Read Online Truly Married by Phyllis Halldorson - Free Book Online Page B

still a little puffy from sleep, and her lips were relaxed and slightly parted, as if waiting to be kissed. His stomach muscles clenched with the desire to oblige her. In all the years they’d been married he’d never seen her look sexier, and she was totally unaware of what she was doing to him!
    What kind of hell was he subjecting himself to now?
    He swallowed back a groan and switched his glance, and his direction, to the coffeepot on the bar.
    After filling a cup for himself, he went over and sat down on the couch, too, but was careful to leave plenty of space between them. She smiled at him, and her face softened and lost the haunted look that had been so evident last night.
    He tightened his grip on his cup, as if that could somehow prevent him from reaching out and taking her in his arms. His hands itched to slip inside that gaping robe and cup the firm round breasts he knew so well. He remembered the weight of them in his palms, the smoothness of her skin and the hardness of her nipples when he’d brush them with his thumbs—
    The sound of her voice snapped him out of his erotic fantasizing. “How are your mom and dad, Fergus? Is your dad still practicing?”
    Fergus’s father, Ian Lachlan, was a physician.
    Fergus took a deep breath and tried to focus his attention on her question. “Well, yes and no. He sold his practice in Evanston several years ago, and he and Mom moved back to that small village in Scotland where his family came from. He’d planned to retire, but when he got there he discovered there was no medical care for miles around, so he opened a clinic. Now he’s busier than he was in Evanston, and he’s never been happier.”
    “I’m glad,” Sharon said. “I always loved your parents. I’ve missed them.”
    And what about me, Sharon? Did you ever miss me, as well?
    Fergus clamped his mouth shut to keep the words from spilling out. He had no right to hope she’d been lonely for him.
    “They loved you, too,” he said, instead. “Although it was too awkward to continue a close relationship with you after our divorce, they never really accepted Elaine as a daughter-in-law.”
    Sharon frowned, and twisted on the couch to straighten up and put her feet on the floor. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, as she faced him. “And, Fergus, I’m so very sorry about Elaine’s death.”
    Her unexpected sympathy took his breath away, and it was a moment before he could respond. “That...that’s amazingly generous of you—” he stammered before his voice broke and once more he had to fight for control.
    “Not at all,” she replied softly. “I never wished either of you harm. Oh, I was hurt and angry, but I was never vengeful.”
    Her voice shook, and he could tell that this was as difficult for her as it was for him. “Honey, I know that, but—”
    She set her empty cup on the coffee table in front of them, then reached out and put her fingers across his mouth. The compassion in her eyes and voice was his undoing, and, no longer able to resist, he shifted closer to her so that their legs were touching.
    “Please,” she murmured. “Let me finish.”
    He nodded his consent, then put his hand over hers to hold it in place as he kissed her fingers.
    She looked surprised, and her voice shook as she continued. “When I heard about Elaine’s sudden death I knew you must be devastated. I wrote you a letter, but then I realized it would probably not be appropriate for me to intrude on you at such a time, so I tore it up.”
    Dear God, in spite of the anguish he’d caused her she still wanted to comfort him and help him bear his loss. It was incredible that she could be so forgiving!
    Fergus was aware of the pressure of tears building up behind his eyes, and he blinked with the effort to keep them from falling. Dammit, he wasn’t going to bawl like a baby and make her feel even sorrier for him. Pity wasn’t what he wanted from Sharon. But it was hard to resist when he knew it was all he was