Blue Dahlia (The Dahlia Trilogy of The Gilded Flower Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she hasn’t felt in years.
    “Say it, Dahlia,” he whispers to her.
    “What, Shane?” she murmurs, wrapping her leg around his waist.
    “That you’re mine forever.”
     
    Dahlia’s eyes fly open, her breathing ragged. Her pussy continues to quiver from the intense orgasm. The clock on her bedside reads 6:30 a.m. She throws her arm over her eyes. This trip was a terrible idea.
    She pads over to her bag, pulls out a piece of paper and begins to draw.
     

Chapter 17
    “Sleep well?” Shane asks when Dahlia enters the kitchen.
    “Just fine,” she replies coolly, pulling a carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator.
    “I bet you did,” he smirks, sipping his coffee. “Sounded like you had a visitor this morning.”
    Dahlia blushes but quickly recovers.
    “You’re taking me back to SB today, right?” She asks, pouring her juice into a glass.
    Shane’s expression turns serious. “If that’s what you want.”
    “What I want is a divorce.”
    “Does your boyfriend know about me?”
    Dahlia looks down, studying the pattern of the dark granite countertop.
    “I didn’t think so.”
    “Don’t be so holier-than-thou about this Shane. You’ve been with other women as well. I’m sure you’re not talking about your wife while you’re busy screwing them,” she spits out. Dahlia braces herself for another fight.
    “But I don’t act as if you didn’t exist.”
    “Clearly we have different ways of coping, Shane.”
    He shakes his head and steps toward her. She takes a step back. “Don’t.”
    “Why, D? Why him and not me?”
    Tears prick her eyes, and she swallows.
    In an even voice she says, “Because the thought of you, even seeing you here, makes me think of her . And. I. Can’t. Handle. That.” Dahlia slides down the cabinet to the kitchen floor and cries.
    “Oh, D. Please don’t,” Shane says as he lowers himself to the floor. He wraps his arms around her, tears streaming down his face.

Chapter 18
    They remain on the cold stone floor for what feels like a lifetime to Dahlia. She feels the past flooding out of her as she sobs in his arms. The two years they had together ended abruptly in a hospital when she received the news their baby had died. It was too much for a new mother to bear, especially one as young as she was.
    Seeing him after that was more pain than she could tolerate. Her world, as she knew it, was beyond repair. Dahlia would have to start a new life. One that didn’t involve her husband, the father of her dead child.
    Finally Shane stands, pulling her up along with him. “I brought you here to show you something,” he says.
    He takes her hand and leads her outside through the wide French doors to the side of the house. In front of them lies a two-story white cottage with a Spanish tile roof and blue trim. “This was supposed to be a guest house when I bought the property, but I turned it into an artist’s studio.”
    Dahlia follows him inside. Her jaw drops when she takes in the first floor. A few of her landscape photos adorn the walls of the living area. She walks slowly to the first one, gazing at the brilliant sunset she captured over Big Sur.
    “You know, someone offered me good money for that photo, but I turned them down,” Shane says proudly.
    She heads to the other side of the room and studies a black & white photo she took of him surfing. “From better days.” He smiles.
    He glides over to her and looks into her crystal blue eyes, his own conveying a warmth and passion she hasn’t seen since her arrival yesterday. Shane pushes her hair off her face and runs his thumb along her cheek.
    “You had tremendous strength, D. Enough for both of us. Your energy and creative power took my breath away. You inspired me.”
    “So does that mean I get half?” She says jokingly, trying to push back the emotions that threaten to overwhelm her again.
    Shane chuckles. “Now that I think about it.” His smile quickly fades. “But really, D. Ask yourself. Are you happy?