Sweet Fortune

better get back to the inn.”
    “Don't worry. I feel just fine.” She wrinkled her nose at him but said nothing more as he steered her toward the door. So much for the assumption that he had been dwelling on her project or her presence. His mind had been on Benedict Fasteners after all.
    A few minutes later they stepped out into the misty rain and walked in silence back toward the little waterfront inn where they were staying. Hatch held the black umbrella over both of them and Jessie stayed close to his side.
    The street through the center of the small island village was nearly deserted. A single streetlight marked the intersection with the road that led down to the harbor, but other than that there was little illumination. Jessie linked her arm through Hatch's, enjoying the size and strength of him there in the wet darkness. She thought of the bed waiting for them at the inn. Perhaps there was no long-term future for them, but there was the affair.
    “Hatch?”
    “Yes?”
    “Would you mind if I asked you a rather personal question?”
    “Depends on the question.”
    Jessie drew a steadying breath. “Do I look like her?”
    “Like who?”
    “Your wife?”
    The muscles of his arm tightened beneath her fingers. “Hell, no.”
    “You're sure?”
    “Of course I'm sure. What a damn-fool thing to ask. What brought this on? Who told you I'd been married in the first place? Your father?”
    “No. I'm sorry, Hatch. I shouldn't have said anything.”
    “Well, now you've said something, you might as well finish it.”
    Jessie studied the wet pavement ahead. “I was talking to my mother. She mentioned that you had been married and that you had lost your wife. That led sort of naturally into a discussion of how men tend to look for the same things in a second wife that they looked for in a first wife. Which led to the observation that she and Connie are very much alike. Mom says men are creatures of habit. Especially when it comes to women. They're attracted to the same types, if you see what I mean, and—”
    “I think that's enough, Jessie.”
    She closed her mouth abruptly, aware that she had begun to ramble. “Sorry.”
    “You're not anything like her.”
    “Oh.” Jessie experienced a strong sense of relief.
    “She had blond hair and blue eyes.”
    “I see. Pretty, I imagine.”
    Hatch hesitated. “Yes. Well, in a different way than you are.” He was silent for another beat. “She was taller than you.”
    “Ah.”
    Hatch shrugged. “That's about it,” he said gruffly. “What else did you want to know?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Good.” He sounded relieved.
    “What was she like?”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    “Was she nice?”
    “Dammit, Jessie.”
    “Did you love her very much?” She knew she should quit while she was ahead, but for some reason she could not seem to stop herself. The questions bubbled to the surface, demanding answers.
    Hatch came to a halt and pulled Jessie around to face him. In the rain-streaked light that was coming through a nearby cottage window she could see that his face was harder-edged and bleaker than usual. Jessie wished she had kept her mouth shut.
    “Jessie…”
    “I'm sorry, Hatch,” she whispered. “Let's just forget it, shall we? It's none of my business. I know that.”
    He shook his head slowly. “I know you better than that, Jessie. You won't be able to forget it now that you've started thinking about it. You're going to chew on it and fret about it and spin all kinds of questions about it.”
    She closed her eyes, knowing he was right. “I won't say another word about her. I promise.”
    “Sure. And if I believe that, you've got a bridge you can sell me, right?” He sighed. “I thought I loved her when I married her. She was everything I needed and wanted in a wife. And she was just as ambitious for me as I was. She was beautiful and understanding and supportive. She was born into the world I was moving into and she knew how to function in that environment. I was on my way up and she was going with me, the perfect corporate wife.”
    “Hatch, please, don't.”
    “She worked as hard to help me build my career as I did. She entertained my business associates on short notice. She saw to it we joined the right country club. She never complained when I was called out of town on a business trip. She understood about the demands of my job. She never made a fuss when I was late for dinner or too tired to make love to her.”
    “Hatch, I