Part-Time Wife\Full-Time Father\Holly and Mistletoe by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery [Mallery, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459295087
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2015-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As soon as he said the words, Jordan wanted to call them back. It would be a big mistake to get into this now. They were both tired, and nothing would be accomplished.

But watching Louise with his nieces and nephews had been more than he could stand. She’d held the little ones, played with the older ones. All the kids adored her. He hated knowing she’d wormed her way into his family under false pretenses.

Louise tossed her coat over a chair by the entrance to the living room, then she walked toward him. Her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes bright with anger. In her purple slacks and fuchsia shirt, she didn’t look like anyone’s idea of a dangerous person, but he knew the truth…and her secrets.

She came to a stop about three feet in front of him. After planting her hands on her hips, she glared at him. “I’ve had it with you, Jordan. I’ve been here nearly a month. I’m tired of the rude comments, the innuendos and hostile looks. Your attitude stinks. If you’ve got something to say, then be man enough to say it.”

He stared at her for a long time. “You don’t want to hear this,” he said at last, his voice low.

“Try me. Or are you only good at being a bully?”

The taunt did what it was supposed to. The heat of his anger increased. He made one last effort to maintain self-control, then let it go. “I don’t like you, Louise. I haven’t for a long time.”

“Why?” she asked, her confusion obviously genuine. “What did I ever do to you?”

“You destroyed my family.”

She stared at him as if he were crazy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He focused his attention on her face. He wanted to see her admit the truth. “I know about your affair with my father.”

His expectations were fulfilled. Louise paled to the color of chalk, then sank onto the sofa behind her.

“Oh, Lord,” she murmured. “After all these years.” She raised her head and looked at him. “How did you find out?”

“That’s not important. The point is I know what you did.”

She tried to smile, but her lips were trembling too much. “What I did? You make it sound like I planned the affair. I didn’t. I was just seventeen. Still in high school.” She turned away. “A virgin.”

He saw the flush of color on her cheeks. Jordan steeled himself against any hint of softer emotion. After what she’d done, she deserved to suffer.

She drew in a deep breath. “He came to the high school and talked about drunk driving. I was sitting in the front row. Your father was older, of course, but a handsome, charming man. He smiled at me and—”

“Spare me the details.”

Her spine straightened. “All right. Have it your way. I was seventeen, and Earl Haynes seduced me. There, I confess my crime. Are you happy? What I did was wrong, I admit that. I knew he was married.” She was silent for several seconds.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.