Used-To-Be Lovers by Linda Lael Miller

Author:Linda Lael Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

8

Sharon found her passport in the bottom of a drawer of her desk at home, jammed behind some of Tony’s old tax records and canceled checks, which she promptly dropped. Kneeling on the floor and muttering, she began gathering up the scattered papers.

That was when she saw the check made out to her mother. Tony had signed it with a flourish, and the date was only a few weeks in the past.

Frowning, Sharon began to sort through the other checks. She soon deduced that Tony had virtually been supporting Bea for years.

Having forgotten her passport completely by this time, Sharon got to her feet and reached for the telephone. It was early on a Saturday morning and, unless Tony had changed considerably since their divorce, he would be sleeping in.

Sharon had no compunction at all about waking him. She hadn’t seen Tony, except from an upstairs window when he picked up the kids, in nearly two months. She also avoided talking to him on the telephone, although that was harder.

She supposed this was some kind of turning point.

A woman answered the phone, and Sharon closed her eyes for a moment. She hadn’t expected to feel that achy hurt deep down inside herself, not after all this time. “Is Tony there, please?”

“Who’s calling?” retorted the voice. Sharon wondered if she was speaking to the infamous blonde of Michael’s mentioning. She also wondered if the woman had spent the night with Tony.

“I’m Sharon Morelli,” she said warmly. “Who are you?”

“My name is Ingrid,” came the matter-of-fact response.

Yep, Sharon thought miserably. It’s the blonde. People named Ingrid are always blond. “I’d like to speak to Tony,” she reminded his friend with consummate dignity.

“Right,” Ingrid answered. “Hey, Tony—it’s your ex-wife.”

“Bimbo,” Sharon muttered.

“I beg your pardon?” Ingrid responded politely.

Tony came on the line before Sharon had to reply, and he sounded worried. In fact, he didn’t even bother to say hello. “Is everything all right?” he wanted to know.

Sharon looked down at the assortment of checks in her hand. “Since when do you support my mother?” she countered.

He sighed. “She told you,” he said, sounding resigned.

“Hell no,” Sharon swore, her temper flaring. And it wasn’t just the checks; it was Ingrid, and a lot of other problems. “Nobody around here tells me anything!”

“Calm down,” Tony told her in reasonable tones. “You don’t begrudge Bea the money, do you?”

“Of course not,” Sharon said crisply.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You didn’t mention it, that’s what. I mean a little thing like supporting someone usually comes up in day-to-day husband-and-wife conversation, doesn’t it?”

“We aren’t husband and wife,” Tony pointed out.

“Damn it, we were when you started writing these checks every month. And neither you nor Bea said a word!”

“Sorry. Guess we were just trying to maintain our images, having convinced everybody that we didn’t like each other.”

Sharon sighed and sagged into a chair. Sometimes it was so frustrating to talk to this man, but in a way it felt good, too. “Are you still sending my mother money every month?” she asked straight-out.

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