Half Empty (First Wives Series Book 2) Read online

  Praise for Catherine Bybee

  Wife by Wednesday

  “A fun and sizzling romance, great characters that trade verbal spars like fist punches, and the dream of your own royal wedding!”

  —Sizzling Hot Book Reviews, 5 Stars

  “A good holiday, fireside or bedtime story.”

  —Manic Reviews, 4½ Stars

  “A great story that I hope is the start of a new series.”

  —The Romance Studio, 4½ Hearts

  Married by Monday

  “If I hadn’t already added Ms. Catherine Bybee to my list of favorite authors, after reading this book I would have been compelled to. This is a book nobody should miss, because the magic it contains is awesome.”

  —Booked Up Reviews, 5 Stars

  “Ms. Bybee writes authentic situations and expresses the good and the bad in such an equal way . . . Keeps the reader on the edge of her seat.”

  —Reading Between the Wines, 5 Stars

  “Married by Monday was a refreshing read and one I couldn’t possibly put down.”

  —The Romance Studio, 4½ Hearts

  Fiancé by Friday

  “Bybee knows exactly how to keep readers happy . . . A thrilling pursuit and enough passion to stuff in your back pocket to last for the next few lifetimes . . . The hero and heroine come to life with each flip of the page and will linger long after readers cross the finish line.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars, Top Pick (Hot)

  “A tale full of danger and sexual tension . . . the intriguing characters add emotional depth, ensuring readers will race to the perfectly fitting finish.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Suspense, survival, and chemistry mix in this scintillating read.”

  —Booklist

  “Hot romance, a mystery assassin, British royalty, and an alpha Marine . . . this story has it all!”

  —Harlequin Junkie

  Single by Saturday

  “Captures readers’ hearts and keeps them glued to the pages until the fascinating finish . . . romance lovers will feel the sparks fly . . . almost instantaneously.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars, Top Pick

  “[A] wonderfully exciting plot, lots of desire, and some sassy attitude thrown in for good measure!”

  —Harlequin Junkie

  Taken by Tuesday

  “[Bybee] knows exactly how to get bookworms sucked into the perfect storyline; then she casts her spell upon them so they don’t escape until they reach the ‘Holy Cow!’ ending.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars, Top Pick

  Seduced by Sunday

  “You simply can’t miss [this novel]. It contains everything a romance reader loves—clever dialogue, three-dimensional characters, and just the right amount of steam to go with that heartwarming love story.”

  —Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author

  “Bybee hits the mark . . . providing readers with a smart, sophisticated romance between a spirited heroine and a prim hero . . . Passionate and intelligent characters [are] at the heart of this entertaining read.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Treasured by Thursday

  “The Weekday Brides never disappoint and this final installment is by far Bybee’s best work to date.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars, Top Pick

  “An exquisitely written and complex story brimming with pride, passion, and pulse-pounding danger . . . Readers will gladly make time to savor this winning finale to a wonderful series.”

  —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

  “Bybee concludes her popular Weekday Brides series in a gratifying way with a passionate, troubled couple who may find a happy future if they can just survive and then learn to trust each other. A compelling and entertaining mix of sexy, complicated romance and menacing suspense.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  Not Quite Dating

  “It’s refreshing to read about a man who isn’t afraid to fall in love . . . [Jack and Jessie] fit together as a couple and as a family.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 3 Stars (Hot)

  “Not Quite Dating offers a sweet and satisfying Cinderella fantasy that will keep you smiling long after you’ve finished reading.”

  —Kathy Altman, USA Today, “Happy Ever After”

  “The perfect rags to riches romance . . . The dialogue is inventive and witty, the characters are well drawn out. The storyline is superb and really shines . . . I highly recommend this stand out romance! Catherine Bybee is an automatic buy for me.”

  —Harlequin Junkie, 4½ Hearts

  Not Quite Enough

  “Bybee’s gift for creating unforgettable romances cannot be ignored. The third book in the Not Quite series will sweep readers away to a paradise, and they will be intrigued by the thrilling story that accompanies their literary vacation.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars, Top Pick

  Not Quite Forever

  “Full of classic Bybee humor, steamy romance, and enough plot twists and turns to keep readers entertained all the way to the very last page.”

