Marriage by Contract Part 3. Sandra Steffen

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      She rolled her eyes before covering the baby with a lightweight blanket. “Janet told me I’d made a wise choice. Coming from her, that was high praise. Janet is the perfect daughter, you see, and I’m her somewhat-less-than-perfect younger sister.”

      “Families are complicated. God knows, mine is. I get the feeling your mother would have preferred you to choose some nice, safe career, if you had to have a career at all. Her remarks tonight were intended to remind you of your place and social standing, and hold you there. That isn’t where you want to be.”

      Beth straightened and slowly turned. Smiling, she whispered, “Thank you for the recap.”

      “Anytime.”

      Tony pushed himself from the door frame and ambled into the room with the easy grace of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. Beth’s eyes closed dreamily, because what he wanted was her, and being wanted by Tony Petrocelli was a very heady sensation.

      Yesterday had marked the one-week anniversary of their wedding. They’d gotten off to a slow start, so to speak, but they’d made up for lost time these past few days. Sometimes their lovemaking had been as long and languid as a summer afternoon. Other times they came together like two people sharing an illicit stolen moment. Those times, their lovemaking was frenzied, their desire catching fire like a match on dry tinder. Tonight, the passion in Tony’s eyes told her he had plans for the two of them, slow, languorous plans he would share with her as soon as he was good and ready.

      “What?” he asked, moving around her in a slow circle, noting the amused look on her face.

      Turning only her head, she said, “I was just thinking that you were probably a difficult child.”

      “This from the daughter who defied her parents at every turn?”

      “I only defied my parents at every other turn.”

      He’d circled behind her and was coming around to her right side. “What did your father and brother-in-law say to you when they cornered you just before they left?”

      “Mac and my father?” she asked dazedly. “Oh, they wanted to know if we’d signed a prenuptial agreement.”

      “I’m not after your family’s money, Beth.”

      “What are you after?”

      His gaze dropped below her shoulders and took a long time returning to her eyes. Cocking her head playfully, she smiled. “Allow me to rephrase that question. What else are you after?”

      Tony groaned softly. “What makes you think I’m after anything else?”

      “Do you mean sex is all you expect from this marriage?”

      “I’m sorry I brought the subject up.”

      Something in his tone alerted her to an underlying problem. She’d wanted to talk to him about this before the wedding, to pin him down, to force him to tell her exactly what he wanted from their marriage, and how long he expected it to last. Now that they’d broached the subject, she didn’t want to ignore it. “I think we should discuss this, Tony.”

      “No.”

      Their gazes met, held.

      “Why not?” she asked.

      “Come on, Beth. You don’t really want to talk right now, do you?”

      She swallowed her apprehension and said, “This could be for your own protection.”

      He was shaking his head before she’d finished. “Protect me from what? Your family has a lot more money than mine. And it’s not as if you’re going to divorce me and hit me up for child support for a half-dozen kids.”

      They both went still, the light from Christopher’s night-light stretching their shadows all the way into the hall. Beth was the first to find her voice. “You don’t need protection because I can’t have children, is that it?”

      “That’s not what I meant.”

      “Isn’t it? Barry left me because I couldn’t give him children. You can’t tell me it doesn’t bother you.”

      “I married you, anyway, didn’t I?”

      Beth took a step back as if she’d been slapped, and Tony drew in a loud breath. She remembered when he’d told her he didn’t want charity or a virgin sacrifice. Raising her chin in a manner she’d learned from her mother, she quietly said, “Who’s offering charity now, Tony?”

      Tony started to swear. Realizing they were still standing in the middle of Christopher’s room, he clamped his mouth shut and whispered, “Beth, this isn’t coming out the way I intended. You caught me off guard, that’s all. What I’m giving you isn’t charity, not by a long shot.”

      “What do you want in return?” she asked quietly.

      Beth didn’t know what she saw in his eyes this time, but it was more than attraction and seduction. There was anger, and worry, and maybe a hint of sadness, and something else that scared her more than all the others combined, because it looked a lot like remorse. “I’ve already suffered one broken heart, Tony, and I’d really prefer not to experience it again.”

      “I have no intention of breaking anybody’s heart, dammit.”

      “But?” she asked.

      He didn’t say anything. And neither did she. They stood perfectly still, staring at each other. She finally nodded, but nothing had really been settled. Neither of them seemed to know what to do to make things better.

      “Look,” she whispered, “we’re both tired and overwrought.”

      “Yes,” he said, jumping at the excuse so quickly it heightened her concerns. “We’re probably not thinking clearly. Let’s get some sleep. Everything will look a lot better in the morning.”

      Beth thought about how many times she’d told a patient that very thing, and wondered if they felt as suspicious of it as she did right now.

      She and Tony used separate bathrooms, then crawled into the same bed. He kissed her good-night, and then they turned onto their sides, facing opposite directions. Her body relaxed eventually, but her mind was more difficult to put to sleep. She reminded herself that she’d put in a grueling two days preparing the house and food for her family’s visit. Maybe Tony was right. Maybe they weren’t thinking clearly. Maybe the fact that he couldn’t talk about her infertility didn’t mean that he’d never accept it. Maybe bringing it up tonight hadn’t put an irreparable rift in their fragile relationship.

      Maybe everything really would look better in the morning.

      * * *

      Morning didn’t bring any magical revelations or miracle cures to their dilemma. Tony woke up to his alarm and groggily got out of bed while Beth went to feed the baby. They came face-to-face in the hall, giving each other a wide berth as if by unspoken, mutual agreement.

      Christopher had awakened every two-and-a-half hours throughout the night. Each time she’d fed and changed him, she СКАЧАТЬ