“It’s true.”
Sharisse felt sick. All the years of feeling unattractive because of her height and coloring crowded in on her.
“I don’t understand, Lucas. I…I know you thought maybe Stephanie was your bride, but you said it didn’t matter. Now you say it does matter. Why didn’t you send me back immediately if you found me so unacceptable?”
The pain in her eyes tore at him. She was supposed to be angry, not hurt.
“Damn it, you’ve got it all wrong,” he said quickly. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Sharisse. Why, I’ve never known a woman more desirable than you. I just didn’t want a wife—any wife. It’s nothing personal.”
“But you advertised for a wife.”
“So I did.”
“With no intention of marrying her?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” she cried.
“That, honey, is none of your business.”
“None…oh!” She turned her back on him again, only to swing back around. “You seduced me without honorable intentions!”
“I didn’t hear you complaining.”
She slapped him, and she would have again if he hadn’t grabbed her wrists. “You’re despicable, Lucas!”
“Perhaps,” he sighed. “But now let’s talk about you and who you really are.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What…what do you mean?” she asked warily.
“Think about it. When a woman claims to be a widow, it stands to reason she’s no longer a virgin. How do you explain the fact that you were?”
“You knew?” she gasped. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Lucas shrugged. “I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
“Oh, but it’s all right to embarrass menowbecause I’m your wife?”
She was too angry to let him turn the tables on her after what he had just admitted. Guilt over her own deception vanished in light of his.
“Let go of me, Lucas,” she demanded icily.
“You going to keep your hands to yourself?”
“You deserved that slap.”
“What I deserve and what I’ll stand for don’t always match, Sharisse,” he told her brusquely. “And we were talking about you.”
He released her, and she rubbed her wrists as she glared at him. Her mind was racing, searching for a way to assuage his curiosity without confessing.
“Lucas,” she began with fine hauteur, “if a man is less than honest, he tends to be skeptical of others.”
“Given a good reason, he does indeed. Your supposed first marriage is very much in doubt.”
“Did it ever occur to you that my husband might have had a problem? That he couldn’t consummate our marriage? It was unfortunate, but not all men are as healthy and virile as you. I felt no less married because of that.”
Lucas grimaced. Lord, she really was the innocent victim all the way through this. He was going to have to reevaluate the way he thought of her all over again. And damn, he could see it already, the guilt piling up and him doing something foolishly noble to make it all up to her.
