The Wedding Party Collection. Кейт Хьюит
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gave her a healthy payoff. What happened to that?”
Rebecca raised her chin as a wave of anger swept her. “It formed part of Fliss’s estate. I invested it for T.J. He’ll get it when he turns twenty-five. Sue him then.”
“Laws of prescription aside, I wouldn’t do that to the boy. I don’t need that money.” He considered her, his head tipped to one side, inspecting her as though she were an unfamiliar species. “What really interests me is why Felicity thought she could marry me while she loved someone else.”
Rebecca sighed. “I’ve wondered that myself too many times to count. She didn’t think she and James would work out. Not with James refusing even to talk about his cancer, refusing to discuss radiation and pretending it didn’t exist. Fliss was terrified of being abandoned after his death, I think. I honestly believe she hoped she’d grow to love you.” Rebecca had clung to that hope. That Damon and Fliss’s marriage would work. Only that would make the pain she’d suffered worth it.
“And you?” He was curious, she saw. “What did you think about all this?”
She glanced away. “It wasn’t my decision to make.”
“But you didn’t approve.”
It was a statement, not a question. Surprised, she stared at him. He’d anticipated her reaction. “No. I told her she shouldn’t marry you.”
“You told me that, too.” His mouth twisted. “What else did you tell her?”
“That it wasn’t fair on you, that she was cheating you. But I couldn’t tell you that. Her relationship with my brother wasn’t my secret. So I tried to convince her that both of you would suffer if she didn’t break it off.” Did he finally believe her? It was hard to gauge.
“Pity that neither of us took your advice. Arrogant fool that I was, I thought your motives were suspect. Quite simply I thought you wanted me for yourself. How utterly conceited. I should’ve noticed that the moment I started courting Felicity you never once flirted with me again.”
“Not quite true.” She gave him a sad smile. “Remember the rehearsal, the night before the wedding?”
“When you begged me not to marry Fliss, told me she’d regret it? And when I refused to listen, you threw yourself at me, kissed me. How could I ever forget?”
It had been a life-defining moment for her. She’d told Damon that he couldn’t marry Fliss. He’d stared at her down his impressive nose without deigning to respond, looking at her as if she were trash. Something inside her had snapped. The next thing she knew, her arms had been wrapped around his neck, her body plastered against his. She’d stared at his beautiful, sensuous mouth. Then she’d kissed him. Open-mouthed, with all the passion she could muster. She’d put everything she felt for him into that kiss.
“You did kiss me back,” she said at last.
“Ah, God, how could I not? You were pure sin, pure delight. I couldn’t stop myself. I should have seen sense then. Instead I thought I’d gone mad, tempted by a woman—”
“You despised.”
“Yes,” he said very quietly. “But I lied to myself. Self-preservation. You terrified me.”
“So you pushed me away and told me never to come near Fliss again after the wedding.”
“I seem to remember I called you some vile names. Some of the anger you bore the brunt of was directed at myself. I couldn’t believe I’d kissed you back, that I’d been weak enough to betray Fliss. I’d always considered myself a man of principle.”
And for a heart-stopping second Rebecca wondered if he’d ever be able to forgive himself for that breach of honour. He’d hated the passion, the emotion she aroused in him. Now she could see his abhorrence for what he considered his weakness of character. Would that reckless kiss the night before his wedding come between them now, almost four years later, and drive them apart?
“You were arrogant. She was my best friend and I knew she would do whatever you wanted. I felt betrayed by both of you. You broke my heart. So I flirted with you shamelessly on the dance floor the next day.”
His face became sombre. “I’d wounded you, called you names, treated you like dirt. I deserved everything you dished out. But my question still stands. Apart from those two occasions, you never flirted with me after Fliss and I started to date. Nor were you ever hostile to her.” He paused. “Why was that?”
“I can’t say I didn’t hope that Fliss would come to her senses and remember James. Fliss was like a sister to me. I loved her. My brother loved her, too. How could I hate her or flirt with the man who was interested in her?”
“Even though she snaffled the man you desired? She did it under false pretences, yet you still loved her?”
“Yes, I still loved her.” Rebecca met his frowning gaze squarely. “Even though she married you when she should’ve known better.”
“I admire your loyalty. It’s a pity Felicity didn’t show you the same loyalty.”
“I don’t think she realised…quite what I felt for you.” It was painful to admit.
Damon looked disbelieving.
Rebecca flushed. “I was painfully obvious, wasn’t I? Must’ve been very amusing to you. But I’d never felt that kind of…response to any man. After Aaron, I never thought I’d marry again. Then poof—” she snapped her fingers “—there was this out-of-control yearning.” Her voice shook. “You and me, I thought it was meant to be.”
“I’m sorry.” He touched her cheek. “I was cruel.”
“Yes.” She ducked her head away.
His hand fell to his side. “I judged you.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t defend yourself.”
“If it had been meant to be, I wouldn’t have needed to defend myself.”
A silence followed her words.
He’d turned white under his tan again. “I deserved that. I listened to the rumour mongering of fools. I heard only what I wanted—” He broke off.
“I wasn’t prepared to stoop to counter the rumors.” Rebecca held her head high. “Some of them tried it on with me—”
“And you told them to go to hell?”
“Something like that.”
“So they destroyed your reputation.”
“More like they didn’t want the rest of the boys to think they were the only ones who didn’t get lucky.” Her mouth twisted. “The stories of my…accomplishments…grew in the telling.”
“God!” He raked fingers through his long hair, pushing it back. “A lot has happened in the past couple of days…today. There’s a lot I need to think about, Rebecca. I need time.”
She bit her lip. Here it was—the kiss of death. She’d known that what they had now would not survive the long shadow of the past.
“Do you want me and T.J. to go?”
“No.” His blue eyes looked weary. “No. Never that. But I need time to think this through. I’ve discovered that a lot of what I believed is false, I’ve learned some things that have made me not particularly like myself. I need time to come to terms with it all.”
This was all because of his twisted sense of honour. He couldn’t forgive himself for kissing her when he’d pledged himself to another. He couldn’t forgive himself for the hurt he’d caused her. All because of what he saw as his own weakness. Every time he looked at her he’d remember how he’d failed himself.
And what was the point of arguing? He said he wanted