promise, that’s all.”
Okay, so she wasn’t jealous.
And now he was getting annoyed. His word was good enough for the rest of the world. It should be good enough for his wife.
“Look, I told you I take my marriage vows seriously, and I do. There’s no way I’ll be unfaithful to you.”
“I’m trying to believe that.”
He considered her tight mouth. “You’ve really got a thing about this, haven’t you?”
She hesitated, then, “Yes, I do. I’ve spent a lifetime watching my father having affair after affair and my poor mother putting up with it. Not me. I won’t put up with it. I won’t allow myself to be humiliated in such a way.”
The words were heartfelt, and something kicked inside him. “So you know about your father’s affairs?”
“Doesn’t everyone?” she said with a catch in her voice.
“Does your mother know?”
“We’ve never mentioned it, but I’m sure she does.” She straightened her shoulders. “And I won’t ever let myself be put in that position.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
Her expression clouded. “It’s all about respect, isn’t it?” she said, as if talking to herself. “Respect for another person.”
“You’ve got my respect.”
She focused back on him. “But I didn’t always have it, did I?”
The muscles at the back of his neck tightened. She’d mentioned respect the other day, too, and he’d let the comment pass. Not this time.
“Why do you say that? I’ve always treated you with respect.”
“If you’d respected me years ago you wouldn’t have gone off with that girl after our kiss.”
The comment staggered him. “What are you saying? That our kiss mattered to you back then?”
She held his gaze for a moment, and her delicate chin rose higher. “You gave me my first kiss, Nick. And yes, it mattered.”
He expelled a breath.
“But you didn’t care, Nick.”
She was wrong about that.
“You’ve got no idea how hard it was for me to walk away from you, Sasha. But dammit, you were only eighteen. You had your whole life ahead of you.”
“So did you.”
“I don’t deny that. I was only twenty-five. I didn’t want a serious relationship. It wouldn’t have been fair to you—to either of us—if I’d taken what you’d offered.”
“I felt humiliated,” she said quietly. “More so when you left with another girl.”
He swore low in his throat. “I’m sorry. That hadn’t been my intention.”
He’d gotten the hell out of there with the other girl—he couldn’t even remember her name now—not to humiliate but because Sasha was a siren … a little witch … who’d suddenly developed a body and a face to die for.
Knowing himself, he would have taken what was offered and moved on.
Knowing Sasha, he couldn’t have done that to her.
She gave a shaky sigh. “That was the worst part. You had no idea how devastated I was.”
His heart jolted inside his chest. Had this been more than Sasha testing out her newfound womanly ways?
“Sasha, did you have a crush on me?”
For a moment their eyes locked.
“Yes, Nick. I did. I was a young girl in love with the man of her dreams.”
Oh hell.
Dare he ask.…
“Are you still in love with me, Sasha?”
Her eyelids flickered. “I’m fond of you, Nick, but that’s all.” As if the thought didn’t deserve any further comment, she spun on her stool to face the mirror again and began brushing her hair.
It was odd but his stomach felt like it had just been hollowed out. She hadn’t missed a beat in her answer. Love definitely wasn’t in her agenda.
Not that he would have known what to do if she had said she loved him. He hadn’t figured on that in their plans. He’d be happy with fondness between them.
And desire.
That was enough.
He walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her through her reflection. “Amazing as it may seem to you, you’re the only woman I want in my life right now.”
And that was the truth.
The brush stilled in her hand. “I … I am?”
Her stutter was charming and made his heart pound against his ribs. She may not be in love with him, but she was so very beautiful.
“Yes,” he murmured, sliding the neckline of her dress aside and kissing her bare shoulder. “Let me show you.”
At breakfast, Sasha was still recovering from Nick’s questions last night.
Are you still in love with me, Sasha?
No, she wasn’t, but the question had made her uncomfortable. Love wasn’t an easy subject to discuss at any time, but talking about it made it seem more real, even possible.
It was a possibility she didn’t