"What about the flowers?"
"Kirstie and I planted flowers just like those." She nodded toward the overflowing bed of marigolds shaded by taller daffodils. "And she and I had picnics under that oak tree by the azalea bush. She had little friends here, too, and they raced bikes along the sidewalks."
"All the things kids should do."
"Memories that have nothing to do with Kurt and his damn money." She sagged back in her seat, her thumb toying with the collar of her shirt.
His shirt.
Lust tightened inside him with an urgency to claim her as his, totally separate from this world. "You and Kirstie are well on your way to making more happy memories in a new place."
"I know. But I needed to see this. I needed to know that I didn't screw everything up, that her years here weren't a total mistake."
"She's a good kid. That doesn't happen overnight."
"A good kid who thinks a case of sunburn must be rubella."
"A good kid who's had a rough year, but is putting everything back together just like her mama. I happen to think both you ladies have done a damn fine job."
"Thank you." Her eyes darted as if taking in everything one last time to record each detail. "And thank you for bringing me here so I could remember all those good things Kirstie and I did together."
"What about her father?" He couldn't resist asking.
"He always said he loved her, like in the letter." Shuddering, she skimmed her hands along her bare arms in spite of the eighty-degree evening. "How awful is it to be relieved I never have to show the hypocrisy to Kirstie?"
"Where does he play into those memories you have of this house?"
Yeah, yeah, he knew he had a selfish reason for wondering. Major "duh" moment. He was less than an hour from being with this woman. She'd said she didn't love the scumbag anymore, but she must have at some time. Had that love stopped in the police station? Or earlier, as Vic had hinted?
It mattered to him right now, a helluva lot.
"He was obsessed with getting ahead with his restaurant so he could give us more. We really didn't see him all that often, and if he made it to preschool plays or gymnastic shows, he came late and spent half the time on his cell phone. I used to think if we had more time together, I could figure out what was wrong with him, me, the way I was feeling about him. Or rather, the way I wasn't feeling anymore."
Vic had told him the same thing about her faltering relationship with Haugen, but it felt damn good hearing the words from her mouth. It also gave him a few more ideas on how to romance this woman the way she deserved.
"Silly me, I thought I just had a workaholic husband like most everyone else in the neighborhood. I used to joke he took his cell phone and pager into bed with him."
She tried for a smile. No luck.
Paige glanced down at her lap, tracing a purple flower on the shirt before sucking in a brave breath and meeting him eye-to-eye. "I haven't been with anyone except Kurt."
The conversational shift jolted through him. Then understanding followed about her reasoning for this detour. Listening would definitely work best here because one misstep would cause far more pain than just an end to their evening plans. He stayed silent and let his touch speak reassurance for him by tunneling into her hair to cup her head.
"All I have to go by is sex with a man who had no morals. How ewww is that?"
There was no answer he could offer up so he continued a slow stroke of his thumb along her neck, a non-threatening touch to let her know he was still here. Serious brown eyes stared back at him, brave and determined eyes that made him more than a little sad because making love shouldn't have to be this serious and fearsome.
"Okay, Bo, here it is, straight up. I'm afraid that even as much as I want you, sex could have been ruined for me because it's somehow associated with him, who he was and what he did. I need you to reassure me."
"With sex?" Did she want him as some sort of therapeutic fling? Or did she want him?
She crinkled her nose. "Maybe that didn't come out quite right. I didn't mean to sound so...clinical about it all. Let me try again."
It was tough to be insulted when she was being so sweet and earnest. "I'm all ears."
"You are the most honorable, charming and giving man I've ever met. And that's saying a lot considering I think my brother and Seth are really great guys. And of course you're hot as hell and not a relative."
"That last part's definitely a plus." He shrugged off the compliments he wasn't sure fit with a joke.