of responsibility, she thought miserably. “All right,” she said quietly. “But there probably won’t be a problem. I’d like to leave tomorrow.”
He had to take deep breaths. His eyes flashed at her. “So that’s it, is it? A quick one-night stand and you’re off? You agreed to marry me, remember?”
“That was before,” she threw back. “I don’t want to marry you anymore. I don’t want to become like Bess, tied to a man who doesn’t love her, who barely notices she exists! No, sir, not me. That isn’t what I want to do with my life. What kind of marriage would it be if every time Bess calls, you go running?”
“Bobby was injured,” he reminded her. “I had to go.”
“To her,” she agreed, lifting her head. “You didn’t even ask if I wanted to come. Bess needed you, so you went.”
“Of course I went,” he ground out with failing patience. His dark eyes flashed at her. “Bess falls apart in a crisis. And if my little brother can’t take care of her, I feel responsible for her,” he added, recognizing without quite realizing it that he was articulating what had been his own feelings all along. “Anyway, damn it, you aren’t making sense.”
“On the contrary, I’m finally making perfect sense. I’ve finally opened my eyes,” she snapped. “I can see what’s ahead, and I want no part of it. Bess is frail and helpless and needs protecting, is that right? And I’m tough and insensitive and I don’t need anybody?”
“That’s how it seems to me, lady,” he bit off, totally confused now and losing his temper. “You handle yourself just fine without help. You always have. You’re too damned independent.”
It wounded, but she smiled so that he wouldn’t see. “It beats begging people to notice you,” she said with a poisonous smile.
“When did you ever have to?” he demanded.
“The minute Bess got within thirty miles of you,” she shot back. “And if you’re bothered that I might die of love for you, you can forget that, too. I’m uninfatuated! Why don’t you go and let Bess cry on you some more? I’ve got packing to do.”
Elissa’s blind stubbornness was making him see red. “What will you tell your parents?” he asked coldly.
She took a deep breath. “That I got homesick. What else?” She closed the door behind her and, as an afterthought, locked it. When she heard him stomp off down the hall, she blushed at her own conceit. As if he’d try to come to her, with Bess so handy. She crawled onto her bed, still dressed, and cried until there were no tears left.
By morning, she’d salvaged a bit of her pride. She dressed in one of her own flamboyant creations, a stunning white pantsuit with a red silk blouse. She wore heels, as well—red, to match the blouse—and carried a stylish white purse. Her long hair was pulled back into a bun, her makeup carefully applied. She looked sleek and sophisticated, a woman of the world. The fantasy was finally real, but now that she had it, she no longer wanted it. She wore rose-tinted sunglasses to camouflage the ravages of tears.
But she was a trouper. She’d learned from her parents that it always got darkest just before the dawn, so she glittered like sunlight as she joined Bess and King at the breakfast table.
“Well, good morning, glories,” she bubbled, glancing from King’s dark, shocked face to Bess’s pale one. “Isn’t it gorgeous traveling weather? Margaret, I’ll just have toast and coffee, thanks. I don’t manage airplanes very well on a full stomach.”
Margaret sighed. “You’re still going, then?” she asked, revealing that she knew what was going on.
“Of course,” Elissa said brightly. “I made reservations a half hour ago. I’ve got two hours to get to the airport, and I’ve ordered a taxi to take me there. Fortunately Jack’s Corner is large enough to have one.”
“I’ll drive you to the airport,” King said curtly.
“You will not,” Elissa told him. She even smiled. “Don’t be silly. You’ll have to go to the hospital and see your brother.”
“I’m getting a divorce,” Bess said quickly to Elissa.
“Yes, I heard,” Elissa said, as if it didn’t bother her in the least. “It’s probably the best thing for both of you, too. I’m sure you’ll find someone much more attentive than your husband. He did seem rather too busy for you.”
“He works very hard,” Bess said defensively, and King glanced at her curiously.
Elissa only smiled. She thanked Margaret, who had deposited a