Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,173

people anymore, but I wanted to talk with him—laugh with him—more than anything.

“Well, you’re dressed as if you’re here and single.” He nodded to where everyone was dancing and enjoying the night out to sea. “And there’s plenty of men out there, eying you in this stunning dress you’re wearing.”

I looked in the direction he looked, and then my eyes met his playful ones. “Interesting. To answer your question, though, I’m not quite sure what my husband would think.” I shrugged, “I haven’t seen him in many, many months.”

“Months?” Jim’s eyes widened as he sat next to me at the bar. “What the hell happened? Long-distance relationship?”

“It all started on our honeymoon.” I waved the bartender over and ordered another martini. “We got all caught up in this Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn love story, stayed at an amazing castle, and who would’ve thought we’d turn into the pair—the modern-day version, of course.”

“I see you still have your head, so maybe you’re trying to say that he’s the one who got his head cut off?”

“Alas, no,” I sighed. “Anne Boleyn had a few secrets that she chose not to divulge to her beloved Henry—you know, past misdeeds. It turns out that Anne and I had that in common, and we were too stupid to speak up.”

He eyed me. “I do recall that king was extremely hurt, and his rage—perhaps his madness of insecurities and his own personal demons led him to do the worst thing possible to his wife. Could it be possible that your husband did the same?”

“I’m not sure—just as Anne wasn’t sure what the hell was going on in Henry’s mind when he had her executed.”

“Do you believe the queen was innocent?”

“I believe the queen had no other choice in her mind than to keep things from Henry. Unlike that queen, however, I didn’t have people plotting to get my head lopped off.”

He smirked. “This is a sad story. Does it also have a sad ending? I mean, for you and your husband that you haven’t seen for months?”

“Not necessarily.” I took a sip of my martini. “I don’t know about my husband, but like Anne being stuck up in that tower, I sort of went through my own darkness when I learned how very wrong I was to my husband. I wanted to continue to hate everyone and everything for it all going to hell, but it took losing my husband to gain my knowledge that he’d been right about a lot of things. I was just too blind to see it.”

Jim’s face grew serious. “I believe this is the part where you can no longer compare yourself to Anne Boleyn and the mad king who had her killed.”

“No?” I said, curious and smiling at him.

“Well, perhaps your husband was mad like that king, dealing with his own shit, but he got the hell over it, and it took him seeing his beautiful wife again to help him realize he had to have her back in his life. The mad king never changed.” he smirked. “This is where your story should have a better ending, I would assume.”

I felt my heart beating as it always had when I was at a loss for words with Jim, this beautiful face, and his mesmerizing eyes. “I would hope that, since I still have my head, it does end happily.”

His forehead creased while he laughed. “I’ve missed the hell out of you. I’m not here to ask you to take me back, but I have to have you in my life again.”

“If you’re not here to ask me back into your life, sir,” I reached for his hand that held his bourbon, and he turned his hand up to hold mine, “then why in the hell are you here?”

Jim pulled me gently against him. “Jesus, I don’t know where to start, but I think I need to start by telling you that I am so sorry. Whether or not you can ever forgive me for the things I’ve done and said, I want you to know that I love you, Avery.”

I framed his face with my hands, gently kissed his soft lips, and I smiled into his searching eyes. “I forgave you a long time ago, and more than that, I forgave myself for everything that caused me to hurt you.”

“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he softly said. “I am just at a loss for words. You look more