Thin Lines (Donati Bloodlines Book 2) by Bethany-Kris Read Free Book Online Page A

Emma’s wandering hands, and put them
back to her lap with a smile. At least his hands were gone from under her
dress. She took that as a win.
    “Don’t you want me to—”
    “Not today,” Affonso interrupted with a grin.
“Besides, sweetheart, you’re not exactly up to the task lately. Hmm?”
    Emma blinked, surprised he had noticed. “No, I guess
not.”
    That wasn’t a total lie.
    She was never up for it.
    “Hormones. It’s fine.”
    Emma smiled back, and it felt honest instead of the
fake one she usually wore. “Maybe. I’m tired and sick a lot. It doesn’t help.”
    “You don’t need to worry about it. That was something
I wanted to talk with you about this morning before we met the girls downstairs
for breakfast.”
    “Oh?” she asked.
    Affonso nodded. “I won’t be coming home tonight. I
don’t think you’ll find yourself bored without me, but I figured you should
know where I am, in case you need something.”
    Emma’s brow furrowed. “You’ve gone away for the night
before. What’s different about this time?”
    He pulled a card from his slacks pocket, and set it
face up on Emma’s lap. A quick glance at the card showcased a woman’s name and
phone number written in Affonso’s neat scrawl.
    Sandra, it read.
    Emma squeezed her fists tight. “Who is that?”
    “A good friend,” Affonso said, offering nothing more.
“Don’t ask anything else, and you’ll be a much happier woman, I assure you.
Ignorance is bliss.”
    She could safely assume that the woman was just one of
his mistresses.
    “You didn’t have to tell me,” Emma muttered. “Or shove
it in my face, Affonso.”
    “I’m not. I’m also not in the business of hiding
things. If I don’t come home on any given night and you need something, you can
call here.”
    Her stomach rolled.
    “Is that all?” Emma asked.
    “For now.”
    Affonso stood, patted her head with his palm, and left
their bedroom without another word. Emma took a few cleansing breaths to steel
her nerves before she followed behind him.
    She wasn’t surprised at her husband’s actions. Affonso
was a bastard. He simply didn’t hide the kind of bastard he was.
    Emma slipped the card into her dress pocket, wondering
if she should be grateful for the woman her husband went to and thank her, or
hate her. It wasn’t actually a choice. Anyone who could distract Affonso from
Emma enough to keep him out of their bed was a friend of hers.
    She didn’t care.
    What she told Calisto months ago still stood. If her
husband was fucking someone else, then he was leaving her alone.
    What more could Emma ask for?
     

     
    Emma was surprised to find her step-daughters weren’t
milling around the kitchen, waiting for the cook to serve them as she walked in
behind Affonso. Sherry, their cook, was behind the island, prepping and going
from one bowl to the pan on the stove while muttering under her breath.
    “A fair spread this morning?” Affonso asked.
    “Yes, sir,” Sherry said, never taking her eyes off the
food. “It’s almost finished. I decided to make eggs in a hat the way I used to,
but I had to add it onto the rest of the meal I was cooking.”
    Affonso smiled, much to Emma’s confusion. “Is that
so?”
    “Someone’s favorite.”
    “Someone?” Emma asked.
    Her husband’s grin deepened. “As I said last night, I
know the man. I know him much better than he thinks I do.”
    Calisto .
    “Cal said he was fine with waiting for when you were
ready to eat,” Sherry added.
    “No problem,” Affonso said, waving it off. “Where is
he?”
    The cook flicked her wrist in the direction of the
second entrance to the kitchen like that explained it all. “With the girls.”
    Affonso tipped his head in the same direction the cook
had waved. “Emma, go find them and let them know it’s time to eat.”
    “Sure,” she said.
    “Follow the music,” Affonso told her as she was
leaving.
    What music?
    Emma had no idea what her husband was talking about.
She