Free A touch of love by Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress) DLC, Phoebe Conn

Aubrey shot right back at him. "It was just that he was always very mechanical, as though he were following a script. Trial attorneys tend to have a theatrical nature, and he was as slick in the bedroom as he was in a courtroom, but there's a vast difference between technique and honest emotion."
    That remark hit Jesse real close to home because it fit his relationships with women as well. He didn't like that

    fact at all. "I can understand that," he managed to say, consoling himself that he had never received a complaint from any of the women he had taken to bed. Of course, it was highly possible none of them had possessed the brains to make the comparison Aubrey just had.
    Aubrey was beginning to feel a little sick to her stomach. Certain Jesse wouldn't believe that excuse, she hurried to finish her story. "He had been wonderfully attentive while we were dating, but once we were married, he became increasingly distant. He was never openly critical, but he managed to find fault with everything I did. He would say, 1 Oh, you're wearing the blue dress to the party? I'd hoped you'd wear the green.' He would never mention a preference before I was dressed, however.
    "At first I did my best to please him, but the harder I tried, the less success I achieved. I was attempting to live out his fantasy of the perfect wife, you see, and it just wasn't me. We appeared to have the perfect marriage, but I felt abandoned. I didn't know what I'd done wrong, or to whom to turn."
    "Until you chanced upon creative imagery and wrote The Mind's Eye?"
    "Yes. Larry dismissed my book as New Age nonsense and didn't bother to read the manuscript. By the time it sold, I'd seen our marriage for the sham it was and asked for a divorce. I'd intended to return to teaching until my book became a surprise bestseller.
    "Larry blamed my sudden success and the pressures of his job for our problems and begged me to give our marriage another try. I had loved him dearly once and thought I should, but the very next week he mentioned how disappointed he was that I wasn't content simply being his wife, and we were right back where we had started. I saw his attempt to manipulate my thoughts and emotions for the abuse it was, left the house we had shared, and never went

    back. My parents were planning to move, so I bought this place from them and came home."
    Aubrey looked down at her hands and realized they were trembling badly. "You were right when you teased me Saturday night about not going out much. I haven't dated at all since the divorce. Conducting seminars keeps me from being lonely, and quite frankly, I think it will take a long while for the disillusionment of my failed marriage to fade."
    Jesse reached out to tilt her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "There's no reason for you to be ashamed to tell that story. Larry wanted a cardboard cutout of a woman, not one who could think on her own, let alone one who believes in following her heart Now when a kid falls off a horse, he's always told to get right back on again so he's got no time to be afraid. After such a lousy marriage, I don't blame you for avoiding men for a while, but it's high time you got back in the game. Come on, let's go upstairs. Someone else might come to the door and I don't want to give them an eyeful."
    When he pulled her to her feet, Aubrey panicked. "Oh no, you can't expect me to regard making love to you as therapy."
    "Why not? It sounds like a hell of an idea to me."
    "NO!" Aubrey yanked her hands from his. "I divorced a man for trying to make me into something I'm not, and I'm nowhere near ready to make love to you." There was such little room between the sofa and coffee table she couldn't get by him. She glanced over her shoulder and wondered if she could leap over the back of the sofa without falling on her face.
    "Hey, take it easy," Jesse called softly. He drew her into his arms but his hold was feather light. "If you're not in the mood, all you have to do is say so.