Silver Linings

know, Ariel.”
    “No, you don't know, damn you. How could you know? You've never been married. Why should you bother? You're having too much fun comforting the men who get bruised and battered by me, aren't you?”
    “Now, hold on, Ariel…”
    “Too much fun letting everyone think you're the only one with any real sensitivity; too much fun compensating for your lack of artistic talent by demonstrating the depths of your womanly empathy and understanding. You've already hooked Emery and Hugh, but you're not satisfied. Now you've finally got your claws into Flynn, too.”
    “That's not true.” Mattie sat stunned in her chair. It had never occurred to her that Ariel might actually be jealous of Flynn. Ariel always seemed so self-assured when it came to men, as assured as she was about her talent.
    “It is true. You want to add Flynn to your collection of scalps, don't you? You want to prove you can make him turn to you for a comforting bosom to cry on just like the others do. Do you know what Emery once said about you? He said you were such a sweet, old-fashioned sort of woman. Very gentle on a man's ego. The kind who was born to be waiting faithfully back at the castle when the warrior came home from battle.”
    Mattie put her head in her hands. “God, that does sound awful, doesn't it? Especially when everyone knows that in real life men are bored to tears by that kind of woman.”
    “I won't let you do it, Mattie.”
    “Do what?” Mattie looked up again.
    “You can have Emery and you can have Hugh, if you really want them, although Lord knows why you would. But you cannot have Flynn .”
    “I don't want Flynn, damn it.” Mattie shot to her feet as the stress of the moment finally galvanized her into action. “I didn't want Emery, either. We've never been anything more than friends and that's the gospel truth. The only one I ever wanted was Hugh, and he wasn't particularly interested when I offered myself on a silver platter last year. So stop making it sound like I'm some kind of Jezebel who specializes in your cast-off men. I don't want your leftovers, Ariel. I never did.”
    Ariel was staring at her. “What do you mean, you offered yourself to Hugh on a silver platter last year?”
    “Oh, damn, why did I let you drag me into this stupid argument. Forget it. Forget it. Forget everything.” The rare and unfamiliar passion of rage died as quickly as it had arisen. Mattie sank back wearily into her chair, surprised to discover that although she felt drained, she didn't feel sick to her stomach. She was getting better at anger. Maybe it was from all the practice she was getting with Hugh.
    “Tell me what you mean about that silver-platter crack,” Ariel insisted, planting her hands on Mattie's desk.
    “There's nothing to tell. I made a fool of myself last year after you dumped Hugh. That's all. Believe me, I learned my lesson.” The water was boiling in the hot pot. Mattie reached down to flick the switch and noticed her fingers were trembling. Stress , she thought. She was shaking from the stress. She must be sure to get to her lunch-hour aerobics class today. The exercise would help deal with the anxiety.
    “How did you make a fool of yourself? What happened between the two of you? Were you seeing him while I was engaged to him?” Ariel yelled in fury.
    “No, of course not. Your men never notice me until after you've finished with them. You ought to know that. They're all much too dazzled by you.”
    “What happened? How did you make a fool of yourself?”
    “Let it go, will you, Ariel?”
    “No, I will not let it go. I want to know. Tell me what happened.”
    Mattie exhaled heavily. “This is so embarrassing. The night before Hugh was scheduled to fly back to St. Gabriel, I called him. Told him he could spend the night at my apartment. Made some idiotic excuse about my place being cheaper than an airport hotel, which is where he was planning to stay.”
    “Oh, Mattie.”
    “I know. It sounded just as lame then as it does now. But he showed up on my doorstep around dinnertime. He was not in a good mood. He was angry and restless, like a caged wolf. He'd already had a couple of drinks. I made the mistake of giving him a couple more along with dinner.”
    “My God. You were playing with fire.”
    “Umm, yes. It was a new experience for me,” Mattie admitted dryly. “I'm sure you can imagine the outcome of the evening. Hugh downed a good deal of very expensive after-dinner brandy and