Her Secret Valentine. Cathy Gillen Thacker

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СКАЧАТЬ didn’t seem to realize it, but his relentless expectations had often left her feeling just as hemmed in. The only difference was Cal had not pushed to rule every situation they encountered in their marriage. He had allowed her to do what she wanted, when she wanted. But that freedom had not come without a price. She had seen the disappointment in his eyes when she failed to live up to his dreams of what his wife and lover—and the potential mother of his children—should be. She had felt his hurt, and known she was responsible. And that had been worse to her in many ways than the distress she had caused her parents when she had thwarted their expectations of her.

      So Ashley had done the only thing she could to preserve her marriage—she’d put enough distance between them to prevent such clashes on a daily basis. Her hope had been that “absence” would make their hearts grow fonder…and strengthen their relationship.

      Only it hadn’t worked out that way; they’d become even more emotionally distant than before.

      Cal pulled her closer. “We can’t keep running from each other,” Cal said quietly as the warmth of his tall strong body penetrated hers. He threaded his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck and tilted her face up to his. “We have to figure out a way to make this marriage of ours work on an everyday basis.”

      Fear mixed with desire. “And what if it doesn’t?” The whispered words were out before Ashley could stop them.

      Cal’s expression hardened. He took his hand away from her hair, let it fall back to her waist. “We’ll never know until we try.”

      She couldn’t deny the truth of his words.

      “It’s time we stepped up and confronted the problems that have been dogging us since the moment we said our vows.”

      “All right.” Ashley moved away from Cal. “But we do it on my terms.”

      He lifted a brow. “Which are?”

      “No sex.” Ashley bartered the condition she had been thinking about for quite a while.

      He blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”

      Ashley held up a cautioning palm. “I mean it, Cal. Sex between the two of us is great, but it never fails to derail us when we are trying to work out a problem. We end up making love and not talking about whatever it is that needs to be dealt with in the first place. So, if I come back with you to North Carolina while I job hunt, then we can’t make love.”

      As Ashley had expected, her husband had to think about that. Hard. Which confirmed all of Ashley’s worst fears—that without the sex they really had nothing to hold them together. Nothing that would keep their marriage going for the next fifty years.

      A wealth of emotions flickered in Cal’s eyes. Finally, to Ashley’s relief, he assented. “But I have a few conditions of my own,” Cal said firmly as Ashley found her beach sandals and sat down on the sofa to slip them on.

      “One, you live with me under the same roof the entire time you are in Holly Springs. And two, you stay until our third wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day and celebrate the occasion with me. You can have your own bedroom—either the master suite or the guest room,” he offered expansively. “Your choice.”

      Ashley stared up at him, her hands braced on either side of her. “That’s a whole month, Cal.”

      Nodding, he held out his palm and helped her to her feet. “Which ought to be long enough to figure out where we go from here.”

      Chapter Three

      “You’ve really done a lot to the place,” Ashley remarked late the following morning. Despite her wool coat, she shivered a little from the brisk winter air. They had taken the red-eye back to Carolina. And now, some twelve hours later, they were back at the farmhouse he had purchased during the first year she had been in Honolulu. “It was in pretty rough shape the last time I saw it.”

      “That’s right,” Cal recalled. “You’ve only seen the place once.” He set their suitcases down in the front hall and went to adjust the downstairs thermostat that had been lowered in his absence.

      Ashley felt the chill seep from her bones. “You’ve obviously worked hard on it. I’m impressed.”

      The two-story farmhouse had been painted a sunny yellow on the outside. The pine-green shutters and door coordinated nicely with the new slate-gray roof. Inside, the hardwood floors had all been redone. The walls were painted a creamy sand that went well with the white crown moldings and trim. She couldn’t help noticing, however, that the parlor and formal dining room at the very front of the house were empty and the walls bare.

      “I thought you might like to help me decorate these rooms,” Cal told her casually. “So I haven’t done anything with them.” Looking happy to have her there again at long last, he took her hand and led her back toward the rear of the house.

      He continued to show her around proudly. The country kitchen had all new glass-front maple cabinets and marble counters and was painted a soothing shade of taupe that blended well with both. The color continued into the laundry room at the rear of the house, as well as into the tastefully decorated family room that overlooked the fruit orchards edging the backyard. A big stone fireplace was the focal point of the room. The mantel was lined with photos of Ashley and Cal. Formal engagement and wedding day portraits, as well as casual snapshots of them with family and friends from happier times. Before things got so complicated, Ashley thought wistfully.

      Cal moved to the entertainment cabinet and showed her where the remotes for the wide-screen TV, stereo and DVD player were kept. “There’s no cable out here—so we’ve got satellite. I’ll show you how to use it whenever you want.”

      “Later would be fine,” Ashley said, wondering at the formality that had risen up between them now that they were physically together again. When had things become so awkward between them they didn’t even know how to be in the same house together? she fretted miserably. A house they co-owned as husband and wife.

      “Want to see the upstairs?” Cal asked, continuing to play the perfect host.

      “Sure.” Ashley nodded agreeably. “And then I’m really going to have to crash.” She was so fatigued from the flight back, she was nearly light-headed. She turned and looked at the dark circles beneath his eyes that hadn’t been there sixteen hours previously. “You must be beat, too.” He had flown to Hawaii, and then hours later, turned right around and flown back to North Carolina.

      “I am,” Cal admitted, stifling a yawn. Logging nearly twenty-four hours travel time in a thirty-two-hour period was finally catching up with him.

      He led her past the hall bathroom, which looked as if it had been outfitted for guests and was rarely used, and two empty bedrooms. A guest room was next. It had the cozy brass bed they had used the first five months of their marriage and an antique bureau with a mirror that conjured up a lot of memories for Ashley that she wasn’t sure she was ready to remember yet.

      Next was the master bedroom. A brand new king-size sleigh bed with matching cherry nightstands and antique brass lamps took up most of the space. Two separate walk-in closets had been built. And where the fifth bedroom and bath had been was a brand-new master bathroom.

      Ashley gaped at the changes. There were dual pedestal sinks, a sit-down vanity, a separate water closet for the commode, and a whirlpool tub beneath СКАЧАТЬ