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A tear slid down her cheek, and he gently wiped it away before pulling her into his arms. He held her tightly, inhaling her scent and embracing her warmth.
“I didn't sleep with her,” he whispered again, desperate for her to believe him. “Tell me you believe me. I need to hear you say it.”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes again, then nodded. “I believe you.”
* * *
They shareda lounge chair on the deck, with Elizabeth ensconced between his legs, her back to his chest. Already she felt better, as the sadness of the past twenty-four hours slowly diminished. He was here with her, and that was all that mattered.
He immediately launched into a narrative of the previous night. He, Richard, and Anne had gone to dinner, then to a sports pub, then to a martini bar, and then finally to the hotel bar.
“Anne was hammered. I let her crash on the pullout couch in my suite. I didn't feel like babysitting while she waited for a cab, and Richard had already ditched us.” He rubbed his face. “I left my phone on the end table near the couch.”
She remained silent, and he rubbed her arms.
“I talked to Anne, and she feels awful. If you’re still doubtful, if you need her to vouch for me or something, she will. She'll talk to you.”
“I don't want to talk to her. I said I believe you, and I do.”
“Are you sure? Because it doesn’t feel like it. I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Elizabeth sighed.Yeah. The other stiletto.
They decided to hold off on any more talking until he showered and changed. Elizabeth put on more coffee while he went to retrieve his suitcase. He placed it on her bed, and when he came back into the living room, she attempted to smile and held out a towel.
He tossed it onto the couch and wrapped her in his arms. “Why do I feel like something else is going on?”
“I'm not sure,” she fibbed. She needed to tell him what Caroline said, but now didn't seem to be the time. “I don’t want to talk about anything else today. I just want to be with you and hold you. Smell you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I'm thinking I probably don't smell so hot right now…and don't change the subject. Something is going on, and I'd rather get everything out in the open. Why put it off?”
She sighed. “You're right. I’m just not sure where to start.”
“How about this—I'll hit the shower while you drink your coffee and think about what you need to say, and I'll join you in a few minutes. Deal?”
“Deal.”
He gave her a kiss, then walked into her bedroom with the towel. When he came out a moment later with it wrapped around his waist, her heart stuttered and her face flushed. She’d seen him without a shirt on before—they’d spent plenty of time at the beach together.It’s the towel.
He walked outside and shut the door behind him, and a short time later, he was sitting on her couch in shorts and a T-shirt, his hair damp. She handed him a cup of coffee, which he promptly set down on the table so he could pull her down next to him. She curled against him, and decided that she needed to stop procrastinating.
“You're right, there’s more I need to talk to you about. But you have to promise you won't interrupt me. Let me tell you everything before you say anything.”
“I think I can manage that.”
She took a deep breath. “You know I went out to dinner Wednesday night with Jane and Caroline.” He nodded. “Well, Caroline and I were alone at the table for a few minutes. Um, basically, she told me I was a cog in the well-oiled wheel of your love life. She said you move from one woman to the next pretty quickly.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held a finger to his lips. “You promised.”
He closed his mouth, and she plunged forward.
“She said you were ‘delightful,’ and made itveryclear what she was referring to.” Her gaze fell away from his. “She also told me not to become too attached to you, because as soon as you were bored with me—like you’ve become bored with all those other Cape girls—you would move on. She said she spoke from experience.”
“Is that everything?”
She looked at him, and easily read his expression; he was angry. She nodded.
“Iknewsomething was wrong when I talked to you that night. You said you had a headache, but you didn’t. That’s why you wouldn’t talk to me? Because of that?”
