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“Not until you tell me why you think I have women parading in and out of my parents’ home so frequently that I’d need to keep a supply of women’s toiletries.”
“How about you answer my question first?”
Ivan searched her face. “Are you really angry?” he asked, suddenly serious.
He released her immediately. Tiffany got up and took her plate to the kitchen without answering him. She threw the remainder of her breakfast away and rinsed her plate and glass. She was about to put them in the dishwasher when Ivan’s hand reached out to stop her.
“Tiffany, we need to talk about this.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
“I can see that, but do you really want to spend my last day in town angry?”
With a loud sigh, Tiffany set down the plate and shut off the water. She spun around to face him. “No.”
Instead of attempting to hold her, Ivan moved back and leaned against the counter across from her.
“When have I ever given you the impression that I have a revolving bedroom door? I meant what I said about working all the time, and living a monklike existence. Did you think that was just a ploy to get you into bed?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Then why would you automatically think I was trying to play you?”
Tiffany was at a loss for words. It was obvious that her accusations irritated him, but once she went down the road of self-doubt, it was impossible to veer off the path. How could she tell him what had been going on in her mind when she didn’t even understand it? One minute she was fine, and the next she was imaging all sorts of things involving Ivan and other women.
“I wasn’t… Okay, maybe I was…just a little,” she admitted.
Ivan tilted his head to the side.
“Fine, I was a lot jealous. I don’t know what came over me. It popped into my head just now, and I started wondering what guy is thoughtful enough to keep those kinds of things around for a woman? I didn’t come up with any.”
He took a deep breath. “My mother is big on making sure that any overnight guests feel at home. She’s the one who brought the basket of toiletries. It was unopened, remember? She also keeps toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo and a boatload of other stuff she thinks people might forget. She’s got a whole section in the linen closet of stuff like this.”
“Ivan, I’m sorry I acted like that. It was compl
etely uncalled for. I just… Last night was perfect, and just thinking about you with someone else…really didn’t sit well with me.”
Ivan pushed off the counter and took her hands in his. He kissed them one at a time. “It’s just you, Tiff. Got it?”
Unable to help the megawatt smile that illuminated her face, she nodded. A tear slid down her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb and wrapped his arms around her.
“And I thought last night was perfect, too. I didn’t have time to arrange fireworks, but we did have thunder and lightning,” he joked.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “I needed to hear that.”
“You’re welcome.”
He gazed down at her. “We survived our first disagreement.”
Tiffany buried her head against his chest. “If it wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t have had it to begin with.”
“Tiffany, we’re going to argue sometimes. It’s not uncommon.”
“I know that better than most,” she said drily.
Ivan tilted her head up to look into her eyes. “Yes, I guess that’s true. You’ve definitely heard your fair share of arguments from what you’ve told me about your home life, but you can’t let it consume you and dictate your actions now.”
She grimaced. “How do you mean?”
