Page 45 of Magnus
The man she now knew without a doubt that she had fallen deeply in love with.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“The two ofthem obviously adore you as much as you do them,” Fergus told Magnus as the brothers cleared away the breakfast things and loaded the dishwasher while Sapphie and Angel went to their bedroom to shower and dress. Angus had trotted after them, the lack of pancakes obviously forgiven. Linus had left to go back to his tech-mancave the moment all the pancakes had been eaten.
Magnus didn’t need to ask who his twin meant by “them.” “What makes you say that?”
His twin snorted. “I think the clincher for Angel was bringing the spider to her, which…kudos to you, brother. I’m not sure I could have done what you did.” He shuddered, just as averse to arachnids as Magnus. “As for Sapphie… I have no idea what magic you perform in the bedroom, Mag, nor do I want to know. But whatever it is, it’s obviously working. She looks at you as if you can do no wrong.”
While that pleased Magnus immensely, they still had the problem of the Carluccis to deal with before he dared ask Sapphie to marry him a second time. Because no matter how she felt about him, he knew she would never do anything that might put Angel in danger of being taken by her grandparents. Which meant?—
“One of us needs to talk to the Carluccis,” Fergus bit out.
Magnus didn’t ask his twin how he’d known what he was thinking. There had been a bond between the two of them since birth, and while they weren’t always attuned to each other’s thoughts and feelings, it happened often enough for it to be more than coincidence.
“I’ll go to see them for you if you don’t want to leave Sapphie and Angel,” Fergus offered.
No way was Magnus leaving Sapphie and Angel. Not ever again if he had his way. “It isn’t your problem.”
“The two of them became family the moment you claimed them as your own. You have claimed them, haven’t you?” Fergus raised a questioning brow.
“In my mind, yes,” Magnus acknowledged. “I’m still working on getting Sapphie to accept it as fact.”
“Good enough.” Fergus nodded. “When I get to the office, I’ll organize taking the company jet to Washington later today?—”
“Why are you going to Washington?”
Both men turned to see a fully dressed Sapphie standing in the open doorway of the kitchen.
“Where’s Angel?” Magnus immediately prompted.
“She’s in the bedroom playing with Angus and Henry,” she answered dismissively, her cheeks deathly pale, her violet-colored eyes accusing. “Why is Fergus flying to Washington?” she repeated rather than waiting for either man to answer her.
“We think someone needs to talk to the Carluccis,” Magnus explained in a calm voice.
She stiffened. “Why?”
“To find out if their intentions are still the same.”
“To find out—” Her glare included both men as she strode furiously into the room, twin spots of angry color in her cheeks. “Theirintentionhas always been to take Angel from me the moment they know where we are. Something a visit from Fergus is going to reveal.”
Magnus took a step toward her. “Sapphie?—”
“Don’t you ‘Sapphie’ me in that patronizing tone!” she snapped accusingly, halting Magnus in his tracks. “I trusted you.” Her voice broke with emotion. “Itrustedyou,” she repeated fiercely. “Not just with me but with Angel too.” She gave a shake of her head. “Obviously, that trust was misplaced, because your intentions now show you can’tbetrusted?—”
“Stop now, before you say something that can’t be taken back,” Magnus warned. He reached out to grasp the tops of her arms when she clamped her lips together. “Think, Sapphie,” he encouraged. “If it turns out the Carluccis are no longer looking for the two of you or still want to take Angel from you, then you might be able to come to some sort of compromise with them. Then you can live a normal life rather than constantly running.”
Sapphie wrenchedout of his grasp, uncaring if it left bruises on her arms. Outwardly, she was still furious, inwardly too, but mixed in with that inner anger was an even stronger feeling of betrayal.
Magnus’s betrayal.
She didn’t care why he wanted to do this. His reasons didn’t matter, not when he also knew she wouldn’t want to stir up the hornet’s nest that was the Carluccis’ desire to take Angel from her.
“I trusted you,” she repeated emotionally, feeling the sting of tears gathering in her eyes as her dream of sharing a life with this man crumbled into dust.
He was as bad as Marco. No, he was worse. Because apart from a few weeks when they were first married, Marco had never pretended to be anything other than what he was. Which was a spoiled man-whore who, despite having a wife and then a child, couldn’t keep his dick in his trousers.
Sapphie’s disappointment in Magnus was even deeper than her anger, the heavy weight of the pain of his betrayal threatening to crush her.