  —Tracy Brogan, bestselling author of the Bell Harbor series

  “Magnetic . . . The love scenes are sizzling and the multi-dimensional characters make this a page-turner. Readers will look for earlier installments and eagerly anticipate new ones.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Not Quite Perfect

  “This novel flows extremely well and readers will find themselves consuming the witty dialogue and strong imagery in one sitting.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Don’t let the title fool you. Not Quite Perfect was actually the perfect story to sweep you away and take you on a pleasant adventure. So sit back, relax, maybe pour a glass of wine, and let Catherine Bybee entertain you with Glen and Mary’s playful East Coast–West Coast romance. You won’t regret it for a moment.”

  —Harlequin Junkie, 4½ Stars

  Doing It Over

  “The romance between fiercely independent Melanie and charming Wyatt heats up even as outsiders threaten to derail their newfound happiness. This novel will hook readers with its warm, inviting characters and the promise for similar future installments.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “This brand-new trilogy, Most Likely To, based on yearbook superlatives, kicks off with a novel that will encourage you to root for the incredibly likable Melanie. Her friends are hilarious and readers will swoon over Wyatt, who is charming and strong. Even Melanie’s daughter, Hope, is a hoot! This romance is jam-packed with animated characters, and Bybee displays her creative writing talent wonderfully.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

  “With a dialogue full of energy and depth, and a twisting storyline that captured my attention, I would say that Doing It Over was a great way to start off a new series. (And look at that gorgeous book cover!) I can’t wait to visit River Bend again and see who else gets to find their HEA.”

  —Harlequin Junkie, 4½ Stars

  Staying For Good

  “Bybee’s skillfully crafted second Most Likely To contemporary (after Doing It Over) brings together former sweethearts who have not forgotten each other in the 11 years since high school. A cast of multidimensional characters brings the story to life and promises enticing future installments.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Romance fans will be sure to cheer on former high school sweethearts Zoe and Luke right away in Staying For Good. Just wait until you see what passion, laughter, reconciliations, and mischief (can you say Vegas?) awaits readers this time around. Highly recommended.”

  —Harlequin Junkie, 4½ Stars

  M
aking It Right

  “Intense suspense heightens the scorching romance at the heart of Bybee’s outstanding third Most Likely To contemporary (after Staying For Good). Sizzling sensual scenes are coupled with scary suspense in this winning novel.”

  —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

  Fool Me Once

  “A marvelous portrait of friendship among women who have been bonded by fire.”

  —Library Journal, Best of the Year 2017

  “Bybee still delivers a story that her die-hard readers will enjoy.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Also by Catherine Bybee

  Contemporary Romance

  Weekday Brides Series

  Wife by Wednesday

  Married by Monday

  Fiancé by Friday

  Single by Saturday

  Taken by Tuesday

  Seduced by Sunday

  Treasured by Thursday

  Not Quite Series

  Not Quite Dating

  Not Quite Mine

  Not Quite Enough

  Not Quite Forever

  Not Quite Perfect

  Most Likely To Series

  Doing It Over

  Staying For Good

  Making It Right

  First Wives Series

  Fool Me Once

  Half Empty

  Paranormal Romance

  MacCoinnich Time Travels

  Binding Vows

  Silent Vows

  Redeeming Vows

  Highland Shifter

  Highland Protector

  The Ritter Werewolves Series

  Before the Moon Rises

  Embracing the Wolf

  Novellas

  Soul Mate

  Possessive

  Erotica

  Kilt Worthy

  Kilt-A-Licious

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2018 Catherine Bybee

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781503903555

  ISBN-10: 1503903559

  Cover design by Letitia Hasser

  Cover photography credit by Belief Agency, LLC

  For Ellen

  My unexpected new friend

  Thank you for helping me find my new home

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Trina Petrov sat on the edge of one of the many canals in Venezia, Italy, drinking an Aperol spritz and listening to the conversations going on around her while not taking part in a single one. Eavesdropping had become part of the solo traveling experience, and the best part was when those around her didn’t think she understood a single word they said. With three languages fluently under her personal belt, and a fourth quickly becoming a part of her skill set, Trina had returned to this particular café because the locals had told her that the tourists didn’t frequent it. Admittedly, she was a tourist, but was on the quest to immerse herself in the Italian language in an effort to learn. When she sat in the larger cafés, she overheard many people speaking English, and if she wanted to eavesdrop on that language, she might as well go home.

  Venezia wasn’t a location picked by accident. Venice, as much of the world called it, was a city of love. Complete with romantic gondola rides and lovers cuddling on a single seat while the gondoliers swept the small watercraft through the many canals of the famous sinking city. With couples dominating the landscape, Trina hadn’t found herself the target of unwanted male attention. It helped that she often played with the four-carat diamond wedding ring she usually wore when traveling.

