REUNITED WITH THE REBEL BILLIONAIRE
Bayou Billionaires #3
Catherine Mann
Releasing on April 1st, 2016 (Digital)
Harlequin Desire
Is it a real reunion, or one for the
Mann!
Football star Henri Reynaud won’t
Harper-Reynaud isn’t just some ruse. The sultry beauty belongs in his bed.
Fiona doesn’t know where her sexy
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Henri took risks in his job on a regular basis. Sure, his teammates worked their asses off to prevent a hard tackle from his blindside. But he understood and accepted that every time he stepped onto the field, he could suffer a career ending injury.
Fans called him brave.
Sports analysts labeled him sometimes reckless. him sometimes reckless.
The press branded him as fearless.
They were all wrong.
Heโd been scared as hell every day since the doctors declared Fiona had inherited her familyโs cancer gene. It didnโt matter that their marriage had been on the rocks. Heโd been rocked to his foundation. Still was.
Henri clenched her shoulders so his hands wouldnโt shake. Even the smallest touch between them was filled with tension. And not in the way that made him weak in the knees. โYour zipper?โ
With a will of their own, his eyes took in the long line of her neck, exposed with her dark hair corralled by a thin braid so that long, loose curls cascaded in a narrow path down her back. He looked further, down her spine skimmed by those curls and to the small of her back that called to him to touch, to kiss. But heโd lost the right. Sheโd made that clear when heโd tried to reconcile after the doctorโs prognosis.
โThank you, yes please,โ she said, glancing over her shoulder nervously and pulling her hair aside. He hated seeing that sort of distance in her eyes. โIโm running late because of, uhm , a last minute snafu with the caterer.โ
โAdelaide said you were having trouble with your car so I came home early. But I see itโs in the garage. What was wrong?โ
Whipping her head away from his gaze, she muttered, โDoesnโt matter.โ
It was becoming her trademark response. It didnโt matter.
That was a lie. He could tell it in the way her mouth thinned as she spoke.
Letting out a deep sigh, his eyes traced over their room. Or should he sayโtheir former room. Heโd taken to sleeping in the guest bedroom of the restored home. Away from her. Theyโd even lost the ability to lie next to each other at night. To show up for each other in that simple way.
In front of him was the first gift heโd ever bought Fiona. It was a handsome jewelry armoire that doubled as a full length mirror. It was a one-of-a-kind vintage piece. Whimsical and light. Just like Fiona in her beautiful, jewel colored dress. Looking at the gilded mirror with his exquisite wife framed in its reflection reminded him of how far theyโd fallen. Damn.
This whole room was a mausoleum to what was.
He wanted her to lean on him. Even if it was just a little bit. This wasnโt what he wanted. โAnything else I can do to help?โ
โIโve got it under control.โ Finality colored her words.
โYou always do.โ It came out harsher than he intended. But damn it, he was trying. Couldnโt she see that?
She spun around to face him, her petite frame filling with rigid rage with the silk of her gown whirled against his shins. Raising her chin and her brow, she pressed her lips tight, primly. โNo need to be snarky.โ
Sticking his hands in his suit pants, he shrugged, his silk tee under his jacket as soft as her touch. โI am completely serious.โ
Fionaโs deep brown eyes softened. She took a deep breath and stared at him. A breeze stirred the stale air of the room, filtering through the window with the sounds of foot traffic and car horns. It was a grounding sound, reminding him of when theyโd first bought this house and when theyโd been a team. Theyโd spent hours restoring the old house. And theyโd done it together. Theyโd built this house into a home.
โSorry, I didnโt mean to start a fight. Adelaide was a huge help during a really long day. Letโs just get through the evening. Itโs harder and harder to pretend thereโs nothing wrong between us.โ
Something was off with her today, but he couldnโt tell what. Clear enough though , she was trying to pick a fight with him.
โI donโt want to fight with you.โ He didnโt know what the hell he wanted anymore other than for to have things the way they were.
โYou used to love a good argument with me. Only me. You get along with everyone else. I never understood that.โ
โWe had fire, you and I.โ It had been a sizzling love. One that warmed him to his damn core. And he knew there was still a spark in the embers. He couldnโt believe it was all gone.
โHad, Henri. Thatโs my point. Itโs over and you need to quit making excuses to delay the final step.โ Ferocity returned to her fairy-like features. A warrior in blue silk and sequins.
โNot excuses. You needed to recover. Then we agreed we wouldnโt upset the season starting. Then with my brotherโs wedding on the horizon–โ
โExcuses. Divorce isnโt the end of the world.โ She pinned up a curl that had escaped the confines of the delicate braid binding the others into place.
Everything about her these days was carefully put together so that no one saw a hint of the turmoil beneath. For months heโd respected that. Understood she was the one calling the shots with her health issues. But how could she deny herself any help? Ever? Sheโd made it clear he didnโt know how to be the least bit of assistance.
And now, divorce was the recurring refrain.
โOur family is in the spotlight. A split between us would eat up positive oxygen in the press.โ He needed her to take a deep breath. They needed to figure out everything. He needed to stall.
She turned back around, using the mirror to smooth her dress. โNo one is going to think poorly of you for leaving me. I will make it clear I โm the one who asked for the divorce.โ
Anger boiled, flushing his cheeks. โI donโt give a damn what people think about me.โ
โBut you do care about your team. I understand.โ He picked up on the implication of her words. That he didnโt care about her. And that couldnโt be farther off-base. She was still trying to pick a fight. To widen the gap between them.
โWeโre going to be late.โ The tone of his voice was soft. Almost like a whisper. He wanted to calm her down, to stop this from turning into an unnecessary fight. Something was upsetting her. Something major.
As much as he wanted to understand her, he couldnโt. The party was about to start and he didnโt have the time to unwrap the subtle meaning of all of her words.
All he wanted was to have their old life back. For her to look at him like she used. To be a team again. For their relationship to be uncomplicated like it once was.
Tapping the back of her dress, he met her gaze in the mirror. Settling his hands back on her shoulder, he breathed against her ear and neck. โUnless you would like me to take the zipper back down again.โ
USA Today bestseller and RITA Award winning author Catherine Mann writes contemporary romance for Berkley, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Tule. With over sixty books released in more than twenty countries, she has also celebrated six RITA finals, an RT Reviewerโs Award finalist, three Maggie Award of Excellence finals and a Booksellerโs Best win. Catherine and her flyboy husband live on the Florida coast where they brought up their 4 children โ and still have 5 four-legged, furry โchildrenโ (aka pets). Catherine is an active volunteer with an animal rescue, serving on their Board of Directors and fostering over 200 puppies, ill dogs, and dogs with service/working potential.
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Thank you so much for sharing the latest book in our Bayou Billionaires series!
You are welcome.
It’s a shame that I can’t enter the giveaway, but I’ll totally keep the titles to get those books ๐
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Konstantina, if you’re an international reader, you can absolutely enter! If you click on the arrows underneath the first prize pic (which is for US readers) you’ll see the next prize, which is available to both US an INTL readers. We definitely want to send prizes to the awesome people who support us abroad!! Please do enter and thank you for stopping by the blog!