Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Oh God.
Would she always be an idiot where this man was concerned?
From the other end of the line, she heard Marcus speak again, this time a little bit more sharply. “Anneke? Are you still there?”
Crap. Realizing she had taken too long to answer, she cleared her throat before answering him. “Yes. Sorry. I was—-” Her mind went blank as she tried to come up with an excuse for zonking out on him. Crap. It was confirmed then. She would always be an idiot around the Italian billionaire.
Clearing her throat again, she decided to simply change the subject, saying in a rush, “I just heard from Willem about your partnership with DKE.”
“I see.” Marcus’ tone was polite.
“And I also wanted you to know that there’s no need to skip this weekend’s launch. I mean—-” She forced a laugh. “It’s been ages, so everything’s under the bridge now.”
There was a pause, and then—-
“If you’re sure?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Because I truly do not mind skipping the event if my presence would be an issue—-”
“It’s not.”
“Then if you insist, I would of course be delighted to be present at the launch. Thank you for taking the time to call me personally about this. It is much appreciated.”
“Umm. No problem.”
“I will see you then. Grazie.”
“Benvenuto.”
And that was it.
Anneke stared at her phone as the call came to an end. Was it just her, or did that two-minute conversation felt more like something between two business acquaintances rather than a married couple?
She placed her iPhone on the desk and leaned back against her seat.
Well, this was what she wanted. Wasn’t it?
WHEREAS TIME USED TO pass ever so slowly, the following days seemed to disappear in a flash. Before she could draw another breath, the weekend had arrived, and it was time for DKE and Ravelli Holdings to co-launch their first joint acquisition, Galleria dei Sogni.
As Anneke took her place behind her eldest brother, she became conscious of a sudden murmuring from the crowd and knew right away it was him. Her hands started to perspire, and it took everything not to get her first glimpse of Marcus Ravelli over her shoulder.
For almost the entire week, she had agonized over whether to bring a date or not, but in the end, she had decided not to. It would be too telling, not to mention desperate. Everyone knew how much she hated mixing business with pleasure, and tongues were sure to wag if she suddenly had a male companion escorting her to a DKE launch.
From the corner of her eye, she finally caught sight of the Italian billionaire, gorgeous and impeccably dressed. He was the rare kind of man who could be both intensely macho and exquisitely sophisticated—-
Crap, oh, crap.
She should be completely indifferent to how he looked, shouldn’t she?
Just as Anneke was struggling to keep her distress off her face, a shadow fell over her—-
Oh, double crap.
Marcus stepped into view, and her heart stopped beating.
Dark eyes met hers. “Hello, Anneke.”
She summoned her brightest smile. “Hello, Marcus.” The steadiness of her voice was a relief, and the fact that her knees hadn’t started quaking at the sound of her name on his lips even more so.
She braced herself for the rest of their conversation, but Marcus only gave her a brief nod.
And then he was turning away and taking his place next to Willem de Konigh for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
As Serenity slid into position next to Anneke, she asked in quiet concern, “Are you alright, Anneke?”
“I...” Should be...but I was not.
Throughout the launch, Marcus was aware of Anneke’s fleeting gaze passing him every so often, and it was testament to his ironclad control that he managed not to succumb to the urge to walk up to her.
If only he could assure her that she had nothing to worry about, that he was far from indifferent to her.
If only he could simply tell her, I’m yours.
If only.
But he wasn’t the type to make the same mistake twice, and so he forced himself to maintain the much-needed pretense of giving her a wide berth. He had pushed her too hard, too fast, too early, and look where that had gotten him.
This time, he knew better. This time, he had to wait. This time, he had to give her a reason to approach him first.
Near the end of the launch, he quietly slipped away, leaving the main hall of the art gallery to escape into the balcony. Anyone who would have seen the Italian billionaire at that moment would never have guessed that underneath the expressionless façade was a man on his last lifeline.
Tonight, he had done one of the biggest gambles in his life, pretending that he no longer had any feelings for his wife.
And now, he’d find out if the gamble would pay off or if it would only succeed in pushing her further away.