Tony was surprised by Kate’s unexpected gesture of comfort. It took him a while to recover and wrap his arms around Kate. They stayed in each other’s embrace for nearly two minutes before Kate stepped away from him.
“Thank you for that,” Tony said softly.
Kate smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”
“Have you had dinner?” Tony asked her.
“No,” Kate responded. “I was waiting for you.”
Tony smiled and said, “Give me a few minutes to change my clothes, and then we’ll go downstairs for dinner.”
“Can we eat here instead?” Kate asked. “The dining room is so huge and we look kind of silly, just the two of us eating on that incredibly long table. How about we have a cozy dinner up here for a change?”
“That’s fine with me,” said Tony. He turned to leave, but Kate’s next question stopped him in his tracks.
“Did you mean what you said to Athena?” She asked him quietly. “You know, what you said about me making you happy.”
Tony faced her
Tony’s panicked voice startled Kate. She woke up suddenly and turned her head to the side, just as the intruder’s dagger sank into her pillow.Kate screamed and rolled away, but her attacker jumped on the bed and went after her. She couldn’t see who it was because the room was dark, but she knew it was a man. He was dressed in all black with a black ski mask hiding his face.“Die, you stupid bitch!” The man growled as he reached for Kate’s neck.Tony ran forward and dove onto the bed. He landed on the intruder’s back and locked him in a chokehold.“Let her go!” He shouted at the intruder.Despite Tony’s strong grip on the intruder, the man wouldn’t let go of Kate. She was busy wrestling with the man in an attempt to break free from him.With all of his strength, Tony reared backward, taking the intruder with him. Kate finally broke free as Tony and her attacker landed on the f
“The police are on their way,” Tony announced as he came to join her in the living room. “I took an extra precaution by binding Bryan’s arms with a pillowcase. If he wakes up before the police get here, he won’t be able to get up.”“Who is he?” Kate asked Tony.“Bryan? He’s one of our oldest staff,” Tony explained. “Agnes hired him specifically because of his exceptional culinary skills. One of her favorite dishes was oxtail stew, and no one else made it like Bryan did. That’s one of his specialties.”“I see…” said Kate. “So, he was going to carve up my head tonight and make stew out of it for Agnes’ spirit?”“I am deeply sorry about this,” Tony apologized. “I’ll fire all the staff in the morning. I can’t trust any of them after this incident.”“Thirteen people shouldn’t los
Tony succeeded in getting through the three hours of lying down beside Kate and not jumping her bones. The last time he was this attracted to a woman was many years ago, on the same evening he met Agnes.The sun was already rising in the sky and Kate was still asleep. Tony wondered if he should leave now or wait for her to wake up.She was sleeping on her right side, facing him. He studied her peaceful face, admiring those perfectly curved eyebrows. Her full eyelashes spread out above her cheek like a curved hand fan.Her nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled deeply in her sleep. Tony’s eyes traveled down to her lips. Hmm… would he ever get to kiss them?Kate’s eyes fluttered open and they met Tony’s. He became a bit embarrassed to be caught staring, so he smiled and quickly started to get up.“Good morning,” Kate said sleepily and yawned.“Good morning,” said Tony. “I only just woke u
Fredrick greeted them warmly at the front door and ushered them into a silver Bentley that was waiting in front of the mansion.“He’s not getting fired, is he?” Kate asked Tony softly in the backseat. She didn’t want the driver to overhear her.“I don’t want to,” Tony admitted. “He’s practically a member of my family. He has been here since my children were little.”“Do you trust him?” Kate asked Tony.“More than I trust the others,” he answered.Kate nodded and relaxed in her seat. That was that then. Fredrick would not lose his job. She couldn’t have that on her conscience too.They drove up to Willowbrook where one of Tony’s restaurants was located. When they arrived, the head waiter showed up promptly to take them to their table in a secluded VIP section. It was curtained off and unavailable to anyone else as long as Tony and Kate were there.
