Free Unfinished Business by Nora Roberts Page B

the way he did. And why she didn’t come with us.”
    â€œI can’t comment on what went on between your parents, Van. If there are things you need to know, you should hear them from Loretta.”
    â€œI don’t know what to say to her. I don’t know what to ask.” She turned away again. “In all those years, my father never said a thing about it.”
    That didn’t surprise him, but he doubted Julius’s motives had been altruistic. “What else did she tell you?”
    â€œWhat else is there to tell?” Vanessa countered.
    Brady was silent for a moment. “Did you ask her why?”
    â€œI didn’t have to.” She rubbed a chill from her arms. “Shetold me she didn’t even love the man. It was just physical. Just sex.”
    He contemplated his beer. “Well, I guess we should drag her out in the street and shoot her.”
    â€œIt’s not a joke,” Vanessa said, whirling around. “She deceived her husband. She cheated on him while they were living together, while she was pretending to be part of a family.”
    â€œThat’s all true. Considering the kind of woman Loretta is, it seems to me she must have had some very strong reasons.” His eyes stayed on hers, calm and searching. “I’m surprised it didn’t occur to you.”
    â€œHow can you justify adultery?”
    â€œI’m not. But there are very few situations that are simple black and white. I think once you get over the shock and the anger, you’ll ask her about those gray areas.”
    â€œHow would you feel if it was one of your parents?”
    â€œLousy.” He set the beer aside. “Want a hug?”
    She felt the tears rise to burn the backs of her eyes. “Yes,” she managed, and went gratefully into his arms.
    He held her, his arms gentle, his hands easy as they stroked along her back. She needed him now, he thought. And the need was for friendship. However tangled his emotions were, he could never refuse her that. He brushed his lips over her hair, enchanted by the texture, the scent, the warm, deep color. Her arms were tight around him. Her head was nestled just beneath his.
    She still fitted, he thought. She was still a perfect fit.
    He seemed so solid. She wondered how such a reckless boy could have become such a solid, dependable man. He was giving her, without her even having asked, exactly what she needed. Nothing more, nothing less.
    Her eyes closed, she thought how easy, how terrifyingly easy, it would be to fall in love with him all over again.
    â€œFeeling any better?”
    She didn’t know about better, but she was definitely feeling. The hypnotic stroke of his hands up and down her spine, the steady rhythm of his heart against hers.
    She lifted her head, just enough to see his eyes. There was understanding in them, and a strength that had developed during the time she had been without him.
    â€œI can’t make up my mind whether you’ve changed or whether you’re the same.”
    â€œSome of both.” Her scent was waltzing through his system. “I’m glad you came back.”
    â€œI didn’t mean to.” She sighed again. “I wasn’t going to get near you again. When I was here before, I was angry because you made me remember—and what I remembered was that I’d never really forgotten.”
    If she looked at him that way five more seconds, he knew, he’d forget she’d come looking for a friend. “Van…you should probably try to straighten this out with your mother. Why don’t I drive you home?”
    â€œI don’t want to go home tonight.” Her words echoed in her head. She had to press her lips tightly together before she could form the next words. “Let me stay here with you.”
    The somewhat pleasant ache that had coursed through him as he’d held her turned sharp and deadly. With his movements slow and deliberate, he put