VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

back with him, but not until Sunday.”
    Logan didn’t take his eyes off the road.   “You think she is going to refuse to come home and that I will not…handle it well.”
    “I want to be here if you need a friend, that’s true, but it’s not because I’m convinced you’ll fail with Shelby.   I’ve known you a long time, Logan, and I’ve never seen you lose when you went after something you really wanted.”
    “But we are not talking about what I want, are we?   What I want will not matter if Shelby does not want it too.”
    “That’s just it.   I think Shelby does want to be with you.   I also think she loves you and that she never stopped.”
    Something deep in Logan’s gut wrenched.   If only he could believe that.   “Then why did she leave?”
    “That, my friend, is what I believe is the real issue.   If you can figure that out, I think you’ll have a fighting chance of saving your marriage.”
    “So you do not believe she left because she did not love me or because of another man?”
    “No, I don’t,” Grady said firmly.   “I’ve never seen any woman look at a man the way Shelby looks at you, as if the sun rises and falls on that pretty face of yours.   And just for the record, I’d bet my life she hasn’t been unfaithful.  It’s not in her nature.”
    Logan arched a brow.   “And just what would you know about my wife’s nature?”
    Grady chuckled.   “Spoken like the jealous husband you are.   We’re almost there so if there are any other words of advice you need, better ask me now.”
    “Much as I hate to admit it, talking about it has helped.”
    Twenty minutes later, having dropped Grady off at the hotel, Logan was on his way to Shelby’s house.   It couldn’t have been more than ten miles up the road, but even that short of a drive seemed to take an eternity.   He wasn’t sure what he was going to say once he got there, he only knew he wasn’t going to leave without her.    
                                                                                           ***
    She’d fantasized about Logan driving up to her house so many times, Shelby didn’t think anything of it when his black Aston Martin pulled into the driveway and came to a stop.   It didn’t even start to register that she wasn’t imagining the door opening and Logan stepping out until he glanced up and saw her standing on the deck.   Even then she might not have believed her own eyes if he hadn’t looked so different.  
    He’d lost weight and the formidable air that made Logan seem so intimidating to others was missing.   His gait, which had always been purposeful and confident, faltered after the first few steps as if he wasn’t quite sure of where he was going.   But it was the stony expression he wore that concerned her the most because the Logan Vittorio she knew had never been able to look at her without showing some sort of emotion.   Even on those rare occasions when they’d had a disagreement, he’d never turned that hardened look on her, and for the first time since she’d met him, Shelby felt a small tremor of fear.
    She stood rooted to the spot, her heart pounding at an alarming rate as he made his way up the stairs leading to the deck.   It seemed to take forever before he reached the top, and for a few breathless moments they simply stared at each other before Logan closed the distance between them, stopping only when he was so close she had to tip her head back to look at him.
    “Are you well, cara ?”
    The sound of his voice swept over her like a warm caress making her shiver in spite of the afternoon heat.   Shelby nodded mutely, unable to dislodge the enormous boulder in her throat.   It didn’t help that he seemed at a loss for words too, or that his fathomless dark eyes held her spellbound and breathless, making it impossible to form a single thought other than how much she still loved him.