When two whole days passed without Jacey responding to the photos of Race’s first smile, Luca’s gut twisted with worry. Something was wrong.

What if she was enjoying her time on the road so much that coming home would be a letdown? There were no adoring crowds waiting for her in his mansion. No flashing stage lights. No screaming fans. Only him and Race. And Don, Merl, Colette, and Britt. They all missed her, but she was a free spirit and only twenty-five. She hadn’t planned the pregnancy. On the concert tour, she was free of all the responsibilities that came with being a mother. And wife, a role he’d rather pridefully manipulated her into.

He’d been a fool to think he could sway her heart with pictures of Race. She was already head over heels in love with her son. What he should have been doing was planning something extra special from yours truly for her birthday in a week. As of yet, he’d made no plans.

Don drove him home from work, jogging around the front of the car to open the door of his limousine.

“Was she happy when you last saw her?” Luca snarled without thinking. He leaped from the car and faced his driver, fist clenched around the handle of his briefcase

His driver shot him a shuttered look. “As far as I know.”

“You’ll have to do better than that to convince me. You were the one flying her to and from Nashville. You witnessed her moods every morning and every afternoon for an entire month.”

“Guess I was hoping you wouldn’t ask, sir.”

What? Luca glared at his friend. “What’s that supposed to mean?” If the man had something he needed to say, what in the world was holding him back?

“It’s none of my business, sir.”

“I made it your business when I assigned you to be her pilot. What are you not telling me?”

“This, sir.” His movements sluggish with reluctance, his right-hand man punched a few buttons on his phone and held it up.

Luca’s lungs constricted as he recognized his wife in the snapshot as well as the building’s sign in the background. It was an exclusive club for the wealthiest patrons in Nashville. What could she possibly be doing alone at such an upscale dining and dancing establishment other than meeting someone? It was the only logical explanation, that and the fact this was the first time he was hearing about it.

No. All feeling left his chest. His lips moved mechanically. “Did she go inside, Don?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir.”

“More than once?”

“Once per week at the same time like clockwork.”

“And you didn’t think to mention this before?”

“I didn’t know what to do, sir. I know what it looks like, but it doesn’t add up. She’s in love with you.”

Right. If only. But the lie was staring them in the face.

Don sighed and pocketed his phone.

Jacey had cuckolded them both.

“Thank you, Don. That will be all for the evening.” Luca strode blindly into his home, for once bypassing the nursery. He went straight to his office and slammed the door. It took him several eternal minutes to compose himself enough to dial his wife.

She answered with a laugh in her voice. “Hi, Luca!”

He closed his eyes against the pain. My beautiful traitorous wife.

There was a chatter of voices and a pounding burst of drums in the background. “Is everything okay with Race?”

Her subterfuge knew no boundaries. Pretending concern when she couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge the pictures of his first smile. “Race is fine. Didn’t you receive my pictures?”

Some of the laughter ebbed from her voice. “I did. They were amazing. I’m sorry I haven’t texted you back yet.” She drew a long, shuddery sounding breath. “It was just hard seeing —” A shout of laughter rose from the background. “I’m so sorry to cut this short, Luca, but I have to go. I’ll call back in a few hours if that’s okay? We’re about to start our next rehearsal.”

“J.C., darlin’!” a man called. “I need you over here.”

Luca’s blood boiled. J.C. was his darling, thank you very much. “Do I have any choice?” he groused.

“Not really.” Her chuckle held an apologetic, almost breakable note.

He hated himself for the way it wrenched through his chest. She didn’t deserve his sympathy.

“I’ll catch you later.”

He doubted she would call back, and he was right. She texted a brief apology instead.

It was the last slap. He dialed the hotel she’d be staying the upcoming weekend to secure a room for himself. If his wife thought she was going to be left to party and do God-knows-what with her secret crush on the night of her own birthday, she had a big ugly surprise in store. Him. She was going to spend her birthday with him whether she liked it or not. If she didn’t like it, she could come clean and demand a divorce like an honest woman. As his brother’s widow, she at least owed him that.

Ironically, the bridal suite was the only reservation left, and it wasn’t cheap. He reserved the two adjoining rooms as well. Don would stay in one, and Britt and Race would stay in the other.

He flew his family entourage to Houston without spilling one word of their plans to Jacey. They didn’t make it in time for the concert, but Chance managed to secure tickets for him and Don to attend her exclusive late-night celebration afterwards. The party was in full roar when he arrived, but Jacey wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Puzzled, he asked around but only received a few shrugs. “She never stays long,” one band member noted with a grimace. “I hear she just had a baby or something and isn’t feeling too well.”

Or a secret lover. Luca’s heartbeat pounded up his throat and trembled across his tongue. He summoned Don, and they roared away from the party in their rented limo, arriving in record speed at the gated section of the convention center’s parking lot where Jacey’s tour bus was parked.

Don flashed his security pass, and the gate guard let them through. Luca didn’t bother to ask where he’d secured the pass. He didn’t care. All that mattered was reaching and confronting Jacey.

It took several minutes of knocking before she cracked open the door of her tour bus. The deadbolt was still in place.

“Luca?” Her voice rose to an incredulous trill of surprise.

