by Miranda Lee
‘It was never make-up sex,’ Sarah refuted heatedly. ‘It was just sex.’
‘Right,’ Cory said slowly, then shook his head at her. ‘Not like you, sweetie.’
‘No,’ she choked out, on the verge of tears again. ‘I don’t know what’s got into me. Ever since last Friday night all I can think about is having sex with that bastard.’
Cory’s eyebrows arched. ‘Really? Wow. Okay, so what’s your problem, then? Why are you here instead of at home in bed with Brutus?’
Sarah grimaced. ‘You don’t understand, Cory. I married Scott because I was in love with him and I thought he was in love with me. Now I’m not sure he ever loved me.’
‘Rubbish. He’s always been crazy about you.’
‘That’s not the same as love. If he truly loved me, and believed I truly loved him, then he would have trusted me. And respected me more. I didn’t see any evidence of either last Friday.’
‘Oh, come now, Sarah, be reasonable. The man was mad with jealousy at the time. You’re a lawyer. You know about temporary insanity. Cut the poor guy some slack.’
‘So now he’s a poor guy instead of Brutus, is he? You men sure do stick together.’
Cory gave her a droll look. ‘I’m just trying to make you see his side of the story. Look, let’s start eating this food before it gets cold. What do you think of the wine?’
Sarah automatically lifted her glass to her lips before she remembered that she might be pregnant. Wincing, she put the glass back down again.
‘What is it?’ Cory asked immediately. ‘Is it off?’ He picked up his glass and took a sip. ‘Nope. Tastes great.’
Sarah suppressed a groan. She hadn’t wanted to tell Cory about her pregnancy scare but he was too intelligent to fool for long. ‘I...I can’t have any alcohol,’ she told him reluctantly. ‘Not till I find out if I’m expecting a baby or not.’
That floored him. Sarah knew exactly how he felt.
‘But you’re on the pill,’ he said, clearly perplexed.
‘I’ve forgotten to take it lately,’ she confessed, still shaken by this realisation. She sighed a heavy sigh. ‘Like I said, I’m not myself. My brains have been well and truly scrambled.’
Cory pulled a face. ‘Am I right in presuming you didn’t tell Scott you’d forgotten to take the pill?’
‘Are you mad?’ Sarah said, then shuddered. ‘Of course I didn’t tell him. No way.’
‘But why, Sarah? The possibility of your having a baby together might help solve all your problems.’
A weary sigh puffed from Sarah’s lungs. ‘Spoken like a man again. Having a baby doesn’t solve a relationship problem, Cory. If anything it complicates things. Women don’t have to marry these days just because they’re pregnant. They don’t have to stay married, either.’
Cory looked taken aback. ‘You’re thinking of actually divorcing Scott?’
Just the thought of divorcing Scott made Sarah feel nauseous. ‘I didn’t say that,’ she hedged. ‘But I need to step back from my marriage for a while and do some clear thinking.’ She sure as hell couldn’t think clearly when she was around Scott.
‘Perhaps that’s not such a bad idea,’ Cory said thoughtfully. ‘Like they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Now eat up. You could be eating for two, remember?’
She ate the food in thoughtful silence, not really tasting it, her mind elsewhere.
A baby, she started thinking. A real live baby. She had always wanted to start a family with Scott, but not like this. So why hadn’t she dashed out and bought a morning-after pill today? Why had she just come home here and cried her eyes out, like some helpless idiot?
Because it was too late to do anything now. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a pill, so reckless she’d been! What a mess she had made of her life.
‘You’re quite welcome to stay here as long as you like,’ Cory offered after they’d finished eating and they were clearing up together. ‘There’s been a delay in starting the renovations so things will be staying the same for a good while yet.’
‘Thank you, darling,’ she said, and came round to give him a hug. ‘You are such a good friend.’
‘True,’ he said with a smile.
The front doorbell ringing made his smile fade. ‘If that’s Felix come to beg my forgiveness then he hasn’t a hope in hell.’
