Read Online A Taste of Heaven (Billionaires' Secrets Book 3) by Jennifer Lewis - Free Book Online Page A

them.”
    “Why not?” he asked. “Isn’t that part of the fun of parenting?”
    Sam felt her smile fade. “I don’t have any children.” She could say it calmly, all emotion buried beneath a composed exterior. She’d officially given up all hope and she was fine with that. She’d known when she married Tarrant that he was not capable of giving her a child, and she accepted it as her fate.
    She’d actually felt calmer since then.
    “Me, neither.” Louis sipped his wine.
    “Do you want children?” It didn’t feel forward to ask. They weren’t dating. She was just curious.
    “Nope.”
    “Why not?”
    “I already told you I’m the product of a chance meeting between a double bass and a saxophone. I grew up like a stream of notes in the air. I don’t think I finished an entire year of school in the same place. I certainly never did homework or ate square meals or tried out for a team. I wouldn’t have the first clue about raising a child.” His eyes sparkled, still squinting slightly against the low rays of sunlight. “So, it’s lucky I’ve never wanted to try.”
    “You are lucky. It’s kind of pathetic how badly I used to want one. And when I married my second husband, who was also keen to have a child, we couldn’t get pregnant. We tried day in and day out for months on end.”
    She reached for her glass and swiped a sip. Ugly memories rolled over her. “He blamed me. We had me tested and everything looked fine, but he wouldn’t get tested himself. One day we just stopped having sex. He said he didn’t want children anymore.”
    Louis listened with compassion in his eyes.
    “After that, he started staying out a lot. I dressed up in all the lacy lingerie I could find, but he just wasn’t interested. ‘Working late,’ he said, but I soon found out different. And that’s when I left him.”
    Louis whistled. “What a jerk. He didn’t know how lucky he was just to have you.”
    Sam shrugged. “Or not. Apparently I couldn’t give him what he wanted.” Goose bumps sprang up on her arms and she raised her hands to rub them. “Tarrant appreciated me just for being me. And, oh, boy, was I grateful for that after my first two husbands.”
    “Finally, you found the father who gave you the love and approval you wanted.” Louis looked steadily at her.
    Sam recoiled from his suggestion. “No! It wasn’t like that at all.”
    “Did you have sex?”
    “Well, no, but... He was ill.”
    Louis made a small movement with his mouth. Like he couldn’t quite find the right words. Or maybe he could, but he didn’t like to say them.
    “He was my husband, not my father.” Her voice rose high as emotion snapped through her.
    Louis simply nodded. “And you were a good wife to him. Every man should be so lucky.”
    Samantha didn’t offer any sign of acknowledgment. She didn’t need his condescension. She had been a good wife.
    “I’m not mocking you.” Louis frowned. He scratched at something on his arm, pulling his shirt cuff up to reveal a stretch of tanned forearm.
    Not that she cared.
    He looked up at her. “You’re a very giving person. That’s a rare and beautiful thing. It’s something not everyone appreciates.”
    Sam found herself wanting to take the compliment and bask in its unfamiliar light. But she managed to resist. “Well, it’s been fun analyzing my personal failures and foibles, but let’s shine a spotlight on yours for a moment, shall we?”
    A wicked grin crept slowly across his mouth. “You’re assuming I have any.”

 
    Chapter Ten
     
    L ouis leaned away and started the engine. The movement gave her an extravagant view of the thick muscles of his back under the strained cotton of his shirt.
    He wasn’t perfect. He probably had all kinds of things wrong with him.
    On the other hand, she certainly couldn’t find fault with his performance in bed. Of course, her experience in that realm hadn’t been of the highest quality.
    Until last night.
    Okay, so maybe he had