Page 4 of Cayden

“Don’t just do it because you need something from the Lord!”

“I miss the congregation and the warmth of the people there. Being Cayden’s wife is hectic and time consuming, but I need to make the effort.”

“Good.” He patted her hand. “Honey, I want to warn you about keeping things from your husband. It is starting a very dangerous precedent.”

“I have to do what I must.”

*****

“To another round of success.” Alberto lifted his glass of Caruso Sauvignon in a toast as the family sat around the huge living room of the villa. A fire was blazing in the large heart, giving the rose pink and gold room a distinctive glow.

“Your statements to the press was spot on Clive,” he nodded approval to his second son, who received it with a grateful smile. Compliments did not come easily from the senior Caruso.

“Darling, you were right.” Marianne Caruso turned her emerald, green eyes on her eldest son who was slouched on a comfortable leather sofa near the fire.

“I know,” he flashed her a smile, one that was expected. “About what precisely?”

“About combining the campaign with a charitable ball. The press ate it up and the public are clamoring to place orders.”

“It’s what I do.” He lifted his glass in a toast. Cayden was the only one of her children who had inherited her green eyes, and he was secretly her favorite. She was also finely attuned to his moods and could see that the smile did not quite reach his remarkable eyes.

She knew that bringing up the subject of what was bothering him would be off limits, but decided that a little later on, she would have a frank discussion with him. Blair leaving so abruptly had sparked all kinds of rumors.

The girl had married into the family and even though she had not been suitable, they had bowed to Cayden’s desire to make her his wife. But the marriage was crumbling, and it was obvious to everyone.

“Have you heard from your wife?” Alberto asked abruptly, eyeing his son.

“She arrived back home safely.”

“And you just let her go?”

Cayden’s thick dark brows lifted, his displeasure at the perfectly obvious subject. “Should I have tied her to the bedpost?”

His father’s frown deepened, gray eyes glinting. “I expected you to demand that she stays for the duration. You are the bloody face of the company as well as the heir. She is supposed to be standing by your side.”

“She wanted to go home, and I had no intention of trying to stop her.”

“In my opinion, you have given her too much leeway.”

“Darling…”

“No, Mother!” Cayden held up a hand as the room became silent. His two brothers looked as if they would rather be anywhere else but in the room. “Why don’t we have this out for the last time.

You never approved of the marriage and still think of Blair as an outsider. She is smart and sensitive enough to figure that out for herself. She has blood running through her veins, and it bothers her that she is not accepted, even after all these years.”

“We are not the one running around with different women,” his father shot at him.

Tossing back the drink, Cayden slammed the glass down on the priceless Louis IV table and rose. He had inherited his father’s lofty height and cut quite an impressive physique.

All three boys had inherited the six-foot two muscular frame and black hair that was part of their Italian legacy. But Cayden was the most handsome of the three and most volatile in temper.

“I will not sit here and listen to this nonsense. I hear enough of it from my bloody wife. What I do is of no concern to anyone else.”

His father rose, his expression thunderous. “Whatever you do affects the family, so damn well think again. Where in the hell are you going?”

“To my suite!” He tossed them a look over one broad shoulder as he headed for the arched doorway. “I am tired and need to get some sleep.”

“Let him go,” Marianne waved a hand at her husband wearily, “just leave him be.”

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