Sarah laughed. ‘You know you always forgive him in the end.’
‘That’s because I’m a Libra,’ he said soulfully as he headed for the stairs. ‘Wish I was a Scorpio, like you. Then I would invite him in for a drink, tip some hemlock into his glass from my poison ring and send him on his way.’
* * *
Scott heard Sarah’s laughter from where he was standing outside Cory’s front door. Not totally broken-hearted by their separation then, he thought rather bitterly. Unlike himself. Maybe he’d been right when he wondered if she’d kept her virginity to ensnare herself a rich husband. Maybe she now planned to take him to the cleaners in the divorce court.
And maybe you should stop thinking like some suspicious jealous fool and set about doing what you came here for. Getting the woman you love back!
‘Scott!’ Cory exclaimed on opening the door. ‘It isn’t Felix,’ he called up the stairs. ‘It’s Scott.’
No more laughter now. Just silence.
‘Come in,’ Cory said. ‘Sarah and I have just finished eating. No food left I’m afraid but I can offer you some wine...’
‘I just came to talk to Sarah,’ Scott said stiffly, not sure what to make of the drily amused tone in Cory’s voice.
‘She’s upstairs in the kitchen. I dare say you’ll want to be alone. I’ll go down the local for a while,’ he added, grabbing a jacket from the coat rack on the wall and disappearing out of the front door.
Scott was making his way up the steep steps when Sarah appeared at the top of the staircase. Her arms were crossed and her expression was not happy.
‘I thought I told you not to contact me,’ she said sharply. ‘I said I would contact you when I was ready.’
Anger did become her, he thought, noting her wildly glittering eyes and high colour. She’d looked like that this afternoon when he’d been inside her. There was something about Sarah in a temper that stirred the caveman in him. The temptation to ignore her hostile body language and just sweep her into his arms was acute. He liked the thought of her fighting him, of her lashing out at first. He would welcome her blows. Absorb them. Be aroused by them. Scott felt confident that she would surrender to him in the end. But at what cost afterwards? He’d come to reason with her, not ravage her.
Scott shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, ignoring his erection and adopting a composed demeanour. ‘I assumed you might like to know what happened when I dropped in on Leighton just now,’ he said in a creditably calm voice.
Sarah sucked in sharply, her arms falling away to her sides. ‘You didn’t!’ she exclaimed, not sure if she was annoyed or thrilled.
‘What did you expect, Sarah? That I would not confront the man who’s meddling in our marriage?’
‘What...what did Phil say?’
The muscles under Scott’s granite-like jaw tightened considerably. ‘Look, I have no intention of having this conversation standing on a staircase. Either you come down or I’ll come up.’
‘I’ll come down,’ Sarah said, then wished she hadn’t. Far better that she have Scott sitting safely on the other side of the breakfast bar than next to her on Cory’s large squashy lounge. But she could hardly change her mind now. Scott had already whirled and was stomping down the wooden steps.
Sarah followed him into Cory’s far too cosy living room, switching on the overhead lights as she did so, despite there being two corner lamps on already. The last thing she needed right now was to be seduced by a romantic ambience. Bad enough that just the sight of Scott in that brilliant black suit had her practically salivating with desire for him. Weird. She’d chosen that particular suit for him becaus
e she’d wanted him to look more sophisticated during his business meetings. More...impressive. Looking sexy had not been on her agenda. But he looked more than sexy in it tonight. He looked...dangerous.
When Scott plonked himself down in the middle of the maroon velvet sofa, Sarah chose an adjacent armchair, perching on the end of it without a shred of her usual social grace. Clasping her hands nervously on her jeans-clad thighs, she swallowed, then leant even further forward.
‘So what did he say?’ she asked, driven by equal measures of anxiety and curiosity.
‘He backed up your story,’ Scott replied, his eyes not leaving hers.
A rush of relieved air escaped from Sarah’s tightly held chest.
‘I could have told you he would. Because it’s the truth. Did you, um, show him the photos?’
‘I did.’
‘I’ll bet he was shocked.’
