Marriage On The Edge

She swallowed hard and nodded.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry I barged in on you, Gage. I should have knocked, but the door was open.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to—”

“You’re busy. I’ll wait until you’re finished and then I’ll—”

“No.” The word shot from his throat. “No,” he said carefully, and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not busy at all. I’m just getting dressed.”

Yes. She could see that for herself. He was wearing nothing but a pair of gray trousers, zipped but open at the waist so that they drooped low on his hips. And he’d just come from the shower. His dark hair was still damp and uncombed. It lay over his forehead in a way that made her want to go to him and push it back.

Habit, she thought, and stood straighter. It was habit, too, that made her gaze drop lower, to survey that familiar body. The broad shoulders. The muscled arms and chest. The narrow waist that tapered to long legs…

Her gaze shot back to his face.

“That’s—that’s all right.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll wait.”

“Natalie.” His hand fell on her shoulder as she turned away. “Did you, uh, did you want something?”

“My clothes.” She made a little gesture that took in the white robe, hanging almost to her toes. “I need my clothes.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “I, ah, I thought you might have wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

About what? Gage’s vision clouded. How could she ask that? How could she sound so damned polite?

“About us,” he said tightly. “That’s what I thought you might want to talk about.”

She nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything to say,” she said quietly. “We both know our marriage is over. We’ve known it for a long time. I just finally put it into words last night.”

A muscle knotted in Gage’s jaw. “Of course,” he said politely. “You’re right. Now that I’ve had time to think it over, I know that.”

Natalie forced a smile to her lips. “I just…I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do next.”

“No. Neither am I.” He walked to the bed, where he’d dropped the rest of the clothes he’d taken from the closet. “Talk to a lawyer, I guess.”

“A lawyer.” Natalie stumbled a little over the word. “Yes. Yes, of course. Do we use one or do we use two?”

“Two,” Gage said in that same polite tone. He slipped on his shirt, began doing up the buttons. “Why don’t you call Jim Rutherford?”

“I assumed you’d want Jim.”

Gage shook his head. “That’s okay. You might as well deal with somebody you know. I’ll get someone else.”

“Yes, but…” God, what was wrong with her? What did she care what lawyer he used? His feelings weren’t her problem, not anymore.

“Landon. Grant Landon.”

“Who?”

The name from the past had tumbled from Gage’s lips without warning but now that it had, he knew it made sense. A friend. A real friend, one who’d known him in that long-ago time when he’d stood halfway between the defiance of his abandoned youth and the promise of the man he was to become.

“You met him in New York. I brought him by a couple of times when I was in law school. Remember?”

Did she remember? Natalie almost laughed, or maybe she almost cried. She’d never forget New York. Gage in school, at class all day, bent over his books half the night. She, working at the restaurant where the grease on the griddle probably dated back to pre-history. The little walk-up apartment on Eighth Street, where the water always gurgled in the pipes and the thin walls that transmitted every sound from the apartment next door.

And the joy. The happiness. The wonder of being Gage’s wife, of being able to begin each day seeing his face, of ending each night wrapped in his arms…

“Nat?”

She looked up, her vision hazed by tears. Gage had come closer. He was only a breath away. He smiled and lay his hand lightly against her cheek.

“Do you remember New York, Nat?” he said.

Natalie stared at him. Oh, he was so transparent. Did he think he could do this forever? A soft word. A smile. A gentle touch. And she was supposed to succumb, to go into his arms, to pretend that she meant more to him than an ornament. Because that was all she was. An ornament. One he could drape with jewels and place in a glowing setting.

Once, she’d been a woman of flesh and blood. Gage’s wife. A whole person, the one he discussed things with. Planned with. Chose to be with, above and beyond anyone else, instead of jetting off at every opportunity to meet with Important People, to be photographed at the opening of the latest Baron resort with some nubile young thing breathing down his neck, Miss Samoa or Miss Pittsburgh or—or Miss Minnie Mouse, for all she knew or cared…

Natalie jerked back.

“I remember,” she said coldly. “That ratty apartment. The water that shook the pipes. The noise from next door, and the stink of old grease in my hair. You’re damned right, I remember. How could I ever forget?”

Gage’s eyes went flat.

“I see. The bell rings for round one.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

His smile was tight and unpleasant. “Come on, babe, don’t give me that innocent look. Half your girlfriends have been divorced. Round one, in which the much-put-upon little woman lays out a list of all the sacrifices she’s made for hubby.”

Natalie’s chin lifted. “What an excellent idea,” she said sweetly. “I’ll be sure to mention it to Jim.”

“And I’ll be sure to tell Grant that he’d better help me figure out a way to lock up the valuables.”

“You do that,” Natalie said through her teeth.

“Damn right,” Gage said through his. “Now, was there anything else you wanted, or can I finish getting dressed in the privacy of my own room?”

Natalie fluttered her lashes. “Your own room?” She looked around slowly, then at Gage again. “Your own room, my dear, almost-ex-husband, is waiting for you at your club. Or at your hotel. One of your hotels, anyway.” Her smile glittered. “But it certainly isn’t here. As you so carefully pointed out, this is round one. That means the house is the least of what I expect to get.”

Gage slapped his hands on his hips.

“You’re joking.”

Natalie slapped her hands on her hips, too. “Do I look as if I’m joking?”

His eyes narrowed. “It’ll take a court order to get me out of here, babe.”