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"Now that you can pass guard duty over to Miz Molly, what do you say we take a walk?"
"It's too cold outside."
"Shoot, that's good Chicago weather out there." Not giving her a chance to protest further, he grasped her wrist and pulled her from the kitchen. She couldn't engage in a struggling match with him in front of the children, so she went along with him until they had reached the foyer and were out of earshot.
"Let me go!"
For a moment he didn't say anything; he simply studied her with guarded eyes. "Seems like I've been a little slow to catch on. I just thought you were busy this past week, but you've been avoiding me."
"I've been busy."
"We need some privacy. Get your coat."
"I don't think so."
"Fine." He gripped her upper arm and pulled her up the stairs.
"Stop it!" she hissed. "I don't want to do this."
"Too bad." He led her into the bedroom and shut the door. Only then did he let her go, bracing his hands on his hips just as he did when he was standing on the sidelines. He had the same fierce expression on his face that she'd seen when he was about to do battle.
"All right, let's have it. Why the deep freeze?"
She had tried to postpone this encounter, had even hoped to avoid it entirely, but she should have known that wouldn't be possible. Dan wasn't the type of person to avoid confrontations. She bit the inside of her cheek because, once she started to cry, she'd never be able to stop, and she couldn't bear to have him see her break down like that.
"Are you mad because I didn't call you right after we slept together? You know what's been going on this week. I thought you understood." He glanced at his watch. "Matter of fact, I'm short of time right now. We've got a coaches' meeting at six."
"You'd better hurry and get your clothes off, then." She tried to sound tough, but there was a painful rasp in her voice.
"What are you talking about?"
"Sex. Isn't that why you're here? To knock off a quickie before your meeting?" The words hurt her beyond bearing.
"Shit. This is going to be one of those woman things, isn't it? You're pissed off, and I'm going to ask you why you're pissed off, and you're going to say that if I can't figure it out for myself, you're not going to tell me. Dammit, I don't want to play games like this with you." She could feel his anger building.
"Pardon me!" She jerked the bangles from one wrist and threw them to the bed, knowing that rage was a safer emotion to express than grief. "Let's get to it, then." She kicked off her shoes, sending them flying across the room. "Hurry up, Coach. You've still got your pants on."
He closed the distance between them and caught her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. "Stop it! I don't believe this. What's wrong with you?"
She had broken her resolution to get through this confrontation with dignity, and she grew still in his arms. Taking a shaky breath, she spoke quietly. "I'm not going to sleep with you anymore, Dan. It was a mistake, and I shouldn't have done it in the first place."
He drew back so they were no longer touching. Although his voice lost its belligerent edge, there was a dangerous wariness in his eyes. "I know you care for me. You wouldn't have slept with me if you hadn't."
"I met Sharon at the Bills game." The guilty look that flashed across his face told her everything. "She's very nice. You have good taste."
"Sharon doesn't have anything to do with the two of us. If you're thinking I was sleeping with both of you at the same time, you're wrong."
"That's what I understand. You had the best of both worlds, didn't you?" Her voice caught. "You could get your rocks off with the bimbo while you kept your future wife pristine."
Instead of being apologetic, he looked furious. "Is that the kind of man you think I am?"
"It's hard to think anything else."
She could see him struggling to hold on to his temper. "I'd made arrangements for Sharon to come to the Bills game weeks ago, and I couldn't call it off at the last minute. But I'm not seeing her any longer. I thought she was what I wanted in a woman, but then, after you and I were together last time, I knew I was kidding myself."
The knowledge that he and Sharon had separated should have made her happy, but it didn't. She needed to hear him say that he wanted more from her than sex, that he wanted love, and until he spoke the words, nothing could be right between them. Her voice was soft and unsteady.
"Did you stop seeing her because she wasn't hot enough for you?"
