He could not forget the look on her face when he asked her if she hated him.
Because beyond the anger, there had been pain.
So much pain—-
Pain that he should have given her time to get over, but he had not, because he had been too damn selfish and impatient.
He breathed hard.Never again.It was a vow to himself and to the only woman he would love in this lifetime.
Picking up the phone, he said levelly, “Hello.”
Anneke’s body slightly trembled at the dark, velvety note of Marcus Ravelli’s voice. For so long, this sound had haunted her, and she had always thought it was because his voice brought back painful memories.
But now, she realized shamefully it wasn’t just that.
This sound – this voice – was a sick addiction.
And the other reason it had been haunting her dreams was because she hadmissedhearing his voice.
The horrible truth had her eyelids sweeping closed for a moment.
Oh God.
Would she always be an idiot where this man was concerned?
From the other end of the line, she heard Marcus speak again, this time a little bit more sharply. “Anneke? Are you still there?”
Crap.Realizing she had taken too long to answer, she cleared her throat before answering him. “Yes. Sorry. I was—-” Her mind went blank as she tried to come up with an excuse for zonking out on him.Crap.It was confirmed then. She wouldalwaysbe an idiot around the Italian billionaire.
Clearing her throat again, she decided to simply change the subject, saying in a rush, “I just heard from Willem about your partnership with DKE.”
“I see.” Marcus’ tone was polite.
“And I also wanted you to know that there’s no need to skip this weekend’s launch. I mean—-” She forced a laugh. “It’s been ages, so everything’s under the bridge now.”
There was a pause, and then—-
“If you’re sure?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Because I truly do not mind skipping the event if my presence would be an issue—-”
“It’s not.”
“Then if you insist, I would of course be delighted to be present at the launch. Thank you for taking the time to call me personally about this. It is much appreciated.”
“Umm. No problem.”
“I will see you then.Grazie.”
“Benvenuto.”
And that was it.
Anneke stared at her phone as the call came to an end. Was it just her, or did that two-minute conversation felt more like something between two business acquaintances rather than a married couple?
She placed her iPhone on the desk and leaned back against her seat.