Page 63 of Roark
“You’re sleeping with that girl.”
He turned at the sound of Aunt Birdie’s voice and fought back a frown when he saw her entering the library and going over to take a seat on one of the burgundy leather couches in the center of the room. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t try to lie to me. I can tell when two people are having sex. It’s in the way you talk to each other and touch each other. Plus, she was in your room in the middle of the night when I arrived.” Aunt Birdie waved her hand as she settled back on the couch and then heaved a deep breath.
Roark wanted to be more irritated by her waltzing in here saying these things, but he didn’t miss the fact that she’d been looking even more tired lately. “Aunt Birdie, I’m an adult. I think it’s okay for me to have sex with a woman.” He tried to go back to what he was doing, looking along the bookshelves and on the desk in the corner.
“You’re a Donovan man, so you’re virile enough. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have something to say about it.” She slapped a hand down on the arm of the chair to get his attention.
“With all due respect—” he began.
“Oh please, don’t give me that crap. Anytime somebody says that, it means they’re getting ready to disrespect you. And you’d better not even try it. Besides, I’d still keep going until I said what I had to say.”
Roark clapped his lips shut, because every word of what she’d just said was correct. It was better and would probably go quicker if he just listened to what she had to say and got it over with.
“Now, she’s a nice enough girl. Takes care of her mother, which is always a good thing. Even though I still don’t understand why she let that poor woman come all the way over here and live by herself for a year.”
“She wasn’t actually by herself. Tuppence was with her,” he interjected.
“Please, that woman’s a little off.”
Roark held back a chuckle, because he was almost certain people had said that about Aunt Birdie a time or two.
“But like I said, Tamika’s a good enough girl. She’s not like Katrina.”
For the second time today Roark’s mind reluctantly went to his ex-wife. “Katrina and I have been over for a long time, Aunt Birdie.”
“And thank the good Lord for that. She wasn’t right for you. Maxine and I talked about that. It was one of the few things she and I agreed on. But that’s not what I came in here to talk to you about.”
Roark walked over to the couch and took a seat beside her.
“I want to know your intentions toward her,” Aunt Birdie said simply. “Are you going to just keep sleeping with her, or do you plan to marry this girl?”
“Whoa, Aunt Birdie, slow down. I just got a divorce.”
“You also just reminded me that was a long time ago. Don’t dilly-dally with me, Roark. Tell me what you have planned.”
He’d never answered to anyone before regarding his personal relationships, and Roark didn’t plan to now. He also didn’t plan to disrespect his aunt for fear she’d carry through on whatever unspoken threat she’d mentioned just a few moments ago. “Tamika and I are just— We’re getting to know each other,” he said and then swallowed because he hated that he was having this conversation with her.
“In a biblical way,” his aunt continued. Of course, this morning’s church service was the culprit.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re both consenting adults, and we’re okay with the status of our relation…I mean, friendship.” To his own ears, that word sounded incorrect for what was actually going on between them, but Aunt Birdie didn’t need to know he was feeling that way.
“Women aren’t to be toyed with, Roark. I’ve had this conversation with Ridge more times than I can count, but he’s as stubborn as a mule, just like my daddy was. Anyway, I always thought you were the smarter, more reasonable of Gabe’s boys.” There was a compliment in there somewhere, Roark was certain. “If this isn’t going to go past the sex stage, you should stop it now.”
“Even if she’s in agreement?”
“No woman is ever going to agree to be just a sex partner for long. It’ll always change. Feelings will grow, expectations will be set and you’ll be caught if you’re not careful. You’ve been sleeping with her all during this dilemma, but when it’s over, what happens? How do you think she’s going to react to being nothing better than your mistress at that point?”
“I wouldn’t ever call her a mistress.”
“But you’ll treat her like one.”
“I’m not treating her like a mistress.” Hadn’t they gone out in public? Well, not on a real date, but this is a different scenario. He’d like to think that if he’d met her on the street, he would’ve asked her out on a proper date before they’d begun sleeping together.
“Not yet. But mark my words, all of this is going to change.”
“My first concern right now is for Sandra’s safety, Aunt Birdie. I want this killer to be caught so we all can get back to some semblance of normalcy. I can finish grieving for my mother, and Tamika can continue grieving for her father. Then we can both move on.”
