Opposites Attract

here?”
    “He just dropped by . . . I suppose to wish me luck.” The lie sliced at her.
    “Cozy.” Crossing to her, Ty caught the lapel of her robe in his hand. “Don’t you usually dress for visitors, Asher? Then again, I suppose it isn’t necessary for ex-husbands.”
    “Ty, don’t.”
    “Don’t what?” he demanded. Though he struggled against the words, the accusations, the feelings, he knew it was a losing battle. Against the unknown he would always attack. “Wouldn’t it be better form to meet him somewhere else? It’s a little sticky here, isn’t it?”
    The cold sarcasm hurt more than his fury would have. With so much to hide, she could only shake her head. “Ty, you know there’s nothing between us. You know—”
    “What the hell do I know?” he shouted, grasping the other lapel. “Don’t ask, don’t question. Then I walk in and find you entertaining the bastard you left me for.”
    “I didn’t know he was coming.” She gripped his arms for balance as he nearly lifted her off her feet. “If he had called, I would have told him to stay away.”
    “You let him in.” Enraged, he shook her. “Why?’
    Despair rather than fear clutched at her. “Would you be happier if I had slammed the door in his face?”
    “Yes, damn it.”
    “I didn’t.” She pushed at him now, as furious as he. “I let him in, I gave him a drink. Make what you like of it. I can’t stop you.”
    “Did he want you back?” he demanded, ignoring her struggles. “Is that why he came?”
    “What does it matter?” Impotently she slammed her fists into his chest. “It’s not what
I
want.” She threw back her head, her eyes burning.
    “Then tell me, tell me now why you married him.” When she tried to pull away, he dragged her back. “I’ll have that much, Asher, and I’ll have it now.”
    “Because I thought he was what I needed,” she cried out. Roaring in her ears was the anger, the fear she had felt of Eric.
    “And was he?” To prevent her from striking out, Ty grasped her wrist.
    “No!” She jerked but couldn’t free herself. Frustration added to an almost unreasonable fury. “No, I was miserable. I was trapped.” Her voice was both strong and harsh. “I paid in ways you can’t imagine. There wasn’t a day I was happy. Does that satisfy you?”
    She did something he had never seen her do before. She wept. His grip on her wrists loosened as he watched tears flood her eyes and spill onto her cheeks. Never in all the years he’d known her had he seen that kind of torment on her face. Tearing herself from his grip, Asher fled into the bedroom, slamming the door at her back.
    She wanted peace. She wanted privacy. The grief had hit her unexpectedly. If the tears hadn’t clogged her throat, she would have told him about the baby. The words had been there, ready to spill out in anger. Then speech had been impossible. Now she needed to weep it out.
    Ty stared at the closed door for a long time. The wrenching sound of sobbing came to him. It was a reaction he hadn’t expected. His anger was justified, as were his questions. Anger for anger he could have comprehended, but the pain he heard was altogether different. Having come from a family of women, he understood a woman’s tears. Over the years he’d done his share of comforting and soothing. But these sobs were hot and bitter—and Asher never wept.
    Jess cried easily, quiet, feminine tears. His mother wept with joy or silent sadness. These he could handle. A shoulder could be offered, a few sympathetic words, a teasing comment. Instinctively he knew none of those were the prescription for raw grief.
    He still had questions. He still had anger. But the sounds from the bedroom forced him to put them aside. Ty recognized when tears were used as a weapon or a defense. These were being torn from her unwillingly. Dragging a hand through his hair, he wondered if it was Eric or himself who was responsible for them. Or something he knew nothing about. Cursing softly, he went to the door and opened it.
    She lay curled on the bed in a ball of misery. Her body shook. When he touched her she jerked away. Saying nothing, Ty lay down beside her, gathering her close. For another moment she fought him.
Alone.
Her tears were not to be observed, not to be shared.
Private.
Ty dealt with her struggles by merely holding her tighter in arms that were both strong and gentle.
    “I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured.
    With no more protest, Asher clung