Текст книги "Native Affairs"

Автор книги: Doreen Malek Owens

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Текущая страница: 32 (всего у книги 37 страниц)

“That’s true.”

“And you thought everybody was showing up because Heath was the boss?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Maybe. But they also wanted to see you.”

Ann sighed. “I hope I wasn’t a disappointment.”

“How could you be? A tall, slim blonde with cover girl cheekbones? The minute I set my eyes on you, all my questions were answered.”

“Really?” Ann said frostily, studying her companion. She was beginning to dislike this conversation intensely. If this woman had an ax to grind she was going to find herself alone out here with the Christmas lights.

Stacy waved her cigarette. “Don’t get your nose out of joint. I only meant that I understand what he sees in you. I come from a background like Heath’s. I came up from nothing, like him. I married my ex-husband, Jamie Barcroft, because he was born in Greenwich and went to Exeter and Yale. Heath and I both crave class and people like you are the closest we’re ever going to come to it.”

“Thank you for your analysis of my marriage. I think I’d better get back inside and look after my guests.”

Stacy put her hand on Ann’s arm. “I’m sorry if I offended you. Maybe there are some sour grapes in what I’m saying but it’s also true. Just a word to the wise, that’s all.”

“Thank you. Good night.”

“Merry Christmas,” Stacy said, turning away as Ann opened the door to the house.

Inside the first few leave-takers were getting ready to depart. Ann spent the next hour shaking hands and saying goodbye, her feet and her head beginning to ache. She barely saw Heath, who always seemed to be off in some corner deep in conversation with one of his executives. Finally she abandoned her post by the door and went up to the bedroom to get a glass of water to take some aspirin.

In the bedroom she found a man she had met twice that night and whose name she could not recall—the manager of the Bimini repair garage on Big Palm. She had danced with him earlier in the evening. He looked up as she arrived. He grinned sheepishly.

“Hi, Mrs. Bodine. I was just getting my raincoat, but there’s a pile here on the bed and I can’t find it.”

“Oh, please, let me help you. I’m so sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”

“Ben Rowell.”

“I can’t believe so many coats wound up in here. I thought there was enough room in the front hall closet, but I guess I was wrong. What color is it?”

“Kind of an olive green—here it is,” Ben said triumphantly. As he turned to smile at Ann she felt the room spin and she reached out instinctively, clutching him to maintain her balance. He pulled her into his arms to keep her from sliding to the floor.

At the same instant Heath came rushing through the door, grabbed Ben by the shoulder to pull him off Ann, and then punched the other man squarely in the jaw.

Ben staggered back in shock, staring at Heath, his eyes wide with amazement and dismay. Ann was rooted, gaping in disbelief at her husband, who seemed to have lost his mind.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing with my wife?” Heath shouted, lunging for Ben again. Ann recovered enough to jump in front of Heath and block his path to the other man.

“Stop it this instant!” she snapped at Heath. “I felt a little dizzy and Ben was only trying to help me!”

“Why did you come back here to the bedroom with him?” Heath demanded, his eyes blazing.

“For heaven’s sake, Heath, I didn’t come back here with him. I found him in here looking for his coat. Will you calm down and apologize? You’re making a fool of yourself.”

“I saw him looking at you all night,” Heath insisted, taking a step forward again.

Joe Jensen arrived, drawn by the sound of raised voices, and Ann was never so glad to see anyone in her life.

“What’s going on here?” Joe demanded, looking around at the three of them.

“Ben was helping me when I felt faint and Heath misunderstood the situation,” Ann said quickly. “Will you take him outside for a walk, Joe? I think he’s had too much to drink.”

“I’m perfectly sober—enough to see what was going on right under my nose,” Heath said belligerently.

Joe gripped him firmly by the arm and steered him into the hall as Ann went to Ben and took his hand.

“I’m so sorry about this, Ben. My only explanation is that Heath has been under a strain, working very hard, and I think he just had one too many tonight.”

“It’s all right, Mrs. Bodine. Everybody gets a snootful now and then, there’s no harm done. Just the same I think I’d better go. I’ll say good-night now.”

Ann saw him out the door with extreme relief and then came upon Joe and Heath in the living room, where Joe was giving her husband a lecture, talking earnestly to Heath’s bent dark head.

“I’m telling you right now, boy, you’d better get hold of yourself and straighten up quickly. That little girl is going to leave you in the dust just as fast as she married you if you keep acting this way. You’re just lucky that everybody but Joanie and me was outside. You would have put on quite a performance for a whole houseful of your employees.”

