It was a beautiful building, a desired location for both of them, and the apartment was a third larger than their current place. They needed the room for the baby, even though she’d protested when he first broached the subject with her. She liked living in their apartment, she’d said with a little pout. Weren’t their lives changing enough?
Yes, but this change was for the better. Why wouldn’t she want a bigger home that she could design in any way she wanted?
Once he took her to the new apartment, that was when he planned on letting her know about the day of the accident. He needed to get the truth off his chest once and for all. She would be so happy, so blissful over the meal and the new home and all the wonderful things happening in their lives, no way could she be angry with him.
That was his plan, at least.
“I’m hungry,” she murmured once the car pulled away from the curb and immediately got stuck in the busy downtown Manhattan traffic. “I hope you’re taking us somewhere good. My appetite is off the charts lately.” It had done a recent switch, of which she was thankful for. She rubbed a hand over her still mostly nonexistent stomach. “Greedy little baby.”
He chuckled and placed his hand over hers, caressing her gently. “You’re going to like where I take you.”
She smiled up at him, her eyes glowing. “Ooh, that sounds promising.”
“That’s because it is. After dinner, I have another surprise for you too.”
His wife practically bounced in her seat. “I can’t wait.”
Smiling, he pulled her in close, kissing her, his blood heating at her murmur of pleasure. Once she’d gotten over the constant morning sickness, Amber had become a different woman. Leaving Debbie behind, shedding everything from her old life had changed her too.
All for the better.
The car soon pulled up in front of her favorite Italian restaurant—one of the only restaurants he could tolerate since its food truly was authentic and he was incredibly picky—and Amber emitted a little squeal. “Are you trying to fatten me up?” she asked as she stared out the car window at the restaurant before them.
Laughing, he smoothed his hand over her shoulder, tangling his fingers in her hair. “Trying to make sure you and our baby are well fed.”
“I’m going to get my grub on, I hope you know,” she said, her tone completely serious.
Which made him laugh even more. “I can’t wait.”
The fine cuisine at La Luna Ristorante was the most divine Italian food she’d ever had. The food was rich and spicy and oh-so-flavorful, and she indulged completely, not even caring how many calories she was consuming as she devoured piece after piece of the restaurant’s famous garlic bread. The pasta dish she ordered for dinner, one of the chef’s well-known creations that was exclusive to the restaurant, was a decadent treat. Vince had even gone so far to order dessert, but at least they were sharing it.
She was so stuffed, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get out of her chair. How would it be when she started to show with her pregnancy? She’d be a waddling, overstuffed whale at the rate she was going.
It was a relief, not dealing with the morning sickness anymore. And the term “morning sickness” was bogus. More like morning, noon and night sickness—it didn’t matter what time of day it was, she’d felt awful. She’d taken to carrying ginger pills with her everywhere she wanted to stave off the constant nausea.
Now, though, she felt good. She was at the beginning of the second trimester, her stomach was starting to swell, though not by much, and her husband was as attentive and loving as ever. Maybe even more so.
Amber finally felt good, confident and secure in her marriage, with her life. She was going to be a mother. She had a strong, sexy husband by her side and she loved him. She may have given up her modeling career, but she was okay with that. Mostly. Her focus had shifted toward her growing family.
Her cell phone suddenly rang and she grabbed it from where she left it on the table, checking the screen to see that it was her mother. Speaking of family…
“Hi, Mom,” she said cheerily when she answered.
“Amber.” Her mom breathed heavily into the receiver. “Your father. He’s left the rehabilitation center.”
Panic rose within Amber and she tried her best to tamp it down. After all these years of dealing with her father’s problems, she thought she’d be used to it by now. “When? Where is he?”
“He left…” Her mom swallowed audibly. “Well, it was almost a week ago.”
“What?” Amber practically shrieked, causing her husband to look at her questioningly. She mouthed, It’s my mom, and he nodded in understanding. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she asked, lowering her voice so she wouldn’t make a scene. “You should’ve called right away. The minute you found out he walked out of the center.”
He’d done this before. Her father was stubborn and always believed he knew best. A few weeks, even a few days without alcohol, and he figured he had all his bad habits kicked. He’d been to countless rehab centers, especially these last few years once she started earning good money and took care of the bill.
But he rarely completed his treatments. Amber had been tempted to refuse to help him more than once, but it was so hard. He was her father. Family. Blood. Guilt would consume her every time she tried tough love on him.
Her life could’ve been downright perfect if she didn’t have to deal with her dad and mom all the time.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” her mother whined, making Amber wince. More than anything, her mother was good at making Amber feel guilty. “You’re so busy all the time. First with all your modeling and traveling, now with your husband and the baby coming. I’m a nuisance, I know. You don’t have time for me and all our problems.”
Here came the guilt again. “Mom, stop. You’re never a nuisance.” She sent Vince a look when she caught him studying her from across the table.
“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Her mom blew out a harsh breath. “I’m calling because I found him and he swears he’s ready to go back into the center. The same one he just left. And I called them, they’re willing to take him back, but they need more…money.” She stumbled over the last word.
