Sapphire and Shadow (A Woman's Life) by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online

attention, accusing her of what he was guilty of himself.
    “I didn’t come all the way out here to argue with you, Harold.”
    He glared in Tommy’s direction. “No, it looked like you came here to take your pick of the litter.”
    The words hurt, even after all this time, even though he hadn’t touched her in so many long, lonely months. How could he have once loved her and think that of her now?
    “He just saved me from getting hurt, that’s all. Can’t you be grateful for that?”
    His eyes cut her to ribbons. “I think you’re grateful enough for both of us.”
    He began to walk away. The two leads were rehearsing a scene and he wanted to listen in. He had no doubts that it wouldn’t go right without him.
    Momentarily, she thought of giving it all up. But she hadn’t come all this way, hadn’t flown over the ocean to begin with, to run off now with her tail between her legs. She put her hand on his arm, taking a firm hold. “Harry, I want to talk to you.”
    He stood still, enduring her hold, enduring her. “Can’t it wait until I get back to the hotel?”
    She hated that tone he used. “I was waiting until you got back to the hotel. Except you never got back to the hotel last night.”
    “So you brought your fight here.” He threw up his hands, ever on the defensive. “That’s all I need, for you to act the part of the irate wife.”
    Johanna gritted her teeth together, keeping her voice down. She hated scenes, hated people looking at them so knowingly.
    “No one has more cause than I do.”
    Damn, this wasn’t going the way she wanted it to.
    Johanna saw hatred in Harry’s face. He gestured toward the back where Tommy was working. “So go throw yourself into young Galahad’s arms and get your revenge. I don’t doubt you’ve been doing that with enough other men behind my back.”
    She wanted to strike him and curled her fingers into her hands. “There have been no men behind your back or anywhere else. That’s what I came to tell you, damn you. I love you.” He was doing it to her again, making her lose control, stoking her anger when all she wanted to do was to forge a truce.
    The condescending look on his face told her that he didn’t believe her. “A wife who’s been faithful doesn’t have to go reassuring her husband that she hasn’t done anything.” He was twisting things around. He always was good with words.
    The words poured out before she could stop them. “She does if her husband’s a paranoid coke snorting son of a bitch.”
    He turned his back on her, rigid, cold. “I’ve got work to do.”
    Again she took hold of him, but this time, he shook her hand from his arm. “This is more important, Harry. This is about us.”
    He whirled around, fire in his eyes. She didn’t know him. “There’s nothing more important than the success of this film, do you hear me? Nothing!”
    Johanna closed her eyes and let the air out of her lungs slowly as she slid down into a seat. If she didn’t sit, she’d fall. It was as if she had just lost the power to move.
    “I guess that just about says it all.” Her voice was distant, lost. Slowly, she began to accept defeat.
    He looked at her in silence for a moment, still wondering why she was bothering him this way. A nuisance. She had become nothing more than a nuisance to him.
    “No, no it doesn’t. There’ll be a lot more said once I get back to the hotel. Do what you want on your own time, but don’t come wiggling your hips, flirting with my crew and embarrassing me in public.”
    “Embarrassing you?” Her head snapped up. She gripped the arms of the seat and rose to her feet. “Embarrassing you? What about me? What about all the times you’ve embarrassed me in public, flaunting those—those tramps, so that everyone knew?”
    “Shut up, you’re hysterical.” He looked around, but everyone seemed to suddenly become busy with something else.
    “Damn right I’m hysterical. And you made me that way.” Suddenly, it came