A Marriage Between Friends

A Marriage Between Friends
Melinda Curtis

They were just friends when they got married.Jill desperately needed a father for her unborn child, and Vince Patrizio wanted to give them both his name. And if Jill could ever learn to love him, he'd consider himself a fortunate man. Then Jill walked out of his life. But eleven years later, it's Vince's turn to have his say.Arriving in Jill's sleepy California town, he has plans to transform it into a mini Vegas…to reclaim his wife…and to meet the son who should have been theirs. And Vince isn't leaving until he gets what he came for.

“It’s good to see you, Jill. You look great.”

As Vince approached, his gaze drifted over her.

“You, too.” She didn’t have to tell Vince he looked better than great. He probably knew it. She could imagine the babes roaming Vegas fell regularly at his feet.

He held her immobile with his dark gaze as he continued to narrow the gap between them. She could barely remember her own name, much less his. She wanted to put up her guard, but she couldn’t lift a finger. And her feet…her feet weren’t moving either.

He wasn’t stopping. Her heart thudded against her chest.

Long arms reached for her. Settled on her shoulders and drew her to him.

Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t…

Dear Reader,

I first met Vince in Count on Love. He was angry and impetuous, and caused a lot of grief to my other characters—a bad boy in need of his comeuppance! I fell in love and began devising his romantic demise. But he was a bad boy and didn’t want to be tamed; not by me, not by his grandfather and certainly not by his long-lost wife, Jill.

And Jill? Jill is so used to staying the course—alone—that having an overbearing man around (much less an overbearing husband!) who interferes with every aspect of her life and makes her feel things she’d resolved never to feel again…well, it’s not right. She’s determined to thwart Vince at every turn, even if she and Vince were friends in school before she let him talk her into a marriage they never got around to consummating.

I hope you enjoy Jill and Vince’s journey. I love to hear from readers, either via snail mail, P.O. Box 150, Denair, CA 95316, or at my Web site, www.MelindaCurtis.com, which is full of fun trivia and monthly contests.

Happy reading!

Melinda Curtis

A Marriage Between Friends

Melinda Curtis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda Curtis lives in Northern California with her husband, three kids, two Labradors, two cats and a circle of friendly neighbors who eagerly weigh in on everything from the best way to cut your lawn to the best haircut for a fourth grader—just what good friends are for!

To the patient ones in my life—my dh, my cat and

my editor. Good things come to those who wait!

And to the dreamers in my life—

Mason, Colby and Chelsea. It’s good to dream big.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

THE THING ABOUT RELYING only on yourself was that you had no one else to blame when things went wrong.

Vince Patrizio downshifted his Porsche 911 and hugged another hairpin turn in the California gold country. This bend in the road didn’t bring Railroad Stop into view, either. Why am I not surprised?

His GPS didn’t work in the uncharted territory at the foot of the mountains and he was unable to get a solid signal on his cell phone. He was late, lost and about to lose an important deal, one that would most likely cost him his inheritance.

Vince cursed and shifted into a higher gear, the force cocooning him deeper into the cradle of fine German leather that felt as welcoming as a well-paid stripper’s back-room embrace. The car shot over a sharp rise, startling a deer next to the road. Luckily the doe ran away and down into a ravine, instead of into Vince’s path.

He took a deep breath and slowed the car. It was a beautiful early-September afternoon and the narrow ribbon of road beckoned, promising he’d end up somewhere, if not exactly where he wanted to be.

The story of my life.

He’d always been a runner-up, never a winner. Born to wealth but part of a dysfunctional family, left by his wife on their wedding night, what would Vince do but screw up if faced with success and happiness?

That was his grandfather talking. Because of a card game, his grandfather had agreed to stake Vince, but only if he could put a deal together in a year. Aldo Patrizio expected Vince to fail. And for ten months Vince had been doing just that.

Vince cursed again. He jammed his foot down on the accelerator and attacked another turn.