A Taste of Heaven (Billionaires' Secrets Book 3) by Jennifer Lewis Page B

pageant circles like I was a prize bull and I knew I’d never get to go to college as long as there was a penny to be earned from parading me in front of an audience. To be brutally frank, I’d probably have married anyone.”
    “I doubt it. Who was he?”
    She rankled at his dismissive comment. “He owned a car dealership in our town. He was safe and solid, and he treated me nicely.”
    “Did you get to go to college?”
    Sam’s gut tightened. He’s already figured out the answer. She studied his face for mockery, prepared to defend herself, but all she saw in his eyes was warm interest.
    “He didn’t want his wife working or going to school.”
    “Jealous.”
    “Exactly. And after two years of trying to be the perfect little wife, I’d had enough.”
    “See? You know exactly why you divorced him.” Louis shifted his legs as he cut the engine. The wet cotton of his pants clung to his muscled calves. A reminder of the strength and power of his body. How he’d held her close and...
    She averted her gaze. She’d certainly never had feelings like that for her first husband.
    Or even her third.
    Guilt snaked through her. How could she have fallen so quickly into another man’s arms? She’d promised Tarrant that she didn’t miss sex. That she didn’t need crude lust or graceless fumbling to be happy.
    So why did her skin tingle at the simple nearness of this man?
    Sam inhaled deeply and tried to drag her mind back to the conversation. “You’re right. I do know why I divorced him. It’s amazing I lasted two full years. He barely let me leave the house. I’d been so looking forward to figuring out who I was, without my mother telling me what to wear and say and do, but he was even worse. My every move reflected positively or negatively on the Bob MacClackery Automotive empire. If he could have bought a Barbie doll and dressed it himself and called it Mrs. MacClackery, that would have been heaven for him. Lord knows I tried to please him, but it just wasn’t possible. Finally I gave up.”
    Funny how she could look back with detachment now. Things that had been so painful and hard to cope with at the time now seemed funny. Her desperate attempt to be little Mrs. Perfect, polishing linoleum and hovering over racks of lamb.
    And answering to the name of Samantha MacClackery.
    “I’m glad your smile is back, but don’t forget to eat.” Louis spooned more potato salad on her plate.
    “How can I eat when you’re distracting me with all these bad memories?”
    “My humble apologies. Champagne to celebrate your freedom?”
    She started to raise her glass, then her hand froze in midair. Samantha’s gut clenched as another drop of pure guilt splashed inside her. “I didn’t want to be free. I didn’t want Tarrant to die.”
    The smile faded from Louis’s eyes. “I’m sorry, that was insensitive. You loved him a lot.”
    Chest tight, Sam reached into her pocket for a familiar hankie and dabbed at her eyes. “More than I’d ever imagined. And I’d had a lot of practice by then.”
    He didn’t smile at her attempted levity. “It’s great that you finally found someone who made you happy. I guess the third time was the charm, or however that cliché goes.”
    His words sounded insincere, like he was just being polite. Suddenly she needed him to know that her late husband was not just some old man with a yen for young women.
    “Tarrant Hardcastle was the kind of man who adds color and style to the history books. He was brimming with ideas and dreams and schemes and glorious visions, right up until the day he died. It was an honor to be in his presence. I still don’t know what he saw in me.” She fixed him with a steady gaze, defying him to disagree.
    Louis met her gaze, his expression serious. “Maybe he saw someone who could love him for himself, not for his money.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “How would he know?”
    “As a man of vision, I bet he could just tell.” A dimple appeared as he