A Scent of Seduction by Mary Campisi

Author:Mary Campisi
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-12-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“Holt!” Julia ran across the room and into her brother’s arms. “I’ve missed you.”

He held her close and said, “And I’ve missed you. Actually, it’s almost boring without you. There’s no one running around the house, screaming and yelling, getting into mischief.” He hugged her tighter. “I take that back. The children have done a rather nice job filling in for you.”

Julia laughed. “How are my little darlings?”

“Excellent and getting bigger every day.” He released her but kept hold of her hands. “Let me have a look at you.” His smile deepened as he studied her through navy eyes the color of an evening sky. She still thought him the most handsome man she’d ever met—handsome and exasperating. The last time they’d argued, he’d insisted she stay with him and Sophie. Of course, she hadn’t listened.

“Are you happy here, Julia?”

How to answer that? “As happy as a woman can be under these circumstances.” She took a seat and poured herself a cup of tea. Next came two lumps of sugar and a drop of cream. As she stirred the hot brew, she studied the swirling designs the spoon made as the cream blended into the tea. Blended and disappeared, leaving only a trace behind, just like her husband, who’d worked his way into her heart, marked her forever, and then disappeared. “Living as a married woman without a husband is not a situation I ever considered,” she said.

“You could be a married woman, living with a husband you detest,” Holt offered.

Julia smiled at her brother over the rim of her cup. Dear Holt. Situations of the heart always made him uncomfortable. “Yes, well, there is that to be thankful for.”

“Speaking of that situation, there is something I wish to discuss with you.”

Her hand jerked and a small spot of tea sloshed onto her lilac gown. “What situation?” Holt was going to discuss Jon with her?

“I’m concerned Jon might try to return to Glenview Manor.”

“Ridiculous.” He would never return. He’d made his choice and it hadn’t been her.

“I have reason to believe he might try,” Holt said. “For a time, anyway.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Julia said through clenched teeth.

“He sent me a letter, telling me he would like to see you again,” Holt said, his eyes trained on her.

“He did?” She swallowed hard. He wanted to see her again? “Well, does he plan to come alone or would he be bringing Desiree and Monique too?”

Holt coughed and sputtered, “What do you know of Desiree and Monique?”

“They’re his mistresses.” She waved a hand in the air, as though it were of no consequence to her. Inside she seethed, furious with Jon for being such a worthless scoundrel and with herself for the tears she’d wasted over him.

“They’ll be available, I’m sure.”

When he tires of his wife. Damn the man. Did he think he could walk back into her life without so much as an apology or an explanation, and she would accept him with open arms and a smile? Well, he could think again.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.