LOGINShare
RELUCTANT WIFE 22
Last Updated:
2023-03-21 00:53:34
Related chapters
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 23
‘He does not, he loves me!’‘And as for running half-naked aroimd his room, he must be getting slack. He always makes sure the woman he’s making love to is completely naked!’With that she slammed the receiver down. Damn the woman!Picking up the receiver she phoned Peter; she needed comfort from that gentle little voice that would tell her he loved her, simply because he did.‘Hello, Audrey, how are you?’ she said, making herself more comfortable, with her legs stretched out on the sofa.‘Oh Carrie, he’s been ever so poorly,’ cried Audrey.‘What? Peter has been ill? He’s still in bed?’ Carrie frowned.She listened to how Peter had been ill with a severe bout of bronchitis, and was still suffering the aftereffects. He’d been camping with his dad, had been caught out in the rain last weekend and got wet through.‘Look, Audrey, 1*11 try and sort out a holiday for you all. Lord knows you deserve one.’‘If only Graham would accept. You know how proud he is, and we just can’t afford the ai
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 24
‘Afaiwa, I’m sorry I’m late. Things got ratherhectic.’ He looked around the huge hallway full of people, waving at some of them. ‘Where’s Carrie?’‘Last I saw she was on the balcony,’ said Helena.‘I’ll go and find her. I have something for her,’ he said, and his mother did not miss the twinkle in his eyes.Carrie was just coming out of the first-floor guest bathroom when he saw her. He caught his breath; she was more beautiful than he remembered, and well worth the long flight back.Carrie felt a strange sense, as if someone was watching her. When the prickly sensation tripped down her spine she knew he was here. She looked about the flrst floor, nothing there, then as she looked between the marble spindles of the banister she caught him staring up at her.All day she had been practising her scowl, rehearsing her cutting words. Mesmerized, she watched him climb the stairs.Biting back a retort she couldn’t remember, she looked him slowly up and down as he neared her, accepting that
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 25
Looking at her now Carrie realized Marsha was less slender than in her younger years but nevertheless was still a beautiful woman, with her long flowing black hair boimcing as she jerked her head back angrily in Carrie’s direction.‘You think you can take Alexis away from me, you smutty little Irish girl. Then think again! Alexis will always love me and I will stop at nothing to make sure he marries me. So be warned!’ Her voice was low and held a warning most women would cower from.Carrie smiled, though she was astonished that Marsha was attacking her this open way. ‘You know, I always thought Alexis was a man who made up his own mind. He won’t be manipulated by a woman; neither you, nor I. You may think you know him very well and if that’s the case, please enlighten me and tell me why I’ll be wearing his ring and not you.’Marsha snorted and moved towards Carrie. ‘He is just using you, you imbecile! The man wants nothing more than sex from you. Do yourself a favour and leave the isl
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 26
‘Witch, when are you going to learn that I will only be pushed so far. This wasn’t meant to happen here!’‘Where was it supposed to happen?’He laughed. ‘Not on a chaise longue in the study.’Carrie stood, naked in the semi-darkness of the room and was aware of his intent gaze upon her breasts, she smiled, murmuring softly as she bent her lips to his, ‘I liked it in the study.’ Then she laughed wickedly, and rekindling a special time when he’d embarrassed her, she said, ‘Mr Stephanides did it in the study, with his lead pipe!’‘Why, you cheeky little baggage.’ He leant forward and caught her nipple in his teeth, making her breath catch in her throat. ‘So you do remember playing Cluedo with me?’‘Maybe we should play it in the ballroom?’ she asked with an arch of her brow.He shook his head. ‘Dress, now! Ple-a-se!’They returned to the party, hand in hand. Alexis left her in the hallway for mere seconds to retrieve two glasses of pink champagne. He handed her one, and clinked her glass
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 27
‘I had a go with the sandblaster.’ His grip tightened. ‘I was bored. B.O.R.E.D! Bored! You wouldn t let me come to you. I was going crazy, Alexis.’His grip slackened. ‘Come here and sit on the bed. We need to talk.’They sat down on the bed, facing each other. Firstly, the sandblaster is too heavy for you.’Carrie boiled inside. What did he think she was, some weak little waif? ‘Too heavy? The sandblaster is not too heavy for me.’‘Not even if you’re pregnant?’Large blue eyes shot to his. He raised his dark eyebrows. ‘I heard you this morning in thebathroom. If I’m not mistaken I think this is morning sickness?’‘Yes, well,’ she coloured. ‘So what if it is!’‘If it is?’ he said slowly, ‘I think the sandblaster is too heavy.’ Then he grinned, boyishly. ‘Just how much of the bakery have you done?’Carrie relaxed; he wasn’t going to make an issue of her not telling him about her pregnancy. ‘Not much. Just finished the downstairs room.’ She clasped her hands in her lap. ‘Look, it’s onl
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 28
‘What’s wrong with that, Stephan?’ Carrie interrupted, suddenly infuriated by the man’s attitude.‘Wrong, why - why it’s immoral,’ he cried outraged at the idea of living together.Carrie sighed, the deep scepticism visible in her voice. ‘Oh here we go. It’s OK to have an affair withher, but then when it suits you, you want marriage. Typical man!’‘Of course I want marriage, especially before we have children. I can’t see what’s wrong with that!’‘You can’t?’‘No! This is entirely different, and I can see nothing wrong with it.’‘You men never can!’ Carrie abruptly shot out of the chair, throwing a look which could have killed at Alexis. ‘And you’ve no need to look so pleased with yourself. You’re all the same. When it suits you, that’s when things should happen. When it suits the darned men!’ With the last remark she marched off in search of solitude.Stephan looked astounded. ‘Her too! It seems the whole female force have it in for us today. What with Maria in a foul mood this morn
