Second-Time Bride (HQR Presents) by Lynne Graham

Author:Lynne Graham [Graham, Lynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Mother, Sensual Story Theme, Hearts Desire, Lifetime Love, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Romantic Schemes, Beautiful & Feisty, Love-Family & Forever, Small Town & Rural Area, Action & Adventure, Whirlwind Romance & Marriage, Family & Domestic Life-Young Teenager-Daughter, Marriage 0f Convenience, Multicultural & International, Foreign Country, Italian Nationality & Heritage, Reissued Editon
Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Published: 2020-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

DAISY was stunned by the sheer challenging cool of that brazen assurance. ‘You know that I won’t agree to that,’ she stated tightly.

Alessio elevated a winged ebony brow. ‘No?’

‘No. Sharing a bedroom or a bed is out of the question. And I’d like you to leave so that I can get dressed,’ Daisy informed him in speedy conclusion.

‘Daisy—’

‘There’s the door. Use it,’ Daisy advised, tilting her chin. “This is not the average marriage. I was forced into it against my better judgement.’

‘But whichever way you look at it we’re still married. And without the passion this marriage hasn’t got a hope in hell. In fact right now it’s the only damned thing we’ve got going for us,’ Alessio returned very drily. ‘So why would you try to deny us that one positive element?’

Unprepared for that raw candour, Daisy lost every scrap of her animation and colour. In demanding a room of her own, she had only been trying to protect herself. She was terrified of putting herself in a position where Alessio could hurt her again. And she could not imagine making love with Alessio without an awful lot of vulnerable feelings becoming involved and putting her at risk.

‘I will not allow you to sabotage this marriage before it even gets a fighting chance,’ Alessio asserted with stark impatience. ‘Just for once in your life you are going to stand your ground and make a real effort.’

Daisy snatched in a shaky breath. ‘You have no right to speak to me like that.’

His starkly handsome features were set concrete-hard. Icy eyes held hers with an innate force of will. ‘It was a warning. No matter how bad things get, you are staying this time. We have Tara to think about now—’

‘Yes… but—’

‘And it was a miracle that I didn’t drop dead with shock when you attacked me last week!’ Alessio continued with raw emphasis, his lip curling at the memory. ‘It took you thirteen years to work up the courage to tell me why you walked out and you slung it all at me as if you were telling me things I already knew!’

Daisy stiffened. ‘I—’

‘But not one word did you say to me at the time!’ Blazing golden eyes raked over her small, still figure. His wide mouth clenched hard, fierce tension splintering from every taut angle of his lean, poised length.

‘So, believe it or not, the divorce hit me very hard! I wasn’t prepared for it and I certainly didn’t see it coming. I loved you and I genuinely believed that you loved me… and then I found out different, didn’t I, Daisy?’

That devastatingly candid admission hung there, quivering in the rushing silence.

Daisy was frozen to the spot, plunged at shattering speed into emotional turmoil. Even that day at the bank, she had not considered the staggering idea that Alessio might not have wanted the divorce. ‘You’re just saying that now to make me feel bad,’ she censured him in a faltering undertone. ‘You’re lying.’

Alessio strode forward. ‘Dio, I—’

Pale and taut, Daisy whirled away from him.

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