Vanessa smiled hesitantly. “I think you are a very rare and precious woman, Anne. And I’d love to be that sort of friend to you. I think we have both felt rather like the odd ducks out, haven’t we?”
Anne nodded, her blush deepening. “I just have so many things bottled up inside me, and there is no one I can speak to about them, not without being judged.”
“I would never judge you, Anne.” Vanessa met the other woman’s guileless blue gaze with utter earnestness. “You can tell me anything.”
Anne bit her lip. “Can I ask you something very personal?” she whispered, dropping her voice even lower, though it was unlikely the men could overhear them over the ruckus the children were making.
“Certainly,” Vanessa whispered back.
“Have you and Adrian... been intimate yet?”
“Of course.” Vanessa smiled and dropped her gaze. She’d had a feeling Anne was building to this. She didn’t know whether to be pleased that she trusted her enough to ask this sort of question or insulted that the other woman probably thought her little better than a whore.
“Do you like it?” Anne asked, her voice squeaking a bit with embarrassment. “I only ask because... I like it myself very much. I know I shouldn’t... but Morgan is so sweet when he comes to me.”
“There’s no reason you shouldn’t like it,” Vanessa assured her, wondering how she’d fallen into the role of the big sister when Anne was older than she was and had been married for years. “He’s your husband, and you love him.”
Anne placed her hand on her heavily pregnant belly. “Ever since we found out about the baby, he’s stopped coming to me at night. I know it’s probably for the best, for the child, but I miss lying in his arms. It’s been months, and I’ve been so lonely. He never stopped coming to me when I was pregnant with the other two.”
“Have you tried telling him this?” Vanessa asked softly.
Anne shook her head. “I wouldn’t have any idea how to begin such a conversation. He’s grown so distant. I think something’s bothering him, but he won’t talk to me about it. Honestly, he barely talks to me at all. Only about the children and household concerns. Sometimes, I think he’s grown tired of me.”
“Oh, Anne.” Vanessa gave the other woman a tremulous smile. “I’m certain that’s not true. Look at the man! I’ve never seen a man so happily domesticated.”
Both women once again turned their gazes on the two handsome men romping with the three children. Vanessa knew very little about marriage, but she knew enough to realize that Anne and Morgan had an uncommonly good one. “He cares for me, respects me as the mother of his children, but I want... more. I want him to look at me the way that Adrian looks at you, Vanessa. As though he would absolutely die if he lost you.” Anne’s voice broke a bit, and Vanessa squeezed her hand again.
“Is that the way he looks at me?” Vanessa asked hesitantly, her heart thudding almost painfully in her chest as she realized the truth of it.
“You two share such passion, and even when we were newly wed, Morgan never loved me passionately.” Anne’s eyes welled with tears. “He used to come to me quite frequently, but I never knew what I was supposed to do, so I just lay there like my mother told me, let him have his way with me. I think that he thought I didn’t like it, because he started apologizing for it, and then came less and less.”
Vanessa bit her lip, her heart breaking for Anne. “I suppose this is the first time that I’ve actually been glad that I didn’t grow up with a mother or anyone to tell me what was and wasn’t proper. When I met Adrian, I didn’t have any preconceived notions of what the physical part of our relationship should be like. I just knew what felt right, and because I love him, I feel like anything we do together is all right.” She smiled a little, remembering making love to him last night, knowing her face was probably bright red. “If you are missing Morgan in your bed, perhaps you should just go to him tonight and tell him how you feel.”
Anne laughed nervously. “I couldn’t do that. He would think me so forward!”
“You’re his wife,” Vanessa chided softly. “Perhaps he has been thinking you didn’t want him to come to you? You’ll never know until you talk about it.”
Anne nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just really hard for me to talk to him about things like this.”
Vanessa impulsively hugged her sister-in-law. “I have a suggestion,” she murmured, her lips turning upward in a mischievous smile. “You can act! Pretend that you are me and be as brazen as you imagine that I am. I don’t think Morgan would mind at all. I imagine he is missing you as much as you miss him. He probably just thinks that staying away is the gentlemanly thing to do.”
Anne’s blue eyes widened, and she glanced nervously at Morgan. “Perhaps you’re right. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
* * * *
“LOOK AT THE TWO OFthem,” Morgan mused, tapping Adrian’s arm and nodding toward their wives, who had their heads together in what appeared to be a very serious conversation. “What do you suppose they are talking about?”
Adrian shifted Gabriel from his back to the floor, tickling him and then nudging him toward the other children as he turned his attention to his brother. He smiled a bit when he saw Anne and Vanesa. They did seem to be getting along famously. “I’m not certain, but I’m very glad Anne has made such an effort to include us. Vanessa needs a confidante.”
Morgan raised a brow, a troubled look in his eyes. “Anne has needed someone as well. She seems melancholy as of late.”
“I’ve never known Anne to be sad, and lately you’ve seemed troubled as well. Is there something wrong?” Adrian asked awkwardly. Morgan had expressed some discontent the last time he’d visited, but Adrian had thought it would resolve itself. Now he wished he’d made himself more available to his brother. He’d been so mired in his own troubles that he hadn’t given it another thought.
Morgan sighed and tore his gaze away from the women. “Everything is fine. There’s nothing wrong. There’s just nothing all that right either.” He shook his head. “I’m certain things will be better when the baby comes.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Adrian said hastily, uncomfortable with the entire conversation. “Are you still painting?”
Morgan nodded. “Every night. I’m having trouble sleeping. I spend most nights in my studio, painting until dawn.”
