Opposites Attract

you do with your life when you’re married to one man isn’t the concern of another, even when he loves you.”
    Simultaneous flashes of pain and joy rushed through her. “You didn’t,” she whispered.
    “Didn’t what?”
    “You didn’t love me.”
    He gave a brief laugh, but didn’t turn back to her. “No, of course I didn’t. That’s why I couldn’t stay away from you. That’s why I thought of you every moment.”
    Asher pressed the heel of her hand between her eyes. Why now? she thought wildly. Why is it all happening now? “You never told me.”
    This time he turned. “Yes, I did.”
    Furiously she shook her head. “You never said it. Not once. Even once would have been enough.”
    In concentration, his brows drew together. She was right, he decided. He’d never said the words. He’d shown her in every way he knew how, but he’d never said the words. “Neither did you,” he blurted, speaking his thoughts.
    She let out a breath that was perilously close to a sob. “I was afraid to.”
    “Damn it, Asher, so was I.”
    For a long, tense moment they stared at each other. Had she been that blind? Had she needed words so badly that she hadn’t seen what he’d been giving her? The words would never have come easily to him because they meant everything. For Ty, a declaration of love wasn’t a casual phrase but a declaration of self.
    Asher swallowed a tremor, wanting her voice to be strong. “I love you, Ty. I’ve always loved you. And I’m still afraid.” As she held out a hand he glanced down at it, but made no move to accept it. “Don’t turn away from me now.” She thought of the child she had lost. “Please, don’t hate me for what I did.”
    He couldn’t understand, but he could feel. It seemed love for her justified anything. Crossing to her, Ty took the offered hand and brought it to his lips. “It’ll be better when we’ve talked this out. We need to start clean, Asher.”
    “Yes.” She closed her hand over their joined ones. “I want that too. Oh, Ty, I’m so sorry about the baby.” Her free arm wrapped around his waist as she dropped her head on his chest. The relief, she thought. The relief of at last being able to share it with him. “I couldn’t tell you before, when it happened. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how you’d feel.”
    “I don’t know either,” he answered.
    “I felt so guilty.” She shut her eyes tight. “When Jess showed me that picture of your nephew, I could almost see how the baby would have looked. I always knew he would have had your hair, your eyes.”
    “Mine?” For a moment nothing seemed to function. His mind, his heart, his lungs. Then, in a torrent, everything came together.
“Mine?”
Asher gave an involuntary cry as he crushed her fingers in his. Before she could speak he had her by the shoulders, digging into her flesh. His eyes alone brought her ice-cold terror. “The baby was mine?”
    Her mouth moved to form words, but nothing came out. Confusion and fear overtook her. But he’d already known, she thought desperately. No, no, he hadn’t. Eric’s baby, her mind flashed. He’d thought it was Eric’s baby.
    “Answer me, damn you!” He was shaking her now, violently. Limp as a rag doll, Asher made no protest and sought no defense. Both would have been futile. “Was it my baby? Was it mine?”
    She nodded, too numb to feel the pain.
    He wanted to strike her. Looking at her face, Ty could almost feel the sensation of his hand stinging against it. And he’d want to keep striking her until rage and grief could no longer be felt. Reading his thoughts in his eyes, Asher made no move to protect herself. For an instant his fingers tightened on her arms. With a violent oath he hurled her away. Hardly daring to breathe, she lay on the bed and waited.
    “You bitch. You had my child in you when you married him.” He flung the words at her, struggling not to use his fists. “Did he make you get rid of it when he found out? Or did you take care of it so you could play the lady without encumbrances?”
    She wasn’t aware that her breathing was ragged, or that she was trembling. Her mind was too numb to take in more than half of his words. All she understood was the fury of his feelings. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know I was pregnant when I married Eric.”
    “You had no right to keep this from me.” Towering over her, he reached down to yank her to her knees. “You had no right to make a decision like