Lori Foster - Scandalous - Scandalized!

Tony dropped down beside her on the couch, then grinned. “Man, am I worn-out. Kids, in the plural, can really keep you hopping, can’t they?”

She knew he had loved every single minute, that he wasn’t really complaining. It had been there on his face, the way he smiled, the way he held the baby and teased Maggie and spoke to Luke.

She licked her lips nervously and slanted him a cautious look. “I would have been glad to help you out a little, you know.” She said it tentatively, hoping to broach the topic without setting off any alarm bells.

But all he did was pat her thigh in a now familiar way. “You help a lot just by being here. Pneumonia. Can you imagine that? Lisa always seems so healthy. But John said the doctor told him it could bring you low in just a few hours.”

“Will she have to stay in the hospital long?”

“No. She’ll probably get to come home tomorrow. And Mom and Kate are already making plans to take turns helping her out until she’s completely well again. John is swearing he’s going to hire someone to come and clean for her from now on, but he said Lisa told him to forget it. She’s funny about her house, likes to do things a certain way, you know?”

His statement didn’t really require an answer, and Olivia couldn’t have given him one anyway. “Your whole family really sticks together, don’t they?”

He seemed surprised by her question. “Of course we do.”

“I mean, even though Lisa isn’t really part of your family…”

“She’s married to John. She’s the mother of my niece and nephews. She’s part of the family.”

And that was that, Olivia supposed. It would be so nice to belong to such a family. She said without thinking, “When Maggie called me Livvy…It, well, it reminded me of when I was a child. That was what my mother and father always called me. But I’d forgotten until she said it.”

Tony wrapped one large hand around the back of her neck and tugged her closer. His lips touched her temple, and she could feel their movement against her skin as he spoke. “I figured it must have been something like that. I’m sorry, Olivia. You looked so damn sad.”

“No. Not sad really.” She tried her best to look cavalier over the subject, even so far as giving him a smile. “It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to miss them. I guess I’m used to being alone.”

It was a horrible lie, because who could actually get accustomed to spending her life alone? There was never anyone to share the triumphs, which made them seem almost hollow, and when the struggles to get ahead occasionally became too much, she had only herself to lean on.

Tony was staring at her in his intent, probing way and Olivia had the horrible suspicion he was reading her thoughts, knowing exactly what it was she concealed, and how empty she often felt.

He looked down at her hands, which were tightly pressed together in her lap, then covered them with one of his own. “Is that why you’ve isolated yourself?”

“I haven’t.”

His gaze snapped back to her face, as if struck that she would deny such an obvious thing. “Of course you have. You keep to yourself, don’t date, don’t form long-standing friendships. You put everything you have into the lingerie shops. It’s almost like you’re afraid of getting involved.”

“I am not afraid.” She didn’t know what else she could say. She felt defensive, as if she had to explain her choice of lifestyle, but that was impossible. She would never be able to give Tony the truth.

“It’s not natural for a woman like you to still be single, to not want some kind of commitment.”

Despite herself, she stiffened. “A woman like me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Tony closed his eyes and made a sound of frustration. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just that…I never thought of you as you are. You always seemed pleasant enough, but so businesslike and…well, detached. And here you are, a very warm, caring woman, wearing sexy lingerie that makes me go a little crazy and looking so damn sweet and vulnerable at the most surprising times.”

“Tony…” She didn’t like being labeled vulnerable any more than she liked feeling defensive.

“I don’t understand you, Olivia, and I want to. I really do.”

“But why?”

He quirked a smile. “Don’t sound so panicked. I promise, I’m not asking for orange blossoms and golden rings. I just…I guess I like you more than I thought I would.”

“Sex has a way of making a man feel like that. Believe me, it will pass.”

He reached out to wrap a lock of her hair around his finger, then gently pulled until her face was closer to his. His tone was low, his expression heated. “Honey, you don’t know enough about men and sex to make that assumption.” He laid his palm warmly on her thigh, gently squeezing. “And I’d say that nasty little comment deserves some form of retribution, wouldn’t you?”

Olivia tried to pull away, but she couldn’t get very far. She wasn’t afraid of Tony, but she didn’t trust the look in his eyes. He was pushing, and there was too much she could never tell him.

“I didn’t mean it to sound nasty, exactly.” She was beginning to feel cornered, and that made her so very nervous. Then she went on the attack, hoping to force him to back off. “Dammit, Tony, we agreed not to get personal, right? And this discussion is getting very personal. You want a baby from me, not my life history. Why don’t we talk about sex instead?” Trying to be subtle, she leaned into him, allowing her breasts to brush against his chest.

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