Falling for Her Husband

by Karen Erickson

  She’s desperate to remember…and he’s desperate to forget.

  The Renaldis, Book 3

  As one of the heads of his family’s well-respected fashion house, Vincenzo Renaldi is used to living life at light speed. His relationship with Amber, a successful model, was the definition of “jet-set”, from whirlwind romance to quickie wedding. Now, at the rate these two workaholics are going, they may as well live in two different worlds.

  Determined to recapture the magic that drew them together, Vince flies to New York to confront his wife. And only succeeds in chasing her away—straight into the path of a moving car.

  When Amber awakens in the hospital, she’s overjoyed to see her husband by her side. Yet there’s something behind the relief in his tired eyes. And something behind his determination to treat her like a queen. Something that lurks just beyond the shadows of her missing memories.

  And when the truth re-emerges, the pain could be a sign of healing…or the final straw that tears them apart once and for all.

  Warning: The last of the Renaldi brothers finally gets his story. Which means a hot and possessive Italian man is on the menu, determined to show his beautiful wife just how much he loves her. In every sizzling, sexy way he can.

  Falling for Her Husband

  Karen Erickson

  Dedication

  To all the readers who’ve been patiently waiting for Vince Renaldi’s story, thank you. I couldn’t do this without you!

  Chapter One

  Once upon a time there was a woman who fell madly in love. She met the man who would quickly become her husband, and she knew without doubt that he was the man for her. He would be the only man for her.

  She married him in a brief ceremony at City Hall in downtown Manhattan. No fanfare, no party, no gorgeous fairytale gown. Just her and him and the official who declared them man and wife and a few witnesses.

  It had been a beautiful, magical courtship. A whirlwind that still made her head spin when she thought about it. How sweet he’d been, how attentive. She loved the way he smiled at her, spoke to her in that low, slightly accented, sexy voice of his, all of the tumultuous emotions he felt for her shining in his dark brown eyes.

  She knew then she was incredibly lucky to have found the attention of such a man.

  Now, though? Sometimes, late at night, when she was all alone, usually in the hushed quiet of yet another nondescript hotel room in some unknown, glamorous city that was glamorous for everyone but her, she had an overwhelming feeling of deep, confusing…

  Regret.

  Amber Hall Renaldi sat in an airplane at this very moment, jetting from yet another foreign location, but now on the return flight to New York. Her sort of newly adopted hometown, though she had no place of her own to live.

  Well, that was a lie. Her husband kept an apartment in the city, but she refused to stay there as of late. And there was her husband’s home in Milan, Italy, but she hadn’t been there in months.

  She hadn’t seen her husband in months either. And she missed him terribly.

  Along with missing him came the avalanche of regret again. Regret she hated to linger over. She was young. In her early twenties and with a modeling career that had kept her busy, focused and making consistent money since she was fifteen years old. She’d done a lot, seen a lot and was in many ways a jaded, tired soul.

  Overdramatic, but true.

  “Why you looking so blue, love?” Her agent Debbie Kaye nudged Amber’s side with a gentle elbow. “If you keep frowning like that your mouth will never smile again.”

  Amber couldn’t help but let a smile break out on her face at Debbie’s words. “That’s one of the oldest lies in the book.”

  “How about this? You keep up that frown and you’ll have wrinkles on your face.” Debbie tapped Amber’s shoulder. “You know that’s true.”

  A sigh escaped Amber and she shook her head, kept her eyes focused on the tiny window she sat beside, but all she could see was the fluffy white clouds the plane was currently flying through. “I need to make a few important decisions soon. And I’m not looking forward to what might happen.”

  “Are you talking about your husband?”

  Amber turned to meet Debbie’s steady gaze. How did she know? Of course, Amber shouldn’t question anything Debbie knew. The woman had to be psychic. She could figure out anyone’s moods to such accuracy it was almost scary. Though there were other things she was considering as well…such as her career. “Yes.”

  Debbie nodded once. “You’ll do the right thing.”

  “How do you know? How can you just…say that when I haven’t done a damn thing yet?” Worry clawed at Amber’s throat, making it hard to breathe. She knew she needed to speak with Vince and express her concerns, but both of them were so busy, it was hard to make that connection. To make the time.

  Of course, he was her husband and she was his wife. If they really cared about each other, they would find a way to make the time. That they hadn’t, Amber couldn’t help but take as a sign.

  “You’re not a stupid girl.” Debbie leaned her shoulder against Amber’s in a reassuring gesture. “You’ve always made really smart decisions.”

  “When it comes to business,” Amber retorted. When it came to her love life, though? She’d always been what one would call…impulsive. Her mother used to give her endless grief about it. She knew her parents had waited breathlessly for her to finally come clean and admit some jerk had gotten her pregnant. But she never had, thank goodness.

  She’d been on a constant search for love since she was in her early teens. She’d wanted it but could never find it with the right guy. Being young and foolish and with way more freedom than any teenage girl should’ve ever had, she’d gone from one guy to the next, all of them older, every one of them trying their best to keep her, but they didn’t make her happy. They didn’t fulfill her like she was looking for.

