All big boys possessed a few big toys, and Luca saw no reason to be an exception to that fundamental truth. He adored his private Boeing 747 with its custom interior and had been personally involved in every step of its design. As a result, it suited his needs to perfection, both personally and business-wise.

The interior was divided into four parts. The front section was the captain’s quarters, of course. Directly behind it was a full master suite with a luxury bathroom, complete with a jacuzzi tub and sauna. The middle cabin held a skylight seating area on the top level and a plush movie theater on the bottom. The rear cabin was strictly for business. It held a conference room, a lounge area with a wet bar, and an office nook in the tail.

He proudly gave Jacey the tour, hoping to impress her.

“Where’s the music room?” Her tone was teasing.

“Where would you like it to be?” he countered and was rewarded with the surprised widening of her eyes.

She shook her long gorgeous white-blonde hair back. “I’ve always enjoyed a room with a view.”

“The skylight room it is. I’ll have the specs drawn up for you to review them.”

“Luca! I was kidding.”

“I wasn’t. You can thank me with a private concert.” He hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “I’ll never tire of hearing you sing, cara.”

She laughed, and it was all the thanks he needed. He would never tire of hearing her laugh either. Not in eighteen years, fifty, or a hundred.

His chef, Colette, and Don joined them before take-off. The petite, sassy-eyed French chef was making her usual attempts to flirt with his stoic co-pilot and otherwise engage him in conversation. Don maintained his usual brevity, answering her in monosyllables, though Luca sensed an odd restlessness in him today.

Don had received a phone call earlier when they were prepping the plane for departure and had excused himself for more than ten minutes to take it. He’d returned from it quieter and more tight-lipped than usual. Luca had always suspected there was more to the man’s past than his stint in the special forces, but he respected his privacy and didn’t ask questions. He hoped and prayed there was nothing in his past coming back to haunt him now.

Jacey stared at Colette and Don with disapproval. “It’s only a ten or eleven-hour flight,” she hissed in undertones to him. “There’s no need to take over half the household.”

He winked at her. “I didn’t want you getting lonely while Don and I are in the cockpit.”

She glared at him, lips parted, apparently at a loss for words. He treasured the moment; his wife was rarely at a loss for words.

“You’ll be thanking me after you sample the breakfast Colette has planned for us,” he continued smoothly.

If looks could kill, he’d be suffering a mortal wound. Instead of destroying the siren red paint on her lips, he settled for pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“You’re impossible,” she sighed, but he could feel her resistance melting beneath his touch. It filled him with a crazy amount of joy to know he remained one of her biggest weaknesses. It gave him hope that at least some small part of her was falling for him the way he was falling for her.

“On the contrary, I aim to please, mi princesa.” He brushed his lips against her temple, adoring her warmth and flowery scent.

Don didn’t require a lot of conversation, so Luca had hours to simmer in his growing concerns for Jacey and the baby. If she dropped many more pounds, the doctor was threatening to either admit her to the hospital or put her on full bed rest. It was a threat she didn’t take near seriously enough; he knew it would crush her spirit to be so thoroughly confined. He had to find a way to get her to eat more and soon. Bringing Colette to the audition was the first step in his plan to do so.

It also bothered him that Jacey was still pacing around his mansion like a caged animal. He’d expected her to be more settled in by now. To buy more clothes or redecorate a room, to do something to carve out her own space there and leave her mark on his world. Instead, she continued to act like a guest.

Other than his first attempt to take her shopping, she hadn’t said one word about setting up a nursery or purchasing baby supplies either. He’d tried to bring up the topic a few more times, but she’d brushed him off, saying there was plenty of time and he’d already done enough for her. Which made little sense. He knew for a fact she hadn’t swiped the credit card he’d given her — not even once — and his generous monthly stipends were piling up in her checking account, untouched.

Accustomed to handling things, he hated the feeling of helplessness he always felt when attempting to care for his new wife. As the hours of the flight wore on, he found himself silently praying for divine guidance on how to be a better husband. He desperately needed to master that role before becoming a father.

Thought his prayers brought no earth shattering revelations, they did bring him a bit of peace. He landed his plane at the Nashville airport and escorted his wife across the runway to their rented limousine. Despite the nearly eleven-hour flight, she looked more agitated than tired.

They had half a dozen voicemails waiting for them from Luca’s contact. Apparently, the owners of the studio wanted to meet Jacey at the office instead of the restaurant. Which most likely meant they wanted to hear a sample of her music tonight.

