Free Sweetest Desires (A Sweetest Day Romance) by Beverly Taylor

year will be their year to r eceive this high honor, only to trudge away empty-handed. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one of the happiest moments in my life. And you stand here and complain because I couldn’t keep our dinner reservation? Think about it. Which of the two is more important? I told you I’d make it up to you. Now please, be happy for me, or pretend to be happy for me for all the years of my hard labor.”
    One of the most happiest moments in your life? Katharine thought. What are the others? From the ways things have been, certainly not our marriage. Maybe the births of our children, she’d hoped.
    She had no intention of reminding him that he’d stood her up at Cavalieri’s, but he’d opened the door for argument. She said nothing, thinking about the girlie magazines and how miserable her afternoon had been.
    Carson glared at her face and expelled a long breath as though taking time out to get a grip. “Kat, what’s wrong with you lately? Every time I leave the house, you put me through a royal grilling.”
    “Because you’re leaving the house more often and you stay for long periods that you can’t or won’t account for.”
    “Account for? What, I’m not an adult? I’m not allowed to come and go of my own free will? I have to check in with you if I decide to stop for a Pepsi with a coworker? When I need to take a leak, shall I call you first and ask permission?”
    “It won’t work, Carson,” Katharine responded, keeping her composure but matching the bite in his voice. “I’m not going to let you turn the tables and make me feel bad for asking why you were out all night.”
    She moved in slow motion to the dresser drawer and nervously pulled out the magazines, extending them to him. “What are you doing with these? And especially in our house!”
    He looked as dumbfounded as she’d felt a few hours earlier when she’d discovered the despicable magazines.
    He gaped at her for several seconds before managing to articulate a startled, “Kat?” He sounded as if his throat had constricted, as though every blood vessel leading from his heart had converged there. He was struggling to breathe and staring into nothing.
    Katharine allowed herself to look at his face only once, but he must have felt her eyes on him because he focused on her sharply.
    She continued to hold the girlie magazines at arm’s length. “I found them in the linen closet, on the bookshelf, in the laundry room, and under the mattress. Do I need to continue to play hide-and-seek? Are there any more?”
    Carson snatched them from her hand. “What were you doing looking there in the first place? To see what you could find to hold against me for not coming home last night?”
    Katharine rolled her eyes. “What if the children had found those magazines?"
    “I was careful about that.”
    “You’re careful to conceal it the way a drug addict hides his stash or the alcoholic keeps a hidden bottle in case of an emergency.”
    “Oh, come on. Give me a break.” His contrition was obviously dissipating.
    Katharine evaluated the situation. “If you’re a sex addict, you need to get help to combat it.”
    “Sex addict?” He snorted. “Can’t you hear how absurd that sounds?” He paused for a moment and then said more calmly, “I may sneak a peek every now and then, but these magazines aren’t just photo collections. They offer some good articles on world events and sporting news.”
    She stood facing him with her arms folded and her jaws clenched.
    “So now you think I’m some kind of pervert, huh?” he retorted, raising his brows.
    “I don’t know what you are, anymore, Carson, but I do know you owe me an explanation for your whereabouts last night and for having that filth in my home!”
    “I owe you nothing!” he responded sharply. He stormed out of the room and Katharine followed him only to find CJ and Bethany sitting at the top of the stairs. CJ held his stomach as if he were in pain and