Summer Kisses (85 page)

“Then I guess you were right. You still love your husband too much.” Robert tossed the ring back at her. “Keep it. I don’t need any reminders.” He cocked an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure Mac doesn’t want something permanent? If he’s willing to make a commitment to your child, don’t you think that says something?”

“Sure. It says he loves my son. It doesn’t say a thing about what he feels for me.”

Rob stood and pulled on his jacket. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. For a year and a half, I’ve waited to get you into bed. And, now, I’m going home to get plastered, again.” He waved toward the hall. “Do yourself a favor and go sleep with Mac. You’ll either get him out of your system, or the two of you will find out you can’t live without each other.”

“There’s a third possibility.” Her throat tightened, choking her voice into a hoarse rasp. “I could fall in love with Mac, and he could walk away. I can’t give him children, Rob. Look at the way he is with Tommy and Royce. He’ll want babies of his own.”

“There’s always adoption.”

“Right.” She snorted. “Mac’s flat broke and aching to have half a dozen kids. Why would he want the expense of adoption or be willing to wait as long as it takes—especially at his age? Besides, do you really think he’d qualify or pass a psych evaluation with his amnesia and what he’s been through?”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“It’s part of the reason I agreed to marry you. You don’t think any less of me as a woman because I can’t have children.”

Rob tipped her chin up. “Look at it this way, Honey. If you take a chance with Mac, at least you can’t end up any worse off.”

“Yes, I can. Right now, my heart’s still in one piece.”

Matt coated the edges of two cherry boards with glue and clamped them together, trying not to listen to the muffled voices coming through the floor and echoing in the ductwork.

He just couldn’t win. When Ben and Leonard left at eleven, he’d shut his bedroom door so Abby and Rob wouldn’t know he was still up. He figured if he worked in the basement until long after they were in bed, maybe he wouldn’t hear them.

Apparently, Rob must have been just as hesitant about making love to Abby with Matt in the next room and had headed for the living room instead.

Matt could handle knowing his wife had sex with the man in the past, but being aware of it while it was happening was a whole different ballgame. He had the right to put the kibosh on their relationship. But it would mean exposing his identity.

When the house grew quiet, Matt squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Robert kissing Abby....feeling her soft bottom through her silky panties....tasting her luscious nipples.

Finally, he couldn’t take it a moment longer and threw down the rag he’d been using. He couldn’t let this happen. He had to tell her who he was.

As he headed for the stairs, the talking began again, and he froze. Either they were extremely vocal in their lovemaking, or Rob had the same technique in bed as he did in his dental chair—numb them up and get it done.

As hard as Matt tried not to listen, their voices rose occasionally, leaving isolated words and phrases filtering down to him with distinct clarity. After several moments of barely audible discourse, Robert’s voice suddenly boomed loud and clear. “Trying to arouse you is like trying to ignite concrete.”

Matt’s hands curled into fists at the sound of Abby’s sobbing. How could the bastard say something like that to such a responsive woman? Rob really must leave her numb. There was no other explanation.

More muffled words drifted through the floor and then Rob raised his voice again, “Admit it. The house painter turns you on.”

Abby’s voice sliced through the house as clearly as if she stood right next to Matt. “Yes!”

That settled the question as to who they were discussing. She said something indistinguishable and then exclaimed, “Mac makes me feel wonderful!”

“What the hell are you doing here with me?” Rob’s words were muted again for a moment, and then he declared, “But I don’t want to have to use a blowtorch to get my wife hot.”

Several minutes of conversation followed in a hushed tone, ending with Robert suggesting louder, “Do yourself a favor and go sleep with Mac.”

Matt had told Ben that Rob wasn’t that bad a guy. If the dentist could convince Abby to climb into Matt’s bed, he would nominate Rob for the
Man of the Year
award.

A smile tugged at Matt’s mouth when heavy footsteps tramped across the floor and a few seconds later the back door opened and closed.

Maybe he’d gotten the time he’d been praying for.

Once Abby’s lighter step moved down the hall to her room, Matt crept upstairs and slipped into his bed. Soft sobs drifted through the darkness, tearing at his heart. He ached to go in and comfort her, but if he did, Abby would know he’d overheard.

