the one question that had him very curious: 'How long has it been for you?'
She groaned and winced, and glanced up at the ceiling in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. 'God, was I that obvious?'
He chuckled, finding her chagrin too endearing in the aftermath of such wild, hot sex. 'Maybe just a little,' he teased, and gently touched a finger to her chin to make her look at him again. 'You were very enthusiastic-not that I'm complaining, since I reaped the benefits of all that pent-up desire.'
She grinned wryly. 'Sexual frustration will do that to a person.'
'Trust me; I know. I've been feeling that same way myself since I first laid eyes on you,' he said meaningfully-a month in which he'd lusted after her, and no other woman would do. Despite all those restless, erotic dreams that had left him hot and bothered and moody at times, Liz had been well worth the wait. 'Now, fess up.'
Her fingers absently bunched and pleated the sheet between her breasts. 'You really don't want to know,' she murmured.
'Sweetheart, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask.' He meant that sincerely. 'So what are we talking here? One year? Two years?' he guessed.
'Almost three years,' she admitted with a slight grimace. 'Since my husband died.'
That revelation raised his brows. 'Wow,' he said, stunned that she'd denied herself that long. Stunned that no other man had persuaded her into bed sooner.
Picking up her left hand, he ran his thumb over the gold band she wore. A treasure that had once belonged to her mother. 'Then I guess this ring did its job.'
She laughed, her eyes sparkling with agreement. 'Until now, anyway.' Then she shrugged and grew a bit more serious. 'I suppose it was just a matter of waiting for the right guy to come along to sway me into an affair-that, along with the right set of circumstances.'
And their circumstances had been ideal. 'All I can say is, lucky me.' He rubbed her soft, cool fingers along the light beard growth on his cheek and watched her nipples blossom and bead against the sheet. 'But three years is a hell of a long time to be off the market. I understand grieving after your husband died, but why would you want men to think you're taken for so many years?'
He expected her to tell him that her husband had been her one true love, that she hadn't been able to bring herself to date after his death, because she'd been too devastated and it had taken her time to get past her feelings for him. It was the most logical explanation.
'Dating and men just haven't been a priority for me, not when I have The Daily Grind, which has demanded a whole lot of my time over the past three years.' She gently pulled her hand out of his grasp, and though he felt her physically withdrawing from him and the conversation, he let her go.
Her answer surprised him. Her reply was convenient, too pat and evasive for a woman who'd gone to such lengths to give the impression that she was taken. He instinctively knew there was more to her reasons for remaining single. He'd heard the feigned nonchalance in her tone, which contradicted the sudden defensive tilt to her chin that told him he was traversing on deeply personal issues.
And because he was a man who liked puzzles and unraveling mysteries, he persisted. 'Women run businesses of their own and date all the time. Some are even married with families.'
'I'm sure those women weren't left in debt up to their eyeballs by a man they thought they knew and trusted.'
He didn't miss the underlying bite to her tone, which did nothing to deter him. 'Your husband?'
'Yes.' She shook her head and blew an upward stream of breath that ruffled her bangs across her brow. 'I can't believe we're having this conversation.'
Neither could he, since he wasn't one to indulge in cozy, intimate chitchat and personal revelations after sex. But now that it was out in the open, he was intent on discovering the real story behind that ring encircling her finger, and a past that had obviously kept her celibate for an amazingly long time.
Slipping his leg beneath the covers, he found her calf and casually caressed her smooth skin with his toes. 'What happened?'
She rolled to her side, facing him less than a foot away, and exhaled a slow, unraveling breath. 'I was naive and fell for a reckless, untamable charmer who knew how to say all the right things to sweep a woman off her feet, and he did exactly that.'
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen across her cheek, accepting the excuse to touch her for what it was. 'You certainly don't strike me as naive.' Not when it came to life
'Okay, then I was a blind fool.' Self-recriminations laced her voice. 'Travis's impulsive, frivolous ways were so invigorating compared to my sensible, practical life, and he gave me something to look forward to at the end of all the hours I was working at the cafe. He was daring and adventurous, and that made me feel a sense of freedom that was new and exciting and addicting. So when he asked me to marry him after three months of dating, I said yes and we did the deed in a quickie civil ceremony that my aunt and uncle found out about after the fact.' A noticeable wince creased her features.
He resisted the urge to smooth out those disturbing wrinkles with his thumb, a comforting gesture that took him off guard. 'I take it they weren't happy about not being invited to the wedding?'
'They weren't happy about the marriage, period. Or Travis as a husband. They'd never really liked him.' She yawned as the late hour, her long day, and physical exhaustion began taking its toll. 'I had a huge argument with my aunt and uncle, my first ever yelling, screaming match with them, as I defended Travis and my right to marry who I wanted.'
Her voice dropped in volume, the regret she harbored unmistakable. 'In hindsight, they had good reason not to trust my judgement when it came to Travis, because they saw deeper than just the surface of a good-looking face and flirtatious smile. They saw his charming personality for what it was-a way to get what he wanted.'
'And he wanted you?'
She nodded. 'It seemed so, maybe because I was so eager to please, and yes, even naive when it came to men who were so good at deceiving women. He definitely conned me.'
'How?' Another nudge to get her to spill more.
'Within the first six months of our marriage, after the honeymoon stage wore off, I started to see a different side to him, too. A selfish, self-centered, arrogant side he didn't bother to hide. During our two-year marriage, he couldn't hold down a job. I pretty much supported both of us while trying to get The Daily Grind to the point where it was solvent and making a profit. I'd started the business with a loan from my aunt and uncle, and a small- business loan from the bank, so there was a good chunk of money going out in repayment. And since I spent a lot of time at the cafe-over twelve hours a day-it gave Travis a whole lot of time to play.'
Steve experienced a surge of anger on her behalf. 'Sounds like he should have at least been at the cafe helping you out.'
'Oh, he always had an excuse why he couldn't be there,' she said with a bitter laugh. 'His best one was that he had job interviews lined up, but none of them ever seemed to pan out. If I questioned him, we'd get in a big fight. Sometimes he'd storm out after accusing me of not trusting him and leave for a few days. And when he returned, he wouldn't tell me where he'd been, just that he needed time to cool off. After a while, I just couldn't take it anymore.'
It wasn't difficult to figure out where the marriage had been heading. 'You filed for divorce?'
'I never had the chance,' she rasped, a flicker of pain passing through her gaze. 'The night I intended to ask for a divorce and tell him to pack his bags and find another place to live, he wrapped his sports car around a telephone pole, going over eighty miles per hour, and was instantly killed because he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He was with a woman that also died on impact, who I later discovered he'd been having an affair with.'
His chest squeezed tight. What in the world did he say to the terrible betrayal she'd endured? He felt out of his element, and shocked as hell at what she'd been through.
'See what I mean by
