“Why?”
“It’s the War of Northern Aggression.”
“Sorry.”
“Besides, there isn’t any secret Barrington treasure.”He opened the wine and poured them each a glass.
“How do you know if it hasn’t been found?”
“You have a point.”He raised his drink toward her.“To friends?”
It was a peace offering, she realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach.A token that, after their intimate conversation last weekend, left certain doors opened.She was a coward and a liar.
“To friends,” she answered, tightening her grip on the stem so that he couldn’t see her tremble.
He rested his hand on the small of her back and pressed lightly, urging her toward the front parlor.The thick clouds made the late afternoon seem more like evening.Shadows filled the corners of the rooms.The steady drip-drip onto the porch railing should have soothed her, but the sound of rain only seemed to repeat the same refrain.“Tell him, tell him, tell him.”She would.Now.
He seated her on one end of the floral print sofa, then sat next to her.He’d left enough space between them so that they weren’t touching, but he hadn’t sat on the far end, either.Brown eyes regarded her thoughtfully.What would have happened if Billie hadn’t interrupted them?she wondered.How far would his caresses have gone?Would he have hated her more or less when he found out the truth?There was only one way to find out.
“Adam, I—”
“I’ve been—”
They spoke at the same time.
“You first,” he offered.
“No.Go ahead.”
He took a sip, then set his glass on the table in front of them.Half-opened shutters allowed in the dusky light.A single lamp in the corner illuminated the area by the hallway door.He turned toward her and rested his arm along the back of the couch, his fingers inches from her shoulder.
“I’ve been thinking about our last conversation,” he said.
That look.She knew it.Sultry brown eyes caressed her face, then dipped lower.The filmy gauze of her tank top provided little protection against what he sought.Her small breasts swelled as her nipples hardened inside her bra.
“Me, too,” she confessed.
“Everything between us is different,” he went on.“I didn’t expect—” He shrugged, as if not sure how to put his feelings into words.
“I know.”His long fingers brushed her bare shoulder.She leaned forward.“But first, Adam, I have to tell you some—”
Something heavy thumped down the stairs, followed by clattering footsteps.
“Look what I found!”Billie called.“Hey, where are you guys?”
“In here,” Jane said.Timing, she thought grimly.Just when she’d been about to spill the beans.Maybe locking Billie in a closet wasn’t such a bad idea.She shook her head.She’d just have to wait until her daughter went to bed.Then she and Adam could be alone and she’d tell him the truth.
“There’s a bunch of sports equipment and uniforms.I found this softball and bat.Can I have this jersey, Adam?And where’d you get the wig?”
At last Billie stepped into the doorway.The light from the lamp highlighted her appearance, including the blue and white numbered jersey that hung down to her knees and the long blond wig perched on her head.In one hand she held a softball, in the other a mitt.
Jane felt her breath catch in her throat.That wasn’t her daughter standing there smiling proudly.It was another girl.Funny how with dark hair, Billie didn’t look much like Adam’s sister at all.But with the long wig, and her old high school team uniform, she was the spitting image of Dani Barrington.
“Well?”Billie asked.“What do you guys think?”
It was like in the movies, when everything suddenly happened in slow motion.Billie’s question sounded as if she were a hundred miles away.Jane felt her muscles clench as panic chilled her blood.
He knew.
