Free Truly Married by Phyllis Halldorson Page A

little,” she snapped as her temper escalated. “If you’ll remember, you didn’t want to talk about your work when you came home at night. When I’d ask you about it you always said we had more exciting things to do, and carried me off to bed.”
    She hadn’t known what she was going to say until it was said, and then it was too late. The words hung in the air between them, and she felt the blood rush to her face while she watched it drain from his.
    Embarrassment suffused her and left her immobilized, unable to speak or move. Dear Lord, what had she been thinking of?
    But that was the problem—she hadn’t been thinking period. How could she have blurted out something so intimate to Fergus, who was not only no longer her husband, but apparently didn’t even remember how erotic and all-encompassing their lovemaking had been at one time?
    For a long moment they sat in silence, neither of them able to pick up the conversation. Sharon couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Fergus, but she’d seen the shocked expression on his face, and in his unblinking eyes, before she’d glanced away.
    She felt like a tacky, insensitive clod. How was she ever going to apologize and make him understand that she hadn’t deliberately planned to be so crude?
    Before she could marshal her thoughts, Fergus spoke.
    “You’re right, Sharon.” His tone was low and vibrant. “I did have better things to do than talk shop while I was married to you. Much better. So much better, in fact, that if I let myself think about those times now I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else, and that’s dangerous. For both your defense and my sanity.”
    His words freed her from the clutch of humiliation that had held her mute and still, and she took an unsteady breath. “Oh, Fergus, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to say that. I wasn’t even thinking it.”
    He shook his head. “It’s all right. I deserved it. I had no right to flare up at you the way I did. You and Anna did what most people would have done—you called on an attorney who was also a friend. Since I selfishly thought only of my own needs, when I should have taken the time to teach you about your rights under the law, you couldn’t have known all the intricacies of selecting the right lawyer to handle the charges against you.”
    He took his napkin from his lap and tossed it on the table, then signaled the waiter for the check. “If you’re finished eating we’d better go back upstairs. I have a lot more questions to ask you.”
    * * *
    Back in the suite they settled themselves comfortably, Sharon on the couch and Fergus in the upholstered chair. They were still self-conscious because of her gaffe, but the embarrassment melted away as the interrogation progressed.
    “Tell me all there is to know about your relationship with Floyd Vancleave, from the day you met until the time you were found bending over his body,” he said. “Don’t leave out anything, no matter how insignificant you may think it is.”
    It took her a long time, and when she was finished they went over it again, then again, until Sharon was tired, upset and becoming angrier by the minute.
    “Now, tell me again about the advances Vancleave made toward you,” he said for the second or third time. “Are you sure you didn’t encourage him?”
    “Encourage him!” she shouted. “Damn it, Fergus, are you deaf? How many times do I have to tell you? The man was a chauvinist pig, and I’m getting tired of you insinuating that I was flirting with him. I don’t lead men on to tease them, and your insistence that I did that to Floyd is insulting.”
    “Then you’d better get used to being insulted,” Fergus said grimly, “because if you’re indicted and go to trial the district attorney is going to use every trick he can think of to make the jury believe that’s exactly what you were doing.
    “Now, let’s go over this again. I don’t want any nasty surprises when you get on the