‘Not nearly shocked enough,’ Scott said drily. ‘On top of that, he mentioned the text that came with the photos. Yet I’d already deleted that.’
‘I...I don’t understand...’
Scott’s face filled with exasperation. ‘What’s not to understand, Sarah? It’s plain as the nose on your face. Leighton set you up, then organised for those photos to be taken. He sent them, along with the text.’
‘I still find that hard to believe.’ And she did.
‘Believe it, because it’s true.’
‘But why?’
‘Leighton is an ambitious bastard. He has his eyes on a career in politics and to be successful you need the right kind of wife. And you fit the bill, darling, in every way. You have the looks, the poise and the smarts. You’re a girl in a million.’
Sarah ignored the flattery in his words and concentrated on the heart of the matter. ‘But to do what you say he’s done is just so evil!’
‘It worked, though. You left me.’
‘It wouldn’t have worked if you’d trusted me.’
Scott’s sigh was heavy. ‘I know, but surely you can appreciate how bad things looked. Any man would have been worried.’
‘Worried. Yes. But that’s no excuse for what you did last Friday night. You should have shown me those photos as soon as you got home.’
Scott smothered a groan. ‘Do we have to go through this all again? Look, I know I was wrong and I’m sorry. I made a mistake. All you have to do is come home and we can work through this. We still love each other, Sarah. You know we do. Look what happened today.’
How could she forget? She only had to look at him to remember every mind-blowing moment. She could still feel the effects of that orgasm, deep in her body. Sarah struggled with the various emotions bombarding her; not the least was the temptation to surrender all her pride and common sense, and just say yes. Yes, I’ll come home. Yes, we’ll go on as if none of this has ever happened.
But she couldn’t. Because that was what her mother had done. Continuously forgiven the unforgivable and taken her husband back. Sarah now suspected she had a clue as to why she’d done that—the pull of sexual desire and physical satisfaction. But she refused to do that with Scott, no matter how exciting a lover he’d become. A marriage could not be founded on lust alone. It needed love to survive.
‘I can’t do that, Scott,’ she said. ‘I’m not ready to come back just yet.’
‘When will you be ready, then?’ he asked softly.
‘I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready.’
Sarah was taken aback by the look of horror on his face.
‘You don’t mean that,’ he said, clearly shaken. ‘You have to give me a second chance.’
Sarah steeled herself to stay strong. ‘I don’t have to do any such thing, Scott. Like I said, I need time away from you just now.’
Scott sighed and ran his hands through his hair. ‘Fair enough. How long do you need?’
How long? Maybe after she found out if she was pregnant or not, she could come to a decision. If there was to be a baby, it would be wrong not to make an effort to fix things between them. Maybe the lust that seemed to be all she felt for Scott at this moment could turn back to love...
‘Two weeks,’ she said. She would know for sure in two weeks.
Scott looked horrified. ‘Two weeks? That’s one hell of a long time.’
‘Not really.’
‘And will you be going back to work during that time?’
‘Of course. I’ll be going back tomorrow.’ And going to see Phil too. She suspected Scott was telling the truth and that Phil was behind those photos, but she wanted to speak to him first to get his side of the story.
‘How can you work with someone who set you up like that?’
‘I don’t work with Phil, Scott,’ she pointed out archly. ‘He just works at the same firm. I don’t have to see him if I don’t want to.’
‘But you do want to, don’t you? You’ll run off and see him first thing in the morning.’
Sarah stiffened, her back straightening as her chin lifted. ‘I think I have the same right to confront him as you. To give him the opportunity to give me his version of events.’
‘God, I have to get out of here before I say or do something I’ll seriously regret,’ Scott said, jumping to his feet. ‘Two weeks you said? Okay, I’ll give you two weeks. But after that I’m done with this marriage.’
Scott’s statement shocked her to the core. She’d imagined he would always be there for her if she wanted him.
Sarah stood up to face her very frustrated-looking husband. ‘Scott, I... I...’ She didn’t have a clue what to say. She just hated him looking at her the way he was presently looking at her.
