Page 41 of Trophy
Arthur was wrong about her. She was doing just fine. She didn’t need him or his money to have a good time. She wasn’t relying on Rob to get her through life the way she’d always relied on Arthur.
“You’re thinking about him again,” Rob murmured.
She jerked her head up. “I’m sorry. It was just a passing thought.”
“It’s fine.” Rob was trying to catch her gaze, like he was peering into her soul. “Did you want to talk about it?”
She sighed and slumped back against the couch. “I don’t even know.”
He picked up the wine bottle and split the remaining wine between their glasses. “Were you in love with him when you got married?”
“I don’t know. I thought so. Kind of. I was eighteen. What the hell did I know?”
“Your parents were okay with you going out with a guy his age?”
“He knew my dad from some business dealings, and that was right when my parents lost all their money. I think they were mostly relieved that I had the possibility of a comfortable life. They thought Arthur was a decent enough guy.”
“So did you really want to be with him, or did you just want the lifestyle?” Rob’s tone wasn’t judgmental. It was more like he was trying to understand.
“I really don’t know. I mean, I thought at the time that it was Arthur I wanted. He was attractive enough, and he really knew how to… how to romance a woman. He was all about the big romantic gestures. I guess I was kind of swept off my feet. I didn’t really know him, though. The more I got to know him, the more I realized it was a mistake.”
“Well,” Rob murmured over a sip of wine, “I can definitely understand making a mistake in marriage, fooling yourself intothinking it would work when there’s absolutely no foundation. It’s not that unusual a mistake, you know.”
She smiled at him, feeling better, like he really did understand. Maybe she wasn’t really as silly and stupid as she felt sometimes. Maybe everyone did foolish things, even though they should know better. “You got married at eighteen too? Isn’t that what you said?”
He shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
“You said it just didn’t work out?”
For a moment she didn’t think he was going to tell her any specifics, even after she’d opened up to him. But he finally finished his wine and said, “She cheated on me.”
“Seriously?”
He slanted her a quick look. “Why are you so surprised?”
“I don’t know. I just didn’t expect anyone to want to cheat on you.” She blushed as she realized what she’d said. Then she felt compelled to continue, “I mean, you’re… you’re really good in bed.”
He chuckled softly, his eyes warming as they lingered on her face. “Thank you for that. But I’m afraid it’s true. She just couldn’t be satisfied with one man. She got bored or… I don’t know.”
“She fell in love with someone else?”
“No. Not really. She just slept around. With all kinds of guys. And I, being incredibly stupid, didn’t even know about it. Everyone else did, though.”
“No one told you?” she breathed, horrified by the thought and by Rob’s having to go through that.
“Keith, a buddy of mine, finally did. It’s a hard situation, you know. He didn’t know if I really knew or if I was just pretending to be happy or what. People don’t always want to get involved in someone else’s personal life.”
“Yeah. I understand that. So how old were you when you got divorced? The first time, I mean.”
“Twenty-two.” He gave her another quick look. “You don’t think I’m too pathetic now, do you?”
She was struck all at once by how incredibly sweet he was. He wasn’t anything like Arthur at all. Being with him didn’t mean she was clinging to him or depending on him or not standing on her own feet.
She gave him a little smile and scooted closer. “I don’t think you’re pathetic at all.”
“Good.” His eyes heated up as she drew nearer to him. He hadn’t shaved since the morning, and she could see a slight stubble on his chin and cheeks. It made her want to rub it. He still wore the clothes he’d gone to work in, and both the trousers and the shirt were wrinkled. One side of his collar was turned in wrong. The sleeves were rolled up so she could see the dark hair on his forearms. His hands were big and slightly rough. He worked with them a lot.
His eyes never left her face as she moved onto her knees beside him. He still had a little of that clean smell she knew from the mornings, but he also smelled warm and natural—like he did at the end of the day.
