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187 pages

English

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A young woman who needs to feel safe, a man who is driven to protect her at all costs, and the little girl who holds all the answers.

A young woman who needs to feel safe, a man who is driven to protect her at all costs, and the little girl whose dreams hold all the answers.

Brandon Devereaux has been undercover, investigating Johnny Talino and everyone around him––including his wife. When Brandon meets Ellie, it awakens a hunger he never knew existed. She is beautiful, kind, and possesses such sweetness…but she is married to Johnny.

One night in their Las Vegas apartment, Johnny’s volatile behavior ignites and Angelina, their five-year-old daughter, is caught in the fallout. Traumatized, she no longer speaks, and Ellie is determined to escape, but she takes a dangerous secret with her.

Brandon knows time is running out and is determined to find Ellie and protect her. But her safety isn’t the only thing driving him. She consumes his thoughts, and he won’t stop searching until he can taste her sweetness once again.

Ellie goes home to Colorado, hoping it will help her baby girl. Angelina is still so distrustful of strangers, especially men. Then one fall afternoon everything changes. Her dreams emerge and she finds him––a stranger she trusts! But can Ellie trust him with her heart after suffering such betrayal?

**Author’s Note: This book was previously published. Recently, it has been extensively rewritten, re-edited, and has a new cover. It's a stand-alone with no cliffhangers.**

*Other books by this author:

To Be Back Home Again
To Be Back Home Again 2: A New Life

Sujets

Romance policière

Fiction

Romance

Contemporary

Contemporary history

Informations

Publié par	Archway Publishing
Date de parution	31 juillet 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665726412
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Through the Eyes of a Child

LORI DOVE

Copyright © 2022 Lori Dove.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-2640-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2641-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912308

Archway Publishing rev. date: 07/26/2022
Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue

Author’s note: This book was previously published. It’s been extensively rewritten, re -e dited , and has a new c over.
About the Author
L ori Dove began writing stories at eight years old and hasn’t stopped. She’s all about happily-ever-after romances. Her books pull you in from the very beginning and won’t let you go until the credits roll. Through the Eyes of a Child, is a complete rewrite/re-edit of the first book she ever published. And what’s a good romance without some beyond -s teamy , face -p alm , LOL moments? So, go grab your favorite beverage, find a quiet place to get pulled in, and most of all…Enjoy!!

MY TH ANKS!
Where to begin? It has been such a dream come true to be able to share my stories with the world.
Thank you, Maryann—my BFF, for the endless hours without sleep for read-throughs.
Thank you, Darin, my awesome hubby, who has put up with my late nights, tucked away from the family while he dealt with the kids.
Thank you, Archway, for being so patient with me as I have traveled on this journey with you.
But most of all, THANK YOU for taking time to read and hopefully escape your daily grind for a while.

