Ilove you.
His throat closed up.
She was blinking rapidly, and when he realized there were tears in her eyes, he released her so she could look away.
He cleared his throat, deciding to change the subject before she lost control of those tears. “Will you tell me who Callan’s father is?”
She blinked, and her eyes jerked back up. Frowning, she gave a quick shake of her head before her gaze skittered away again.
Taking a deep breath, Cash reached for her other hand. Sitting there, in their sons’ secret hideaway, reclining on pillows stolen from a dozen different rooms and two different homes, he squeezed both of her hands and smiled.
“Will you tell me who Callan’s father is on our first wedding anniversary?”
CHAPTER 10
What?
The faint pattern on the silk of her skirts suddenly jumped into sharp focus as Athena studied it. Flowers, she thought, or something equally feminine. It was unlikely to be a bundle of phalluses, although that’s what they looked like to her at that moment.
Focus, lass.
Shewasfocusing, that was the problem, but on the wrong thing.
Her pulse was loud in her ears as she slowly dragged her gaze away from her gown—which was likely irrevocably ruined since her morning sulk outdoors, her frantic ride clinging to the Duke of Cashard, and squatting here in a closet—to the man who’d just asked such a ridiculous question.
Will you tell me who Callan’s father is on our first wedding anniversary?
Cash was sitting there, holding her hands, staring into her eyes as though it was the most natural thing in the world, and she wanted to check him for head injuries. Hadn’t he bumped his head when the boys had pushed him in here? Maybe he had a concussion.
But he was still staring at her as if expecting an answer, so she managed a strangled, “What?”
“Will you tell me who Callan’s father is?—”
Before he could get to that wonderful, impossible second part of his question, she interrupted him with another firm shake of her head. “Nay, Yer Grace. I will no’ tell ye his name.”
“Cash,” he corrected gently, squeezing her hand. “And why not?”
Why not? She frowned, trying to find words to make him understand. “He…doesnae matter. No’ anymore. He was an arsehole, aye, but an honorable one. He didnae ruin my life—it wasmychoice to deny his suit and turn my back on Society. And I dinnae consider that such a ruin, to be honest.”
“He was cruel to you,” Cash pointed out.
“Aye, he was cruel to everyone. I see that now. But he is married and has three little ones, whom he ignores. His wife seems happy enough with her new title, and I suppose is willing to put up with his temper.”
“If he’s married, all the more reason to ensure he’s punished for his cruelty.”
She shook her head in frustration. “Do ye no’ see? He is nothing to me, no’ him nor his family. He doesnae claimCallan and has never hinted of our past connection. That is good enough for me to leave him be.”
Her pulse had slowed, and she found herself leaning toward him, almost pleading with Cash to understand.
“I dinnae want to think about him, Cash.”
“What he did to you?—”
“Was nae different from what ye did to me,” she snapped. And as soon as the words left her mouth, she gasped, realizing too late what she’d said. Straightening, she tried to convince herself to apologize, to explain she hadn’t meant it, that Cash meant more to her than any other man possibly could, and she loved him.
But it was too late. The words were said, and he’d winced, acknowledging the barb.
Sitting back, Cash slowly released her hands. For lack of something better to do with them, Athena twined her fingers in her lap and dropped her chin, watching him from under lowered lashes.