Luca was furious at their lack of sensitivity. They’d travelled all day, and his wife was pregnant, for crying out loud! Not that the men they would be meeting knew about her condition. Jacey had insisted on keeping it a secret, fearful it would interfere with their decision on whether to offer her a contract.

“It’s okay,” she assured him softly. “I can do this.”

No. It wasn’t okay, but there wasn’t much he could do about it at this point.

He continued to fume during their brief ride to the music studio. She was silent also, her gaze distant and distracted.

She clutched his shoulders when they stepped from the car, eyes dark with some unspeakable emotion. “Whatever happens in there, Luca, I just want to say thank you for this opportunity. It means everything to me.”

It took a second for him to absorb the quick stab of pain her words brought him. He wished he meant everything to her. He touched her cheek, trying to swallow his longing and come up with the right words. “I’ve seen you in action, princesa. You’re going to slay them in there. I can feel it.”

“Thank you.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second.

“Do you prefer for me to listen in or wait outside?”

She opened her eyes, and it was like a different woman was standing before him, one who took his breath away. “By all means, come in, Mr. Calcagni. Bring your whole entourage if you wish.” She waved a hand in Don and Colette’s direction. “We musicians thrive on an audience.”

Her answer both pleased and charmed him. He was utterly mesmerized by her glow of excitement, her almost palpable anticipation. He’d never seen this side of her before.

The pre-performance version of Jacey in no way prepared him to watch her in full performance mode. Like an actress switching costumes, she took on an entirely different persona in the presence of her perspective agent and his recording crew. Lively and flirtatious in a larger-than-life way, she took control of the room and its occupants. She was no stranger to the recording equipment either, donning her headset with ease and making a few practiced hand signals to the band.

“This is J.C. Crew, with an original, never-before-recorded single called Without You. The lyrics are very close to my heart. I hope you enjoy listening to it a fraction as much as I enjoyed writing it.”

J.C. Crew?

Luca glanced down at the sheet music she’d handed him before stepping behind the glass. Sure enough, it was titled Without You by J.C. Crew. His wife was J.C. Crew? No wonder his agent friend had been so quick to agree to the audition. She was a rising singer and songwriter on her own merit that had the world of social media buzzing with speculation. Actually, they’d been in a downright tizzy lately, speculating to no end about the reasons behind her extended absence from the stage.

Meaning she’d purposefully willingly sacrificed one of her biggest dreams to come work for Genesis. And him. Incredible!

He couldn’t have been more stunned. His last doubts about the character of the woman he’d married vanished. She was no longer the maddening teenager he’d once known, hellbent on having her own way no matter the consequences. All her efforts to atone for past wrongs and to make things right with his family had been genuine. And had come at a great personal cost.

Luca raised his head from the sheet music, gazing at his bride with new eyes. She was a uniquely talented and capable woman with an impeccable sense of work ethic and unshakable integrity. Lord forgive him, but he hadn’t given her near enough credit until this very moment. He suddenly had no doubt she would land a recording contract this evening.

She signaled the band again, and they played the opening sequence. She nodded and smiled encouragingly at them, swaying to the music and cradling the microphone in both hands as she lifted it to her lips.

It was the same song she’d sung to him the morning after he’d circumvented her attempted flight out of town, except this was the full, uncut version.

He stood riveted as her husky, one-of-a-kind alto swept through him, rich and mesmerizing. It filled the room, surrounding him and sweeping her beneath her magic.

During the bridge sequence, she sashayed her way to the keyboard, still singing. The man who played for her stood and offered her his stool with a flourish. She ran her fingers over the keys in a mini instrumental solo before plunging into the chorus. It was a seamless transition. Not a beat was missed. As it turned out, she played as beautifully as she sang — not only with extraordinary skill and style but also with a soulful quality that left her listeners emotionally moved.

Her prospective agent stopped writing and simply watched her, mouth agape. The DJ and sound crew nodded gleefully, rocking their heads to the beat. Like the agent, they also seemed unable to tear their gazes from her.

Jacey sang directly to them, not looking over their heads and beyond her audience as so many performers do. There was no stage fright in her stance. If anything, she seemed to draw energy from their animated response to her music. She sang of love and loss, freedom and captivity, mistakes and redemption.

At some point between the opening and closing notes, Luca finished falling profoundly and irrevocably in love with his wife.

