“She is in the past. I’m glad she is not dead. It is a great relief for my conscience, but our marriage is very much dead.”
“It didn’t seem that way when I saw you two embracing just now.”
He had the audacity to smile. She frowned and tried to break loose. He held her firmly with an arm around her waist. “Livvy, are you jealous? I must confess, I find the idea somewhat gratifying. No one has ever been jealous of me before.”
“It is not funny, Dale! I don’t like the way I feel. I know it is foolish and I have no right—”
He kissed her, hard and deep and full of pent up emotion. She couldn’t help but respond in kind. She melted against him and brought her arms up to circle his neck.
He ended the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. “You have every right. You are my wife. I asked you to marry me, and you accepted. We shared vows in front of God and men. We shared our bodies, our passion. The embrace you saw between Eloise and me was one of friendship and comfort. We talked and cleared up a lifetime of secrets and misunderstandings. But neither one of us wants to resume our marriage.”
It was a passionate and strong declaration, although she noticed he didn’t mention love. She yearned to hear him say that he loved her. Even if he wasn’t in love with Eloise anymore, it didn’t automatically mean he was in love with her. In any case, deeds spoke louder than words, right?
CHAPTER 56 - The reckoning
THE TRIP BACK TO ENGLANDhad transpired smoothly. In the three days it took to reach London, they had talked, made love, and spent every minute of every day in each other’s company. On the surface, everything was the same. But he knew better. A new insidious emotional distance had developed between them. It was something intangible, but he sensed it. And he knew the reason, too.
That first night after they found Eloise, Livvy had broached the matter with the directness that characterized her.
“Are you going to tell me about your conversation with Eloise?” she had asked in a deceptively casual tone while preparing for bed.
Caught off guard by her question, he asked warily, “What do you wish to know?”
She shrugged. “Well, anything you wish to share.”
He regarded her blankly, paralyzed by so many conflicting emotions he didn’t know where to start.
As if reading his thoughts, she stated. “You could start by telling me why she ran away and left you to think she was dead all these years.”
So he had told her the story, including the part about Eloise’s preferences. He still felt somewhat uncomfortable discussing that. It was not his story to tell, but he knew Livvy could be trusted to understand and not judge.
And he had been right. She had taken it all in stride. Even showing sympathy for Eloise. But that hadn’t been the worst part. The difficult questions were not over.
“What are you going to do about this whole situation now?”
“What do you expect me to do?” he asked, bewildered.
