Twice Tempted (Holland Springs) by Valentine Marquita

Author:Valentine, Marquita [Valentine, Marquita]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Contemporary, north carolina, small town, Romance, las vegas, contemporary romance
Publisher: Marquita Valentine
Published: 2012-07-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Christian strode inside just as Zoe walked out of the bathroom. She was wearing one of his robes and her hair was freshly washed. They met in the middle of the room, staring at one another until her cheeks flushed.

“Hi,” she said softly.

He cleared his throat. “I can’t go home with you tomorrow.”

Her brow wrinkled, then smoothed. “You want me to come home with you instead, like before?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay… I understand.”

“No you don’t, love. I have a prior commitment to make a documentary. It’s in a country that’s not very hospitable to foreign women, especially American ones.”

“But it’s okay for you?” Concern shined in her eyes.

“Yes.” Taking her hand in his, he rubbed the makeshift wedding band on her finger. “Anyway, to show you how much I’d rather be with you and that I’m coming home after two weeks,” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small box, “I want you to have this.”

Flicking it open with his thumb, he waited for her reaction, but there was none. Not one gasp or sigh or ‘Good Lord’ from her. Nothing.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them.

Finally she said, “It’s beautiful.”

He wanted to ask her what was wrong. Instead he let go of her hand long enough to free the ring. “Take off that one.”

She shook her head. “No, this is the ring we got married with. I don’t need a fancier one.”

“But this will fit better and it’s a family heirloom—my grandmother’s, actually,” he said, thinking the reason for the silence must have been because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by being excited. Zoe had such a soft heart, and he intended for her to stay that way. There was no way in hell he was exposing her to the Hollywood lifestyle. Or his family. The ocean between them wasn’t far enough away from his wife.

“Slide it on and the other will stay put,” she conceded.

“You are one stubborn woman, but I appreciate you not wanting to hurt my feelings.”

The rings flashed in the filtered sunlight and a memory bubbled to the surface, catching him off guard with its inconveniently timed clarity.

“How do I know you’ll actually show up?” Amber teased between good-bye kisses.

He slid the one of the two platinum rings he always wore off and onto her finger. “I’ll want this back tomorrow.” He glanced down. The ring seemed to glow. “Your hand looks lovely adorned like this. Or rather the ring is a lovely adornment for the hand. It’ll be the only way I’ll know it’s you without the mask.”

Dammit.

He had to get this ring off of Zoe’s finger. He wanted nothing of Amber tainting what he had with Zoe. He reached for her hand, but she forestalled him with a hug and leaned back in his embrace.

“Men—stroke your egos and y’all fall at our feet,” she said, winking at him.

He lowered his mouth to hers. “At the very least I should get a thank you kiss.”

“While I should get a wedding night.” She nibbled on his bottom lip.

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