Read Online The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox - Free Book Online Page B

jeans and cotton top, knowing it was the best she had.  She hadn’t bothered to pack anything that would wrinkle…and then she stopped thinking that way.  She was here for Rennata, and not to impress the rest of Roman society.  She wouldn’t even be seen by anyone since she was planning to be at the hospital or a hotel, or here if that was the only option. 
    “I’m not changing,” she said to Dante and took a seat at the table.  
    “I don’t expect you to,” he replied and went over to get himself a cup of coffee.   He had to admit that she actually looked pretty cute and sexy in her jeans and pink tee shirt.  She reminded him of a sultry, sophisticated seductress, with curves in all the right places and his hands itched to explore those curves underneath the fabric.  He turned away and took a seat at the table, forcing his mind to go over the business details he had on his schedule today.   “We’ll leave for the hospital whenever you’re ready.”
    That news startled her.  “I can get there on my own.  No need to delay your work in order to escort me.”  Or more to the point, she didn’t want to be around him, she thought, hiding her hands underneath the dining room table.
    He sipped his coffee and skimmed the news articles of the paper his mother had recently discarded.  “I can wait.  I didn’t get a chance to visit Nonna yesterday so I’d like to stop by and see her , talk with the doctor and get an update .”
    She couldn’t argue with that logic.  She quickly ate her toast and swallowed her juice, then stood up, not wanting to delay him. “I’m ready,” she said.
    He glanced down at her plate with only a few leftover crumbs , then at her loose jeans.  “You need to eat more than that.”
    She shrugged on her denim jacket , prepared to leave .  “I’m fine.  Really,  I’d rather see Renatta than eat anything else.”
    He watched her carefully.  “You’ve lost too much weight and you didn’t eat anything for dinner last night.  Why don’t you have some eggs or even some fruit.”
    She pulled up her purse, checking to make sure she had everything she might need.  “How do you know I didn’t eat any dinner last night?”   She wanted to appear unconcerned, but her shoulders were tense as she waited for his answer. 
    “You’d be surprised at what I know about in this house,” he countered.
    “I would be.  If you had, none….” She started to say, then shook her head.  “ Never mind .  Let’s just head to the hospital.”
    Dante hesitated, knowing that she needed more food but then dismissed his concern.  He couldn’t force her to eat and she was an adult.  If she wanted to starve herself, who was he to stop her?  It went against everything in him though and he turned away before he ordered her to eat some fruit.  An order she would ignore anyway, so why give it?
    The drive over was slow since they had hit traffic in the middle of rush hour.  The tension inside the car was painful but Sasha refused to talk to him, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good and they’d just end up arguing anyway.
    At the hospital, he led her through the clinical hallways to a private wing, of course donated by the Fuitello family, where Rennata was being treated.
    When Sasha saw the elderly lady with tubes attached to her nose and her arm, a clamp around her finger and dim light above her head , her heart cried out at the injustice of all of this.  “Rennata!” she gasped, rushing to her side and taking her wrinkled, weak hand.  “What have you done to yourself?” Her eyes searched the beeping monitors, trying to glean some information from the numbers and dots. 
    The sweet lady turned and smiled weakly , despite all the tubes running from her nose down and arm.  “You came,” she croaked and looked behind Sasha to smile at Dante.  She lifted her other hand and Dante went around the bed to hold it.  “I’m so glad the two of you are together again.  You need