The Doctor's Baby(57)

“I was about to make some coffee.” He forced a conversational tone, hoping to make up for his abrupt behavior earlier. “Would you like some?”

Her expression softened. “What I’d really like is to know what’s going on between you and July.”

“Join the club.” David turned and pushed the door shut. He closed his eyes for a second and fought for control. What Mary Karen didn’t understand was there was nothing going on between him and July. Not anymore. He had questions. She refused to give him answers. Exhaling a harsh breath, he faced his sister. “It’s complicated.”

Mary Karen searched his eyes but she didn’t say a word. Instead she strolled into the living room and dropped into the closest chair. “It doesn’t appear complicated to me.” She placed her bag on the floor and crossed her legs. “Let’s recap. You pull a disappearing act. July goes to her room with a headache. Through the walls I can hear her crying.”

While David told himself that July should feel bad for what she’d done, the thought of her in tears ripped his heart open. Though she presented a strong face to the world, he knew the gentle soul that lay beneath the tough exterior.

“It’s obvious you two had an argument,” Mary Karen continued. “What I want to know is why you’re not at my house right now making up.”

“It’s complicated,” David said.

“You said that already.” Like a good sister, Mary Karen didn’t appear inclined to give him a break and drop the subject.

His sister didn’t understand that July’s lies had brought him to his knees. Especially coming on the heels of the news about Celeste….

“Did you know Celeste cheated on me?” The words burst from his lips before he could stop them. But once they were out David realized how much he needed to talk. Not only about July, but about Celeste’s infidelity.

“Oh, David.” Sympathy filled Mary Karen’s gaze. “I’m so sorry. When did you find out?”

“A couple days ago.” He sat on the sofa opposite her chair. “Yeah, it’s been a great week. My life went from the stratosphere to the toilet practically overnight.”

He attempted a chuckle but it fell flat.

“Did you suspect anything?” Though they were the only two in the room, Mary Karen spoke in a hushed tone.

“I don’t know if I had my head in the sand or what, but no. I never thought she’d cheat.” To his horror, his voice trembled on the last word. He cleared his throat. “I thought we had a good marriage.”

“I’m sure in many ways you did,” Mary Karen said slowly as if she was carefully choosing her words. “But from the little I observed, your communication seemed pretty superficial. Of course I wasn’t there with you 24/7, so I could be totally off base.”#p#分页标题#e#

Granted, most of his conversations with Celeste had been about logistics—when her next trip was scheduled or what parties they wanted to attend—but they’d talked about the future and what they wanted out of life, too. “Are you saying I was a bad husband? That it’s my fault she had an affair?”

“I didn’t say that.” Mary Karen met his gaze. There was compassion in her eyes, not blame. “I’m saying if you play the victim you won’t learn from this experience. Steve made his share of mistakes but I made some, too. We had problems. Deep down I knew they were there. But instead of dealing with them, instead of talking to him, instead of listening to him, I pretended everything was fine.”

David paused for a moment. Had he done the same with Celeste? He supposed it was possible. Anything was possible. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I did have my head buried in the sand. But I felt like we had a good relationship.”

“Maybe you did. Maybe you kept those lines of communication open and it didn’t matter. Anyway, there’s nothing you can do about it now. Celeste is gone.”

That was one of the realizations he’d come to during the wee hours of the morning. There was nothing he could do now except forgive her, vow to do better in his next marriage.

Next marriage.

He loved July. Before finding out about her duplicity he’d wanted to marry her. To make a home for her and Adam. To build a life together. Heck, who was he kidding? It was what he still wanted.

“Did the news about Celeste have anything to do with the fight you had with July?” Mary Karen’s question broke through his thoughts.

David shook his head. “It was an entirely separate matter.”