Chapter 1
D esperately hoping not to draw any undue attention to herself, Ellie Talino quietly walked into Jacques’s Locks Salon at the beginning of her shift. She arrived a little early on purpose, hoping to make it to the restroom in back before anyone noticed her.
“Hi, Ellie!” Gabriella, her co-worker, greeted her happily. “How did your—?”
Ellie didn’t wait to visit. She whisked past Gabriella then closed the bathroom door behind her. Why does this keep happe ning?
She pulled her fashionably-large sunglasses away from her face and looked in the mirror. Tears pricked her eyes as her fingers moved gently, applying some foundation to her swollen eye and purple cheek. It only helped a little. She yelped quietly when someone knocked on the door.
“Ellie, it’s Gabriella. You okay?”
“Uh, yeah, Gabs,” she called out, fumbling with her makeup bag. “I’ll be right—” Before she could say anything else, Gabriella opened the door.
“Hey, girl, how did your lunch date go with Johnny?” She gasped then closed the door behind her. “ Damn him! He did it to you again, didn’t he? Aw, honey.”
“It looks worse than it is. You know how easily I bruise. You’d think I was royalty or something.” Ellie forced a laugh. “Anyway, I shouldn’t have pushed his buttons the way I did. He’s got so much stress right now.”
Gabriella stood with her mouth gaping. “Are you freaking kidding me right now? Ellie, you should never be hit. Who does he think he is? If you don’t do something about this, he could end up killing you.”
“We’re going to counseling,” Ellie answered quickly. “And we’ve got our third appointment this week. I know it’s going to work out, and like I said, he’s really stressed at work right now.”
“Whatever. I don’t care if he’s got stress up his tailpipe, it does not give him the right to lay a hand on you—ever. What about the stress he’s putting Angelina through? Don’t think she hasn’t caught on to what’s going on. Kids are so smart these days.”
“She didn’t see Johnny hit me this time,” Ellie said guiltily. “We were at his office. Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I’ve gotta go punch in.”
The day flew by in a blur. Ellie was finishing up with her last customer when a delivery man walked through the door carrying a dozen red roses. They were beautifully arranged in a lead crystal vase.
“Is Elizabeth Tali...Talino here?” he called out.
“That would be me.” Ellie patted her chest and signed for the roses. There was a card attached and she read it quietly to herself. “Elizabeth,” she huffed with an eye roll. “Why does he insist on calling me that when he apologizes?
“I’m sorry about last night and I’ll make it up to you, I promise. You just caught me at a bad moment. Love, Jo hnny.”
She glanced up at Gabriella, who wore an “are-you-kidding-me” expression. Ellie ignored it and put her nose to one rose, then the next and the next. “These smell wonderful, and they’re absolutely perfect, not one petal out of place. I haven’t received roses like this since...” She cocked her head to think.
“Since the last time he hit you, maybe?” Gabriella blurted, then cupped her mouth. There were still a few customers and another stylist in the store.
Ellie felt heat surging up her neck with embarrassment, certain everyone had heard Gabriella’s cruel remark. Fighting back tears, she gently placed the vase on the counter. Do not cry. Do not cry , she thought to herself as she walked out the back door of the salon. She waited for it to latch closed before she burst into tears. A few moments later, the door slowly opened and Gabriella poked her head out.
“I’m so sorry, Ellie. I’m an idiot, and that was such a jerk-thing to say. What the hell was I thinking?” Without asking permission, she pulled Ellie into a hug. “If it makes you feel any better, I already apologized to everyone in the salon and told them I was seeing a shrink for Tourette’s.”
“And you think that makes it all right, don’t you?” Ellie sniffled.
“No, but could it be?” Gabriella knelt down in front of her penitently. “Please? I’m really sorry.”
“Okay. I forgive you, idiot . Just don’t do it again. I already have someone I love who hurts me. I don’t need any more.”
After her shift, Ellie arrived at her penthouse and was going to put her foot down. Gabriella was right, and stressed or not, Johnny Talino did not have the right to put his hands on her in anger.
There he stood in the kitchen, at almost six feet tall, jet-black hair, and his dark brown eyes looked very penitent. But Ellie had seen that look before. Could she even trust that it was genuine?
“Did you like the roses I sent?” His voice was quiet. “Where are they?”
“They were beautiful. I wanted to leave them at work so my customers could enjoy them too.” She laid her purse on the table but wouldn’t look at him.
“I know I screwed up, but please look at me. You just caught me at a bad moment. And I’m sorry.”
“You already said that in your note,” she scolded. “Johnny, you hurt me. And lately, it seems the only time you want to touch me is out of anger.”
“I know and I’m sorry,” he blew out. “Our next appointment is in two days, and we can address it more then, okay? Forgive me?”
He was right. Their appointment wasn’t far away, and perhaps they could talk more about it with their therapist. She nodded but kept her eyes lowered, then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you, Elizabeth. I’m glad you’re not angry anymore.”
How does he know I’m not still angry? she thought to herself.
“You’re picking up Angelina, right? I’m beat, goodnight.” He said nothing more and left her there by herself.
“Well, I guess that’s that,” she uttered quietly, and glanced down at her watch. It was barely past seven. And as so many times before, Johnny had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want to spend time with her. Why? She blew out a sigh then headed out the door.
A few weeks had passed since the salon incident, and as so many times before, things had only changed temporarily. With Johnny growing volatile so easily, it made it difficult for Ellie to get close to him affectionately or intimately. It had been so long since they had made love or had any alone-time, and she really needed that connection to him.
After work, she prepared a beautiful candlelight dinner in hopes that it would help Johnny relax. Perhaps it would even get him in the mood for some overdue lovemaking. Angelina had been taken to Gabriella’s house for the night so she wouldn’t be a distraction to Ellie’s game plan.
Looking at herself in the mirror, her crystal-green eyes sparkled with high hopes as she adjusted the lace on her black negligee and dabbed a bit of perfume on her wrists and neck. She stood barely over five feet tall and weighed a hundred and nothing. Her long honey-brown hair was pulled into a soft-twist bun because she knew how Johnny loved to kiss her neck. Cross