Private Lives. Karen Young

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      “I’ve had a couple of interviews.” She toyed with the garden greens. “I think I would have been hired by a small firm last week, but the personnel manager was spooked by the circumstances of my leaving LJ and B.”

      “Not a problem.” He poured more wine for both of them. “Have them call me. I’ll give you a recommendation that won’t quit.” He lifted his glass. “Cheers, babe.”

      “It’s too late, Austin. I needed the recommendation before they notified me that someone else had been selected.” Since that had been before the hearing, she didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why there’d been blank silence from Austin.

      “It’s their loss, sweetheart.” He reached over and touched her cheek. “Next time.”

      In spite of her suspicions, she felt a quick, familiar warmth as his hand lingered, cradling her face. Austin in this mood was dangerously seductive. And the emotion he kindled wasn’t from the wine. No, it stemmed from some deep need in herself that Austin had always been skillful in tapping. Struggling to resist it, she glanced at her watch. “I really need to get back, Austin. Liz will be wondering what happened to me.”

      The easy charm disappeared at the mention of Liz’s name. He dropped his hand and his voice went flat. “Liz knows you’re with me. Forget her.” He lifted his wineglass, but found it empty and set it down with a hard thump. Refilling his glass almost emptied the bottle. Looking about with irritation, he located the waiter and with a curt gesture ordered another.

      “Austin, I’m serious.” Gina covered her glass with one hand. More wine would undermine her ability to resist him. “It’s not just Liz I’m concerned about, it’s Jesse.”

      “She’s asleep, for Christ sake! Or she damn well should be at this hour.”

      “She is, because Liz is so conscientious about everything to do with Jesse. But I’m responsible for her even so. I hadn’t planned on having dinner with you this evening. What if Liz had plans of her own?”

      “She never has plans. She’s a goddamned recluse!”

      “You make her sound weird or…or antisocial, or something. She isn’t any of that. She’s the best kind of friend a person could have, especially to Jesse and me. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.”

      “We probably wouldn’t be in this mess without her,” he said in a biting tone, then added, “And don’t forget good ol’ Louie.”

      She looked again at her watch as the waiter approached with a fresh bottle of wine. “I really have to go, Austin. Stay and enjoy your meal. I’ll get a taxi.”

      He stood up with a short obscenity and pulled out his wallet. Sensing trouble, the waiter backed away and stood at a discreet distance as Austin peeled off several bills and tossed them on the table. The waiter wasn’t the only one who sensed trouble. Gina recognized the signs all too well. She quickly stood, grabbing her purse. On the ride home, Austin’s irritation would grow with every mile. He’d be tense and silent, seething with rage. But tonight, thank God, she wouldn’t be going home with him.

      She stole a quick look at him and felt an odd regret. For several hours today when he was so utterly focused on her, when he’d turned on the full force of his appeal, she’d come dangerously close to forgetting who he was. What he was really like. Just a moment ago, in the heat of his gaze and his touch, she’d allowed her defenses to slip. Then she’d mentioned Liz’s name. That, coupled with her reluctance to stay until he decided it was time to go, was all it took. His good humor was gone in a flash. A dash of cold water couldn’t have brought her back to earth quicker.

      With a weary sigh, Gina stood quietly beside Austin while the valet brought the Porsche around. The trip would be a harrowing experience. Austin drove like a maniac when he was ticked off. She’d lost count of the many instances in their long relationship that had ended this way. She’d say something, or do something that set him off and the fat would be in the fire. Tonight, knowing she was not going to be his victim, she could almost view his behavior with humor.

      They were barely seated in the Porsche when he pulled away in a wild screech of tires. He was like a teenager, she thought, hiding a smile. In fact, a kid would probably have more self-control. Jesse certainly did. Apparently she hadn’t inherited her father’s black temper, another point for which to thank God tonight.

      “What?” he growled.

      “Nothing.” She cleared her throat and looked straight ahead. He was pretty mad at her right now, but if he guessed she was laughing at him, his temper would really explode. “Just thinking of something funny that Jesse said,” she lied.

      “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

      She gave him a startled look and saw that he was smiling slightly. Austin…laughing at himself?

      “Okay, I was an idiot back there. I apologize.”

      She made some incoherent sound.

      “Yeah, I apologize. You’re right. You can’t impose on somebody who’s furnishing free room and board, plus baby-sitting.”

      “It’s okay,” she said faintly. Wow, a touch of gratitude. This was a new twist.

      “I was just disappointed that we couldn’t stay and enjoy the atmosphere. And the company.” He winked and gave her a wicked smile. “Anthony’s is a place where you bring somebody you feel special about.”

      “Don’t push it, Austin. You don’t feel special about me anymore.”

      “I’ll always feel special about you, babe. We’ve got history, good history.”

      “And some not-so-good history,” she said dryly.

      “Yeah, but I can see the error of my ways. I hate for it to end this way, both of us with regrets and wishing it could have been different. I think we can still salvage something good out of all this.”

      “We’ll definitely salvage something good. That’s Jesse.”

      “Yeah, which is exactly what we need to focus on, babe. We need to think about Jesse. How all this is going to affect her. I mean, if Liz and Louie are always bad-mouthing me behind my back and you’re hounding me about palimony, how’s that going to look to Jesse? She needs to feel that we still care about each other.”

      “I wasn’t hounding you, Austin. I asked for a reasonable amount of child support, a thousand dollars of which is going into trust for Jesse’s education. You can set it up at LJ and B if you want. It was the judge who increased the amount, not me. And Liz and Louie don’t ever mention you to Jesse. They wouldn’t do that. They know how that can confuse and hurt a child.”

      “Now you’re saying they never mention me. Hell, that’s almost as bad.”

      She gave an exasperated sigh. “Austin, listen to yourself! Just exactly what in all this would make you happy?”

      “That’s easy.” He signaled to exit the Interstate. “Just you and me handling our business without anybody else interfering.”

      Now they’d reached the neighborhood where Liz lived. Memorial was dense with tall СКАЧАТЬ