Understanding, Tommy strolled off. "Fifty bucks a ball," he called out.
"He'll trounce me," Josh muttered as he sat. "He always does."
"We all have our game." She patted his knee. Hers was a deft and merciless knack for interrogation. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Margo?"
"Hasn't Kate given you a full report?"
She ignored the annoyance in his tone, was sorry for the bitterness underneath it. "Reports are spotty. Apparently Margo is being stubbornly closemouthed. All Kate can drag out of her is that the two of you decided to call it a day."
"Well, then."
"And you expect me to believe it's as simple as that when you're sitting here looking mean and miserable?"
"I caught her with another man."
"Joshua." Susan set her cup down with a snap. "No," she said positively, "you didn't."
"I walked into the goddamn bedroom, and there they were."
She hurt for him, couldn't help but hurt for him. Still, she shook her head. "You misinterpreted something."
"What the hell is there to misinterpret?" he shot back and sprang up to pace again. "I walked in and she was kissing another man. Fucking Claudio."
"Josh!" She wasn't so much shocked by the word, but she had taken his statement literally. "I don't believe that."
"No, I didn't mean—" Frustrated, he dragged both hands through his hair. "It hadn't gotten that far yet. I meant, she called him Claudio."
"Oh." Her heart settled a little. "Well, what was her explanation?"
He stopped his pacing to stare at her. "Do you really think I waited around for explanations?"
On a long sigh, she picked up her coffee again. "No, of course you didn't. You stormed out, wishing them both to go to hell. I'm surprised you didn't toss him out the window on your way."
"I thought about it," he said with relish. "I thought about tossing both of them. It seemed… more civilized to leave."
"More pigheaded," she corrected. "Oh, sit down, Joshua.
You're making me tired just watching you. You know you should have given her a chance to explain."
"I didn't—don't—want excuses and explanations. Damn it, I overlooked the hordes of men from before, but—"
"Ah," Susan said with a satisfied nod. Now they had nailed it. "Did you now? Did you really?"
"I was working on it." He found he did want a brandy after all and poured a generous snifter before he obeyed her command to sit. "When I came home and found her posing naked in our bed, I took it in stride." He caught his mother's eye. "Pretty much in stride. That was business. And when we go out to a restaurant or to the club and every man within half a mile has drool running down the side of his chin, I shrug it off. Mostly."
"Shame on me. I've raised a jealous fool."
"Thanks for your support."
"You listen to me. I understand it must be difficult on one level to love a woman who looks like Margo. The kind of woman who attracts men, inspires fantasies."
"Good." He gulped at the brandy. "I feel better now."
"The point is, that's the woman you fell in love with. Now, let me ask you. Did you fall in love with her because she has a beautiful face and a stunning body? Is that all you see when you look at her?"
"It's the sort of thing that drills between the eyes." But he sighed, surrendered. "No, that's not all I see. That's not why I fell in love with her. She's warm and reckless and stubborn. She's got more guts and brains than she realizes. She's generous and she's loyal."
"Ah, loyal." Susan smiled smugly. "I'd hoped you wouldn't overlook that. It's one of her most admirable traits. And a woman with Margo's sense of loyalty would not have done what you accused her of doing. Go home, Josh, and deal with this."