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“But how do youknow?” Imogen persisted.
Wesley sighed. “I haven’t even met her yet, and I’ll be staying here for a while longer. I’ll talk to you when there’s something to talk about.”
“Handle it, or I’ll do it for you,” she warned. “Your father and I would rather not follow you to that dreadful little place, but we will if we have to.”
“There’s no need for that. Why don’t you think about how we can spin this to our benefit? I’m sure you’ll come up with a brilliant plan.” Wesley hung up.
Michael’s eyes widened. The Wesley he’d known would never have ended a call with their mother like that. “Whoa.”
Wesley shrugged. “She’ll get over it. I’m her ticket back to the political spotlight.”
“That’s a cynical way to look at it.” Michael had thought he was the only cynic in the family, but he couldn’t disagree with Wesley’s assessment. Imogen had never gotten over their father losing his electorate to some young upstart just as his political career had finally begun to show promise. She’d been ready for life as a politician’s wife and told anyone who’d listen how they’d been robbed of what should have rightfully been theirs. Wesley could earn her the status she so badly wanted.
“Not inaccurate though.” Wesley pondered him over the rim of the mug. Finally, he set it down. “God, I wish that had alcohol in it.”
Despite himself, Michael laughed.
“The thing you need to know about me,” Wesley said, growing serious, “is that I’m tired of being used as a vehicle for our parents’ ambitions. I’m not their pawn anymore. I have ambitions of my own, and many of them align with Mum and Dad’s, but not all of them, and that’s not my problem.”
For a moment, Michael almost felt empathy for his self-centered brother. Then Wesley opened his goddamn mouth and ruined it.
“So, what is there to do in this tiny backwater?”
Bex’s classwrapped up and she tidied chalk boards away as the kids rushed for the exit. When they’d all left, she swiped a layer of gloss over her lips, slipped her bag over her shoulder, and headed for Michael’s office. She hadn’t seen him since Saturday, when they’d made love and then faced up to Wesley. She’d needed a little time to pull herself together, and she was sure Michael and Wesley had plenty to catch up on, too. She knocked once on the door in case he had a teacher or student inside, then waited for him to open it. After a moment, the door swung inward, revealing a pair of cautious blue eyes.
“Hey, there,” she said, smiling. “Can I come in?”
He stepped aside, then closed the door behind her. “Good morning, Bex.” His voice was stilted and oddly formal. “How are you?”
Letting out a long breath, she sank into his spare chair and turned to face him. “I’m doing okay. Better now that I’m with you.”
The firm line of his mouth softened. “Happy to help.”
Still, he made no move to touch her or kiss her, and nor did he sit. He hovered awkwardly, darting glances at the door as though contemplating escape. Dismay crept over Bex like a chill. Suddenly, she didn’t feel comfortable sitting. She got to her feet. If he was having second thoughts, she wasn’t hanging around until he had the guts to say so. She was a single mum, she didn’t have time for bullshit.
“Do you regret sleeping with me?” she asked, point blank.
His face fell. “God, no.”
In ten seconds he’d closed the blinds, crossed the space between them and hauled her against his body. She heated in all the right places, loving the way he pressed into her, but she didn’t allow herself to melt completely.
“Then what’s going on?”
Surprise flitted across his face. “You can read me that easily?”
“I’ve known you for a long time, Michael. What is it?”
He sighed and seemed to deliberate how to reply. “I don’t regret anything, but I thought you might, now that you’ve had a chance to think about it. I know you were just trying to distract yourself the other day, and with Wesley in town, there’s a lot on your mind.”
He… what?
“Michael, look at me.”
He did.
“Whatever else happens, I like you, and so does Izzy. I want to continue to see you. Although we should probably keep it quiet for now because Izzy’s life is going to get complicated enough without adding another factor to the equation.”
“Great.” His hold on her tightened, and his lips brushed her temple. So sweet. So gentle. Moisture touched her eyes, and affection for this difficult man flooded her. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.”
