Page 91 of Married With Malice

She hasn’t moved an inch by the time I’m out of the shower. Her breathing is deep and even. My chest aches with unspeakable tenderness as I tuck the blankets around her soft body.

After prowling around the place in silence, I find a folded tower of blankets in the closet and wearily set up camp on the sofa.

She begged to be alone tonight. I have no right to sleep beside her.

19

ANNALISA

The so-called ‘Serenity Package’ doesn’t deliver on its promises at all.

According to the spa brochure, choosing the top tier bundle of spa treatments is guaranteed to deliver ‘a renaissance of rejuvenation’.

So far, the renaissance hasn’t happened. The rejuvenation has been out of reach.

On the contrary, I’ve discovered that being swathed in fragrant red clay and wrapped in a full body cocoon with only earthy pipe music for company has given my brain far too much time to launch a full scale mutiny.

In the cold light of day, I’m mortified.

In a moment of weakness, I confessed every detail of the intense emotional turbulence I’ve been keeping to myself for months.

Now Luca knows everything. He’s aware that I sit around hoping and wishing he’d look my way and hold my hand and eagerly wait for me to speak.

I want to throw up when I remember the words that came tumbling out of my stupid mouth. Then I didn’t even have the dignity to face his response. I ran into the bathroom and cried like a lovesick teenager.

One tiny comfort is that Luca didn’t laugh or bang on the door to taunt me. He was merciful enough to leave me alone.

Later, I was under the covers with the lights off when he finally returned. He sank down on the corner of the bed with a heavy sigh and whispered my name. The smell of alcohol and the pine-spiced air of the outdoors came with him.

I didn’t answer, didn’t even move, unable to deal with him without bursting into ridiculous tears all over again. The mattress bounced as he left and seconds later I heard the blast of the shower. I fell asleep before he emerged and when I awoke, his side of the bed was cold.

I understand why Luca slept on the shallow sofa in the attached sitting room. He didn’t want to give me false hope.

Still, the fact that he’d rather not sleep beside me stings a lot.

This morning my bones felt creaky and I suffered from an unpleasant sensation of being bruised from the inside out. Somewhere there must be a study examining the way heartbreak is hazardous to your health. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and this doesn’t help.

What is it with me and this holiday?

It’s now my curse to get dumped just in time to ring in the new year.

Although I suppose ‘dumped’ is the wrong word to use in this case. Luca hasn’t broken up with me in a coffee shop. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t love being in a marriage he was forced into. Now he’s free to gloat over just how wretched I am.

No, this isn’t fair.

Luca won’t be gloating at all.

There are things worse than gloating. When I dared to peek at his face, he was positively stricken.

This situation had never occurred to him, that his contract wife would develop…feelings.

Now he’s stuck dealing with the icky fallout.

Despite all my misgivings over the years when it comes to Luca Connelly, I’ve learned he’s not really spiteful at heart. He assumed that I could control myself.

Well, guess what? So did I.

Both of us were wrong.

---