Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

anyway. And one they were failing. He was absent and she was becoming increasingly resentful. They were turning full circle.

She stared bleakly out of the window, no longer seeing the glorious view. The gala was tomorrow and he was going to miss it. Again.

Last time she’d left him out of anger, to make a point, to show him she wasn’t going to sit at home and wait for him to let her in. She wasn’t angry this time, just bone-weary and tired. Because this time they had tried, they had talked and confided and learned and grown and it still wasn’t enough. There didn’t seem to be a compromise, a middle way. They worked here in Italy, in courtship, but the whole thing collapsed as soon as reality intruded. It would be better for them both to make a clean break. To keep the last couple of weeks as the idyll it was, a sweet memory, not taint it with a long-drawn-out withering.

Charlie slowly climbed the stairs. She’d moved her belongings from the cosy room she’d first occupied into Matteo’s spacious suite after they’d returned from Rome. The bed seemed far too big for one, every empty corner full of ghosts. She opened her wardrobe and her gaze fell onto her suitcase. The divorce papers were in the front pocket. All she needed to do was instruct her solicitor to submit them and in six weeks they would both be free.

It would be the right thing to do. The mature thing to do.

It would be the hardest, the most painful thing she had ever done. Because this time she wasn’t fuelled by anger or self-righteousness. It would break her heart—literally, it felt like—and, worse, she knew it would break Matteo’s. But they had to move on from this stalemate. She had to be the bigger person, whatever the cost.

Charlie swayed, and for one moment she felt the weight of her decision almost overwhelm her. She summoned every ounce of courage she possessed, swallowing back the regret and devastation and pain. That could come later. Slowly, methodically, she changed into her swimsuit and, pulling a wrap around her, she collected her book and phone and headed back downstairs and outside, plonking herself down on a sun lounger, determined to try and relax.

But as she opened her book her phone rang, disturbing her attempts to calm her thoughts. Her heart jolted, hope shooting through her, only to disappear when she saw Lexi’s name on her screen.

Picking up the phone and pressing the Accept Call button, she tried to figure out what time it was over in Vietnam. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’

Her friend sounded her usual exuberant self. ‘It’s good—you should see this place, Charlie. It’s paradise.’

‘Still paradise with a bronzed New Zealand surfer?’ she managed to tease. Some part of her marvelled at her ability to hide her feelings.

Lexi laughed. ‘Oh, yes, it’s going well. Most of his friends have moved on, there’s just a small group left so it’s a much more chilled vibe. You will love it. When are you coming out? You said a week or so and it’s been more than three. We’ll be moving inland soon and I’d hate for you to miss this place. The snorkelling and diving are amazing.’

Charlie lay back and stared out at the horizon. Backpacking, sightseeing, sea and surf and partying. She’d met Lexi a few years ago through mutual friends, a teacher like herself wanting a travelling companion for the summer holidays. The two of them had hit it off, both enjoying a balance between sightseeing and partying, tourist places and exploring off the beaten track.

Lexi was obviously having a great time and Charlie could be out there with her. What was she doing agonising about someone who would always have priorities other than her?

She’d always followed every opportunity offered to her in the past—and now here was an opportunity staring her in the face. Maybe she should just do what she always did and head off.

‘It does sound amazing…’ She couldn’t hide the longing in her voice.

‘Then come,’ Lexi said. ‘I’ll send you the details of where we are. We’ll be here for at least two more weeks. Get a flight and join us. Look, I have to go; there’s a cocktail with my name on it. But don’t overthink it, book a ticket and let me know when your plane gets in, okay?’

‘I’m not quite promising anything,’ Charlie warned. ‘But I will let you know either way.’

‘You do that. Hope I see you soon.’

Charlie put the phone down, then shucked off her wrap and dived into the cold, clear water, surfacing with a splutter and striking out across the pool. With each stroke her mind spun faster and faster, replaying the short conversation with Lexi and her decision to leave Matteo. She couldn’t deny how much part of her wanted to cut her losses and run. But what would that achieve? She was no longer a teenage girl with no control of her own destiny. She couldn’t spend her whole life jumping into the next thing, could she? At some point she would need to put down some roots.

If what she and Matteo had was worth fighting for, then maybe instead of giving up she should fight.

She’d married a man with commitments. She had married a man who was responsible for thousands of jobs and she had married him knowing both of those things. She wanted him to recognise her own achievements, of course she did, but there had to be some kind of give and take. She wanted him to change? Well, maybe she needed to change as well, maybe she needed to grow up and support him the way she wanted to be supported.

Did it really matter if he was standing by her side for this gala? Did it really matter if he had to disappear off with no notice? It wasn’t all about his actions; it was also about her reactions. She sped up, welcoming the