Read Online Capital Wives by Rochelle Alers - Free Book Online Page A

apologize.”
    â€œDo it now,” she said between clenched teeth.
    She watched as Spencer approached Damon, extended hishand before the older man grasped it. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but saw Damon reach into the breast pocket of his tuxedo and hand Spencer a business card, who reciprocated giving him his card. The two men shared a few words again before shaking hands.
    â€œIs that better?” Spencer asked when he returned to where Deanna had waited for him. He took her hand, cradling it in the bend of his elbow.
    â€œMuch better. Why couldn’t you have done that the first time?”
    â€œI guess you could say it was a little male posturing. Paxton said he understood and probably would’ve reacted the same way if I had been mauling his wife.”
    Deanna gave Spencer a sidelong glance. She had to admit he looked incredibly handsome in formal attire. “He wasn’t mauling me.”
    â€œHe was the one who said maul, not me. We’re going to meet for drinks one day next week.”
    Shaking her head, Deanna didn’t want to think about what had just gone down. It was the first time since she’d known Spencer that he had displayed a modicum of possessiveness. In one breath he’d threatened to kick a man’s ass, then minutes later they were talking about getting together for cocktails.
    If there was one thing she knew about the man she’d married it was that he was an overachiever and had rather predictable behavior. Somehow jealousy was not one of his personality traits. Something was bothering him, and she decided to watch and wait for whatever it was to manifest. Sooner or later he would have to show his hand. They returned to the ballroom and their table. Marisol, who had changed seats with Bryce, pressed her shoulder to Deanna’s.
    â€œWhen Spencer asked why you hadn’t come back with me I told him you were coming,” Marisol whispered.
    Deanna tapped Spencer’s arm to get his attention. “Could you please get me something from the bar?”
    â€œWhat do you want?”
    â€œA glass of red wine.” She waited until he walked away to get her drink, then leaned closer to Marisol and told her what had transpired with Bethany’s husband.
    Marisol’s mouth formed a perfect O. “That’s some crazy shit.”
    Deanna made a sucking noise with her tongue and teeth. “It has to be a full moon. Why were you so nasty to Bethany?”
    It was Marisol’s turn to suck her teeth. “Please don’t get me started, Dee. I have very little sympathy for hood ornaments.”
    â€œYou may not be a hood ornament, but you’re definitely Bryce’s muñeca. A doll by another name is still a doll, chica.”
    â€œVery funny…” Marisol’s eyes narrowed when she noticed a woman sitting at a nearby table, staring at them. “Don’t look now, but do you know the woman in red sitting at the table to our left?”
    Surreptitiously, Deanna glanced at the table, her gaze lingering briefly on a young woman with highlighted blunt-cut hair covering one eye. The bodice of her dress was so revealing that she should have been arrested for indecency. Each time she exhaled her breasts shimmied like gelatin.
    â€œNo. It could be she recognizes me—” Her explanation was preempted when Spencer returned with Deanna’s glass of wine. “Thank you,” she said when he sat down beside her and draped his right arm over the back of her chair.
    Spencer stared at his wife’s profile. His reaction when he saw Damon Paxton holding her hand wasn’t generated by jealousy but fear and frustration. He hadn’t expected Jenah to attend the gathering, and to have her seated at a table only a few feet from where he sat with his wife was risky andindefensible. There was no reason why she would attend an event without his knowledge when she knew Deanna would be in attendance. It was