“Oh, shoot!” Kate muttered irritably.She had stubbed her toe against the metal leg of the serving table where she was passing out food to recipients of the ongoing outreach program organized by her church. Even her thick boot couldn’t protect her from the stinging pain of that unexpected collision.Kate had tried so hard to remain focused all day but her troubled mind kept getting in the way. Now, she had a throbbing toe to remind her to get her head back in the game and stop drifting off mentally.Kate scanned the crowd of volunteers going about their tasks to see if she would spot a familiar blond hair with a faded undercut among them, but she didn’t. Her heart sank with disappointment. Where on earth was Kevin?“Do you need some help here?” A rich male voice asked near Kate, bringing her back to the moment.She looked at the man who had spoken and found herself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes belonging to a good-looking male specimen from another generation. The man was dre
“What did you just say?” Kevin asked in a stage whisper.He looked like a deer caught in headlight with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Kate hadn’t expected him to jump for joy after revealing her pregnancy to him, but she hadn’t expected this sort of dramatic reaction either.“You heard me, Kevin. I said I’m pregnant,” she announced firmly.“You can’t be!” Kevin snapped, having recovered from his initial shock.“We used protection every time,” he continued heatedly. “How on earth did you get pregnant?”“The condom broke the last time, remember?” Kate lashed out at him.Kevin ran his long fingers through his hair and started pacing back across his living room like a caged tiger. Kate watched him silently as he strode from one end of the room to the other.She’d always found Kevin very attractive with his boy-band looks and devil-may-care personality. As a teenager, Kate fantasized about dating a bad boy and Kevin was the fulfilment of that fantasy.Her family didn’t like him but they to
When Kate got home, she was relieved to see that her parents weren’t there yet. They were probably still at the relief camp or they’d gone to the church to meet with the board.Kate wondered if the church board would fire her father from being the senior pastor if they heard about her pregnancy. Her mother was the leader of the women’s fellowship, which in Kate’s opinion, was more or less a group of old women who loved to gossip and judge everyone in the community. Imagine her mother now becoming the new topic of discussion!“I should probably leave a farewell note behind and run away from here,” Kate told herself as she unlocked the front door with her keys and entered the cozy townhouse she shared with her parents.They used to live in Cheyenne but they moved to Sommerville five years ago after her father retired from his medical consultancy job at the age of 50, and went into full-time ministry. Her mother wasn’t initially happy about the lifestyle change, but she has since settled
Dinner was a disaster. Kate couldn’t keep her food down, but thankfully, her parents thought she was simply still upset about her breakup.She’d excused herself from the dining table and gone to bed to cry herself to sleep. When morning came, she felt worse. She woke up with a terrible headache and she felt so dizzy that she couldn’t get out of bed.“Oh, dear. You don’t look so good,” Laura commented when she saw Kate.She was already dressed for church and looking very lovely in her lavender skirt suit with a beige silk blouse and a huge lavender fascinator on her head.“I think we should get you to the hospital,” Laura said while placing her palm on Kate’s forehead to check her body temperature.“Don’t worry about me, Mom. I’ll be fine,” Kate assured her mother.“Your body temperature is a bit high. I think you’re coming down with something,” Laura said worriedly. “Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.”“No. I don’t want you to be late for church,” Kate said quickly as she forced
Fredrick greeted them warmly at the front door and ushered them into a silver Bentley that was waiting in front of the mansion.“He’s not getting fired, is he?” Kate asked Tony softly in the backseat. She didn’t want the driver to overhear her.“I don’t want to,” Tony admitted. “He’s practically a member of my family. He has been here since my children were little.”“Do you trust him?” Kate asked Tony.“More than I trust the others,” he answered.Kate nodded and relaxed in her seat. That was that then. Fredrick would not lose his job. She couldn’t have that on her conscience too.They drove up to Willowbrook where one of Tony’s restaurants was located. When they arrived, the head waiter showed up promptly to take them to their table in a secluded VIP section. It was curtained off and unavailable to anyone else as long as Tony and Kate were there.
Tony succeeded in getting through the three hours of lying down beside Kate and not jumping her bones. The last time he was this attracted to a woman was many years ago, on the same evening he met Agnes.The sun was already rising in the sky and Kate was still asleep. Tony wondered if he should leave now or wait for her to wake up.She was sleeping on her right side, facing him. He studied her peaceful face, admiring those perfectly curved eyebrows. Her full eyelashes spread out above her cheek like a curved hand fan.Her nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled deeply in her sleep. Tony’s eyes traveled down to her lips. Hmm… would he ever get to kiss them?Kate’s eyes fluttered open and they met Tony’s. He became a bit embarrassed to be caught staring, so he smiled and quickly started to get up.“Good morning,” Kate said sleepily and yawned.“Good morning,” said Tony. “I only just woke u