One of the most prominent booking agents in the industry, Chance Biggers knew his stuff. At the end of Jacey’s audition, he held out his arms. A wide grin stretched his angular features. He tilted his head sideways, tossing his longish waving auburn hair back from his face. “Make me your agent, J.C. Tonight. Right now, please.”

She was ecstatic and required no further urging to sign her first recording contract. Luca was dazzled at the way she handled her victory. Joyous yet professional. She was so animated, so alive, so lovely, so his. He could hardly breathe properly as he watched her take the next steps to launch her musical career.

He tried not to think of the words she’d sung, but it was impossible. They were emblazoned across his soul.

Without you, all I have is unfilled promises. Without you, all I have is half-lived dreams. Without you, I spend all my time remembering. Holding on to every moment I had with you.

Discovering he was in love with his wife came with one serious complication, one he should have seen coming. Despite the many frustrations she’d undoubtedly grappled with in her marriage to his immature youngest brother, she was clearly still in love with him. How on God’s green earth was he supposed to compete with a dead man?

They rode a complimentary shuttle from the studio to their hotel in near silence. She wore a dazed look on her face, and he was nursing an aching heart. She reached for his hand on their short walk across the portico to the front entrance.

“Luca, this is it. Everything I ever dreamed of, and it’s all because of you. I can’t thank you enough for arranging my audition.”

Congratulations to me! His thoughts churned bitterly. I fell in love with you and lost you in the same evening.

“Hey.” She laid her other hand on his arm, stepping closer. “You haven’t strung three straight words together since I signed the contract. Please tell me you understand this is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.”

Ouch! Where did their marriage fit in the picture? Where did he? And their unborn son? Her words put him in an even more rotten mood.

“Congratulations, princesa.” He wished he didn’t sound so clipped, so ironic.

She caught her breath at his tone but didn’t have time to respond before they reached the check-in desk.

Don was waiting for them with their suitcases in hand. “Welcome back, sir. Ma’am. Well?” He arched a brow at them. “How did the audition go?”

“I landed the contract!” Jacey sang out and launched herself at him, drawing him into a short dance. He hugged her back and swung her around once before setting her down. It was an uncharacteristic show of emotion for him.

Apparently, they’d become friends in the past month, a fact that did nothing to improve Luca’s mood.

He hurriedly checked them into their block of rooms and bustled their small party to the elevators. For some reason, he was unable to bear the thought of how many people adored his lovely wife, of how many ways he was losing her. To his brother’s memory. To her ambitions. To her career. To her rapidly growing line of fans.

Once inside their private suite of rooms, she shut the door quietly behind them. “Okay, Luca. Out with it. What’s wrong? I thought you of all people would be happy for me.”

He should have known she wouldn’t let it go. “I am happy for you, mi querida.” He drew a finger down her cheek. “And I’m not the least bit surprised by your success today. I knew you had talent the first time I heard you sing. The rest of it was just details.”

“Details?” She fisted her hands in his shirt. He loved it when she got all possessive like that. It made his heart leap with hope.

“Are you kidding me?” she squealed. “This is everything I ever wanted. One of the biggest reasons I eloped and left town with Easton. This is,” She shook her head, anxiously searching his face. “Rainbows and unicorns and pixie dust. All the things my family said I couldn’t have and would never achieve. Don’t you see? We proved them wrong, sweetheart. You and me. You’re the first person who ever put yourself out there for me. You helped make this happen.”

She had him at sweetheart. Fortunately, she no longer needed perfect makeup. He hauled her closer and slanted his mouth over hers. Drinking in her excitement and euphoria, he tried to be happy for her. Tried not to wonder if she wished she was sharing her victory kisses with the father of her unborn son instead of his oldest brother.

She pulled away breathlessly. “Be right back. I know I’m not showing much yet, but my bladder says there’s less room in there than there was a few weeks ago.”

He grinned. It was the most unromantic thing that had ever tumbled from her lips, but even that was attractive coming from her. It’s about time. She was finally talking about the baby which thrilled him. He pulled out his phone and recorded a hasty message to Don.

Tell Colette to take a couple extra hours of personal time in the morning. You, too. We’re pushing back our departure by two hours. Jacey needs her rest.

And he desperately needed some quality time with his wife this evening.

By the time she returned from the restroom, he had two sparkling waters poured and the curtains thrown back to reveal a starry night.

