An Independent Wife by Linda Howard

to herself. It looked as if Coral was checking out the competition, but who had told her? "He isn't likely to be here any other night either," she denied, and the amusement in her eyes and voice must have gotten through to Coral because the woman bit her lip and flushed.

    "Don't try to hide it from me," she said huskily, her voice growing thick as if she was near tears. "Rhy told me himself."

    "What?" Sallie's voice rose in astonishment. Was Rhy going to start advertising their marriage? Did he think that public knowledge might weaken her stand?

    "I know how hard it is to resist Rhy when he decides that he wants a woman," Coral was saying.
    "Believe me, I know! But you're not in his league and he'll only hurt you. He's had other women, but he's always come back to me and this time won't be any different. I just thought I'd let you know before you get in too deeply with him."

    "Thanks for the warning," Sallie said, her inner amusement breaking out in a smile that made Coral look at her in disbelief. She couldn't help it; she thought it was funny that her husband's mistress should wam her about becoming too serious about him! "But I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm not interested in having an affair with anyone, and you'll be doing me a favor if you can keep Rhy's attention away from me."

    "How I'd like to!" Coral admitted wryly, glancing at Sallie with disturbing honesty. "But I knew when I first saw you that Rhy was interested, and he won't give up easily. Why do you think he's going on this Sakarya trip with you? If I were you, and if you're on the level about not wanting an affair with him, I'd check into the hotel bookings, because if I know Rhy there'll only be one room available!"

    "I know that," Sallie chuckled, "and I'm ahead of him. I've already thought of another place to stay.
    With a friend." She didn't add that the friend was Marina Delchamp and that she hoped to stay in the palace. She was fairly certain that Marina would offer her sanctuary and would, in fact, greatly enjoy helping her to thwart Rhy.

    Suddenly Coral laughed. "Maybe I was worried about nothing. You seem more than capable of looking after yourself. It must be that braid that makes you look so young."

    "Probably," Sallie agreed blandly, thinking that in all probability she was Coral's age.

    "You've set my mind at ease, so I'll leave now. Rhy is supposed to meet me in half an hour and I'll probably be late." Coral glided to the door and Sallie opened it for her, feeling rather like a servant opening a door for a queen, but laughter still lurked in her eyes as she returned to her writing. Coral acting concerned for another woman was a performance worth watching! Not for a second did she believe that the beautiful model cared a snap of her fingers about another woman's feelings. What Coral so carefully guarded was Rhy's attention, his time, and with a shake of her head Sallie wondered what made Rhy so sinfully attractive.

    Perhaps if she knew what made her so vulnerable to Rhy she'd be able to fight him, but she could pinpoint no concrete reason. It was everything about him, even the qualities that made her so angry. He was all man, the only man she'd ever wanted.

    Realization struck and the force of it made her break out in a cold sweat, but she forced herself to admit the truth. She still loved him; she always hadShe had tried to push her love away in self-defense against the crippling pain she'd felt when Rhy had left her, but she hadn't been able to kill it. It had flourished in the darkness of her subconscious and now she could no longer deny that it existed. She sat at the typewriter, staring blankly at the keys, and let the knowledge creep into her consciousness.

    She couldn't stop the tears that welled in her eyes, though she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Love was one thing, but compatibility was quite another, and she was no longer a starry-eyed young girl who believed that love could conquer all. She and