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Authors: Judy Angelo

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Silken
gasped. “But how is that possible? You can’t reverse these things, can you?” She
held her breath, hoping against hope that the answer was yes, that Suave would
make her question totally irrelevant.

"Apparently
you can. In my case, anyway.” Suave grabbed her purse from where it perched
beside her on the chair and dumped its contents on top of the desk. “Remember
these pills I started taking after I read the book?” She slid a bottle across
the table.

Silken
picked it up and read the label. “Vitamin B12. So?”

“So
that was the answer. Don’t you see? I reversed my deficiency in that vitamin
so my symptoms began to disappear.”

Silken
lifted her eyes from the bottle in her hand. "And so did the lesions?”

“And
so did the lesions.” Suave was positively glowing now. “And the good thing
is, I can figure out why I was deficient in the first place. I cut red meat
out of my diet a long time ago but apparently it’s an excellent source of B12.
My diet was almost like a vegetarian’s and they’re normally advised to take B12
supplements. I hadn’t even realized that until I started my research.”

Silken’s
heart was beginning to do a happy dance inside her chest but she had to rein it
in. Before she started celebrating she needed to know for sure.

“So
you’re cured?”

Suave
shook her head. “I don’t want to say that yet. They’re going to run some more
tests just to confirm the results but it sure looks hopeful.” Then she drew in
her breath and let it out on a sigh. “But I’m a happy camper right now, you
can trust me on that.”

Then,
before Silken could move, she hopped out of the chair, grabbed her purse and
headed for the door. “I’ll soon be back,” she said. “I have to go share the
good news.”

“Hey,
where’re you going?” Silken yelled after her. She was getting up to follow her
but Suave was already through the door.

Just
before it slammed shut behind her, she yelled over her shoulder, “I’ve got to
go tell Duke.”

Silken
sank back down, a frown of confusion knitting her brow. What in the world did
Duke Davidoff have to do with any of this?

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Champagne
glass in hand, Max couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. It wasn’t a
bitter smile, by any means. He was more than happy for his brother. But it
was partly a smile of regret for what he’d almost had and had lost. And now
his brother had found that happiness he’d craved and Max wouldn’t have wished
it on a better person.

Who
could have known that within just a few months of each other the second
Davidoff brother would be announcing his engagement to one of the McCullen twins?

Duke
and Suave had done a stellar job of keeping their relationship secret, or maybe
the love had overtaken them like it had done Max months before with Silken.
Maybe they hadn’t even known what hit them. Whatever it was, Max was one
hundred percent happy for them.

As
he lifted his glass to take another sip of champagne he watched the bride and
groom-to-be twirling round and round on the dance floor, the center of
everyone’s attention as they should be. They were the stars tonight and they
made a handsome couple.

His
eyes went round the room full of family and friends and they alighted on his
parents sitting at a nearby table, watching their son and their soon-to-be-daughter
on the dance floor. They were visibly pleased as Max had known they would be.
In Suave they were acquiring a beautiful, humble and level-headed daughter who
would not only be a great help-mate to her husband but an asset to the entire
Davidoff family.

And
then, as had been happening all evening, his eyes went back to searching the
crowd until he found that one person in the room, the only one who had the
power to make his heart lurch at the mere sight of her.

There
she was, standing behind a group of Duke’s friends and key employees, a champagne
glass held stiffly in her fingers. She was smiling at the dancing couple,
obviously happy for them, but there was a tension in her that he could see even
from across the room. She was probably as aware of his presence as he was of
hers. And Max didn’t feel he was flattering himself by thinking that. She’d
loved him once and if that love had made her feel for him half of what he felt
for her, then there was no way she could be in the same room with him and not
feel his presence.

And
then she looked up, her brown eyes meeting his across the distance, and it was
like they were the only ones in the room.

Moments
passed as they stared at each other, as if drinking their fill, and then she
blinked and dropped her gaze. But not before he caught the longing in her
eyes.

Max
drew in his breath and clenched his jaw, his eyes never leaving her face now
growing pink under his scrutiny. Over the months that had passed they’d spoken
on the phone a few times, mostly in relation to Suave and her health, but he’d
never again laid eyes on Silken until tonight. The last time they’d been
together she’d declared that she didn’t love him anymore. The look he’d just
seen in her eyes was clear and irrefutable testament to the lie she’d told him
and had probably even told herself. There was no way she could have faked that
look of love.

And
that was when he realized what a fool he’d been all these months. He’d taken
what Silken had said, cancelled the wedding plans, and sat their waiting for
her to come back to him. He knew Silken and what a stubborn mule she was.
Once she’d made her declaration there was no way she would ever have come back
to him. Not over her dead body. Because that was who she was.

He
should have known that the best thing he could have done was to give her a few
days to get over the shock of Silken’s illness and then march over there and
demand that she repeat what she’d said. She wouldn’t have been able to do it.
There was no doubt in his mind, not after what he’d seen in her eyes tonight.

He
expelled his breath and scowled, totally pissed with himself. He’d given in
too easily and now it was time to remedy that.

Walking
behind the people circling the room, cheering the dancing couple, Max moved
purposefully through the crowd until he was by Silken's side.

She
looked up, eyes wide, but she did not look surprised to see him there. She was
searching his face, taking him all in, and in addition to longing what he saw
there was hope.