Heath didn’t move.

“And first thing tomorrow morning,” Joe went on, “you get your tail over to Big Palm and apologize to that kid Ben. A few more incidents like this and you’ll get a reputation as a crazy man who can’t hold his liquor. What do you think that will do for your business, not to mention your personal life? These islands are small, word travels fast. And I don’t have to tell you that you owe your wife an apology, too.”

Heath was listening sullenly, his eyes on the floor. Joe looked up and saw Ann standing there.

“I’ll leave you two alone. Joanie and I will see ourselves out.”

Joe walked past Ann, patting her arm on the way. Ann went to the wall intercom, flipped the switch, and said into it, “Daniela, you and Victor can go to bed now. We’ll deal with whatever mess the caterers leave behind in the morning.”

“Don’t you want me to just run the vacuum, Mrs. Bodine?” Daniela asked.

“Never mind, there will be time enough tomorrow.”

“Mrs. Bodine,” Daniela said. “Your friend Amy left about half an hour ago. She asked me to tell you she was staying at the inn and would call you in the morning.”

“Thank you, Daniela. You did a wonderful job and Mr. Bodine and I are very grateful for your help. Good night.”

“Good night,” Daniela said, and Ann flicked the switch to the Off position.

Heath was still standing in the same spot, careful not to look at her.

“The party was a great success,” Ann said. “You should give Daniela and Victor a bonus.”

“And what should I give you? You planned it.”

“I assumed that it was part of my job.”

“And was flirting with Ben Rowell part of your job?”

Ann sighed and turned away. “Heath, you are deranged. I wound up with him in the bedroom at the same time by accident. He was looking for his coat.”

“He was looking for more than that.”

“Heath, I am not going to spar with you, especially on this ludicrous subject. It’s been a long evening and I am very tired. I’m going to bed.”

“Not so fast,” he snapped, covering the distance between them in two long strides. He grabbed her arm and she was unable to take another step.

“Heath, you’re hurting me,” she said, twisting uselessly in his grasp.

“Do you think I’m blind? I saw you dancing with Ben earlier tonight. I saw the way he was holding you, talking to you. You seemed to be enjoying yourself very much.”

“He was telling me funny stories about the grand opening of the Big Palm marina, about everything that went wrong that day. I was just trying to be a good hostess, Heath. If you had half a brain in your head you’d realize that the man wouldn’t endanger his job by courting the boss’s wife in front of the rest of the company. What the devil is wrong with you?”

“And who asked if you were hungry? Who ran to get you a plate?” Heath demanded, ignoring the logic of her last statement.

“Ben was just being polite. If it were up to you I would have starved! Has it occurred to you that just maybe he felt sorry for me? My husband ignored me all evening to conduct momentous business conversations that should have taken place in the office. At least, I thought you were ignoring me. Obviously you were keeping track of me by radar, watching my tiniest move while pretending to be absorbed in weighty discussion.” She finally yanked her arm free and stood rubbing her wrist, glaring at him.

“I was admiring your act,” he said.

“What act?”

“Your dutiful wife and hostess act. I must say that it was very entertaining.”

“I wasn’t acting, Heath. I intend to fulfill my part of our bargain completely.”

“No matter how much it hurts, huh?”

Ann didn’t answer.

“You think I don’t know what’s been going through your head?” Heath said. “You’ve been feeling sorry for yourself. Poor Annie, ignored by an indifferent husband, all your charms wasted on a brute who couldn’t possibly appreciate them. Then tonight you saw a chance for real admiration from that boy and you couldn’t resist it.”

“I’m not that shallow, Heath,” Ann said quietly.

“Of course not. You’re the Ice Princess–ideal wife, arm adornment and party planner. I knew this evening would be perfect, you learned to entertain at your momma’s knee. Too bad she didn’t teach you about fidelity.”

“I’m not going to listen to any more of this,” Ann said, starting for the bedroom again.

He blocked her path. “You enjoy teasing me, don’t you? Making me imagine what you might be up to with a guy like that? It’s the only way you have of getting back at me—isn’t it?—letting me picture somebody else kissing you, touching you, holding you?” His eyes were wild, his face flushed, his fists clenched.

His attack was so baseless and unfair, and Ann was so exhausted, that she had finally had enough. Her patience ran out and she said icily, “You know, you really shouldn’t drink, Heath, not with your family history. A couple of more belts and you could permanently turn into your father.”