Just when he reached the point of saying
screw it
and going to her, his bedroom door swung open and her slender shadow filled the opening. The mattress shifted, and Abby’s warm body snuggled up to him. Amazed, he pulled her closer and rubbed his face in her hair.

Rob could start writing his acceptance speech.

Stroking her shuddering back, Matt wrestled with his libido while her tears dampened his chest. His body screamed for him to bury himself inside her softness. But deep in his heart, he knew that wasn’t why she’d come to him.

He gritted his teeth, holding back his pent-up desire. Her warm silk-covered body rubbed against him. While he stroked her, an image flashed through his head of him moving urgently inside her, her legs locked around him.

It wasn’t just a fantasy. It was a fleeting memory.

What had he felt? Intense desire for sure. But something else, too. Tenderness? Sort of like he felt right now. He gently caressed her head and back for what seemed like hours until finally her breathing grew slow and deep.

Matt dozed fitfully until five-thirty, at which time, he slipped his arms under Abby and carried her back to her bed. The last thing he wanted was for Tommy to find his mother sleeping in Matt’s room. He covered her and kissed her softly on the forehead.

Her lashes fluttered, and she smiled, murmuring, “Thank you.”

~*~

Matt balanced the breakfast tray on his hip and gazed down at Abby. “Okay, Tom, it’s time to wake Sleeping Beauty.”

Their son giggled, climbed up on the bed, and kissed his mother. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “What’s this?”

“We made you breakfast, Mommy.”

“Thank you. That was sweet.” Her gaze met Matt’s over their son’s head. “Do I dare eat it?”

“Taste and see for yourself.”

She sat up, and he set the tray over her lap, laying his hand on Tommy’s shoulder to still him. She hesitantly shoveled a forkful of scrambled eggs in her mouth and smiled. “Ummm—not bad. Maybe I owe you an apology for comparing you to Matt. You and Tommy can make breakfast from now on.”

He nudged his son. “I think we just shot ourselves in the foot.”

Tommy giggled and beamed up at him, warming his heart.

As she broke her toast in half, Matt noticed her bare ring finger and heaved a short-lived sigh of relief that caught in his throat. Her diamond winked at him on the nightstand. Had Rob intended her to have a fling with Matt in the hope she’d get over her attraction once they slept together? If so, the jackass could kiss his
Man of the Year
award good-bye.

Abby sipped her coffee and glanced at the clock. “I didn’t realize it was so late. If we’re going to make it to Sunday school on time, we’d better get moving.”

Matt took the tray from her lap. “Who does
we
include?”

“Lucy and Royce always go with us. Of course, you’re welcome to come, too, if you’d like.”

What he’d like was to send Tommy to church with Lucy and climb back into bed with Abby. But after wrestling with his fantasies all night, no one needed to repent more than he did.

~*~

Matt pulled off his tie, following Abby into the house just before noon. As much as he’d enjoyed the church service, he’d received far too many speculative glances from the congregation for comfort.

“I’m glad it’s finally stopped raining. Maybe I can get another side of the house painted this afternoon.” He removed the classified section from the Sunday newspaper and took it into the bedroom. He put on the beat-up clothes he wore to paint before stretching out on the bed to check the want ads.

A full hour passed before he finished circling the few positions that interested him. By the time he wandered out to the kitchen, Abby was pulling something out of the oven. The warm April breeze wafted through the screen door, blowing around the tantalizing aroma of chocolate. Matt pointed to the pan. “What’d you make? It smells great.”

“Brownies. They’re Rob’s favorite. Don’t worry, I’ll fix lunch in a few minutes.”

He glanced down at the diamond she’d put back on since they’d gotten home. So much for Robert being ancient history.

She still hadn’t said a word about why Rob had left the night before. Matt tipped her chin up and stared into her eyes. “Why’d you crawl into bed with me last night?”

Twin roses bloomed on her cheeks. “Because I needed to be held, and I knew you wouldn’t mind doing that for me.”

He fingered one of the golden tendrils framing her face. “You had to know that wasn’t easy for me. What if I hadn’t been able to just hold you?”

