Destiny Unleashed by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

only inevitable, but invincible.
    As she waited at Heathrow for her luggage, she recalled that, to her shock and dismay, William had been damn quick to let her go after her brother’s and sister-in-law’s tragic deaths. He’d sent her back to the States with a kiss and a promise to be waiting for her when she returned. She should have seen the handwriting on the wall when he’d refused to come with her.
    “It’s a private time for your family,” he’d said, his tone perfectly reasonable, even considerate. “I don’t belong there. I’d only be an unwelcome distraction.”
    Destiny hadn’t begged. She’d been too grief stricken and too proud to waste the energy. If there was one thing she knew with certainty by then, it was that William rarely changed his mind once it was set. It certainly hadn’t changed once he’d set his sights on her that night at Violetta’s gallery. His attention had been unwavering despite the very significant price he’d had to pay for choosing her over his own family.
    At first, back home in Virginia and facing the unbearable grief of her nephews and their need for all of her attention, it had been easy for Destiny to accept that William had been right to stay behind, that hewas sincerely trying to be thoughtful, even if she felt the attempt was misguided. Their phone calls were brief and hurried and lacked the kind of detailed, intimate conversation they had shared for the three years they had been inseparable.
    But as time passed, even those contacts had dwindled and fury had set in to fill the void. She had needed him so desperately and he hadn’t been there for her. She’d lost respect for him—or told herself she had—because it was the only way to bear that loss on top of everything else. Changes were flying at her too fast for her to absorb them all.
    As yet more time passed and she realized the enormity of what was being expected of her, she’d had little time to waste on a man who didn’t seem the least bit interested in pursuing their relationship now that it was no longer uncomplicated.
    Destiny moved on to Customs and another wait. It have her more time to think about how she had continued to mourn his loss as she had her beloved brother’s. She’d missed what she and William had had together—the meeting of minds, the exuberant passion, the teamwork, the idle hours spent wandering the beach or flower-strewn fields, stormy nights in front of a cozy fire, the sudden spark of lust while sipping wine at a sidewalk café. She’d been desperately and completely besotted by him, then wildly disappointed to discover how flawed he was.
    Obviously he hadn’t shared that same depth of feeling. She’d had to accept that eventually and move on. There were too many crises in the present to squander time on memories or old emotions.
    Even now, all these lonely years later, she didn’thate him for fooling her or for letting her go, she realized as she sat in the taxi that would take her from the airport to her new home. She merely wanted a chance to show him what he’d given up. She’d taken to heart an old Dorothy Parker adage. Living well was, indeed, the best revenge. And she intended to show William that she had lived an extraordinarily rich and challenging life without him. She intended to take on London in a way that would dazzle him and make him rue the day he’d crossed her or her family.
    That alone wouldn’t be enough, of course. She also intended to use this time in London to teach him a lesson or two about business. She might be newer at it than he, but she was confident that she was as quick a study as he’d ever been. The Jameson’s acquisition was merely a beginning. She had quite a few tricks left up her sleeve. She doubted William would be expecting any of them, much less be ready to counter them effectively. Ever the gentleman, William might not be prepared for the kind of down-and-dirty warfare she had in mind.
    He’d surprised her by ignoring her