His hand came up like lightning and Ann faced him down regally, her gaze direct and unflinching.

“Go ahead and hit me, Heath. You’ve been wanting to hit me for eleven years. Maybe if you finally get it out of your system you’ll feel better.”

His hand faltered, then fell. He looked at her a long moment, then dashed headlong from the room. Ann heard the door to the garage slam and then the sound of his car starting. She listened as it roared into the street and then faded into the distance.

In the kitchen, Daniela had left the radio on the counter playing softly. In the new silence, the strains of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” drifted into the living room.

Ann sat wearily on the sofa, too numb to cry.

* * * *

Heath drove in circles for half an hour before deciding on his destination—an all-night bar by the railroad tracks at the edge of Hispaniola. The plastic Christmas decorations on the door and the colored lights strung along the bar did nothing to lift his spirits as he slid onto a stool and ordered a drink he didn’t really want. When it came, he pushed it back and forth without touching it, watching the trail of moisture it left on the scarred wood of the bar.

Why had he behaved that way tonight? He couldn’t seem to stop punishing Ann, no matter how stoic she was about enduring his moods. He was proud of her, but couldn’t admit it; he admired her, but couldn’t say it. In fact, the more impeccably she filled her role as his wife the more enraged he felt. His need to make her pay was bottomless. She had done exactly what she’d promised to do before their marriage, and his inability to find fault with her made him want to kick in the walls. Why? Because she had to be a fraud, she had to be fickle and flighty and faithless, or else he had wasted more than a decade of his life hating a person who didn’t remotely deserve it.

Somebody put “Jingle Bells” on the jukebox and Heath tried to block out the sound; holiday music only depressed him further. He had felt like an actor, playing his role at the party tonight, all the while conscious that he didn’t deserve Ann or the dedication she had shown in making the event a success. He knew he was rude and unfeeling and charmless toward her. He also knew that he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms all night long and tell her everything he was feeling, everything he had kept bottled up inside for years like champagne canted under pressure. But that would be folly, wouldn’t it? If she knew that his pretense of emotional indifference was becoming impossible to sustain, that he almost didn’t care anymore what she had done in the past or why, then she would win.

But was winning this contest—his unbending attitude versus her ability to endure it—really that important to him anymore? If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that keeping her with him was fast becoming the major—possibly the only—consideration. Every time he thought of the way she turned to him so trustingly in bed, gave of herself so completely in spite of his churlish behavior, his will to continue the vendetta ebbed a little more.

Heath hadn’t noticed that the stool next to his was now occupied until his neighbor said to him, “Coming from a big date?”

Heath looked down at the tuxedo he’d forgotten he was wearing. “I guess you could say that.”

“How’d it go?”

Heath ran his finger around the rim of his whiskey glass. “Not well,” he replied.

“That’s a shame. Seems to me like everyone tries too hard at this time of the year, like we’re all forcing ourselves to be happy even if we’re not.”

Heath glanced at the philosopher to his left and narrowed his eyes. The old man looked familiar.

“Don’t I know you?” Heath asked.

The man nodded. “You should. I picked you up about five times in my squad car as I recall. Heath Bodine, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” Heath said, extending his hand. “Refresh my memory. You are...?”

“Ken Gates. Sergeant, Lime Island police force. Retired.” He shook Heath’s hand.

Heath grinned. “Sure, I remember. We used to call you Gatecrasher. How the hell are you?”

“Just great. I’m down here from Chicago to visit my son for the holidays.”

“So why are you here at this bar?”

“I had to get away from the grandchildren.”

Heath laughed. “At two in the morning?”

“The baby woke up for a feeding and so we all did. That kid has lungs she inherited from my late wife, may God rest her soul.” He downed the rest of his drink. “So, what are you doing in this dive, kid? I heard you made a mint on some boat gizmo you invented a few years ago and bought the old Curtis spread. Isn’t this place a little lowlife for you these days?”

“I feel right at home,” Heath said in a tired voice.

“Not drinking?” Gates asked, nodding toward Heath’s full glass of Scotch.

“I’ve already had enough tonight.”

“Afraid of winding up like your old man?”

“The thought has crossed my mind.”

“I had him in the drunk tank more than once.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“He was harmless, kid.”

“He was worthless.”

“Is that why you’re sitting here with a bunch of strangers two days before Christmas?”

“I had a fight with my wife.”

