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ke with you.”
Olivia thanked him with cool politeness.
He acknowledged her thanks with a nod, then said, “I need coffee. Can I get some for either of you?”
They shook their heads in unison. Then, as soon as he was out of sight, Olivia looked at Bellamy with a mix of bewilderment and annoyance.
Bellamy took a deep breath, reasoning that she had just as well be straightforward. “He and I have spent time together and have become better acquainted over the last couple of days. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Well, thank you for that, because I don’t understand. Not at all.”
“Then at least give me credit for being a grown-up who can make up my own mind about people.”
She hadn’t meant the rebuke to sound as stern as it did. Contritely, she reached for Olivia’s hand and pressed it between hers. “I can see why you and Daddy didn’t consider him an ideal boyfriend for Susan. He wasn’t like the sons of people in your circle. He was unpolished and disrespectful.”
“Our dislike extends beyond his lack of manners, Bellamy. We hold him partially responsible for what happened to Susan.”
The blame was misplaced and grossly unfair, but rather than dwell on that, Bellamy countered more diplomatically. “He didn’t come away unscathed. He’s never gotten over being a suspect.” She paused, then said, “Neither has Steven.”
Chapter 13
Olivia flinched. “Steven?”
“Dent and I went to see him.”
“In Atlanta?”
“We flew there last night and saw him today.”
“How was he?”
“He looked wonderful. He’s definitely in his element. The restaurant is gorgeous, and it was packed for lunch.”
Olivia searched her eyes for a moment, then looked down at their clasped hands. “Did you meet William?”
“Olivia.” Bellamy waited until the other woman was looking her in the eye. “Why am I the last to know that Steven is in a seemingly solid and very happy relationship?”
“Did you ask him that?”
“He told me that he cut all ties to his former life, including me.”
“Then you have your answer.”
“It hurts,” Bellamy whispered.
Olivia stroked the back of her hand. “Don’t be too hurt. Even I wasn’t introduced to William until after they’d been together for more than a year.”
“It didn’t wound you to be shut out?”
“Of course it did, but I was given no other choice except to honor Steven’s wishes for privacy. Years ago, he asked for distance from the family.” She smiled sadly. “I granted it because I love him, and I understood where he was coming from.”
Her expression turned reflective. “He didn’t have a very happy childhood. He watched his father die slowly of ALS. He’d barely reached adolescence when I married Howard. Who couldn’t have been a better stepfather,” she was quick to add. “But Steven’s transition into the new family was difficult.”
Olivia had no idea how difficult.
“He was fine with you,” she said. “You two took to each other right away. But he and Susan had personality clashes. Steven was introverted, Susan the polar opposite.” If Olivia believed personality issues were the only problem that had existed between Steven and Susan, then clearly Steven had kept Susan’s abuse hidden from her and Howard. If he had wanted them to know, he would have told them, so his secret would remain safe with Bellamy.
“Sometimes I think…” Olivia hesitated, but when Bellamy prompted her with an inquisitive tip of her head, she continued. “I think Steven must have felt a bit abandoned when Howard and I married. He’d had me all to himself for years, then suddenly had to share me with another man. And my love for Howard was so passionate, so consuming, that Steven might have felt slighted.”
