He studied her much too intently. 'From what I've read about him, and what I know about you, I just don't get what attracted you to the guy.'
'Initially, his charm and my mother's insistence that he was quite a catch and great marriage material. We all know how
'It turned out for the best, Christine,' he said, his voice softening with understanding. 'You could have married the guy and
'You're right,' she said, and sighed. 'I just feel foolish that I didn't see his true colors until I was slapped in the face with it.' She shuddered when she thought about the evening she'd caught Jason with his pants down- literally.
Ben's long fingers absently stroked the condensation off the bottle of his beer, the interest in his gaze genuine. 'How did you meet Jason, anyway?'
'He was at a political party for my father, which my mother and I were attending as well.' She shrugged, opting for an indifferent attitude on the subject. 'It was fairly well known that Jason came from a very wealthy, respectable family back East, and as soon as he showed the slightest bit of interest in me, my mother was all over getting us together as a couple, and insisted that my father hire him on as a political consultant, which he did. We started dating, and within six months my mother was pushing for an engagement.'
'It sounds like you were more pressured into the relationship than anything.'
Looking back and analyzing the situation, Christine knew that had been exactly the case, and she hated that she'd fallen right into her mother's grand scheme to match her daughter up with an affluent family that would increase Audrey's social standing in the community. As for Jason, he'd obviously seen the opportunity to use Christine and her family's connections to further his own political career.
'Unfortunately, at the time, my mother was a huge influence over me and a lot of the decisions I made.' And back then, she'd still been intent on trying to please her controlling mother, because that's all she'd ever known.
'All my life, my mother did everything she could to groom me to be the perfect wife for someone prominent,' she went on to explain. 'She sent me off to an all-girls' boarding school, she signed me up for various pageants, enrolled me in etiquette classes, and I did the whole debutante thing, which thrilled my mother, as you can imagine.'
All those scenarios had been Audrey's way of molding her into a polite, demure woman who would marry at a young age, have a family, support her husband's political aspirations, and look the other way when it came to her spouse's indiscretions.
Just as Audrey, herself, always had.
Christine shuddered to think that she'd almost ended up just like her mother in that regard.
Their pizza arrived, and while they both dug into a slice of the deep-dish pie, Ben was still reeling over this huge, revealing insight to Christine's past. Audrey, he decided, was a real piece of work, and it was amazing that Christine hadn't ended up more like her mother. Then again, from what Christine had just told him, there had been glimpses of her true personality trying to break free from Audrey's restrictive pressures and demands.
After enjoying a big bite of his pizza, he pointed out one of them to her now. 'You being on the girls' basketball team in high school is quite a contradiction to all those formal, ladylike lessons your mother foisted on you.'
She laughed, her eyes sparkling with humor. 'I had to rebel where I could. My mother wanted me to take a dance or ballet class, and she wasn't at all happy about my choice of an extracurricular activity.'
He chuckled, too. 'I can just imagine.'
She licked away the pizza sauce on her thumb, her expression more reflective now. 'You know, looking back, I really should have learned to make more decisions for myself, rather than letting my mother dictate my life.'
He shook his head. 'You were just a kid, Christine. A good one who did as she was told, and you certainly can't be faulted for that.'
'Maybe,' she said, not sounding entirely convinced as she wound a long string of cheese around her finger. 'But I'd like to think I've changed since ending my engagement to Jason. That I'm now one hundred percent in control of my life and every decision I make.'
He grinned at her. 'Well, if it's any consolation, I do have to say that during lunch last Sunday with your mother, you were quite impressive in the way you stood up to her about your job and going to Envy.'
'I was impressive, wasn't I?' Her tone was sweet and teasing, and not at all conceited. 'That's the new and improved me. And I don't think my mother is too happy about all the changes I've made lately.'
'It's all about making the decisions that make
'I
'Sure,' he replied automatically. He had a great job and few responsibilities other than to the security company he was a part of, and the assignments he took on. But at the end of the day, there was definitely a sense of emptiness deep inside of him that he hadn't been able to fill, along with a host of regrets for things he'd once hoped for, but had lost back in Iraq. The woman he loved. A wife to come home to and share things with. And eventually, a family of his own.
Every single one of those things had slipped through his fingers in one horrifying, life-changing moment that would haunt him forever.
Not wanting to launch into a conversation about his dark past, he instead watched as Christine finished off a second slice of pizza. The woman had a great appetite and didn't hesitate to feed it well.
When she was done, she sat back in her seat, placed a hand over her still flat stomach, and sighed. 'That pizza was amazingly good.'
He couldn't have agreed more. 'So, did you leave any room for dessert?'
Her eyes lit up at the mention of something sweet. 'Absolutely. They make the most fabulous tiramisu here, but don't expect me to share.' She grinned impishly.
He shook his head and chuckled. 'I wouldn't dream of it.'
Chapter Seven
BEN sat out in the dark, quiet living room, skipping through the cable channels on Christine's TV in search of something worthwhile to watch at one o'clock in the morning. He stopped on an infomercial for some kind of car cleaner, then watched the ending of a cop chase on Court TV before jumping to a music video on MTV. Once that was over, he skipped to another paid program for Ginsu knives and decided that was about as good as it was going to get.
With a bored sigh, he tossed the channel changer onto the cushion beside him, then leaned back against the couch to make himself comfortable. Before the host could slice and dice through a tomato, Ben heard a door open, then the sound of feet padding across the carpet to the kitchen. He glanced in that direction and saw Christine's silhouette as she came to a stop in the distance, then changed course and started toward him in the living room.
She emerged from the shadows, looking sleep-tousled and wearing what he'd normally refer to as a modest nightgown, but on Christine it was anything but demure. The straps holding up the gown were thin, and the front V-neck was trimmed in lace, with a tighter bodice that molded to her small, firm breasts. The hem fluttered around her knees as she walked toward him, drawing his attention to her slender, bare legs.
Ignoring his body's instantaneous response to her irresistible, sensual allure, he lifted his gaze back to hers. 'What are you doing up?'
'With the charity auction tomorrow night, I've got a lot of things going through my head,' she said, and sat down on the couch a respectable distance away from him. 'I was just going to make myself some chamomile tea when I saw that you were up, too. Is everything okay?'
Her concern warmed him. 'Actually, this is pretty normal for me.'
She tipped her head, causing soft, disheveled waves to fall across her bare shoulder. 'What, not being able to