  Until Vince. He’d swept her off her feet with promises of love and a partnership. He vowed he would take care of her and said and did all the right things. The passionate sex between them couldn’t be denied. He gave her so many orgasms she swore she was addicted to him, as if he were the most consuming drug. She’d believed him to be the perfect man for her.

  Amber still wanted to believe Vince was the perfect man for her. But she was finally coming to realize that maybe…that wasn’t the case. She had an obligation to her family still. They needed her money and she didn’t want them to be Vince’s burden. She loved him, but her family came first.

  They always would.

  “So you tend to rush into your relationships, so what? Who can hold that against you when you live like you do?” Debbie said.

  “How do I live?” Amber asked, confused.

  “Balls to the wall.” At Amber’s colored cheeks and mortified squawk of protest, Debbie laughed. “I’m serious! I’ve never seen someone as brave as you. You do whatever you want, whenever you want. So many of the girls admire you, Amber. As do I.”

  Amber’s cheeks heated further. She figured the girls—the other models at her agency—all looked up to her because she was one of the older ones and had been in the business so long. “I don’t like living life with regrets,” she said simply, shrugging. It had always been her motto, as corny as it sounded. If she wanted something, she went after it. What’s the worst they could say?

  No.

  And she was rarely told no.

  “That sort of attitude will get you far.” Debbie smiled reassuringly. “Talk to your husband. Find out how he feels. Dig for what he wants. He’s a busy man, just as busy as you. I’m sure he misses you terribly.”

  He never acted like it. He said all the right things but he was so brusque with her.
Sometimes he even seemed…angry. And she hated that. The more time they spent apart, the more their relationship seemed to disintegrate.

  It was time for her to do something about it. And once she got her personal relationship in order, it was time for her to seriously consider her next move with her career. She had enough money saved and invested. She’d taken care of her family as long as her father tried to fly right for once in his life and stop becoming such a financial and emotional burden. Knowing they were mostly taken care of made her consider…ending it. Retire.

  Not something she was prepared to talk about with anyone yet, least of all Debbie.

  “You’re here, she’s there. Of course your marriage seems like a joke.” Rafe threw his arms up in the air in frustration, as he was often wont to do. Vincenzo Renaldi’s older brother had a flair for the dramatics—he always had.

  “At least I don’t kidnap my wife in order to make our relationship better,” Vince returned, feeling like a jerk the minute the words left his mouth.

  They were talking about his utter failure of a marriage. He had no right criticizing Rafe’s relationship.

  “It worked, didn’t it?” The pleased grin on Rafe’s face couldn’t be denied. The man was blissfully in love with his wife, Cat, and had no problems letting everyone know his feelings. Once upon a time, this had been him. He’d met and fallen madly in love with Amber and promptly made her his wife.

  Sometimes he wondered if that promptness had been more of a rash decision. Especially lately, what with the way she ignored him.

  And Amber definitely ignored him. Constantly. He wasn’t one to be ignored, and she knew it.

  Life was about to change, though. He was going to do something about it. Hell, he already had. Thank God his family had been in agreement with his plans. They understood this was important to him. That Amber was important to him, the most important thing in his life. He loved her. Maybe he’d forgotten that in the last few months, but no longer. He needed to prove to her that they belonged together still.

  His plan was about to be put into action. She could protest all she wanted, but it was no use. He was determined. Stubborn.

  Fine Renaldi traits. All Renaldi men got what they wanted…eventually.

  And what Vince wanted was his wife back.

  “Well, my plan will work too,” Vince said determinedly. “Yes, I’ve sat idle for far too long. I won’t argue with you. No longer. Moving to be with Amber is the right choice.”

  “Shouldn’t she be the one who moves for you?” Rafe asked.

  “You sound like an old man.”

  Rafe shrugged. “So I prefer traditional roles between a man and woman, what can I say?”

  That was a kind way of saying he was a macho ass. Hell, Vince was one himself. He had to let go of those traits to try to accommodate his wife as best he could.

  So here he was. Changing everything in his life to be with her. If she rejected him, he wasn’t sure what he might do.

  His mind refused to let him go there.

  “Have you talked to our mother?” Rafe asked.

  “Yes.” And she wasn’t pleased with his changes either. Mama was more of a traditionalist. The entire Renaldi family was rather traditional, and that was a kind way of calling them old-fashioned.

  “A woman goes to her man and stays with him,” Mama had said to him on the phone just last evening. “The man does not go to her. I don’t approve of your leaving, Vincenzo, but if you believe she’s worth it, then I cannot stop you.”

  Spoken like a mother who wants to be supportive but can’t help but display her disapproval.

  “I’m sure she doesn’t like what you’re doing,” Rafe continued.

  “She doesn’t have a say in the matter. My marriage is my business,” Vince said firmly. He believed that one hundred percent. They could all get in his business as much as they want, but he would make up his own mind. He would do what he wanted and damn what anyone else thought.

  “So you leave in the morning?” Rafe asked. He’d come over to say goodbye. Their eldest brother, Matteo, had stopped by earlier, voicing his concerns as well. Vince appreciated their support, but he was a grown man.

