AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She had fallen in love with Mat.
Without wanting to, she’d fallen in love with his big voice and crooked smile, his booming laughter and agile brain. And last night, his generous, uninhibited love-making. But most of all, she’d fallen in love with the way his basic sense of decency wouldn’t let him turn his back on the two little girls he wanted out of his life. And so, in less than a week, she had unwittingly given him her heart. A heart he hadn’t asked for.
How could she have let something so damaging happen? And she hadn’t even s
een it coming. She’d been so intent on chalking up her feelings to lust that she hadn’t taken into consideration what she knew about herself—she was a woman who would never give herself to a man she didn’t love.
It was hard to conceive of a more hopeless match. She was wise enough in the ways of celebrity to know she could never fit into his world, and she couldn’t imagine him fitting into hers. Why couldn’t he be an Ivy Leaguer who’d just made partner in a prestigious Washington law firm? Why couldn’t she be a schoolteacher, or a social worker, or a bookstore clerk?
As she tortured herself with might-have-beens, she thought of the many ways in which they were a perfect match. She was cool to his hot, quiet to his loud, thoughtful to his impulsive. But none of that made any difference.
She drowned her despair in the shower and, afterward, sneaked into the motor home to get Button before she woke up her sister. Even though Lucy didn’t complain about it, she seldom got to sleep in like a normal teenager. When Nealy returned to the kitchen, she flipped on the radio.
“Today marks the eighth day of the disappearance of First Lady Cornelia . . .”
She flipped it back off.
Mat got up just as Nealy was feeding Button her cereal. He gave her a toothpaste kiss, then asked her to stay in the house while he went out for a run. She was dividing her time between pondering yesterday’s Wall Street Journal report on federal interest rates and keeping an eye on Button when Lucy appeared on the sun-porch shortly after ten o’clock.
“Are Bertis and Charlie here? They said me and Button could go swimming at their campground. The pool has a big slide and three diving boards.”
“I just talked to Bertis on the phone, and they’re going to pick you up around noon. I’ll keep Button here.”
The baby squawked with displeasure as Squid eluded her by hiding under the couch.
“Where’s Mat?”
“He went out for a run. He mentioned something about the two of you going over to that playground across the street to shoot some baskets when he got back.”
“Really?” Her face lit up.
“But I told him there was no way you’d do something as silly as shooting baskets.”
“You didn’t!”
Nealy laughed and got up from the couch. “You’re such a dork.” She grabbed Lucy and hugged her as hard as she could.
“You’re so weird.” Lucy curled against her.
“I know. That’s why we like each other.”
“Who said I liked you?”
“You didn’t have to say it.” Without thinking, she kissed the top of the teenager’s head. For a few seconds, Lucy seemed to go limp in her arms, then she pulled away, as if a simple kiss were too much for her. Or as if she thought Nealy might take it back if she didn’t get away first.
Nealy smiled at her. “I’ve got an idea, but don’t make fun of me, okay?”
“Why would I make fun of you?” Lucy sat cross-legged on the floor and grabbed Button for a morning cuddle.
“Because I want us to do something that you’re going to think is really dumb.”
Lucy grinned. “Like what else is new?”
“I want to do makeovers.”
“Get real!”
“No, really. I want to.”
