For Better or Worse by Delaney Diamond Page B

be okay.”
    She nodded. “I know.” One tear slid down
her cheek, and she swiped it away. Emilio was cradled against her chest with
one arm. “It’s been so long . . . very little contact, and the only time I can
see him is on TV. Just now, I . . . I didn’t expect to see him, and it took me
by surprise.”
    “It’ll be over soon. I gave him my key
to the suite. He’s going to spend time with you tonight.”
    Right away, her spirits lifted,
brightening her eyes. “Really? Tonight?”
    “Yes.” Antonio smiled. It was
unfortunate his brother hadn’t married her instead. Their love for each other
was so obvious. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
    He placed a hand to the small of her
back and escorted her across the room. They didn’t make it out, though, because
a small tornado blew in, dressed in high heels, skinny jeans, and a sleeveless
tunic.
    Cassidy.

Chapter Nine
     
    The worst thing that could happen had happened.
Cassidy couldn’t believe her eyes. Antonio stood only feet away with his arm
around a woman who held a child that looked suspiciously like him. She’d been
right all along. He had been up to something, and it was worse than she ever
imagined.
    Like déjà vu, she was her mother
reincarnated—finding out about her husband’s affair and his love child.
    “What are you doing here, and who is she?” she
demanded, stabbing her finger in the direction of the woman.
    Antonio came to her with his hands
outstretched. “Don’t make a scene.”
    “Don’t tell me what to do,” Cassidy said
louder, starting to shake. “Whose baby is that? Whose baby is that ?”
    The people in the lobby looked up from their
magazines, and the staff behind the desk eyed them with guarded curiosity.
    “He’s not mine,” Antonio said through pinched
lips. “The woman is a friend. Her name is Val. I was helping her out.”
    He hated scenes, but too bad. They were about
to be front-page news. Disbelief burned through her, and Cassidy marched around
him to confront the other woman. “Are you sleeping with my husband?”
    “No, I . . .” The woman looked wildly at
Antonio, clutching the baby and turning sideways in a protective stance to
cover him.
    Antonio took Cassidy by the arm and pulled her
around to face him. He looked down into her eyes and spoke very slowly. “I need
you to listen to me. Let’s go outside so I can explain everything away from all
these people.”
    Turning her attention to the woman again,
Cassidy demanded, “Who are you?”
    “Talk to me ,” Antonio insisted,
tightening his fingers around her upper arm.
    She yanked and twisted out of his grip, anger
flooding her blood. “Did you know he was married?”
    She heard Antonio curse under his breath right
before he grabbed her around the waist and started propelling her toward the
door. She tried to twist away again, but he was too strong, steamrolling her
across the sleek lobby floor to the automatic doors.
    “Take these and go to the car,” he said. The
woman had followed them, and he handed her the keys.
    At that moment, Cassidy lost it and slapped him
hard. She followed up with another, and another, her hands moving in rapid
succession as she pummeled his face. Each blow she landed stung her palms, but
she ignored the pain because it satisfied her to know she was hurting him, too.
    Antonio grabbed her wrists. “I swear, one of
these days,” he ground out.
    “Let me go!”
    He half lifted, half dragged her the rest of
the way out the door to the parking lot.
    “I swear, if you don’t let me go—”
    “Are you going to stop hitting me?”
    Her answer was an elbow to the ribs, which
resulted in him temporarily loosening his hold. Taking advantage of the
situation, Cassidy slapped him across the face again.
    He wrestled her onto the hood of the nearest
vehicle and slid between her legs, using his hands to hold down her wrists.
“Look at me, Cass,” he said between tight lips, but still annoyingly calm. How
could he still be