‘You don’t have to say anything, Sarah. I get the picture. I’m to be made to suffer for what I’ve done. I can understand you wanting to leave me—I’ve behaved badly, but I’ve apologised for that. What I don’t understand is why you would continue to associate with the bastard who caused all this trouble in the first place. You want my trust, but won’t do me the courtesy of having nothing to do with Leighton. I’m beginning to suspect that you never loved me at all—perhaps this is what you always wanted. A divorce after a suitable time span and a gravy-train alimony which will set you up for life.’
‘That’s not true!’ she denied, horrified. Little did he know it but she didn’t need his money. She had quite a bit of her own, inherited after her mother died. How else could she have travelled the world for two years after her mother’s funeral?
Of course, he didn’t know that. She hadn’t told him. It had been her own secret nest egg, her safety net in case her marriage hadn’t worked out.
And it hadn’t, had it?
‘I don’t want any of your damned money,’ she threw at him.
‘What do you want, then?’
‘A husband who loves and trusts me! Look, Scott, we are going around in circles arguing like this. I just think we need some time apart. I’ll call you after two weeks and we’ll talk.’
He swore, then shook his head at her. His laugh smacked of frustration. ‘I don’t need any time apart. I want you home, in my bed and in my arms.’
Sarah hated the way her body reacted to his impassioned words. It wanted the same thing. But she knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. Scott would think she was weak. Which was what she’d been so far where he was concerned. In the past, she’d given in to whatever he wanted to do. She hadn’t made a fuss when he’d kept going away on business. She hadn’t insisted he take her with him sometimes, like that last time when he’d only been going to a hotel on the Gold Coast. She’d bitterly resented his taking Cleo. Sarah knew she should have said something instead of pretending she didn’t mind.
But she refused to play the compliant, accommodating little wife any longer. It was time to make her stand.
‘I’m sorry, Scott,’ she said staunchly, ‘but that won’t be happening. I believe I have the right to ask for this small space of time. Please respect my wishes. I’ll be in contact after the two weeks are up.’
He stared at her as
if he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. But his shocked expression soon changed to a sullen anger and he stormed out of the house, slamming the front door as he did so.
A stunned Sarah staggered over to the sofa and slumped down in the middle of it, all the breath leaving her lungs. She shuddered to think what he’d say if she ever had to tell him she was pregnant, but she’d kept the possibility a secret from him.
Oh, God. A baby was a complication she didn’t need right now. She needed to sort her marriage out without feeling pressured to make unwise decisions. She needed Scott to stay well away from her.
The front door opening and closing had Sarah’s back stiffening against the sofa. But it wasn’t Scott. It was Cory.
‘I just saw Scott roaring up the road like some kind of maniac,’ her friend said as he sat down next to her. ‘I gather, by the look on your face, you didn’t sort anything out.’
‘Oh, Cory,’ Sarah cried unhappily, then burst into tears.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A SET OF red lights forced Scott to abandon his suicidal speed. He still slammed his hands against the steering wheel, angry more with himself than Sarah. He’d lost his temper. That was the long and the short of it. Though, damn it all, she was being very difficult. How did she think he felt about having her work in the same place as that slime ball?
Still, he hadn’t handled that at all well, had he? Not that negotiation was ever his strong point. He hated having to manipulate people, or promise to deliver things that down deep he knew he couldn’t deliver. Which was what being a businessman was all about. He much preferred the simple life of a miner. Mining was cut and dried. You either had a mine worth mining or you didn’t.
Scott imagined marriage was pretty much like a mine. You either had one worth keeping, or you didn’t. Till this last hiccup, Sarah had been a wonderful wife. He couldn’t have asked for better. His accusation that she’d married him for his money did not ring true. A materialistic woman wouldn’t have refused his offer of a free credit card and a generous monthly allowance, the way Sarah had. She’d have taken everything he was offering, instead of adopting an independent stance, informing him that she earned a good salary and preferred to pay for her own clothes and things.
