DisEngaged

by Jan Hinds

When Whitley Barrow married Marcus Shore after he lost a hand of poker to her, the next to last thing she expected on their wedding night was for him to whisper in her ear that he loved her. The absolute last thing she expected was for him to then call her another woman’s name.
Unwilling to stay married when she knows her husband loves another woman Whitley files for divorce as soon as they get home. However, Marcus refuses to sign the divorce papers.

Two months later she finds herself pregnant and determined to make their marriage work for the sake of their child.

Marcus refuses to give up on his marriage until he discovers his greatest enemy has escaped from prison, and she’s vowed to kill all the women Marcus loves. He decides the best way to protect Whitley is to agree to the divorce she’s been asking for. As soon as he signs the papers, he knows he’s made a mistake. Can he convince Whitley to give him another chance and will he be able to protect her and their child?

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 16, 2019

Reviews

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐⭐ - Meh!
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She realized the magnitude of her mistake when he’d sleepily whispered, “I love you” and called her by another woman’s name on their wedding night.

Angie. She’d been Whitley’s friend. Whitley had exchanged her signature crimson hair for Angie’s honey blonde color in order to serve as a decoy to enable Angie’s escape from her abusive father. Angie had rejected Marcus, yet she still held his heart.

Until six days ago when he didn’t show up. Nothing. Not even a phone call or a text message saying he’d been thinking of her. No explanation.

And yet, even though it was Angie’s name Marcus whispered on their wedding night, Whitley couldn’t bring herself to hate her.

You deserve someone far better than the creep who wrote those texts. And if Marcus can’t appreciate the wonderful woman you are, you deserve better than him too.”

When he met Angie while guarding Paige, it seemed like a divine intervention had put her in his path. She was sweet, funny, and sarcastic. She’d been easy to talk to, and he thought he’d found someone to make a comfortable life with.

How would she react if she found out that he’d kept tabs on Angie—Anne—Angelica? After making love to Whitley on their wedding night, he’d whispered Angie’s name in a sleepy haze. He didn’t imagine Whitley would react well. He nodded his head when he realized Ted and the other men were waiting for him to answer.

Zach narrowed his eyes at Marcus. “You still seem invested in her safety. If she wanted you, would you go to her?”

“Later that night, you showed your heart longed for someone else when you called me by her name. I don’t blame you. She’s wonderful. But I’m afraid she’ll always be between us, that you’ll always regret that you’re not with her. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t expect anything from you, but at the same time, I’ve realized that I don’t want a marriage without love. You don’t need to manufacture a crisis overseas to justify wanting out.”

“I know you’re in love with someone else.” Her breath caught on the last word. “I don’t blame you. She’s one of my favorite people. I just want you to know that I’m not delusional. I don’t expect you to love me like you do her. The thing is, I don’t want to be your second choice.”

“Yeah, right. It was clear to everyone that you loved her. Tell me you wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with her if she showed up out of the blue.”

“What about Angie?” she asked quietly. Tina positioned the fabric under the presser foot of her sewing machine before she looked Whitley in the eyes. “I won’t deny they have a connection, but I never saw that kind of want in his eyes when he looked at her. There was tenderness, affection, friendship, but not the jarring desire he has when he looks at you. Not the love.”

“You’d do that?” It seemed too good to be true. “I don’t want you here until the threat is resolved, but Angie, if you’ll come back, I’ll love you forever.”

“I haven’t told anyone what happened on our wedding night. After we made love, he pulled me into his arms and whispered, ‘I love you, Angie.’”

Then tonight, after making glorious love, I dozed off. When I woke, I heard him talking on the phone to Angie, telling her he’d love her forever.”

“Riley?” “Excuse me. I’m picking my jaw up off the ground. Are you saying you married a woman just because she looks like Angie?”

Marcus nodded imperceptibly to Sawyer while trying desperately to keep his gaze from lingering on Angelica, who sat next to him. She looked nothing like the innocent girl he’d guarded earlier that year.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

DisEngaged

This is the fifth book in this series. It is the first that I have read. It was a comedy of errors that got the two people, Marcus and Whitley, to staying together. When on the night they were married he calls her by another woman's name. And it gets worse. He is being pursued by an escaped fellon, female of course, from Europe. She is helping the FBI in a sting operation. And the list grows from there. The cast of characters from previous books makes several appearances. So enjoy the mayhem.