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 29
‘Lost what?’‘Your control! I realized then that you might care about me. So I let you believe Peter was a man. I never actually lied to you. I just wanted you to care, not just for the body that’s carrying your child, butfor we, Carrie O’Riordan.’ She pulled herself free of his touch. ‘I just needed to know you were jealous. The mention of Peter has a way of getting a response out of you, a reaction.’'It does?’‘Oh yes, your face contorts, like this . . .’ As she copied his face for one illuminating second he nearly succumbed to laughter. As it was, he suppressed the urge, he was still angry with her. Wasn’t he? Well maybe not.‘Just like that?’‘Yes, and when you’re angry, like this . . .’ She pulled another face, this one quite frightening.He pushed an irritable hand through his hair, relaxing a little. ‘I guess I’ve been pretty tough on you. Demanding that you marry me, forcing you to have my baby all in the name of a shipping fleet.’The jet engines revved loudly, they were no
Last Updated : 2023-03-21YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) RELUCTANT WIFE 30
‘The next morning I realized I was deluding myself. Greece had become my home. I never truly wanted to be a choreographer in London, I did it all for Petros.’ Again he threw her a critical look. ‘Oh I’m not saying I don’t enjoy dance, I do. But I just don’t feel it’s the direction I should be going in. I need something more.’‘So why didn’t you return to Greece immediately?’‘I couldn’t. I was tom, Peter needed my help, as I did his, and then I’d lied to you about those men at the nightclub. You thought I’d bedded each and every one. I was so ashamed that you actually believed me, when I could force myself to think about it, that is,’ she said in a soft voice, remembering how bad she’d felt the next morning.Alexis reached for her hand. ‘That’s all in the past. You really don’t know what you gave me that first afternoon at the bakery.’‘I know what you gave me,’ she said with a grin.‘What?’‘Birds of paradise plastered to my behind!’He laughed so loudly that several hospital visitor
Last Updated : 2023-03-21
Latest chapter
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 23
‘G’day Kerrien, my darling girl, had a nice time?’ She was nodding and smiling encouragingly but Kerrien could say nothing. ‘Lovely day, thank you. It’s good of you to feed me again,’ she added. “Come on in. Make yourself at home,” she urged. ‘Must use the bathroom, if I may,’ Kerrien asked. Brett shoved his mother out of the room and Kerrien could hear the whispered voices rising and falling. ‘For heaven’s sake boy, do I get the champagne out or not?'*I don’t know Mum, she hasn’t given me an answer yet.” Kerrien listened in growing discomfort. She was beginning to feel coerced, trapped. If she said yes, it was going to be for all the wrong reasons. If she said no, she might just be acting foolishly out of some misplaced sense of romanticism. She went slowly back to the family room, where Brett was waiting for her. ‘Do I get my answer yet?’ he asked. The blue eyes were shuttered and she could read nothing from them. “Yes Brett, yes I will marry you.’ She wondered why she didn
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 22
Sleep was impossible and Kerrien paced her room for much of the night. Ashton was evidently going through some personal crisis which seemed to exclude both herself and the children. What was he talking about with her and Brett? News? Excited? He could only think that they were getting engaged. She wondered where he had got that idea. It was the very last thing she would have wanted him to think, when all the time she desperately wanted jum. She also wished that his future with Martine was less certain. Double wedding indeed! Ashton said little the next morning before rushing off to work. She caught him staring at her a couple of times, as if looking for some clue in her face. If he believed something special had recently happened to her, he did not voice his thoughts. ‘I won’t be home for lunch and don’t wait dinner for me tonight. I may be out. Have you decided when you’re going out at the weekend?’ he asked. ‘Saturday, if that’s OK,’ she replied. ‘I'll organize things before I go
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 21
‘I haven’t felt this way about anyone before,’ Brett said. She drew a quick gulp of air and her reeling senses came back to earth. ‘And you’ve had plenty to choose from, I suppose.’ The harsh words hit him like a slap across the face. “I’ve never tried to pretend anything different,” he defended, a hurt expression in his eyes. “Look, you may be innocent or try to give the impression of being innocent but I know a true response when I feel it. Yes, OK, call it experience. Tell me, do you intend going through your entire life celibate and end up a sour spinster?’ ‘I think I'd better go,’ she said, bristling at his accusation. ‘Kerrien, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it. I want you Kerrien, on whatever terms you insist on making. Think about it. I can offer you everything you’ve always wanted.’ His face looked almost child-like in its pleading, like Ben or Jodie begging for just a few minutes longer, before going to bed. She almost smiled at the thought. They may want to stay up longer, Br
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 20