“That would’ve been okay, too,” she whispered.

“So I spent all night aching for you for nothing?”

“No. It wasn’t for nothing. I appreciate that you gave me what I needed without expecting anything in return.”

“But you would’ve let me make love to you even though you’re marrying Rob?”

Her eyes widened in horror. “No. How could you even
think
I’d do such a thing?”

“Did I miss something? Didn’t you just say two minutes ago it would’ve been all right if I’d done more than hold you?”

“Yes, but that’s only because I’m no longer engaged.”

He picked up her hand with the ring. “So what happened between then and now? Did you have a change of heart?”

She looked down at her hand and frowned. “Oh, the ring. Rob insisted since he bought it for me, I should keep it. But I called him when we got home and told him I couldn’t. He’s coming to get it. That’s why I’m making the brownies. They’re an inadequate attempt to thank him for wasting a year and a half of his life on me.”

“Stop casting yourself as the villain, Abby. Rob was free to cash in any time he felt he wasn’t getting enough return on his investment.”

“Which is exactly what he did last night. I’ve strung him along for eighteen months, letting him think our relationship would pay off if he was patient. Believe me, I have a lot to apologize to him for.”

“No, you don’t,” Rob said from the opposite side of the screen door. “Mac is right. You didn’t do a damn thing wrong.” He stepped inside, letting the door spring closed behind him. “You never kept it a secret you were still in love with your husband’s ghost. I just thought I could help you forget him. But that was a pipe dream. You canonized Matthew Foster when he died.”

“I did no such thing.” She huffed.

“Oh, really? Say something negative about him.”

Matt suppressed a smile.
This
he wanted to hear. If Rob was right about Abby bestowing sainthood on him, it proved he’d made the right decision in maintaining his anonymity.

She nibbled on her lip while her gaze darted from Robert to him and back again. “Matt was—uhhh....”

Rob flipped his hand toward her. “See. You can’t do it.”

“Wait. I just thought of something. Matt was helpless in the kitchen. He couldn’t tell a soup ladle from a spatula.”

Well, she got that right.

“And he always smelled of smoke from his cigarettes,” she added. “Sometimes, I felt like I was kissing an ashtray.”

Robert arched his eyebrows. “Face facts, Abby. If Matt had lived to come home, he would’ve been killed a short time later, falling off the fifty-foot pedestal you placed him on.”

And Matt thought being ten feet up on a ladder made him uneasy. If he listened to Rob much longer, he’d develop a severe case of acrophobia and never finish painting.

Abby spun her back on Rob. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You didn’t know Matt.”

Rob twisted her around to face him. “Maybe not, but I do know no man is as perfect as you’ve made him in your mind. You lived as husband and wife for a measly two weeks.” Robert curled his lip. “You never had a real marriage. All you had was a romantic honeymoon that never had a chance to end.”

“If you believed all that, why did you propose to me?”

Rob’s face crumpled. “Because I love you. But despite how much you’re still obsessing over your husband....” He glanced toward Matt, and his voice cracked. “Mac, here, could get a response from you while I never could.”

The pain on Rob’s face made Matt bleed for him. He could imagine how inadequate the other man felt, and how demoralizing it must have been to admit defeat to his rival. Rob and Abby’s break-up would become an even greater tragedy if it turned out Matt and she had no marriage to salvage after all.

She slipped the ring off her finger and handed it to Rob. “I hope we’ll still be friends.” She handed him the brownies she’d wrapped for him. “Maybe you can come for dinner some night.”

“Sure.” He pulled open the screen door. “Just let me know when.”

Matt couldn’t let the man go away feeling so deficient. He dashed out the back door and followed the dentist around to the driveway. “Rob, can we talk for a sec?”

Robert placed the brownies on the hood of his car and spun around, crossing his arms over his chest. “What? Do you want to do a victory lap around me?”

“No, just the opposite. I’d like to share something with you that might ease the sting a little. But you have to swear you won’t say a word to Abby. Can I trust you?”

“Will you, even if I say yes?”

“Yeah.” Matt nodded. “You and I didn’t hit it off for obvious reasons. But in the last day, I’ve learned you’re a decent guy.”