d like to apologize for what I said before, Cassandra. I was out of line.”
She almost dropped the tray of coffee. Cassandra exchanged a quick glance with Dominic, aware he would have put his mother up to this. All the same, just this small thing made her feel better. “Thank you, Laura.”
“I was out of line, too,” Michael added, a tight look about his features that reminded her of Dominic. “I’d like to apologize, as well.”
Cassandra tried to give an impersonal nod. “Thank you, Michael,” she said, but she was glad she could occupy herself with handing out the coffee. She didn’t want them to see the tears pricking the back of her eyes. She yearned to be friends with them again, but that was something she couldn’t let them see.
Once they were all settled with their coffee, it was Dominic who spoke first. “So, Dad, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
His father gave a half smile. “Are you trying to get rid of us, son?”
Dominic gave an equally short smile. “Not at all. I was merely going to ask if you wanted to stay for lunch.”