“Ahh. What did she do?”

“Nothing. It was my fault.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“No.”

“Then I guess I can see why you’re here.”

Gates signaled for another drink and Heath said, “I got it.” When the bartender arrived, Heath said, “Keep them coming for my man here. On my tab.”

The bartender nodded and walked away to get Gates another whiskey.

“Thanks, kid. I guess you can afford it. It’s funny, I never would have pegged you for a future success story.”

“You weren’t the only one.”

“Did you marry a local girl?”

“She used to be local. Henry Talbot’s girl. Do you remember her?”

“I hope to say I do. Pretty as a picture—blond hair, big blue eyes. Didn’t you have a thing going with her a few years ago?”

“More than a few. How did you know that?”

“Old Henry was down at the station one night at the end of one summer, must have been about ten years ago, trying to get us to arrest you for statutory rape with that little girl.”

Heath froze with his hand around the glass on the bar before him. “What?” he said softly.

Gates nodded vigorously. “I remember it like it was yesterday. We didn’t see much of the local gentry in the squad room if you know what I mean, so the incident kind of stuck in my mind. Talbot wanted to know the procedure necessary for filing charges. The chief tried to talk him out of it—we all guessed it was probably just a case of two kids in love. The Talbot girl was only a few months away from the legal age anyway, right? But King Henry was having none of it. He left determined to file the charges as soon as he squeezed the necessary details out of his kid. Then, like magic, we heard nothing more about it. A few weeks later, the Talbot housekeeper told me that the girl had gone up north to school, and later I read in the paper that you had joined the navy. I figured then that the girl had agreed to leave town if her daddy let you off the hook.”

Heath was staring at him, his fingers white around the object he held, his breath caught in his throat.

“You all right, kid?” Gates asked, concerned. “You look kinda... funny.”

Heath stood slowly, sliding off his stool and pulling a bill out of his wallet. He set it down on the bar.

“This should cover everything,” he said, then clapped Gates on the shoulder and reached once more for his hand.

“Thank you,” Heath said soberly. “And Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year.”

Gates shook his hand and stared after him for a moment. Then he snatched up the bill and tucked it into his pocket, signaling the bartender.

* * * *

Ann was asleep on the sofa in the living room when Heath returned. He took off his shoes and crept closer to the couch, noting with dismay that even in sleep her brow was creased and her expression not peaceful. Feeling guilty and remorseful to the limit of his imagination, Heath sat next to her and took her by the shoulders, gently lifting her into his arms. He remembered with a pang how he had found her in similar circumstances the day of their wedding. The deliberate cruelty of taking off and leaving her without a word on that occasion was unforgivable in retrospect, and he wondered now if their relationship was even salvageable.

He carried her into the bedroom and set her on the bed, leaning forward until she slipped bonelessly onto the embroidered spread. He took off her shoes and adjusted the pillow under her head, drawing an afghan over her legs as she stirred slightly. Then he crept quietly out of the room and closed the door.

He stood in the hallway for a long time, then went into the living room and sat staring out the windows at the lawn until the sky lightened and the sun rose.

* * * *

When Joe Jensen came into his office around noon on Christmas Eve Heath was sitting at his desk.

Joe stopped short. “What are you doing here?” he asked Heath in surprise.

“I called your house and Joan said you were coming in at lunchtime to pick up the mail.”

“And you’ve just been sitting here waiting?”

“Yes.”

Joe pulled out a chair and sat facing Heath. “What’s up? As if I didn’t know.”

“I’ve already talked to Ben Rowell and apologized for last night,” Heath said.

Joe nodded. “And your wife?”

“I haven’t talked to her yet.”

“What happened after Joan and I went home?”

“We had a fight and I left. When I came back, Ann was sleeping, and then I left again this morning before she was up.”

“Are you avoiding her?”

Heath sighed. “I wish I could avoid myself,” he said, running his hands through his hair.

Joe sat back with his arms folded, surveying Heath skeptically. “Kid, I haven’t wanted to ask—”

Heath held up his hand. “And I haven’t wanted to talk about it. Until now.”

Joe shrugged. “Then go ahead.”

Heath filled Joe in on the parts of the story he didn’t know—the circumstances of the breakup with Ann when they were kids, how he had misjudged the situation and how he’d only married her for revenge.

Joe was staring at him in amazement when he finished.

“Do you mean to tell me that all these years you thought she dumped you until that old cop set you straight?”

“Yes.”

“Even when she told you otherwise?”