“Happy birthday, princesa,” he announced coldly. “May I come in?”

“Of course!” Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the bolt.

He leaned closer, craning for any sound of movement in the room behind her, any sign of another visitor’s presence besides him. Silence greeted him as she stood in the doorway, pale-faced with shock.

It appeared she was alone.

He and Don exchanged a dark glance. Don looked away first. “I’ll wait for you in the car, sir.” He strode away, hands jammed in his pockets.

Luca entered his wife’s home away from home, and one thing was immediately apparent. The paparazzi photos had lied. Jacey was a crumpled version of her stage self. Barefoot and wearing black yoga pants with a red tank top that accentuated her paleness. Her hair was tousled as if he’d awakened her from a nap, and there were shadows under her eyes.

Luca kicked the door shut behind him. “What’s going on? Are you sick?” All her baby weight was gone. Her figure was as thin as ever. Too thin.

Anger tightened her features. “Well, hello to you, too. I was trying to sleep. How’s Race?”

“In the hotel I reserved for us this weekend. I wanted to surprise you at the back-stage celebration, but you weren’t there.”

She made a sound that was a half-scream, half-sob. “Race is here? In town? How far away?” She reached for him, fingernails sinking into his arms.

He glanced down in surprise at the vehemence of her grip, and she withdrew her hands. “I’m sorry.” She left him to snatch on her shoes and run her fingers through her hair. “I’m ready. Please take me to him.”

Luca’s doubts about Jacey turned to puzzled speculation when they arrived at the hotel. Britt entered the room with the sleeping Race in her arms. His wife blindly reached for her son.

“Race.” She kissed his downy head like she was never going to stop. Tears streaked her cheeks and dripped all over his face. It was a long while before she acknowledged their nanny. “Hi, Britt,” she said coolly.

“Hello, ma’am.” With a startled look, Britt quietly tiptoed back to her room and shut the door.

Race puckered his lips and made a sound of protest.

“Oh no, sweetheart. Please don’t cry. Mommy is so happy to see you. I’m just a little overwhelmed; that’s all.” She kissed his cheeks and fingers and toes and belly until he crowed with pleasure.

She held him and crooned over him until he fell asleep against her shoulder. “Luca,” she murmured, lifting her gaze to his in wonder. “How can I ever thank you? This is the best birthday present ever.”

Her color was back, eyes sparkling across the room at him. He stood at the bar, pouring two glasses of white sparkling grape juice while he studied her.

“We need to talk.” He lifted a glass to her. “If you’d like, Britt can give you a break and put Race down for the night.”

She flushed slightly and her lips trembled but she nodded. She was nervous. Good. It was past time for their confrontation.

He paged Britt, and she rushed in the room to stand expectantly before his wife.

“Thank you, Britt,” Jacey said firmly. “For everything you’ve done in my absence.” Her voice held a curious note of warning. “You’ve obviously taken good care of him.”

Their nanny’s wide, friendly face twisted in apprehension. “My pleasure, ma’am.” Her Dutch accent added charm to the simple words. She hastily tossed a hank of golden blonde hair behind her shoulder. “I think he’s out for the night. If you’d like, I’ll tuck him in.”

Only when Jacey nodded did she reach for Race.

When they were alone again, Luca handed Jacey the glass of bubbling grape juice he’d poured. “She’s an excellent nanny. We are fortunate to have found her.”

She raised her glass and drained it before responding. “Are we speaking of Race’s needs or yours?”

You’ve got to be kidding! His fist tightened around the stem of his glass, knuckles turning white. “Why? Are you accusing me of something, Mrs. Calcagni?”

“Should I be, Mr. Calcagni? I presume someone besides you took the picture of Race sleeping on your bare chest.”

He slammed his glass down on the bar, shattering the stem, and strode to stand before her. “I can’t believe what you’re implying! You know as well as I do there are security cameras embedded all over the nursery. You may examine them for yourself when you come home. If you ever plan on returning.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Her chin came up.

“That’s an interesting question coming from a woman who made more than ten trips to one of the most exclusive dinner and dancing clubs in Nashville. Alone.”

She slammed her own glass down on the nightstand. “Are you accusing me of something, Mr. Calcagni?” She mimicked his tone, lips twisted bitterly.

Two could dance with words. “Should I be, Mrs. Calcagni?”

She turned from him and bent to scribble something on a notepad on his nightstand. Ripping the page from its pad, she stabbed the air with it as she held it out to him. “I was filming an exclusive piece of footage with the Rodeo Girls and their band. You can either call and ask them what exactly we were doing, or you can wait until Christmas like a good boy and open your gift then.”

Desperate hope warred with his anger. He was probably the world’s worst fool for wanting to believe such a lame story, but he couldn’t resist Jacey’s challenge. Ignoring the paper she held out to him, he reached for her and covered her mouth in a punishing kiss.

A strangled sound escaped her, but all she did was fist a hand in his hair and pull him closer. There was a desperateness to her touch, a bite to her kiss. And for the life of him, he was powerless to resist her.

He wanted to weep with the relief of discovering his wife had missed him. She was holding him and kissing him like she was never going to let him go. Though they were many hundreds of miles from Anchorage, he experienced a sudden sense of coming home.