Page 1 of Captive Bride: Armani
PROLOGUE
CANDI
Holy Mother of God,my head hurts.
Squinting blearily against the bright morning light, I press my fingers to my temple and roll onto my side. The brush of the satin bed sheets around my body is unfamiliar, and so is the feel of the mattress, which is softer than a cloud. With a jolt, I realize that not only is this definitelynotmy bed, but I also have no idea where I am.
What happened last night?
Forcing my eyes open, I sit up and look around the room, taking in my plush surroundings with growing confusion. I’m in a hotel room. A really, really nice hotel room with cream-colored leather furniture, a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto bright blue, cloudless skies, and a palm tree-decked private balcony with an infinity pool. What the hell?
And then it all comes crashing back.Vegas.Of course. I went to Vegas last night to…to…my memories start to go fuzzy again, and it takes all my willpower to refocus.
Okay. Start with the facts I can remember. One, I flew from Napa to Las Vegas yesterday evening. Two, I was with Armani Bellanti, my boss at Bellanti Vineyards. Three—
A groan escapes me as pain lances through my head, accompanied by the familiar aura of a hangover migraine coming on. Dammit. I know I came here with Armani to do something. The weird thing is, I don’t remember drinking. Like, at all.
Back up. Okay. I had breakfast alone at a restaurant, I know that. I did some shopping…went to the spa to relax…came back up to the room. That’s when I’d overheard some unfamiliar voices, and then…
My vision blurs as I stare at the wall across from me, trying desperately to remember. But that’s it, that’s the last thing I recall.
Taking a deep breath, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and search the nightstand for my cellphone. No phone. Where the hell is my phone? Someone enters the room behind me. Swiveling in a panic, I see Armani coming in, fixing the cuff of his shirt sleeve.
My pulse races as a lick of warning goes through me. He’s a dangerous man. A wicked, sexy, delicious man, one I’ve been hiding a very grave secret from, and I can’t recall a damn thing about what we did last night.
The warning bells in my head chime louder as he approaches my side of the bed and looks down at me with an indecipherable glint in his eye.
He leans down to kiss my temple, and I go stiff. What is going on? Why is he acting so casual about all this when I can’t even—and that’s when I see it.
A gold band glinting on his ring finger.
Oh…oh, no.
Suddenly I’m afraid to look down at my own hand, but I don’t have to. His cocky grin says it all. And then, in case there was any last sliver of doubt in my mind—
“Good morning, wife,” he says.
Oh, fuck.
1
CANDI
One month earlier
“I’m almostto the Bellanti estate,” I say into my cellphone. “Anything you want me to be looking for, specifically?”
Slowing the car to delay my arrival, I grip the phone tightly in one hand with the other white-knuckling the steering wheel. Normally, I’m not this nervous. I’ve been to the Bellanti winery hundreds of times, considering that they’re one of my top clients. Today is different, though. Probably because the stakes have been raised.
“Anything and everything,” the voice on the line says impatiently. “You should really know their routines a bit better by now. I’m disappointed. I thought you understood the urgency here.”
My stomach twists with guilt over my shortcomings. I never seem to get my assignments exactly right. But the Bellanti family is far from an open book, especially when it comes to outsiders, and getting my hands on their business paperwork is difficult. I’ve had to build my relationship with them very carefully, very slowly, over the course of almost two years, to earn their trust. I’m sort of there—my friendships with two of the Bellanti wives certainly helps—but I’m still a long way off. Still pretty much empty-handed. I kind of suck at this.
I won’t be admitting that out loud, though.
“I do understand, of course I do,” I soothe. “I’m sorry. I know what taking them down means to you.”
The driveway comes into view. “Anyway, I have to go. I’m here.”