He handed her one of the fluted glasses. “Cheers, cara.”

She clinked her glass against his. “Cheers, Luca.”

They smiled at each other over the rims of their glasses and drank to tonight’s success.

In no hurry for them to scatter to their separate rooms, he nodded at the gold sofa with its mountain of decorative throw pillows. “Sit with me?”

“Gladly.” She yawned and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Well, that came out of nowhere.” She hastily sat and took another sip of her sparkling water, but he could tell she was finally succumbing to the exhaustion she hadn’t felt until now.

“Hardly. It’s been a long day for both of us.” He could almost visibly see the waves of adrenaline-laced euphoria she’d been riding fade. Taking a knee before her, he slid off her platform heels and was rewarded with her soft sound of pleasure. To his concern, her feet looked a little swollen. That was something he could help out with.

Rising to take a seat beside her, he lifted her feet and propped them across his knees. He lifted the first one and slowly kneaded his thumbs across the underside of her arch.

She tipped her head back against the cushions and sighed. “Keep that up and I might never leave this sofa.”

Having her all to himself like this made his day a hundred times better. Her feet were as lovely as the rest of her — all porcelain perfect, slender, and delicate. Her nails boasted a fresh, glossy pedicure in her favorite siren red. He bent to kiss the tips of her toes.

When he raised his head and ensnared her gaze, she was watching him with flushed cheeks, lips parted. “Luca,” she whispered, setting down her glass on the end table. They reached for each other.

But before Luca could gather her in his arms, her cell phone trilled. It was Chance Biggers. With a startled look, Jacey connected the line. “Hi, there, Chance! Just so you know, I’ve got you on speaker phone. Luca is with me —”

“Guess what, J.C.?” He raised his voice to drown out the rest of her sentence. “I know it’s getting late, but I’ve already secured the release of your first single with an advance that will make you smile all night long. The acquiring company wants to film a music video right away plus — get this — they’re making noise about sending you on your first concert tour next spring. I expect to hear back from them soon with the deets. Wouldn’t be surprised if they call back in the morning.”

She gripped the phone, grinning like a loon across the couch at him. “That’s fantastic!” Her smile dimmed a little at his cautious expression. He knew he was being a stick in the mud and fought to muster up a smile for her.

“I know, right?” Chance chortled.

Something about the fast-talking little bugger rubbed him the wrong way. He leaned closer to the mouthpiece. “Luca Calcagni here. Glad to hear about the release of my wife’s first single, but she’s approaching her second trimester. I’m not so sure a concert tour is the best idea for a woman in her condition.”

Jacey’s fingernails bit into his arm. “What are you doing?” she whisper-screamed in alarm.

“She’s pregnant?” the man shouted. “Okay. Ah, sorry. I mean congratulations, of course, Holy moly, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I’ll certainly keep it in mind while scheduling her debut tour. It probably won’t happen before next summer, anyway. These things take time to plan and promote. I’m just so excited about her I’m jumping the gun here.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “About that music video, though, we’ll have to get real creative with the lighting and poses to hide the pregnancy. Unless, hmm. Let me think about it, okay? I’ll get back with you.”

When Chance abruptly ended the call, Jacey rounded on him, tight-lipped and stony-eyed. “Next time I give you the courtesy of putting you on speaker phone, your role is to listen. Although I appreciate the sentiment behind your concerns, this is my career. I’ll handle it from here.”

A strained silence settled between them, but he wasn’t near finished interfering with her fledgling career. Not even close. They debated it long and hard the next several days. In the end, she agreed to shoot her first music video on his estate for health purposes. Chance balked loudly at first, grumbling over the added expense of traveling to Anchorage, but he was ultimately satisfied with the results.

He could hardly stay in his seat during the pre-showing of the recording in their home theater. “We’re going platinum, baby,” he announced gleefully. “Mark my words. Without You is going to rock the charts.” He leaned across the armrest to kiss Jacey’s cheek.

Luca shot him a warning look, and he settled back in his seat, a speculative expression riding his narrow features.

But Chance was point on. Without You left the gates at a full sprint and stayed number one on the pop charts for weeks.

The royalties poured into Jacey’s accounts like a flood, and Luca’s hopes of making her fall in love with him plummeted. The biggest things their marriage had offered her and her unborn son — a home and financial security — she no longer needed. She could provide everything they needed for herself now.

His fear of losing her before he had a chance to win her heart increased exponentially.