Amber closed her eyes, her mother’s request sinking in. She had money, a healthy amount of savings that she’d recently discussed with Vince. She wanted his assistance in investing it so she could make even more money.
She’d always liked being independent, and that much hadn’t changed.
But this…throwing away money on her father’s useless treatment when he would just go and buy a bottle of vodka the second he got out—or escaped—rehab was pointless.
“Mom, I don’t know…” She started, a little sigh escaping her when she heard her mom break into full-on sobbing.
“Please, Amber. He needs you. We both need you. I can’t afford to pay the extra fee, and I know you can, honey. You’re good for it, right?”
Of course she was good for it. But she didn’t want to be good for it. She was tired of bailing out her dad. How she wished he’d been the one who called her and not her mother. She’d have no problem telling him off, letting him know how she really felt.
He did this on purpose, putting her mom up to it. Or her mom did it of her own accord since she was so used to the pattern. Her mom was a complete enabler.
If she was being honest with herself, so was she.
“I need to discuss this with Vince first,” she offered haltingly, but her mom cut her off.
“When have you ever consulted him before? Aren’t you the one who was always so insistent that you paid your own way? That you made your own money? I know working like you did all the time, you must have a ton of money stashed somewhere. What’s another twelve thousand dollars with the kind of money you make? That’s like chump change to you.”
“Twelve thousand?” Amber asked weakly, rubbing her forehead. That was so much money. She could make herself sick to her stomach if she tried to figur
e out the exact amounts of money she’d spent on her father’s so called recovery over the years. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Please,” her mother huffed. “I know you’ve got it.”
“Like I said, I want to talk to Vince first,” she said firmly, her gaze cutting to his. He regarded her warmly, looking pleased that she would say such a thing. She’d bet she never consulted with him over such matters before. He deserved that, at least.
She trusted him.
“I need it now.” Her mom’s voice turned ice cold. “Transfer it into my account like you do. Come on, Amber. Time is ticking by, and who knows how long I can keep your dad in the house again? What if he tries to escape?”
“I…” She wanted to say she didn’t care if he ran away. She’d almost prefer it if he did, not that she’d ever admit such a thing to her mom. “You’re just going to have to keep an eye on him and give me time. This is a huge decision. What if we come up with better options?”
“You would’ve suggested them by now,” her mom said.
Amber leaned her elbow onto the table, resting her head in her hands. Her mom just didn’t get it. “I’ll call you later with my answer, okay?”
“How much later?”
“I don’t know!” Amber yelled, knowing she’d drawn the attention of more than a few people sitting near by but not wanting to disturb them. “Just—be patient, okay? I need that from you right now. Patience.”
“Fine.” Another harsh breath, as if she was trying her best to calm her raging nerves. “I will give you twenty-four hours, that’s it. You better call me back with an answer.”
And with that, her mother hung up on her.
Chapter Seventeen
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “So beautiful. Don’t ever leave me.”
“I won’t.”
“You are everything to me. All mine.”
Amber frowned. His words were spoken with such passion, but they also scared her… “I don’t want to leave you.”
“What do you mean by that?” He scowled. Her husband was so handsome, but at this very moment, he appeared rather menacing. Almost…
Scary.
“I meant what I said. I don’t want to leave you. I love you.”
He grabbed her by the shoulders, so tightly she was afraid she might bruise. “You will never leave me. I won’t allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” She was indignant. Furious. How dare he say such a thing to her? “You can’t tell me what to do. If I want to leave, I’ll leave.”
“No, you won’t.” He gave her a little shake. “You belong to me.”
She tore herself out of his grip and started running. Her heels clicked loudly on the sidewalk and suddenly there were all of these people surrounding her. The crowd was thick and she ran through it as best she could, shoving past them, ignoring their muttered protests.
It was imperative that she get away from her husband. He was scaring her. His words, the way he was acting…it all felt like a threat.
“Amber!” he bellowed. “Come back here!”
She glanced over her shoulder, saw that he was chasing her. Gaining on her. Looking forward, she saw the upcoming busy intersection and that the light was red. She’d have to wait before she could cross and he would be able to completely catch up with her by then.
That was the last thing she wanted.
Hurrying her steps, she sprinted toward the intersection, surprised she could run so well in heels. All that runway experience came in handy after all, didn’t it?
If she wasn’t so scared, she could almost laugh at her thoughts.
The light was still red when she reached the intersection and she glanced around, looking for Vince, hoping the light changed soon. People stared at her, all of them faceless. Nameless. She realized she couldn’t look in their eyes, shame filling her that they knew her husband was chasing her. Trying to own her.
No one owned her. She was independent. She belonged to no one but herself.
“Did you really think you could get away from me?” Vince clamped his hand around her arm, right in the crook of her elbow. He turned her to face him, his expression stormy as he stared at her, his eyes so dark they were almost black.
