The Ties That Bind

she told herself that it was only to be expected that her first major social event shared with Garth turned out to be a disaster. Parties and Garth didn't seem to mix.

-6-
    WHEN SHANNON COULD STAND the awful silence in the Porsche no longer, she set her teeth and muttered, "Just say it and get it over."
    "We'll talk when we get home. Right now I've got my hands full with this traffic." Garth downshifted for a light that went green just as he coasted to the white line. With ruthless skill he brought the Porsche back up to speed.
    There was a cold, tight energy in his movements that told Shannon all she wanted to know about his mood. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she kept silent until he had parked the car in the garage of his expensive condominium. When she had first seen his home earlier. Shannon had looked around eagerly, seeking the subtle clues that would tell her more about the man she loved. The condominium complex was starkly modern in design, all angled white walls and endless windows. It was surrounded by a great deal of perfect green lawn and several rows of exotic shrubs. There were the usual California-style pool and athletic facilities in the center of the grounds.
    The inside of Garth's home was as cool and uncluttered looking as the outside. It was a little too uncluttered for Shannon's taste. The place reminded her of his office. The furnishings were composed of sleek leather-and-steel pieces with accents of black glass. The windows in the living room and bedroom opened onto Japanese-style gardens that were maintained by professional gardeners and looked it. Shannon couldn't imagine having a comfortable picnic in such a perfect garden.
    Tonight as she walked into the condo, Shannon was suddenly aware of the fact that she felt like an errant wife. It was a ridiculous feeling, under the circumstances, and she resented it. Lifting her chin, she tossed the tote bag onto the gray carpet beside the nearest chair and turned to face Garth.
    He ignored her, pacing across the room to the liquor cabinet. Without a word he poured himself a shot of whiskey.
    "All right, Garth. Let's get this out in the open," Shannon said, all her tension and uncertainty making her sound quite aggressive. "I don't particularly appreciate being made to feel like a stupid little fool who can't handle herself in a difficult social situation."
    Garth leaned back against the black steel cabinet and glanced down at the whiskey in his glass. When he looked up, his eyes were the color of ice. '"A difficult social situation,'" he repeated slowly. "Is that what you call getting yourself cornered by my chief rival?"
    "This may come as a shock, Garth, but I'm twenty-nine years old, and I haven't lived in a cocoon all my life. This isn't the first pass I've had made at me. I was dealing with the situation."
    "You didn't look like you were dealing with it very well." He took a long swallow of the whiskey. "Kenyon was all over you, and you weren't exactly screaming for help."
    "Of course I wasn't screaming for help! My God, Garth, think of the scene that would have caused. A woman doesn't scream when she finds herself in that sort of mess. She deals with it as an adult. We were at a party and one of the men got drunk and made a pass. I was about to walk away from him when you arrived. It was a very simple if not particularly pleasant situation. It did not require you to order me out of the house and into the car as if I were a misbehaving child."
    "Your behavior wasn't exactly childlike, I'll grant you that." He finished the rest of the whiskey while Shannon stared at him in outrage. 'Those kinds of games are strictly for grown-ups."
    "Garth, stop it. You have no reason to be angry. I wasn't doing anything wrong. For heaven's sake, do you think I deliberately got myself cornered by Kenyon?"
    "No."
    Shannon closed her eyes briefly in relief. "Well, thanks for that much faith, at any rate."
    "I think," Garth continued bluntly, "that you got yourself trapped because you were naive and a little foolish. You don't know this crowd, Shannon. You live in a different world. People such as Kenyon are barracudas. They'll turn on anything that looks like it might be food."
    "Damn it, Garth, I am not a silly, naive female. I know about the real world."
    "Is that right? Then that only leaves us one other explanation for your behavior, doesn't it?"
    Shannon paled. "What are you talking about?"
    He crossed his arms over his chest and studied her