Bedroom Diplomacy(27)
“It’s not as if he could have a lower opinion of me. I had a child out of wedlock. In his mind, that labels me a slut for life.”
“I doubt he thinks that. He’s just protecting you.”
“This has nothing to do with him protecting me. The only person he’s protecting is himself. He doesn’t want you around me because he thinks that I’m the same mixed-up heathen I was before I had Dylan. He thinks I’ll embarrass him or, even worse, corrupt you and drag you down to my level.”
“That’s ridiculous. I can take care of myself.”
“Try to tell him that.” She pushed herself up and grabbed her bathing suit.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s getting late,” she said, tugging the suit on.
He picked up her phone to check the time. “We still have twenty minutes.”
“Colin, you take way longer than twenty minutes.”
“So let’s just talk.”
“I’m tired.” She pulled on her cover-up, then leaned down and kissed him. Not the slow, lingering kind. Just a quick peck. “Besides, we have all weekend, right?”
He got up, wrapped a blanket around his waist and followed her to the door. “Did I say something that upset you?”
“Of course not,” she said, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Call me at work tomorrow and we’ll decide what we want to do.”
“You’re sure everything is okay?”
“Everything is great,” she said, but as he watched her walk away, he didn’t believe her.
*
What was Colin’s deal? Why was he getting so…touchy-feely? So personal? It was supposed to be just sex, and now he wanted to talk? Where had that come from?
Lately it seemed Rowena was spending an awful lot of time convincing herself that Colin was not as wonderful as her brain was trying to make her believe. She would only wind up hurt. He was too good for her, and if he didn’t realize that, if he was actually having feelings for her, someone needed to clue him in.
When she got back to her room, Betty was watching television.
“Good swim?” Betty asked.
“Oh, yes, very refreshing.” Not. “How was Dylan?”
“Didn’t make a peep.”
Betty usually left the minute Rowena got there, but this time she didn’t even get off the couch. Exhausted, both physically and mentally, Rowena flopped down beside her and laid her head on her shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of her gardenia perfume. The same scent she’d worn as long as Rowena could remember.
“You know what I find remarkable?” Betty said.
“Hmm?”
“That for the last four days, you’ve managed to swim ninety minutes’ worth of laps without getting your hair wet. You don’t even smell like chlorine.”
Rowena’s breath backed up in her lungs. Oh, crap. Rowena was an intelligent woman. Had it not even occurred to her to take a quick dive into the pool before coming inside?
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Betty said, patting her knee. “You’ve been so happy lately I would have known something was up anyway.”
She sat up. “I’ve been happy?”
“More than I’ve seen you in years.”
“Even after Dylan?”
“That was a different kind of happy. Lately, you’ve been glowing. That new-love glow.”
“Betty, if my dad finds out—”
“Sweetheart, he isn’t going to hear it from me, and as far as the rest of the staff are concerned, there are more who have drifted over to your camp in the last year or two than you would probably believe. If I hear anyone breathe a word about it, I’ll set them straight.”
Well, that was nice to know. Not everyone thought she was a complete screwup. “Thank you. And as for the glowing thing, love has nothing to do with it. We’re keeping it casual.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Would it be so terrible to let yourself feel happy?”
It wasn’t that simple. Happiness always came with a price, and it just wasn’t worth the pain and disappointment of having to let it go.
*
After watching the senator’s limo drive away the next morning, Colin walked down the path to the day care with the box of books his sister had mailed to him. Children’s books he intended to donate to the day care. It was an excellent excuse to see Rowena. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been bothering her last night, and he wanted to know what.
He hit the buzzer at the gate, and a few seconds later Tricia appeared.
“Good morning, Colin.” She opened the gate and let him on the playground. He spotted Dylan, digging in the sandbox with a little girl who looked to be close to his age, but no Rowena.