“No,” she replied shortly. “I can do everything by myself,” she said significantly.
“Okay,” he said cheerfully and sat down at the table.
He was the picture of composedness as he sat at the table with his long legs stretched out in front of him, his ankles crossed, his arms folded across his chest. She had an overpowering impulse to dump a bowl of hot potatoes on top of his head just to see his insouciance destroyed.
He had put Allison down for the night, and they ate in silence—Jace with relish and appreciation, Katherine with a choking determination.
As usual, Jace helped her with the dishes. She avoided any contact with him. Once he put his hand into the warm soapy water and captured her hand. He stroked her palm with his thumb as he analyzed the storm in her green eyes. She angrily jerked her hand back to show him her aversion, but only succeeded in splashing sudsy water in her own face.
“I want to talk to you,” he said as they left the kitchen. He switched out the light behind them, and his voice was as abrupt as the cessation of electric current.
Katherine was furious that Jace had initiated the confrontation. Attack was the best strategy, and now he held that advantage. Blast him!
“All right,” she snapped. She sat down in the chair opposite the couch. “I want to talk to you too.”
Jace settled himself on the edge of the sofa and stared at his hands hanging between his knees. “I should have told you about Lacey. I apologize. I’m sorry you had to find out about her the way you did.”
“I’m sure you were,” she sneered. “I believe I barged in on a romantic reconciliation.”
“Not exactly,” he said tersely. His chiseled face which had softened with his apology was now becoming stern. The black wing eyebrows lowered over glowering eyes.
“No? Oh, of course, you have the handicap of a wife now, don’t you? How unfortunate. But then I doubt if that small detail will have any bearing on you and Lacey resuming your relationship.”
“Dammit,” he cursed softly. He was rubbing his knuckles together in extreme agitation. “You’re always so automatically goddamned defensive. You just won’t try to understand, will you?”
“Understand?” she asked on a high note. “I walk into my husband’s office and find him in an embrace with a beautiful, chesty woman who just happens to be his former wife,” she paused to draw a deep breath, “and I don’t understand?”
“Jealous?” he asked with a glimmer of the humorous mischief that often danced in his eyes.
His shift of moods disconcerted her. Yes! she wanted to shout. Yes. For all the time she had with you. Yes. For all of the times when you made love to her. Yes. For each time you kissed her. Yes, I’m eaten up with jealousy.
Instead she said off-handedly, “Jealous? No. One must be in love to be jealous.” Was that a small flicker of pain that crossed his features? No, it was only a pang of irritation that she wasn’t showing more distress. “After all, this was a marriage of convenience,” she persisted. “We both know why we got into it.”
She looked away from him, not able to meet his discerning eyes. Abruptly, she rose and crossed to her desk. She had to put space between them. Protect yourself, Katherine, she warned silently.
“I… uh… it,” she stammered. She cursed her inability to stick to her resolve when he looked at her. Staunchly, she continued, “I was upset because you lied to me about my job.”
“You’ll do a good job, Katherine, no mat—”
“You’re damn right I will!” she exclaimed as she spun around to face him. “I’m more determined than ever to do a terrific job. I’ll show you and Mr. Willoughby Newton that he doesn’t have to patronize me because I’m one of his main boys’ wife.”
Careful, Katherine, she cautioned. She could feel the tears filling her eyes. “For whatever your reasons, you landed me a peach of a job. I thank you, Mr. Manning. But I’m just another employee now. And from here on, I fly alone. If I make it, great
. If I don’t, then it will be my own failure. But I want no help from you.” She enunciated the last seven words precisely, defiantly.
“You’re mistaken if you think I would have it any other way, Katherine,” he said quietly.
She was taken aback by his calm acceptance of her tirade. Where was his anger? Why wasn’t he fighting back? If anything, he looked… what? Sad? She struggled to regain some of her impetus.
“As far as our marriage goes, we each go our own way. Under the circumstances, I think that’s fair.”
“You do.” It wasn’t a question. Rather it was a barely audible statement.
“Yes, I do,” she said with more conviction than she felt.
She was presenting him an open invitation to be with Lacey as often as he wished. Even as she said the words that gave him his freedom, she asked herself how she could bear it if he left her now.
“For Allison’s sake, we can go on imitating a family unit, if… if you still want to,” she struggled on. Pausing, she allowed him ample opportunity to contradict her, and prayed that he wouldn’t. When he didn’t speak, she continued, twisting her hands together, “I think you and I should… should follow our personal pursuits and do whatever we… whatever we want to do.”