Heath nodded wearily.

“I guess you had a whole lot of faith in her, didn’t you?” Joe said dryly.

Heath said nothing.

“So what are you going to do now, start interviewing retired municipal staff and going through old police reports to make sure that Gates gave you the straight story?”

“No,” Heath said quietly. “I believe him.”

“But you didn’t believe Ann when she told you the same thing,” Joe observed mercilessly.

Heath just shook his head, his expression defeated.

“What are you going to do?” Joe asked, finally taking pity on his friend.

“I don’t know. How can I ask her to forgive me for a mistake this enormous? The situation is impossible. You don’t know how I’ve been treating her....”

“From your performance last night I can guess.”

“I married her to punish her,” Heath said, rising abruptly. “And I did punish her, every way I could. Now it turns out she didn’t deserve it at all. I feel like hiding out somewhere. Joe, I’m too ashamed to face her.”

“Would you have kept treating her badly if you hadn’t run into Gates?” Joe asked.

Heath shook his head slowly. “I doubt it. The whole act was becoming real hard to sustain.”

“Act?”

“I don’t hate her, Joe,” Heath said softly, a catch in his voice. “I never did even when I was trying to convince myself otherwise.”

Joe nodded silently, moved by Heath’s struggle to contain his emotions.

Heath put his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” he said.

Joe waited, unsure what to say. In his experience, Heath had always known what to do.

Heath opened his eyes. “Any advice?” he said.

“Do you want her to stay with you?” Joe asked.

“Of course, but I can’t keep holding her brother’s fate over her head to coerce her.”

“You don’t think she’ll stay with you otherwise?”

Heath was silent.

“Does she love you?”

“She did, but...”

Joe raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve done everything I could to destroy her affection for me. If it’s survived, it will be a miracle.”

“I’d bet she’s a lot tougher than she looks,” Joe said.

Heath nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve learned that during the past month.”

“Then tell her what you’re feeling. Don’t give up now when you’re so close to getting what you want.”

“I don’t know how close I am. She would never have married me in the first place if Tim weren’t on his way to jail.”

“That may have been the excuse she gave herself, but I’m sure she wanted to be with you, Heath. I remember when you were kids. I’ve never seen two people more in love.”

“A lot of time has passed since then.”

“Have your feelings changed?”

Heath didn’t answer for a long time, then he shook his head once, unable to meet Joe’s eyes.

“Chances are she feels the same. Go home and talk to her, Heath. I’m betting she’ll listen.”

Heath got up and walked toward the door, pausing as he passed Joe to put his hand on the older man’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Joe,” he said huskily.

Joe smiled to himself as the door closed behind Heath.

* * * *

Heath drove back home in a fog of apprehension; he knew that he had to confront Ann about this now, since there was no possibility of going on as before, but he dreaded her reaction.

She had every right to throw him out of the house or leave him on the spot. The only mystery was why she hadn’t done so already. But the idea that she might reject him now, after all that they had been through, was truly too awful to consider.

Ann was in the den wrapping a Christmas present when he arrived.

“Princess,” he said softly from the doorway.

Her head shot up and she looked at him. Her expression cut him to the quick; she looked as if she were anticipating a blow. And why not? He had been delivering little else lately.

“Heath,” she said, putting aside the gift. “I didn’t know where you were.”

“I came back last night but left again before you woke up this morning.”

“I didn’t expect you to come back.”

He nodded dismally. “How are you feeling?”

“All right.” She seemed surprised that he had asked.

“You said you were dizzy last night.”

She appeared confused. “But I thought that you didn’t believe me.”

Heath leaned against the doorway and closed his eyes. “I believe you, Ann. I think some part of me always has. Are you sure that you’re feeling better now?”

She nodded, clearly bewildered by his solicitous attitude. “I was too nervous to eat all day before the party, that’s all. I wanted the evening to go well.”

“It did go well, until I blew it at the end with my big mouth, of course.”

“Nobody heard that, Heath. Nobody but Joe, and he’s not going to say anything.”

He stared at her in amazement. She was still worried about him even though he didn’t deserve it.

“Princess, I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s all right, Heath. Forget it. I guess we were both tense last night. It’s over now.”

“I’m not talking about the incident with Ben Rowell. I’m talking about the way I’ve acted since we met again last month—the way I blackmailed you into marrying me and have used your brother’s situation to keep you with me ever since.”

Ann was so stunned she couldn’t reply.

