Don't Tempt Me by Barbara Delinsky

Author:Barbara Delinsky
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2012-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

A month passed with no word from Sloane. It was, for Justine, a month as tedious as any she had ever spent. For her life was strangely dichotomized, with gross distinctions between the lawyer Justine and the woman Justine, and an ongoing war, albeit cold, between the two. There was the Justine O’Neill who entered, with determination, the domain of Ivy, Gates and Logan every morning, who conducted her meetings with clients and attorneys in her usually efficient and humanistic way, who operated in the courtroom with the same aplomb for which she had become known. Then, however, there was the Justine O’Neill who returned home alone at night tired, discouraged, lonely, restless, and seemingly unable to rally her private wits about her.

Over and over she relived the weekend in Westport, its love, its passion, and, finally, its grief. Sloane would simply not compromise, it appeared, if the month’s silence was any indication of his intent. Either she would marry him … or their relationship was at an end. Such seemed the ultimatum he had wordlessly given her. Though her heart ached inconsolably, she was unable to give in. There had been too much anguish in her past; she saw too much of it in her present. She wanted freedom from that particular torment. Unfortunately, in choosing that freedom she had unknowingly opted for a different brand of torment, one that came from deep within and robbed her of the ability to smile.

“You’re looking very sober lately, Justine.” John stood at the door of her office late one afternoon, when most of the firm had left for the night. “Overworked?”

“No more so than usual.” Her hand continued to move across the page, her pen making notes for a speech she was scheduled to deliver the following morning.

“Then you aren’t getting enough sleep. You look tired.” Having invited himself in, he now sat leisurely in the chair before her desk.

“Anything else you’d like to tell me?” She glanced up quickly, her sarcasm coated with fatigue. “I love it when you say such nice things.”

“I wasn’t trying to be ‘nice.’ You do look tired. Man troubles?”

“No.”

“Too fast.” He caught her. “That came out a bit too fast. Is it Sloane?”

“I haven’t seen Sloane in weeks.” Her pen bore the brunt of the teeth she sank into its tip.

John’s blue eyes narrowed in hint of amusement. “So that’s the trouble.”

“John,” she sighed wearily, putting the pen down with a snap, “I’m really not in the mood for discussing this. It’s been a very bad day. Please—” Her throat felt suddenly strained, and, for a horrifying moment, she thought she would cry. Tears had been all too common in her private hours; up until now she had mercifully managed to keep them private. With every bit of her willpower, she swallowed convulsively, ordering herself to maintain composure. It worked, though her struggle did not go unnoticed by her colleague.

“He may just be playing it cool, you know. Men do that sometimes. And the fox—the fox is an expert at avoiding the trap.

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