Holiday In the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love 5)

There was a dull ache in her head and her eyes felt swollen. She was relieved it was almost dark. “I’m sorry.”

He stirred, but he didn’t release her. “What are you sorry for?”

“For howling on you.”

“Don’t be.”

“I never cry. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.”

“Yes you do.” When she said nothing, he smoothed her hair back from her face. “I know you hide your feelings from the world, but do you hide them from yourself, too?”

“It was just the stress of it all. Matilda’s baby.”

There was a long pause, and then she felt his arms tighten around her.

“We both know this wasn’t about Matilda’s baby.” His voice was soft in the darkness. “It was about ours. Our baby.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SHE LEAPED TO her feet as if she’d been scalded.

This time he didn’t try to stop her, even though he could happily have gotten used to the feel of her on his lap. For a moment, as he’d felt her relax into him, he’d had a tantalizing glimpse of the possible, but now the barriers were up again. She put a firewall between herself and the world.

“I can’t believe you’re bringing that up now. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know. You never do, but this time you’re going to.” He stood, too, determined that this time she wasn’t going to walk away. “You owe me that. You owe me a conversation.” He closed his hands over her shoulders and she tried to shrug him off.

“We’ve been divorced ten years. I don’t owe you anything. Dammit, Seth, this is my problem. I handle it the way I choose to handle it.”

He wondered if she even realized that she didn’t really handle difficult things. She buried them.

“Do you know what the real problem is? The fact that you think it’s your problem. It was my baby, too. The fact that you had a miscarriage was our proble

m, Fliss. Ours. But you refused to share it. You shut me out.”

She pressed her fingers to her temple. “Well, whoever’s problem it was, it’s in the past so there’s no point in talking about it now. I can’t do this. Don’t push me on it.”

He knew that this was exactly the right time to push her. If he waited for her to pull herself together again, to regain her strength, she’d do what she always did. Retreat, leaving him on the outside. It was a cold, lonely place, and he was damned if he was going to find himself exiled there again.

“If it’s in the past, why were you crying yourself dry?”

“Because I’m tired.”

“That’s only the second time in my life I’ve seen you cry.” He wondered if she’d remember the first time and saw from the quick look she sent him that she had.

“I have a lot on my mind right now. I need to think. It would help if you didn’t stand so close.”

“My standing this close is bothering you?”

“Yes, it’s bothering me!”

“I’ll take that as a good sign.”

“How can it be a good sign?” She shook her head. “Leave me alone.”

“I did that once before. It was a mistake. Everyone makes them, but I generally try to avoid making the same mistake twice.” And with her he’d made big ones. Huge. He’d thought he was so mature. So experienced. But he hadn’t had the experience or maturity to handle a woman as complex as her.

Now he did.