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I leave.”
    Taking care of the puppy would be a round-the-clock commitment for the next few weeks at least. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but instead of giving her any of those warnings, he found himself keeping his mouth shut, knowing it meant spending days—and nights—together. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he was willing to put himself through that kind of temptation.
    “S HE TOOK WHICH BMW?” Elijah’s voice didn’t betray nearly as much fury as he felt inside right now.
    The M4 cost nearly two hundred thousand dollars of his hard-earned money. While he was bent over backward, catering to the eccentricities of overpaid actors, she got to reap the rewards—but taking his new car was too much. Of course, he wouldn’t be where he was today if it hadn’t been for Alyssa. Her career had supported them financially, lending her name to his credibility, until he’d become a premier agent. She knew he’d always wanted a traditional marriage, and that her place, as his wife, was at home. But once producers stopped paying the top dollar he demanded, it had become easier to persuade her to retire from acting.
    He let out a breath slowly. The problem was that Alyssa had become boring, monotonous, and their marriage was stale. She still looked like the same beautiful woman who’d turned every man’s head—all the voluptuous allure of a Victoria’s Secret model with the talent worthy of the Oscar that still sat in his office—but she’d lost her spark after she retired, even though she’d agreed with him it was what was best for them.
    Alyssa’s lack of passion was part of the reason he’d strayed, the reason he’d been forced to seek excitement in the arms of other women. He couldn’t help that they flocked to him like bees to honey. It had always been this way. When he’d proposed to Alyssa, declaring himself off the market, he’d broken several hearts. It hadn’t been long after their vows before he’d realized that the grass wasn’t any greener in the matrimony pasture. The first time he jumped the fence, she’d been filming on location in London and he’d met a potential new client—a shy, young actress from Kansas. It’d been so easy that it became his weekly routine—send his wife for a spa treatment or shopping, and have his rendezvous with some up-and-coming actress looking for an agent without interruption or suspicion. Then there had been Lillian.
    He’d never meant to start sleeping with his wife’s best friend. But Alyssa had come down with the flu and insisted he call her friend to fill in at the ribbon cutting when he opened his new agency four years ago. They’d had too much to drink at the party afterward, and in the limo on the way home, when she slid her hand over his thigh, he wasn’t about to forgo that tempting morsel. He’d felt a little guilty about it, but Lillian had persuaded him that it would be their secret. It continued that way for years.
    Then she went and ruined it all.
    Lillian had been trying to convince him to divorce Alyssa for over a year now. When Alyssa showed up after lunch, demanding answers, he knew Lillian had gone too far. He didn’t have time for either one of their games. He had enough demands at the office without worrying about the two of them. So, when Alyssa threatened him with divorce, he’d called her bluff. He’d never expected her to actually leave.
    “The insurance company alerted me of the accident early this morning. Sir, what would you have me tell them?” The voice of his new assistant broke into his thoughts.
    “Nothing. Let them fix it, and find out where the car is now.” If she was willing to risk his fury and take his car, there might be some spark left in Alyssa after all. Elijah felt a stir of excitement coil in his gut. “Let’s find my wife and see what she’s planning on doing.”
    Elijah reached for the photograph he kept on his desk from their most recent trip to Miami, right