Wife by Agreement

'I don't know what I think of you,' Hannah said honestly. 'I know it must have taken guts to come here and say this.'

'I turned the car around three times on the way over.'

'I appreciate your honesty.' It was hard not to, and she could afford to be generous, she told herself, under the circumstances. 'And I can understand any woman finding Ethan irresistible—I do myself,' she admitted, with the faintest glimmer of a mischievous smile.

Miranda gave a sigh of relief that was half a sob. "Thank God,' she breathed. 'I thought you might want to...'

'Tear your hair out?' Hannah suggested. "The thought did occur to me.' It wasn't easy to make a joke out of the violent revulsion of her feelings.

'Miranda gone?'

Hannah turned from her task of preparing vegetables to look at Ethan in a manner as casual as his own. 'I couldn't persuade her to stay,' she quipped waspishly.

'Pity.'

'A real loss,' she drawled. 'Did you enjoy your game of football?'

'Emma has a very pronounced competitive streak,' he mused, rubbing his shin. 'Just like her...'

'Like her mother,' she finished emphatically, even though the reminder hurt.

'I was gong to say like me,' he said, his brows raised a little at her tone.

Her sensitivity had made her jump the gun, and she continued swiftly to extinguish that disturbingly thoughtful expression on his face. 'I'm glad you tell her she can do anything shs sets her mind to,' Hannah observed truthfully. 'It's important for any child, not just a girl, to have someone believe in them.' She was unaware of the hint of wistfulness that had entered her voice.

'Did nobody ever believe in you, Hannah?' he asked softly.

She gave him a startled look. 'Are you trying to discover the reason behind my inadequacies?' she asked sharply, instinctively reacting to the pity she thought she read in his voice. 'Just because I can't ride or sail or swim like a fish—swim at all, actually,' she corrected honestly, 'it doesn't mean I don't have self-confidence. When you're on your own you learn a lot about yourself, about your own resources. Don't worry, I won't infect Emma with my lack of self-esteem.'

'Where the hell did that come from?' he asked incredulously when she paused, breathless and flushed. 'Why the hell should I give a damn if you can ride or... ? Oh, I see, you think I'm comparing you to Catherine.'

Everyone else did; why should he be different? 'It must be impossible not to,' she observed gruffly.

'You're two very different people.'

'I know that. She didn't need a prenuptial agreement,' she snarled, throwing down the knife in her hand. She stopped, appalled at what she'd just said. Why, she wondered with despair, do I keep saying these things?

'The circumstances were very different when I married Catherine. You could say I learnt from experience,' he added obscurely. 'Surely what we have now is more important. I enjoy being with you, Hannah; I enjoy you. I think you enjoy me.'

The soft way he emphasised 'enjoy' brought a rash of goosebumps to her warm skin. 'Why? Why do you...enjoy me?' she asked, unable to tear her eyes from the warmth of his regard.

'You...' he began emphatically. He stopped, and she had the impression he was backtracking. 'You make me laugh,' he finished lightly.

Hannah sighed softly. The sense of anticlimax was intense, but she was prepared to accept the pace he set. Slow and steady got there in the end, and she really did feel now that they had a destination to reach together. 'Like a clown?' she suggested.

'Like a warm, funny...lady.'

This time it was Hannah who felt things were running too fast. The glow in his eyes made her knees tremble. 'You no longer appear to think Drew is a danger to the moral fibre of this family.'

Ethan acknowledged her withdrawal with a wry quirk of one darkly defined brow. 'I must admit it's easier to view him in a kinder light now I know he's not sharing my mother's bed.'

'You're so broad-minded!' she admired with a twinkle.

'Although my good opinion does depend on how often I find him wrestling on the floor with my wife,' came the surprising response.

Glancing up at his face, Hannah couldn't decide whether he was joking or not. 'The children were there,' she reminded him with a scornful laugh.

"That doesn't alter the fact he was enjoying himself far too much.'

She judged this an excellent time to divert the conversation. 'I hear you've been the victim of sexual harassment in the workplace.'

'A sad statistic,' he agreed with sigh. 'Why are you peeling these, anyway?' he asked, biting into a chunk of crisp carrot. 'What's happened to Mrs Turner?'

She sharply tapped the back of his hand as he attempted to filch another. "This is therapy. Did you know what Miranda was going to say?'

Ethan shrugged. 'Not word for word.'