Yours Seductively

Chapter 11.3 (Part 2)

   "I can think of only a coupe of reasons why you didn't call," Jane continued when he remained silent. "Either I never crossed your mind, or you thought your family crisis was none of my business. Either way, it doesn't say much for our relationship, does it? Or did it even occur to you that we have a relationship?"

   He cleared his throat, scowling at the memory of seeing her sitting at that ice-cream-shop table, focusing her warm smile and bright eyes on a handsome, dark-haired man. "You're the one who had a date with someone else just two days ago."

   "A date?" Her voice rose in what sounded like disbelief. "I didn't have a date. Surely you aren't talking abt the ice cream I had with James Tucker, a co-worker I happened to rub into by accident. The only thing he and I talked about was the community theater, which I would have been happy to tell you about if you'd given me a chance. And as far as commitments go, I made one to you the first time I went to bed with you. Despite what you seem to believe, I don't take that sort of thing lightly."

   The hurt he heard in her voice made him react defensively, causing all his emotional baggage to surface. Without pausing to think, he blurted out, "Oh, really? So how did you end up in the tabloids last year? Something to do with another woman's husband, I believe?"

   He heard her breath catch, and he immediately regretted his words. They'd been vicious and unfair—and to make it worse, they had been directed as much as his late wife as they had at Jane. "Damn it, Jane, I—"

   Her voice was very composed when she interrupted, and he could only imagine how much stage experience it must have taken for her to keep it that way. "Funny," she said. "I would have thought you, of all people, would have known joe foolish it is to listen to gossip."

   "Let's just say I learned last year that the gossip is sometimes true," he answered bitterly. "My unfaithful wife taught me that painful lesson very well. And I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't be made to look the fool twice."

   Jane digested his revelation in silence for a moment before speaking again. "Whatever problems you had with your wife." She said quietly, "it isn't fair of you to take them out of me."

   "You're right." His voice was gruff. "It's just that—well, there was talk of what happened in New York between you and that actor. And then, when I saw you with Mark, and with that guy, James..."

   "I've been told that I act too friendly sometimes, that my actions could be misinterpreted. That's what happened in New York, by the way. I tried to help a friend through a difficult time and it backfired on me. Maybe the reason I came on so strong with you is that I've always been so damn attracted to you. You seem to have misinterpreted that, too—though you certainly didn't mind taking advantage of it. Maybe you did have misconceptions about actors and the wild lives they lead," she mused. "Or maybe you just wanted a woman—any woman—and I was convenient. A little too convenient, it seems."

   Tyler imagined that if someone were to measure him with a ruler, he would have shrunk several inches during her quiet speech. She'd made him feel very small—primarily because so many of the things she had said had hit much too close to home. "You don't understand—"

   "No. I don't understand, because you haven't talked to me. You've never told me how you feel about me. You've never let me know what, if anything, you wanted from me—besides sex, of course."

   He winced.

   "I'm sorry," she said again and her voice was almost sad. He wasn't used to hearing Jane sound that way. "this isn't going to work. I've been deluding myself. Funny, I thought I'd outgrown that since the last time."

   'The last time?' "I don't know what you mean."

   "When we were teenagers, I convinced myself that we could be together. I thought if I could make you want me, I could make you love me. You decided I was wrong for you the , and you left, without ever looking back at me. This time, I pretended things were different. We were finally in the right place at the right time, or so I wanted to believe. But once again, I was the only one in love. You've had your fun—your kisses behind the gym, in a manner of speaking—and now you're moving on. And once again, I'm going to wish you well and let you go.