Max
glared down at her, and if they weren’t in a room packed with people he knew he
would have put her over his knee and smacked her pretty little bottom till she
begged him to make hot love to her instead. Silken had put them through months
of suffering, all because she’d made up her mind to be a sacrificial lamb to
her sister who’d gone and made a great future for herself – all without
Silken’s help. Max could only hope that the woman he loved had learned her
lesson.

“Let’s
get out of here,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “We need to talk.”

Silken
did not object. She looked into his eyes then nodded and put her hand in his.
Then, hand in hand, they slipped away from the crowd and walked out the door.

***

Silken
could not believe what was happening. Was this another of her recurring dreams
where Max, like a knight in shining armor, would rescue her from her
self-imposed misery, declare his undying love for her then whisk her off to his
castle in the clouds where he would make mad love to her till she swooned from
the sheer ecstasy of it all?

Or
was this real?

She
glanced over at him and the tight set of his jaw and the scowl on his face told
her it was real. In her dreams he’d been smiling the whole time. The man
striding down the hallway with her hurrying along beside him looked more angry
than crazy-in-love.

It
wasn’t until they got out into the garden that Max released her hand and,
putting his hands on her shoulders, turned her to face him. “I should punish
you, you know that?” He was glaring down at her and making no apology for it,
either.

“For
what?” Silken buttoned her lips and glared back at him. She wasn’t about to
let him bully her, no matter that all she wanted to do right then was wrap her
arms around him and never let go. It felt so good, having him so close, his
hands strong and warm on her shoulders. How she wished she could have his
touch always.

“For
lying to me. You love me, Silken. You never stopped loving me.” He reached
out to tilt her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Look at me and tell
me you can deny that this is the truth.”

Silken
swallowed. Who was she fooling? She loved Max so much she couldn't think
straight. For months she’d been trying to tell herself otherwise, trying to
ease the dissonance of having pushed him away and out of her life when all she'd
felt was love for him. It was for the best, she kept telling herself, for the
good of her sister. But, now that she looked back, despite her good
intentions, had that decision been sensible or just plain stupid?

Finally,
she spoke. “I can’t.” She sighed and gave him a sad smile. “How can I deny
it when I’ve not gone a single day without praying that you’re well. You’re on
my mind each morning that I wake and on my lips each night that I go to bed. I
love you, Max, and always will.”

Max
expelled his breath as if he’d been holding it, anxiously awaiting her answer.
Then he released her chin and wrapped his arms around her in a hug so tight it
was like he’d never ever let her go.

“That,
my dear, has sealed your fate. I will never let you escape me again.”

And
Silken, pressed against the body of the man she loved, felt the rumble of
laughter in his chest.

“And
just in case you have any more tricks up your sleeve,” he said as he rested his
chin on top of her head, “tomorrow I’m finding myself a judge.”

Silken
tucked her face into his shoulder and smiled. Like Max, she’d had enough of
wedding planning. She just wanted to get on with her life, with this man by
her side.

And
if Max followed through with his threat like she knew he would, she would have
her greatest wish.

Because
by tomorrow this time, she and her beloved Max would be husband and wife.

EPILOGUE

The
wedding of Duke and Suave Davidoff was the talk of the town and the church was
packed with family members and well-wishers. And by his brother’s side, best
man to the groom, stood Max. And by the bride’s side, reveling in her role as
chief bridesmaid, stood Silken.

And
as the bride and groom exchanged their vows, Silken and Max gazed into each
other’s eyes, confident in the love that they shared.

They’d
beat Duke and Suave to it and they never stopped teasing that they would always
hold the position of honor – a union of marriage between the first-borns of the
Davidoff and McCullen families.

But
Suave did some teasing of her own. “No need to mother me anymore, Silken.
Duke told me to tell you, you’re being laid off. He’s made your position
redundant.” Then she hugged Silken. “So sorry about that. I’ll see if I can
get a good severance package for you.”

But
Silken only laughed and it was a laugh filled with love and just a bit of
relief. Now her little sis had two people looking out for her, and with the
close knit relationship of the Davidoff family, maybe more. And, of course,
she’d always be mother hen to Suave but at least now she had more help than she
could ever need.

At
the wedding reception that evening as Silken stood by her husband’s side, Mother
Davidoff waved her over to where she was standing with Suave and Duke.

As
soon as she approached, that regal lady opened her arms wide and drew both Silken
and Suave into her embrace.

“My
daughters,” she said, her eyes filled with tears, “the daughters I’ve always
dreamed of.”

And
as Silken and Suave stepped into her loving arms their eyes met and Silken knew
they were thinking the same thing. Charlene was their mother now. She was their
dream, finally come true.

THE
END

Thank you for reading ‘So Much
Trouble When She Walked In’. I sincerely appreciate your support. If you
liked this story I would appreciate your clicking the ‘Like' button on my
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BAD BOY
BILLIONAIRES

Judy Angelo

Volume 1 -
Tamed
by the Billionaire

Volume 2 -
Maid
in the USA

Volume 3 -
Billionaire's
Island Bride

Volume 4 -
Dangerous
Deception

Volume 5 -
To
Tame a Tycoon

Volume 6 -
Sweet
Seduction

Volume 7 -
Daddy
by December

Volume 8 -
To
Catch a Man (in 30 Days or Less)

BAD
BOY BILLIONAIRES, Mega-Coll. - Vols. 1 - 8

BAD
BOY BILLIONAIRES, Coll. I - Vols. 1 - 4