VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) by Kimberley Reeves Read Free Book Online Page A

survived all those months without her?   How had he gotten through the long, lonely nights when he’d tossed and turned, his stomach churning because he couldn’t get the image of his wife in another man’s arms out of his head?  
    Logan brushed a soft kiss to her temple.   He knew the answer to that now.   Even though his mind had tortured him with thoughts and images of her betrayal, his heart had never really believed it.
    “I need to look at you, cara mia , to see for myself that you are not hurt.”
    Shelby pressed herself even closer.   “Are…are you angry with me?”
    “No, tesoro , but I am worried about you.”
    “I h-hurt my hands and elbows,” she admitted shakily.   “I twisted my ankle too, and I…I think my knees got skinned up.”
    “I will take care of you,” he promised, “but you must let loose of me first, my darling.”
    She hesitated for a few minutes, lamenting the loss of his warmth once she let her hands slide away and he deposited her onto the bed.   Shelby’s eyes never left his face as he examined her injuries, the furrow between his brows growing more pronounced with each new discovery.   Foolishly, her heart leapt at the thought he genuinely cared for her, that the gentle way he slipped her sandals off and held her swollen ankle was an indication that his concern was borne out of love for her.   But that illusion was quickly shattered when he suddenly shot to his feet and towered over her with his lips pressed into a grim line and his dark eyes flashing with anger.
    “What the hell were you thinking running off like that?”   Raking his fingers through his hair, Logan turned away from her and took a few halting steps before whirling on her again.   “Your injuries could have been much worse,” he rebuked sternly.   “ Madre di Dio , you might have hit your head on one of those stones.   You could have suffered a concussion or fractured your skull.  You might even have been killed.”  
    Shelby’s lips trembled.   Never in all the time they’d been together had he spoken to her in such a harsh tone.   Oh, she knew that steely voice, she’d heard him use it when dealing with business and something wasn’t going exactly as he’d planned it.   She knew Logan could be ruthless, he had to be with so many people depending on him to keep the business operating smoothly.  But he had never been anything but gentle with her before and it sliced through her already fragile heart, bringing fresh tears to her eyes.
    “I’m perfectly fine,” she lied, grinding her teeth against the painful task of sitting up and inching her legs over the side of the bed.
    “You are not fine,” he snapped.   “You can barely move, your arms and hands are all scraped up, and your ankle has already swollen twice its normal size.   Perhaps now you will see that behaving so childishly and running away from me only causes pain.”
    Shelby inhaled sharply.   “If I’m so much trouble, maybe you should go find yourself a wife who’s all grown up so you don’t have take time out of your busy schedule to go find her.”
    “Maybe I should,” he said softly, his anger spent.   “Maybe it was a mistake to marry someone so young.”
    “You’re not that much older than me, for Pete’s sake.”
    “Eight years seems like a huge gap right now.   I am ready to settle down and have children while you have barely graduated into adulthood.”
    Shelby’s shoulders slumped.   So that was why he’d sought the company of the blonde woman; Logan had decided he wanted someone closer to his own age.   How could she compete with that?   The painful truth was she couldn’t, but wasn’t that the reason she had taken off and filed for divorce in the first place?   She was his wife; she shouldn’t have to worry about competing with anyone.
    “Go away,” she said dully.   “I’m obviously not what you want or need.   I don’t know why you even came here, Logan.   All you had to do