“I knew that I couldn’t keep this charade going much longer. I think these irrational outbursts, like the one last night, were just reflections of my confusion.”

“What charade?” Ann said softly.

“Pretending that I didn’t care about you, that my only objective was to use you in bed and extract revenge for the past.”

“You convinced me.”

“I know. I’ve been a brute to you. Just thinking about some of the things I’ve said and done makes me cringe.”

Ann stared at him for a moment, then said, “Why this change of heart now, Heath?”

He sighed, not surprised that she didn’t know how to respond to this turnabout in his attitude.

“Ann, I know that the story you told me about your father prosecuting me for rape is true. Last night I talked to a cop who was on the Lime Island police force when your father was inquiring about assembling a case against me.”

Her lips parted and he held up his hand. She waited breathlessly, watching him.

“I want you to understand that even before I spoke to him I knew that we couldn’t go on like this. Torturing you wasn’t as much fun as I’d thought it would be. In fact, it wasn’t fun at all.” He ran his hand through his disordered hair, then added, “I’m letting you out of the deal. You’re free to go whenever you want and I’ll make you a generous settlement. And as far as your brother goes, I’ll continue to do everything I said I would with no strings attached. He’ll stay out of jail and I’ll pay the attorneys for his trial. I’ve already bought up the stock in ScriptSoft and I’ll oversee the company’s recovery.” He expelled his breath in a rush. “I guess that’s all I have to say.”

Ann swallowed hard, her expression unreadable, her body motionless.

“I’m going to leave for a couple of hours so you can make up your mind whether you want to stay here or return to New York. I’ll clear out if you want the house until the divorce is settled. I’m sorry about the timing of this, Christmas and all, but it couldn’t wait. I’ll be back around three. You can let me know what you want to do then. I know I’m springing this on you suddenly. Is that enough time for you to decide? I just want to get this over with and not prolong the agony.”

Ann nodded wordlessly.

Heath walked out of the den and Ann heard him leave.

She put her head down on her cradled arms and slowly closed her eyes.

* * * *

The afternoon of Christmas Eve was the longest period of Heath’s life. He had no idea what to do with himself so he drove to the mall on Big Palm and sat on one of the stone benches, watching the tardy shoppers hurry past him. The kids were hysterical with pre-Christmas excitement and the parents rushed and preoccupied. He was oblivious to the Christmas carols blaring over the intercom and the advertisements for the last-minute sales while his whole history with Ann played itself over in his mind like a newsreel. He had surely blown his last chance with her and that knowledge made him want to beg her to stay with him. But some warning instinct told him that she had to bring up that possibility herself.

He was through trying to force her into his mold. The idea must be hers.

When he got back to the house, the sun was beginning to decline in the winter sky and he found Ann sitting in the living room, waiting for him. She was dressed exactly as she had been when he’d left and there were no bags in the hall.

Ann’s eyes flooded with tears when she saw him.

He stared back at her, a muscle jumping along his jaw.

“Come here,” she said.

Heath sat next to her on the loveseat near the window.

“Do you want me to go?” she whispered.

He bent his head.

“Do you?”

He shook his head mutely, unable to look at her.

Ann tipped his chin up with a forefinger and forced him to look her in the eye.

“I’ll never leave you now, Heath. We’ve wasted far too much time already.”

He closed his eyes, the spider web lashes sweeping his cheeks.

“I love you, princess,” he said huskily. “I always have and I know I always will.”

Ann leaned forward to put her arms around his neck and he gathered her to him, exhaling a long breath that caught in the middle like a sob.

“Why don’t you take me into the bedroom and prove it?” Ann whispered into his ear.

He swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the living room. Ann buried her face on his shoulder, sure that this time she would not be left alone when his passion was spent.

Heath set her on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned her blouse. “You looked so beautiful last night, you took my breath away,” he said, bending to kiss the smooth shoulders he had exposed. He unhooked her bra and discarded it, undressing her carefully and gently until she was naked. Then he undressed himself, dropping his clothes on the floor and joining her on the bed.

“I’m going to make you forget everything except how much I love you,” he said.

He did just that.

* * * *

Later that afternoon Ann woke with Heath’s arm flung across her, his head pillowed on her breast. Her previous awakenings had always been marred by finding him crowded over to his side of the bed– careful, even in his sleep, not to touch her. Now she ran her fingers through his hair and dragged her nails lightly across the nape of his neck. He stirred and his lashes lifted.