  Two Italian men, somewhere in their seventies, were sitting in the same place they had the day before, doing the exact same thing. With a bottle of wine on the table and a chess game sitting between them, they took painstaking time calculating each move while together they solved the world’s problems. The lower the volume of fluid the bottle held, the more convinced they became that they had all the answers to the troubles of today.

  Trina kept her head ducked into an e-reader, pretending to have lost herself in a story.

  “Bella, you’re here again.” Luciano, the owner of the small restaurant, spoke to her in English. His accent was pure Italian.

  “I haven’t perfected your language,” she responded in Italian.

  “It sounds good to me,” he said.

  A group of giggling teenage girls sat huddled around an adjacent table making not-so-shy advances toward Luciano’s son, who waited tables. He had a Justin Bieber vibe about him, even though he was a tad bit older than The Bieb. But age didn’t stop this group of backpacking teens from flirting, giggling, and sending poor Marco handwritten notes.

  Good sport that he was, Marco smiled, winked . . . and flirted, which probably earned him plenty of phone numbers.

  “Shameless,” Luciano said under his breath in Italian.

  “They’re just having fun.”

  “He’s practically engaged.”

  Trina took a second look. “Those girls are too young for him anyway. He’s just making sure they have something to grin about tonight when they give each other . . .” Trina struggled with the word for facials in Italian before finally giving up. “Doing each other’s makeup.”

  Luciano, hair slightly gray around the parts that hadn’t paled altogether, placed a hand on his head before smiling into his thoughts. “I suppose.”

  Trina looked between father and son. “I would bet money you were exactly like your son when you were his age.”

  Luciano’s mirth turned to a light shade of wicked, and Trina knew she was right.

  “See . . .”

  Luciano didn’t try to deny her claim. “The boy takes after his father.”

  “If he is half the cook you are, he will make the future Mrs. very happy.”

  Luciano’s smile waned. “Adriana is perfect for my Marco.”

  They both held silent as Marco smiled and walked by.

  “So why the frown?” Trina knew the word frown wasn’t right, but it was the closest one she knew in Italian to voice the look of stress on Luciano’s face.

  Trina’s lack of the right word didn’t stop her meaning from getting through. She made a mental note to look up the word distressed when she was back at her hotel.

  “She has more than we do. It worries my Marco.”

  Trina felt her heart hurt. “Money isn’t everything.” No one knew that more th
an she did.

  “He loves her. Would do anything for her.”

  “Then what’s stopping him?”

  Luciano turned his attention away from where his son had disappeared into the back of the café. “He wants to give her the world. I told him that he could be her world if he just asked for her hand.”

  Trina liked that.

  “He is young and thinks fortune is easily gained.”

  Trina squeezed her eyes shut.

  “The youth of today . . .” Luciano said the words as if Trina and he shared a similar birth decade. They were a good twenty years off.

  “But enough about my family . . . where is yours?”

  Trina blinked her eyes open. “My parents live in California.”

  Luciano’s smile fell completely. His gaze moved to the ring on her left hand.

  The answer to his unasked question fell from her lips. “I’m widowed.”

  His face went white, quite the feat for a man with an Italian complexion. He pulled up a chair beside her and sat. “I’m so sorry,” he said in English.

  She tried to smile. “It’s okay.”

  He wasn’t convinced.

  “I am. It’s been nearly a year.” She knew how lame that sounded the second it left her lips.

  Less than a year from I do to goodbye, she thought but didn’t say. The complication of her short marriage wasn’t something she wanted to discuss. The world didn’t need to know the truth, and she didn’t feel the need to spread gossip.

  “I’m at a lack for words . . . in English or Italian,” Luciano said.

  Marco walked by in that moment and glanced at the two of them. Trina watched him walk away and sighed. “We can only plan for the moment. Tomorrow isn’t promised. You’re old enough to know that.”

  He placed a hand over hers. “You’re too young to say that with such conviction.”

  Trina smiled. “Then I’m ahead of the game, right?”

  Luciano tapped his chest and dipped his chin.

  A few minutes later he left her side. Trina tossed enough euros on the table to pay for her drink and walked away.

  Just the thought of her real life—the one she lived when she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t—made her want to flee.

  She’d be back to see Luciano again, she knew that as she left the café. But for now, she needed to search out busy, touristy crowded streets where she could disappear.