“Stop it,” she said, her voice low, her entire body trembling at the way he looked at her, touched her. He was angry. Furious, even. And she had no idea why.
What did she do? Why were they fighting? It made no sense.
“No,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re my wife. You belong to me.”
“I’m not a piece of property, Vince.” She pulled out of his grasp, turning toward the street. The light was still red, the traffic not letting up at all and she glanced from left to right, wishing she could dash across the street and escape her husband.
She pushed past the guilt and unease. It was wrong, wanting to get away from her husband. Her parents. Her life. That’s how she felt lately. She was tired of dealing with everything. They all wanted something from her, especially her mother. Making her demands and ultimatums. Who did she think she was, trying to boss her around? Everyone tried to boss her around. Even Debbie Kaye, and she was supposed to be her biggest ally.
It was a disappointment, how everyone treated her. But maybe it was her own fault. She allowed everyone to treat her like this. She’d established a pattern and now it was coming back to haunt her.
“I’m leaving you, Vince,” she said once she turned to face him again. “It’s over.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You can’t leave me.”
“Oh yes.” She lifted her chin, feeling defiant. “I can.”
“Oh no.” He shook his head, a grim smile on his face. “You can’t.” He gripped her by the shoulders, holding her tight, forcing her to look directly into his gaze. “If you think you can get away from me, you have another thing coming. You will never be able to escape me. Ever.”
Her entire body shook at his words, at the way he was looking at her. Like he wanted to tear her apart. “You can’t keep me. I’m not a possession.”
“You’re my possession and I never want you to forget it.” He leaned in closer, his face thrust in hers. “If I can’t have you, no one can have you.”
She shook her head, panic swarming her. “Why are you saying this?”
“Because I won’t share you. Not with your career, not with Debbie, not with anyone.” He gave her a little shove, causing her to stumble on her towering heels. It was like he didn’t even care. “You either come with me or…”
“Or what?” Amber asked, cringing at the menace she saw in his eyes.
“Or…this.” He shoved her. Hard. Sending her stumbling backwards, teetering on the edge of the sidewalk. She could hear the tangle of traffic directly behind her, actually feel the rush of the vehicles as they sped past.
And then she felt nothing but air. Like she was flying backwards for a split second, hanging there over nothing. She looked to her right, saw the car coming straight at her.
She screamed.
“My God, Amber. Are you all right?” Vince sat up in bed, hauling his sobbing, shaking wife into his arms, holding her close. Her crying came from deep inside her, wracking her shoulders, her tears leaving his neck damp as she cried against him.
She’d done this before. Had a terrible dream that woke them both up with her screaming and crying. But she’d never been this loud, never this emotional. She was literally quaking in his arms, her sobs heavy as she clung to him.
“Just a b-bad dream,” she stuttered, her voice muffled against his neck. “I keep having them lately.”
“What’s it about?” He ran his hand up and down her back in a slow, soothing gesture. That was another thing. She never revealed what her dreams were about. Which left him speculating that they were about him.
And he hated that.
“We were fighting. You were so…angry,” she confessed softly. She lifted her head, gazing up at him, tears still shining in her pretty blue ey
es. “I ran away from you and you, um, you tried to hurt me.”
He frowned. “That’s awful.”
“I know. That’s what makes the dream so horrific. How mean you are in it. The entire scenario feels so real.” She paused, chewing nervously on her lower lip. “I keep having variations of the same dream. It always ends the same, though, bringing the car accident into it.”
“The car accident?” His frown deepened. “How?”
“I always wake up just before I get hit by a car.” Her gaze skittered away from his, and he immediately sensed she was holding something back. But what? “I scream in the dream and I wake up screaming too.”
“That’s awful.” He ran his hand over her hair, wanting to comfort her, wishing he could take all her pain away. He figured tonight’s dream had to have been triggered by the phone call from her mother requesting more money. He’d never understood how Amber’s parents had no qualms taking advantage of her. And how Amber always gave in to their financial demands.
She’d given them a tremendous amount of money over the years, always supposedly to help her father get treatment for his alcoholism but rarely did it work. All of the money wasted. It tore Amber up and enraged him every single time, especially tonight.
Their special dinner had been ruined. He hadn’t even bothered to show her their new place. He decided to save it for later. Amber had needed to talk, which they did the entire drive home and long into the night while they lay in bed. No lovemaking, no celebrating over their new life. His plans had gone straight to hell.
Not that it had been Amber’s fault, oh no. He put the blame squarely on her mother. He told Amber to tell her no. She’d done enough for her family. It was time for her father to heal himself, not rely on Amber to take care of him all the time. Not that he wanted to be taken care of.
But she’d cried, saying she felt guilty not doing anything. She had the financial means. She’d confessed the reason she worked so hard for so long was to make money to help her family. He knew she’d always wanted financial independence, but she’d never before admitted that she worked solely to help her family. He knew she sent them money and that she’d financed her father’s rehab visits in the past, but he’d never realized her entire career was all about supporting her family.
Falling for Her Husband: The Renaldis, Book 3 Page 12
