Whatever the Price Read Online Free PDF Page A

zipped his suitcase. He had two amazing females in his life and there was no way he was going to screw that up. Yes, Charlotte may be angry and hurt with him now, but once he arrived back home, she’d see just how committed he was to their new family.
    New family seemed to be the theme for his life lately. Between the Danes and Lily, he’d taken on a whole new set of loved ones. He hoped Charlotte would go with him on this journey that was taking him from the only family he’d known into uncharted territory. Charlotte was his rock, the strongest point in his life. She was familiar and he needed her to hold on to during this life-altering time. She mattered more than anyone and he had to make her see that. He’d failed miserably in the past, but she was worth fighting for, and he wouldn’t stop now, just because things were getting difficult.
    He’d turned his back on her during their marriage and just when she’d laid down the ultimatum of her or his career, he’d discovered his biological mother and siblings, ignoring her once again in favor of others.
    With Rachel’s death so fresh, he needed Charlotte now more than ever to understand that he wasn’t pushing her aside, he needed her to stand by his.
    He’d never, ever meant to hurt her and he knew this was only the beginning of a very long, very emotional process for both of them. And, yes, he was going down this path to fight for the marriage he was so desperately clinging to and he was going to drag her along with him. Because he was not giving up. It may have taken a year of life-altering changes and Charlotte leaving to open his eyes, but now that he saw exactly what he stood to lose, he couldn’t move forward happily in his life without her.
    If he didn’t have Charlotte, no amount of family he connected with or films he made could fill that void.
    She’d counted on his leaving, counted on his turning back to his old ways. But one thing she may not be counting on, the one thing that would keep this marriage together, was the fact he loved her more than anything. He would fight for her with everything in him. And it was time to stand up and be the man, husband and now father she needed and expected him to be.
    * * *
    With a warm bedtime bottle, Charlotte settled onto the damask sofa in her bedroom, cradling Lily in her arms. All the while keeping her eyes on the television, which just so happened to be tuned to the channel where the Emmy Awards were being telecast. Could she help it if that’s what popped up when she switched on the TV? She’d barely spoken to Anthony since he’d left yesterday morning, but she’d watched him since he’d come onto the screen.
    “I’m not watching for me,” she told Lily as she slid the bottle between her puckered lips. “I wanted you to see your uncle Anthony on TV. It’s so rare for him to be in front of the camera.”
    When he walked across the lighted stage wearing a black suit with a charcoal-gray shirt and matching silk tie, Charlotte’s heart clenched. The sight of him never failed to take her breath away. His designer suit stretched across his broad shoulders and that hint of a smile he always seemed to possess gave the impression that he was plotting something and only he knew the secret. He had that same smile in bed.
    Perhaps that subtle charm was the appeal that first drew her to him. That aura of mystery, those dark gray eyes that penetrated deep into her soul and left her tingling down to her toes.
    As he looked into the camera and began to speak from the teleprompter, it seemed as if he was looking right at her.
    She wanted something miraculous to come from these ninety days. Wanted the marriage repaired, legal guardianship of Lily and the perfect family life she’d always dreamed about. Even though she told Anthony they weren’t getting back together, she couldn’t lie to herself. She wanted him back, desperately. But not if he couldn’t change. She dreamed of the day he became the husband and