The Reluctant Wife by Bronwen Evans

Author:Bronwen Evans [Evans, Bronwen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Indulgence)
Published: 2012-12-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Dante inwardly cursed. He should have stayed at work this afternoon, but all week, since Mrs. Taylor had been released from the hospital and Abby had come home, he’d been on edge. His body was a mass of raw, pounding testosterone.

The deal with Zanetti was progressing well, but Dante’s takeover target had asked to meet Abby, his long-absent wife. No doubt Zanetti would be suspicious of Abby’s sudden return just when the deal hinged on selling the Zanetti empire to a man with the right values. Rumors were rife about Abby’s sudden reappearance in Dante’s life. Everyone knew she’d applied to the Italian courts for a divorce. No doubt Zanetti wished to see for himself if their reunion was legitimate or simply a means to win his company.

Dante agreed that he and Abby would join the deeply religious man’s family for dinner that evening. Abby was of course nervous. She knew this was a farce and she’d already told him she wasn’t a skilled actress. The fact he wasn’t yet invited to permanently share her bed didn’t help the situation. They were both on edge.

Seeing Abby in his house every day, taking up the reins as mistress of the house, his wife, yet not able to have her in his bed, was slowly driving him insane. Never a patient man, his body recognized the urgency to procreate. He knew the driving restlessness was because his next batch of monthly tests was scheduled for next week, and he had a terrible feeling the news would not be good.

It wasn’t only that. Gripped by an unrefined, primitive hunger, he was forced to confront an inescapable truth—he not only desired his wife, but his defunct heart beat faster, felt lighter, whenever she was near. She’d brought joy back into his life. He hadn’t smiled at a joke or felt light-headed from a woman’s fragrance and simple touch for what felt like forever. If he understood love he might just think this was it.

He wished it wasn’t so. He purposely kept away from her, trying to deny and destroy those tender feelings. Sighing, he wished for a lot of things. He wished… He didn’t want to face what he wished for. He was a realist.

He wanted the deal with Zanetti, needed it. If something happened to him, with the merging of the two companies, the Lombardi empire would be untouchable. He’d have protected all his family and his employees, while ensuring his father’s legacy. With an angry tug, he loosened his tie and pulled it from his neck, walking through the house like an exhausted man who thought he had crossed the finish line of the marathon, only to learn he still had one more lap of the circuit to run. He felt defeated and for once he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

Was misleading Abby, forcing a child on a woman who, if she had a choice, would not be here in his house, let alone in his bed, the

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