Read Online The Wedding Wish (Summer Grooms Series) by Ginny Baird - Free Book Online Page A

do that to, Robert surely hadn’t deserved it. Even if the marriage had been
bad or things had started to sour between them, Isabel couldn’t imagine what
would drive a woman to do something so cold. No matter how hard it had been
hearing Robert’s confession, in her heart Isabel believed that he was speaking
the truth. The pain was written in his eyes, just at the mention of what was
bound to be an awful memory. “I’m sorry.”
    “The worst part was, because she did things the way she did—leaving
the country and all—this left me in a terrible predicament.”
    “How long was she gone?”
    Robert slowly shook his head. “She’s still gone.”
    Another scenario occurred. “How do you know she’s okay? That
maybe she didn’t get hurt?”
    “We have mutual friends who’ve seen her around. Sipping cappuccino
in a café in Venice… Out to dinner with a gaggle of girlfriends in Rome. Jenny’s
apparently having the time of her life as an ex-pat and has absolutely no
intention of coming home. I’ve tried contacting her over the years, having my
lawyer send official correspondence. She’s ignored all of it.”
    “Well then, how can you…” Isabel swallowed hard, hating to
hear herself say it. “Get a divorce?”
    “There’s a seven-year abandonment rule. That is, if you have
some way to prove it.”
    “The note by the coffeepot?”
    “In court, that could prove ambiguous. She didn’t precisely
say she wasn’t coming back.” He paused a moment for effect. “But in the
postcard she did.”
    “Postcard?”
    “Two months after she’d gone, I got a postcard from Pisa. Having the time of my life. Decided to stay.
You can keep condo and my cat. ”
    “Cat?” Isabel asked in shock.
    “No worries. Her sister took it.”
    “So this postcard…? It was proof?”
    “Postmarked seven years ago today.”
    The art deco clock in the atrium began to chime.
    “What’s that?”
    “Perelli’s clock,” she said. “The one in there.” Her gaze travelled
to the next room, the truth slowly dawning.
    Robert caught his breath. “Isabel, what time is it?”
    “When my folks left, it was after eleven.”
    The clock struck again, then again, and again.
    “How many was that?” he asked.
    “Ten, I think.”

 
    “I can’t believe it.” Robert felt awash in relief. It was if
he’d been drowning for seven long years and someone—at long last—had
thrown him a life raft. “Isabel…” he said as the clock chimed eleven.
    “Robert?” she asked, blue eyes wide.
    And then, miracle of miracles, it happened. The clock chimed
midnight. It was over.
    He ran his hands through his hair, unable to absorb the
moment. After all this time and the endless court battles… False starts and
disappointments. At least three times before, Robert had believed himself on
the brink of divorce. But each time, some unforeseen legal precedent had
blocked it. Susan had assured him that abandonment was their big ticket. It might take longer to work through than the other
strategies they’d tried, but according to her, it was the best thing they had.
They’d win this battle for his freedom at last. After so long of holding on,
Robert had almost lost faith in a hopeful outcome. Now, incredibly, it had
arrived.
    Isabel brought a hand to her heart. “What does this mean?”
    “I’m a free man.”

 
    Isabel steadied herself on shaky knees as the waves of these
truths crashed over her. First he was married… Now he wasn’t?
    “Are you okay?” he asked, walking to her. “You look a little
pale.”
    She stunned him by latching on to his coat lapels, and for a
crazy instant, Robert feared she might tackle him to the ground just as her dad
had. “So you’re saying…” She gripped tighter and pulled him toward her. “You’re… not …married? To anyone? Anymore?”
    He vehemently shook his head. “That’s the good news,” he
said with a squeak.
    She narrowed her gaze, and his heart thumped in his chest. “And
you