“My father knew,” Vanessa said carefully. “My mother said as much. That must have been why he took me away the way he did. And why she didn’t come with us.”
“I can’t comment on what went on between your parents, Van. If there are things you need to know, you should hear them from Loretta.”
“I don’t know what to say to her. I don’t know what to ask.” She turned away again. “In all those years, my father never said a thing about it.”
That didn’t surprise him, but he doubted Julius’s motives had been altruistic. “What else did she tell you?”
“What else is there to tell?” Vanessa countered.
Brady was silent for a moment. “Did you ask her why?”
“I didn’t have to.” She rubbed a chill from her arms. “She told me she didn’t even love the man. It was just physical. Just sex.”
He contemplated his beer. “Well, I guess we should drag her out in the street and shoot her.”
“It’s not a joke,” Vanessa said, whirling around. “She deceived her husband. She cheated on him while they were living together, while she was pretending to be part of a family.”
“That’s all true. Considering the kind of woman Loretta is, it seems to me she must have had some very strong reasons.” His eyes stayed on hers, calm and searching. “I’m surprised it didn’t occur to you.”
“How can you justify adultery?”
“I’m not. But there are very few situations that are simple black and white. I think once you get over the shock and the anger, you’ll ask her about those gray areas.”
“How would you feel if it was one of your parents?”
“Lousy.” He set the beer aside. “Want a hug?”
She felt the tears rise to burn the backs of her eyes. “Yes,” she managed, and went gratefully into his arms.
He held her, his arms gentle, his hands easy as they stroked along her back. She needed him now, he thought. And the need was for friendship. However tangled his emotions were, he could never refuse her that. He brushed his lips over her hair, enchanted by the texture, the scent, the warm, deep color. Her arms were tight around him. Her head was nestled just beneath his.
She still fitted, he thought. She was still a perfect fit.
He seemed so solid. She wondered how such a reckless boy could have become such a solid, dependable man. He was giving her, without her even having asked, exactly what she needed. Nothing more, nothing less.
Her eyes closed, she thought how easy, how terrifyingly easy, it would be to fall in love with him all over again.
“Feeling any better?”
She didn’t know about better, but she was definitely feeling. The hypnotic stroke of his hands up and down her spine, the steady rhythm of his heart against hers.
She lifted her head, just enough to see his eyes. There was understanding in them, and a strength that had developed during the time she had been without him.
“I can’t make up my mind whether you’ve changed or whether you’re the same.”
“Some of both.” Her scent was waltzing through his system. “I’m glad you came back.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She sighed again. “I wasn’t going to get near you again. When I was here before, I was angry because you made me remember—and what I remembered was that I’d never really forgotten.”
If she looked at him that way five more seconds, he knew, he’d forget she’d come looking for a friend. “Van…you should probably try to straighten this out with your mother. Why don’t I drive you home?”#p#分页标题#e#
“I don’t want to go home tonight.” Her words echoed in her head. She had to press her lips tightly together before she could form the next words. “Let me stay here with you.”
The somewhat pleasant ache that had coursed through him as he’d held her turned sharp and deadly. With his movements slow and deliberate, he put his hands on her shoulders and stepped back.
“That’s not a good idea.” When her mouth turned into a pout, he nearly groaned.
“A few hours ago, you seemed to think it was a very good idea.” She shrugged his hands off her shoulders before she turned. “Apparently you’re still a lot of talk and no action.”
He spun her around quickly, threats hovering on his tongue. As she watched, the livid fury in his eyes died to a smolder. “You still know what buttons to push.”
She tilted her head. “And you don’t.”
He slipped a hand around her throat. “You’re such a brat.” When she tossed back her head, he was tempted to give her throat just one quick squeeze. He reminded himself that he was a doctor. “It would serve you right if I dragged you upstairs and made love to you until you were deaf, dumb and blind.”