Page 37 of Indulge Me Tonight

“I remember.” Memories of their wedding reception shifted to the front of her mind. “It was too cold and everybody went back inside.”

Grae bowed his head, smiling. “Didn’t feel cold to me.”

“Probably because we were curled up on one of those lounges.”

“Humph. We didn’t stay there for long.”

Tielle shook her head. Her gaze fixed as though she were viewing a replay of the scene. “We had our first dance out here…then it started to snow. We didn’t even notice it or that everybody came to the doors to watch us.”

“Photographers snapping tons of pictures…” Grae laughed. “We only noticed because it’d gotten dark and the flash bothered us.”

“Ha! Yeah, one of your dad’s cousins said he’d never seen lightning during a blizzard.”

Grae’s rich laughter seemed to echo. “His wife, Miranda, told him only someone as drunk as him could see that.”

“They aren’t here for the retreat,” Tielle noted once she and Grae had a long laugh at the couple’s expense. “Are they okay?”

“Hugh’s had some close calls—heart, liver…Miranda decided they’d sit this trip out. She said it was the first time Hugh’s rotten liver had done her any good and that being around this bunch for a week was a treat she’d had more than enough of.”

“I always liked them.” Tielle dissolved into more laughter and used the oversized cuff of her knit sweater to dab a tear from her eye. “Guess there’re quite a few of your family wishing they’d made another decision about coming here.”

“Including you?” Grae turned his head but didn’t make eye contact with her. “Guess I should apologize for asking you to accept Faro’s request to bring us up here.”

Tielle paced a short path on the terrace. “If being here helps someone get closure, then I guess it’s all worth it.”

“Humph…closure…I’ve always wondered about that word.” He looked at her. “Whatever can of worms my brother wants to open won’t give anyone closure. It’d just be another load of drama we’ll all have to deal with.”

“At least it’ll be dealt with, right?”

He smiled. “You think it’s that easy to deal with things?”

She gave a lazy shrug. “If all parties are willing to work at it, not just draw lines in the sand.”

“Humph. Parties like me, huh?”

“Grae, I didn’t—”

“Who is he?”

The question, as out of place as it was unexpected, rendered Tielle quiet for a time. “Grae—”

“How long was it before you let him in your bed, Tel?”

“How long before one of your scores of admirers was in your bed?” she countered hotly.

Graedon turned on the lounge, giving Tielle the full benefit of an ambivalent glare. “Getting back at me for something you think I’m doing, Tel? You never played the assumption game before.”

“There’s a lot I never did before.”

“Like asking me to use a condom.”

“Please.” Her eyes narrowed to lovely slits. “Do not sit there and act like you’ve got no clue why I’d ask that. I’m sure the offers to warm your bed started to roll in before you wrote the last G in Clegg when you signed our divorce papers.”

“The offers never stopped rolling in, Tel,” he growled. “They were persistent, something I got every day of our marriage.”

She smiled. “How nice it must be that you don’t have it in your way anymore.”

“Neither do you.”

“Grae…” She closed her eyes, standing still and counting for calm. “We don’t need to be doing this. You’re handling enough drama in your family without creating more between the two of us.”

“Creating?”

Tielle threw up her hands. “The terrace is all yours.”

* * *

Grae pushed off the lounge. Going to the railing, he folded his hands over the wrought iron and squeezed. He prayed for restraint, commanding himself to listen to the voice that told him not to follow Tielle’s departure but to let their budding disagreement die. The voice failed in its task.

---