Scandal in Copper Lake by Marilyn Pappano

Author:Marilyn Pappano
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The power was back on, the rain still fell and Anamaria sat at the kitchen table, wearing a white nightgown of cotton batiste. The hem bore a ruffle that tickled her knees, and two more served as sleeves on the thin shift. Her feet were drawn up in the chair, one knee bent, her hands clasped around it.

It was nearly seven o’clock, the sky darker than usual because of the rain. She gazed out the window, wondering who had thrown the bricks that afternoon, why they’d done it, if they were out there tonight in the woods, watching.

The shiver that danced down her spine was almost enough to make her close the blinds.

Across from her, Robbie was finishing the last of his dinner. She’d fried red potatoes, onions and peppers, added chopped ham and cheese and topped it off with fried eggs. The fragrant aroma would last far longer than the food.

She’d put on the gown when hunger had driven them from bed, but he’d gotten dressed, down to his shoes. His clothes hadn’t even wrinkled in their hours on the floor; still, they couldn’t disguise the fact that he’d been well and truly made love to that afternoon.

So had she. And for the first time in her life, she understood what her family had meant by the Duquesne passion. What had happened in her bedroom hadn’t been just sex. She’d been experiencing that since she was sixteen and had enjoyed it, more with some than others.

No, this had been Robbie. She might be interchangeable with other women for him, but he had his own inviolate place in her life. He had taken away her breath and left her a different woman.

Underneath the table, her hand drifted to her stomach. He might have made a mother of her. She had no special gift to tell, though Auntie Charise did. One look, and she would know.

Anamaria preferred to find out the old-fashioned way. She would be back in Savannah by the time her next period was due. Robbie would be sleeping with another woman, and when he thought of her—if he thought of her—it would be as his dirty little secret.

She closed her eyes. She was strong. She was a Duquesne, destined to love well and unwisely, to never marry and to have beautiful daughters. Robbie was so handsome that any daughter of his would be beautiful.

“Anamaria.”

She looked at him and found him looking back, his expression troubled. He knew he was going to break her heart, and he regretted it. She didn’t. Oh, sure, she wished things could be different, but she would never regret this affair.

“What you said earlier—”

She knew exactly what he was talking about: replacing her in his memories. Unwilling to discuss it now, she slid her feet to the floor, rose and carried their dishes to the sink. While her back was turned, she managed a credible smile, then faced him. “What happens in my bedroom stays in my bedroom.”

He opened his mouth as if he might argue, then closed it again.

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