The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife (Blair and Grayson) novel Chapter 293

Chapter 293

-MARCO-

“What are you doing here?” The words came out low and rough, barely above a growl.

Caterina blinked up at me, lashes fluttering like the question was something she could play with.

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She had always been good at that-arriving exactly when it would cost me the most. Perfect timing. The kind that only looked accidental if you ignored how many people would have had to point her in my direction.

“What?” she asked. “Am I banned from here as well? It isn’t your home. Is it?”

My jaw locked so tight my teeth ached. “I told you to keep your distance. You know I come here. You’ve known for years. This isn’t a coincidence and we both know it.”

She shrugged, one shoulder lifting. The thin straps of her cover-up slipped a fraction lower. “I came to enjoy the beach. The water’s good today. Your mother mentioned you might be around. I was already on the coast.”

My mother.

How the hell did my mother know I would be here? It had been a last-minute decision. The only people who should have known ahead were the staff.

The thought that someone was feeding my mother my movements made me pissed. Was she having me watched? Or was Caterina lying?

I felt Loretta’s eyes on my back, I knew she was watching.

We’d already fought about this once-at the house. I’d shut her down, acted like she had no right to ask about my past, and I’d been a complete asshole about it. I wasn’t denying that. The last thing I needed was for her to see Caterina standing this close, looking at me like she still had a claim.

“If you’re going to stay,” I said, voice tight, “then keep your distance. I don’t want my wife getting the wrong idea.”

Caterina’s mouth curved. She stepped in before I could move, close enough that her perfume hit me– something familiar that used to make me lean in.

Her hand flattened against my chest, fingers spread wide, palm pressing right over my heart like she still had the right to check whether it jumped for her.

“Would she get the wrong picture from this?” she asked, soft enough that only I should have heard it.

I froze.

One second. Two.

Heat crawled up the back of my neck.

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The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife

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I was hyper-aware of every inch of space between us and of Loretta somewhere behind me, watching.

Caterina’s body was angled-hips tilted, the picture of casual intimacy. She knew exactly what she was doing. She always had.

I caught her wrist. Not hard, but firm enough that she couldn’t pretend it was a caress. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” She didn’t pull away. If anything she leaned in, the curve of her breast brushing my arm as I started walking her toward the rocks at the edge of the cove. “I’m not doing anything you didn’t used to beg

me for.”

“Stop.” The word came out sharp.

I kept moving, putting distance between us and the cabana, between us and Loretta.

My pulse was hammering. I could already picture the look on Loretta’s face. The one that said she was done giving me the benefit of the doubt.

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