‘I thought you had something vital to tell me,’ Ashton said at lunch. ‘Something that couldn’t wait a moment longer.’ ‘Perhaps I’ve got things in perspective a little better,’ Kerrien replied, twisting her fingers together in her anxiety. ‘What I have to talk about is important but something has come up that I must deal with and quickly. I have to see Brett and the sooner the better.’ He stared at her, peering into her eyes as if he could read something in them, as if he could somehow see into her mind to know what she was thinking. She was an enigma to him. One minute bursting with some news she needed to discuss urgently with him and the next, planning an evening out with her boy-friend. He had no doubt as to the reason for her sudden need to meet Brett. She had to give him an answer to the vital question and having made her decision, she obviously couldn’t wait to tell him. ‘Look, I know it isn’t really my evening off but things have been hectic lately and I am still owed some t
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 19
Kerrien sipped a cup of hot chocolate in the cafeteria, her hands wrapped round the comforting mug. She hoped that Kate and her friend didn’t have the same idea. Kerrien had no prejudices about people’s right to choose their sexual partners but somehow, Kate’s whole attitude to life suddenly seemed to have become clearer. All these nasty, sometimes spiteful . remarks were probably made because Kate didn’t know how to cope with the cards that life had dealt her. She did genuinely seem fond of the children but perhaps felt that Ashton would be less than understanding if he knew that his sister loved another woman. It took some getting used to but Kerrien was convinced that she was not mistaken. The way the two women had looked at and spoken to each other showed quite clearly that they shared a deep relationship. It may also explain why Kate was so resentful of Kerrien. Her easy going manner with people was something of a contrast with Kate’s own more restrained nature. She wondered if
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 18
“So what do you say Kerrien? Will you stay with us, for as long as you can?’ His deep, soft eyes were pleading with her. She felt again that urge to wrap her arms round him and hug him better but she knew that any physical contact with him would spell disaster to her own strength of purpose. ‘Think of the children,’ he added, knowing this was his trurmp card. She genuinely loved them and would never let them suffer. Besides, it would mean that she would still be around in his life and that meant a great deal more than he cared to admit. ‘I need to think about it. I’ll stay for a while, certainly. At least until you have made whatever arrangements you plan to make. Don’t worry.’ Her heart was near breaking as she spoke. She desperately wanted to be gone once Martine was living here. She couldn’t bear to see the other woman doing all the things she wanted to be doing, having the exclusive love of the wonderful man she herself loved so much. If he should ever find out how she felt, she
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 17
Once Ashton had left for work, Kerrien decided that she simply couldn’t face another evening staying at home. She dialled Brett’s number and swallowing her stubborn pride, asked if he was free that evening. She was taking a slight risk that she wouldn’t have to babysit but as she hadn’t taken any time off for ages, it was not unreasonable to expect a free evening. His response was very positive. If he had made other plans, it was not obvious. He suggested a movie and then a meal out. It sounded exactly what she needed to take her mind off things here. When Kate eventually turned up, sometime after eleven, Kerrien had started the lunch preparations. She made some coffee for them both. Kate seemed edgy and moody. Things were evidently not going as well as she would have liked. But, she obviously controlled her wandering thoughts and agreed to mind the children for the evening, if Ashton was out. The woman seemed subdued and uncommunicative, so Kerrien left her alone and went to play wi
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 16
The next few days were difficult. Kate bad only one topic of conversation — the wedding — and seemed totally unaware of the discomfort of those around her. The children were silent and withdrawn, reminiscent of the time when Kerrien had first arrived in Australia. Kerrien herself was thoroughly sick of hearing about the fabulous designer wedding dress Martine was planning, and whether Ben should be dressed in green or cream velvet. Either was equally revolting, or so Kerrien thought and she instinctively knew that Ben would agree! 'I think you should start looking around for another job,” Kate suggested brightly one morning. 'I see. Your idea or Ashton’s?’ Kerrien asked. ‘It must be obvious even to you that this situation can’t go on. Once they’re married, I expect they will be starting a new family and Martine is sure to want someone of her own choice, to look after the new baby as well as Ashton’s two. Besides, Ben will be at school and you surely wouldn’t want to be hanging arou
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 15
It was nearly lunch-time when Kerrien returned from her trip to drop Brett home. A quick hallo to Margaret and a coffee before she had left, made her later than she intended. She’d then taken a couple of wrong turnings, her mind pre-occupied. The journey took longer and longer, it seemed. There was strange feeling of unreality about everything, as if she was in the middle some sort of dream that would end when she awoke. The house was quiet and Ashton’s car was missing from its usual place. He must have gone to work, even though she’d thought he wasn’t on duty this weekend. Perhaps he had gone out — to be with his fiancée she thought miserably. She had to keep experimenting with the words, so that she would get used to it. How could he want to marry someone who was so negative towards those two lovely children? It was obvious to anyone with half a mind, that Martine couldn’t care less about them. It was equally clear that the children also felt the same way about their father’s fiancé
