Excerpt

Explosive elation and a sense of relief washed over Ian Newbury at the judge’s decree of ‘divorce denied’, but he tamped down the rising joy. He schooled his facial muscles and blinked smoky grey eyes several times before he had his emotions under control. Unbelievably, Judge Hanks had deemed Ian’s marriage salvageable, which Ian had always known was true. He suppressed a deep sigh. Facts, not feelings, determined the outcome of the judicial proceedings. Ian had no idea how he would persuade Tess that they needed to work out whatever problem had bothered her enough to file for a divorce after only eighteen months of marriage.

The courtroom emptied at the end of a long, harrowing day. He glanced in her direction, but her head was bent and her shoulders slumped. Yearning to rake his fingers through her silky dark brown hair, to kiss her pouty lips and caress her bare breast, he remained motionless.

Ian reflected on how he wanted whatever would make Tess happy. The few months they’d lived together in the Newbury mansion he shared with his parents, she’d been sullen and silent, a far cry from the vivacious, cheerful woman he’d married.

He admitted a few days was a whirlwind courtship, and his parents had disapproved, but they weren’t marrying her, were they? Afraid of losing the money from his trust fund, he didn’t usually defy them, but in order to live with Tess for the rest of his life, he had. And now this. His parents gloated that they knew the marriage with a penniless girl wouldn’t last. His chest tightened painfully, and he clutched the edge of the table with white-knuckled fingers.

There had to be some way of talking to Tess, of making her understand they’d made some mistakes, but none of them were lethal to their relationship. Most of all, he wanted her in his bed again. The last three months without her had been hell on earth, and he hadn’t looked forward to spending the rest of his life alone. He’d determined that if the divorce went through then he’d live alone for the rest of his life and his parents could coerce him however they wanted. Without Tess by his side, as friend, soul mate, and lover, life wouldn’t be worth much.

Yet, now there was a tiny glimmer of hope.

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