  He knew what he was doing.

  “I leave late tonight. Taking a red eye to New York.” He’d probably be too keyed up to sleep, but he’d try. It was the best he could do.

  “I wish you luck, my brother.” Rafe reached out and clapped Vince on the shoulder, then pulled him in for a brief hug. “I believe you’re going to need it.”

  Not long after Rafe left, Vince exited his house for the last time. He’d leased it to a young family who’d just had twins. His mother thought him crazy for leasing it when he could’ve left it empty, but he believed in giving himself a reason not to return to Italy.

  Having nowhere to live in his home country meant that he had no choice but to stay in New York and work on his marriage.

  He arranged for a hired car to take him to the airport, and when he arrived, he checked his luggage in at curbside. With less than an hour until boarding time he knew he couldn’t sit idle at one of the airport coffee shops, sipping an espresso. He’d never fall asleep.

  Instead, he’d wandered around one of the many gift shops, staring at the display of magazines and books that ran the entire length of the back wall. There were numerous fashion magazines, his gaze tripping over one after the other until it finally snagged on one magazine in particular.

  There, with thick, coal black circling her eyes and an almost mean glare on that otherwise angelic face, was his wife staring back at him on the cover of Vogue Italia.

  He plucked the magazine from the stand and flipped through it, stopping on the layout within that featured her. The latest in couture wear, the article said. Amber was in a variety of strange poses, her makeup harsh, the photography in stark black and white. She was gorgeous despite the odd shoot, her long, lean body contorted in a myriad of poses. Studying the photos, he remembered what she felt like beneath his hands. Her skin so soft, her body lean and athletic. She had long limbs, legs that went on for what seemed like miles and gentle, tempting curves.

  His heart squeezed and he snapped the magazine shut, clutching it tight in his fist as he went to the cash register. He slapped the magazine onto the counter with a loud thwack and paid for it, not caring that the cashier gave him an odd stare as she handed him his change.

  It didn’t matter what anyone thought. Seeing his wife in a magazine both made him proud and infuriated him. She was gorgeous, but gorgeous for someone else. Spending time with someone else. Living her life without him.

  And that’s what he hated most of all.

  Chapter Two

  “I’m in town,” Vince said, gazing out the window, taking in the cityscape as his hired car drove over the bridge leading into the city. “And I want to see you.”

  “Hold on, Vince. They’re calling me.” A muffled sound—no doubt Amber was putting her hand over the receiver so he couldn’t hear what was said.

  Secrets. She always kept secrets from him, and it drove him crazy.

  Vince ran his hand along his jaw, the two-day old growth of stubble sharp against his palm. His patience was thin, especially with Amber. She avoided him on purpose. She had been for months. Well, no more. He was here, in the same city as she, so close he could practically taste her.

  And he hadn’t tasted his wife in a long time.

  “Damn it, Amber, listen to me. I’m trying to tell you something,” he growled into the phone, relieved when the muffled sound disappeared and he could hear her soft breathing over the line once more.

  “Now, what were you saying? I can’t talk long, though. They need me on the set, so make it quick.” She sounded impatient, a normal mood for her. From the moment he first met her, she had little tolerance when things took too long to happen. She wanted it here and now. Always.

  They’d taken one look at each other from across a crowded room and the attraction sparked, lit to full flame. She w
ent after him with a determination that surprised and thrilled him. He’d been just as taken with her. The passion between them had been off the charts, impossible to fight. They’d fallen in love and married quickly, much to his family’s dismay.

  And then her modeling career took off and it was like she forgot all about him.

  Renaldis don’t like to be ignored, and he was quietly furious. His family grew concerned, but he refused to talk about it. His marriage was none of their business, he told his brothers and mother. Amber was a successful model. How could he put a stop to her career when he was just as driven?

  So he threw himself into his work, but in the back of his mind, the neglect burned. Amber was his wife. She was a Renaldi. His brothers’ wives remained by their husbands’ sides. It wasn’t right, how much his wife avoided him. They should live together. He knew her career demanded she remain in New York and his demanded that he stay in Italy, but he’d finally had enough and talked to his brothers. Matteo and Rafe had been in agreement. Rafe and his wife had made the permanent move back to Italy. Vince would work in New York.

  If Amber wouldn’t come to him, he would go to her. He would make her his once more. They were married. She belonged to him. They were in love. She owed him a second chance at the very least.

  “Vince?” Her irritated tone interrupted his thoughts, and he scowled, gripping his hand into a fist and pounding it softly on his knee.

  “I’m here,” he bit out. “In Manhattan. Tell me what studio you’re at again?”

  Stunned silence on her end carried over for so long, he could practically feel her shock. “You’re here?” she finally squeaked.

  “Yes. Considering you’ve been ignoring me for months, I decided to come to you.” Another pause, and no answer from her yet again. “We need to talk, Amber.”

  “What is there to talk about, Vince? I’m busy. I’m working.” She stressed the last word, her exasperation clear. He didn’t give a damn. “You said you would never get in the way of my career and by springing this surprise visit on me, you’re doing exactly that.”