“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“God, don’t be sorry.”
“Oh, I’m not sorry it happened, Brett. I’m sorry I didn’t have more self-control. I’m acting like a horny teenager.”
“We both were, Kath. We’re acting like the horny teenagers we once were. I meant it when I said it’s never been like that with anyone else. Not the kisses, not the sex. I mean, I just took you quick and hard against the wall, and I felt more than I’ve ever felt during the longest lovemaking session with Michelle.”
A spear entered her heart at the mention of Brett’s wife. Ex-wife. That little prefix made all the difference. He was free to be with her now. And she was free to be with him. Sort of.
He was right about the kisses. An image emerged in her mind, of her and Brett after their first kiss, and her thought that kissing would be the same with anyone. That the kiss with him had been nothing special.
She’d been wrong. So very wrong.
She’d done a lot of kissing in her life. None had equaled those fumbled attempts she’d shared with Brett twenty years ago, and none equaled their passionate embraces now.
Still, she’d had unprotected sex. She trusted that he’d had a vasectomy, so she wasn’t worried about pregnancy. But she hadn’t seen him in twenty years. Who knew who he had been with? Not the smartest move she’d ever made.
“Uh, Brett?” She fumbled with her hair.
“Your hair looks beautiful,” he said, tucking a strand behind her ear. “It’s as soft as I remember.” He grinned. “What?”
“I don’t want to spoil the mood, but…I need to know, you know, that you’re clean.”
“Clean?”
“Yeah. I know I can’t get pregnant, but I don’t want to—”
“Kath,” he said, looking directly into her eyes. His gaze burned. “I swear to you, I’m clean. I’ve only been with two women in my life and you’re one of them.”
Her eyes widened. Truly? The Italian Stallion had never been with another woman?
“I should probably be more concerned about you,” he said, “but I’m not.”
“Oh?” The insult rankled her. “You don’t think I’ve been with anyone but you and my husband?”
“No, I’m absolutely sure you have.”
“Yeah, I have. Plenty, if you want to know.” But not a one who had mattered. “So why aren’t you more concerned?”
“Because I know you. If there was any issue, you wouldn’t have made love to me. You wouldn’t have put me in danger.”
“True. I’m a doctor.”
“Yes, but that’s not how I know. I just know you. You’re a kind, gentle person, and you’d never do anything to harm another living soul.”
Especially not one she cared about so deeply.
“No, I wouldn’t. But just so you know, I’ve had all the tests, and I’m clean.”
“Well, I had all the tests when I had my vasectomy three years ago, and I’m clean as well. But I didn’t need the tests, because I’m serious. I’ve only been with you and Michelle.”
“I can’t believe it.” She shook her head.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re Brett Falcone. The Italian Stallion.”
He laughed. “No one’s called me that in years.”