“The police are on their way,” Tony announced as he came to join her in the living room. “I took an extra precaution by binding Bryan’s arms with a pillowcase. If he wakes up before the police get here, he won’t be able to get up.”“Who is he?” Kate asked Tony.“Bryan? He’s one of our oldest staff,” Tony explained. “Agnes hired him specifically because of his exceptional culinary skills. One of her favorite dishes was oxtail stew, and no one else made it like Bryan did. That’s one of his specialties.”“I see…” said Kate. “So, he was going to carve up my head tonight and make stew out of it for Agnes’ spirit?”“I am deeply sorry about this,” Tony apologized. “I’ll fire all the staff in the morning. I can’t trust any of them after this incident.”“Thirteen people shouldn’t los
Tony’s panicked voice startled Kate. She woke up suddenly and turned her head to the side, just as the intruder’s dagger sank into her pillow.Kate screamed and rolled away, but her attacker jumped on the bed and went after her. She couldn’t see who it was because the room was dark, but she knew it was a man. He was dressed in all black with a black ski mask hiding his face.“Die, you stupid bitch!” The man growled as he reached for Kate’s neck.Tony ran forward and dove onto the bed. He landed on the intruder’s back and locked him in a chokehold.“Let her go!” He shouted at the intruder.Despite Tony’s strong grip on the intruder, the man wouldn’t let go of Kate. She was busy wrestling with the man in an attempt to break free from him.With all of his strength, Tony reared backward, taking the intruder with him. Kate finally broke free as Tony and her attacker landed on the f
Tony was surprised by Kate’s unexpected gesture of comfort. It took him a while to recover and wrap his arms around Kate. They stayed in each other’s embrace for nearly two minutes before Kate stepped away from him.“Thank you for that,” Tony said softly.Kate smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”“Have you had dinner?” Tony asked her.“No,” Kate responded. “I was waiting for you.”Tony smiled and said, “Give me a few minutes to change my clothes, and then we’ll go downstairs for dinner.”“Can we eat here instead?” Kate asked. “The dining room is so huge and we look kind of silly, just the two of us eating on that incredibly long table. How about we have a cozy dinner up here for a change?”“That’s fine with me,” said Tony. He turned to leave, but Kate’s next question stopped him in his tracks.“Did you mean what you said to Athena?” She asked him quietly. “You know, what you said about me making you happy.”Tony faced her
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked Athena while doing her best to remain calm.Athena’s smirk expanded. “I did a bit of digging and I found out that you met my father a few weeks ago when he traveled to Sundance on business.“You discovered his identity and managed to seduce him into marrying you. That way, he could fund your father’s church-building project while you would have permanent access to his money as his wife.”Kate suppressed her sigh of relief. She’d thought Athena had found out about her pregnancy. Thankfully, that was not the case.“So, that’s my secret?” Kate asked her.“Isn’t it?” Athena countered. “You came here acting like a princess who has lived a life of luxury until now, meanwhile, you’re nothing but a poverty-stricken nobody from a tiny town in Wyoming.”“I never claimed to be what I wasn’t. You drew those conclusions by yourself,” Kate told her calmly.“Well, guess what?” Athena continued triumphantly. “
Kate felt energized to continue her day. She no longer felt the need to take a nap. She went to her closet to check out her clothes.Tony’s things have since been moved to Agnes’ suite. Kate’s wardrobe wasn’t impressive, but she managed to find a lovely pink linen dress that matched her current mood. It was a Christmas gift from Aunt Lauretta.“Gosh, I owe her a phone call,” Kate said to herself.She went into the bathroom to relieve herself and then returned to the bedroom to get dressed. She styled her hair in a half-up half-down hairstyle and accessorized with some of her favorite Bohemian jewelry.After checking out herself in the full-length mirror, Kate went downstairs to find Tony. She was finally ready to start playing her role as his wife.When she got to the entrance of his study, she knocked on the door but there was no response. A maid was passing by, so Kate stopped her to ask about Tony’s wher
“Do you want to leave?” Wendy asked Kate over the phone. “You’ve only been there for a few days.”“I know. I just can’t stand the nastiness anymore,” Kate cried.She’d tearfully narrated her experience in the DaCosta home since her arrival on Thursday evening. She was afraid that this was what her life would be for as long as she remained married to Tony.“Take it easy, Kate. Don’t make rash decisions because you’re upset,” Wendy advised.“Stop crying and listen to me,” she continued. “There’s nothing for you here in Sommerville. Tony did you a favor by securing your future when he married you. Don’t ruin that just because his children hate you. You didn’t expect them to fall head over heels in love with you at first sight, did you?”“No, but this level of hatred from them is too much,” Kate complained. “They don
Tony returned to his seat behind the huge desk and said, “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s schedule an appointment with my doctor. We need to know how far along you are and what medication you should get on for your health and the baby’s wellbeing.”Kate wasn’t interested in that right now. She leaned forward on the desk, looking into Tony’s eyes.“Please, tell me the truth, Tony. Why did you marry me?”“Are we back to that again?” He asked with a chuckle. “Don’t let what Charles said to bother you, my dear. I’m not losing my mind. The things I proposed to give you are a small fraction of what I’m worth. My children already have their share of all of that, so don’t worry about them. Trust me.”“I want to trust you, but I feel as if you’re not being completely truthful to me,” Kate confessed. “Why am I here?”&ldqu