Free Lawful Wife (Eternal Bachelors Club) by Tina Folsom Page A

and I’ll meet you there?”
    Sabrina gave him a confused look. “Why? I thought it was your idea to go to Frank’s.”
    He pasted a charming smile onto his face, while inside he was seething. “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” He winked playfully. Then he quickly added, “It won’t take long. I promise.”
    Tim whistled, jabbing him in the side. “Sounds like Daniel wants to buy something special for you, Sabrina.”
    Daniel instantly noticed the smile that pulled at Sabrina’s mouth. “Why didn’t you say so immediately?” Her eyes sparkled.
    He pressed a brief kiss on her mouth. “Looks like I can’t keep any secrets from you.”
    “Looks like it.” Sabrina winked and left with Tim and Holly.
    Daniel waited and watched until Sabrina, Tim, and Holly were out of sight before he made his way across the street and entered the general store.
    He surveyed the interior. A fair number of customers were shopping in the large store that carried everything from milk to greeting cards to glassware.
    He spotted Audrey in the far corner looking at a display of fancy bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Quietly and swiftly, he approached her.
    “Audrey,” he said, coming up behind her.
    She gasped and spun around to face him. “Daniel,” she greeted him coolly, her eyes already darting past him as if looking for an escape route.
    “We need to talk.”
    Daniel glanced around. Too many customers were close by and would be able to overhear their conversation, and what he had to say to Audrey wasn’t meant for anybody else’s ears.
    “In private,” he gritted out between clenched teeth, while his eyes searched for a place that would afford some modicum of privacy. A sign caught his attention.
    Before she could protest, he grabbed Audrey’s wrist and dragged her to a door. Restrooms was printed on it. He pushed the door open, pulling a reluctant Audrey with him, then opened the door to the men’s room and pushed her inside.
    “Get your fucking hands off of me!” she said, jerking her hand from his grasp.
    Daniel locked the door. “I know it was you, Audrey.”
    “What are you talking about?” Audrey braced her hands at her hips and glared at him defiantly.
    “Damn it, Audrey! Don’t play stupid with me. It was you who went to the newspaper with that ridiculous story about Sabrina being a call girl. I know you were the reporter’s source.”
    “Prove it!”
    “I don’t need to prove it. We both know it was you, so cut the crap!”
    “So what? People have a right to know when somebody in their community brings a two-bit hooker into their midst and makes her out to be a respectable woman.”
    “Sabrina is not a hooker!” Daniel shouted and raised his fist. He’d never hit a woman, but by God, he was close to it now. “This afternoon, you’ll be contacting the reporter, telling her that you made a mistake, that it was a case of mistaken identity and ask her to withdraw the story and issue an apology.”
    She smiled in the smug way that he’d always hated. “No.”
    “Don’t push me, Audrey. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
    “You’re not the only one who can issue threats.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t order me around anymore! You dumped me for that lowly piece of—”
    Daniel pushed her against the wall, pointing his finger in her face. “Don’t finish that sentence!”
    “Even if I don’t say the word, it’s still true. I have proof, Daniel! Hard evidence that can’t be disputed. The paper won’t issue a correction, let alone an apology. I have documentation.”
    “What fucking documentation? There is no proof, because Sabrina isn’t a call girl! Whatever you have is faked!”
    “It’s not!” Audrey insisted. “I have it in black and white!”
    “Tell me now, or—”
    “Or what? I’m not your girlfriend anymore!”
    “Thank God for that!” he muttered. He’d dodged a bullet when he’d found Audrey in bed with his