“This worries me,” Seth whispered on the tail end of a husky sigh.
“What does?”
“Touching you like this.” But his hands stayed exactly where they were, kneading her breasts through the thin material of her sweater. She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted him to feel her breasts.
“Oh, Seth, I want it, too.”
“That’s what I was afraid you’d say.” With what seemed to demand a colossal effort, he pulled his hands away and braced his forehead against hers, his breathing as deep and shaky as her own. “Tell me what happened with your mother.”
“No,” she said, and shook her head. “I’m better now, thanks to you. Much better.”
“It has to do with your sister, doesn’t it?”
“Seth, please. I don’t want to talk about Vicki.” She kissed him, using her tongue to outline the shape of his mouth, teasing him with short, nibbling kisses, darting her tongue in and out of his mouth.
“If you’re trying to distract me, it’s working.”
“Good.” She smiled softly to herself. “Now pour me some coffee and tell me what’s going on between your in-laws.”
Her words appeared to sober him. He took a moment to straighten, then did as she requested. After he’d brought her a cup of coffee, he sat on the leather chair next to hers.
“Something’s happened between those two.”
“Good or bad?”
He frowned. “I don’t know, but I suspect it’s bad. Jerry arrived, and the two talked privately for a while. I assumed they’d cleared up whatever was wrong between them, but my feeling is that it hasn’t gone away.”
“Are they fighting?”
“No,” he said, holding the coffee mug with both hands. He leaned forward and braced his elbows against his knees. “Not in the least. It’s like they’re polite strangers. It’s ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ at every turn. Jerry brings her coffee in the morning, and she makes sure the newspaper is just so for him.”
“That sounds like the routine of a long married couple.”
“I suppose,” he said, but it didn’t look as though he were reassured. If anything, he seemed convinced of the opposite.
“You think it’s for show, don’t you?”
His grin was slightly off center. “Yes, that’s exactly what I think. It’s like they’re playing this game, making it seem that there couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with their relationship.”
“But you think there is.”
“I know there is.”
She didn’t ask how he knew. “Then why would they go through this pretense?”
“I don’t know. Possibly because it’s close to Christmas and they don’t want to upset the twins. Or because of me.” He rubbed a hand down the side of his face and glanced guiltily at her. “Then again I’ve been distracted by a certain travel agent of late and wouldn’t know my head from a hole in the ground.”
Happiness filled her heart. “It’s an honor to be considered a distraction.”
He chuckled. “If only you knew.”
“Tell me.” Her ego could do with a few strokes.
“You tell me what sent you running to me like an injured rabbit after having dinner with your mother.”
Reba glared at him, then smiled. “You don’t play fair.”
He didn’t respond, merely seemed content to wait until she’d satisfied his curiosity.
“Vicki will be with my family Christmas Day.” From the emotionless look in his eyes, she could tell he didn’t understand. “There appears to have been a breakdown in communication between my mother and me. Since I’m the chair for the Christmas program, I can’t attend dinner Christmas Eve, and apparently my sister is obligated to attend some shindig with her husband’s family.”
“You don’t want to be with your parents at the same time as your sister?”
“I won’t have anything to do with her. I already explained that, remember?” She knew she sounded defensive, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Spend the day with me and the kids,” Seth invited her.
She hadn’t come seeking an invitation. She shook her head. “No, but thank you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a pity invitation.”
Seth chuckled. “Hardly. I’d like it more than you know. Come, please.”
Pride should have been enough to keep her from accepting, but pride was cold comfort. For the first time since the disastrous day of her near wedding, she had someone in her life.