Sex and the Widow Miles (The Women of Willow Bay) by Nan Reinhardt Page A

Beyond words. Furious? Absolutely. But as I sat there, I went from angry to sad to confused, and it must have shown on my face.
    “ Talk to me,” he coaxed. “What’re you thinking?”
    “ Who is she?” In one rather ungraceful move, I sat up, curled my feet under me, and faced him.
    He shrugged and took a drink of wine. “Who knows?”
    “ No. Really. Who is she?”
    Teeth worrying my lower lip, I stared at him, but I wasn ’t really seeing him. Instead, I was racking my mind, sorting through over thirty years’ worth of friendships, acquaintances, work colleagues—anyone at all Charlie might have been screwing.
    “ Why do you need to know who she is? Who any of them were?” He slid over and tugged me into his arms without spilling a drop of wine from either of our glasses. “He’s gone. It’s over.”
    I settled against his broad chest, drawing comfort from the warmth of his body next to mine. “But… I think… I think he loved her. I read the emails. They were crazy about each other.” A long sip of wine and several deep sighs later, I went on, relentless in my examination. “I don’t know how many women there were over the years, but this one wasn’t a one-night stand, Will. Or even a fling. They were involved for at least two years that I know of. It could’ve been longer than that.”
    “ Again, why do you need to know anything else?” Tipping his head to one side, he peered into my eyes. Gently, he brushed my hair back from my face. “How will it help you to know this one’s name?”
    “ I don’t know.” With a shrug, I cuddled closer to him, wishing like crazy that he could simply erase all this from my mind.
    “ Say you find out. Will it stop there?” The question was reasonable, and when I stared up at him, he continued. “Then will you have to go on a hunt for every floozy he ever hooked up with?”
    “ I don’t know.”
    “ Let it go.” Easing my now-empty wine glass from my fingers, he set both our glasses on the table before he wrapped his arms around me. “Just let it go.” His fingers sifted through my hair while his other hand smoothed the tense muscles of my back.
    I relaxed against him. I realized now that, although I ’d gotten so much better since being in Chicago, I was still fragile. News of Charlie’s double life had devastated me. I hadn’t slept at all after I left Will’s place. Confused and too sick and angry to lie still, I’d paced the apartment the rest of the night, going from one room to another, staring out at the city lights, rehashing my marriage in my head. How could I have been so blind? How did I not see it? And who was she? What was her hold on my husband?
    I knew there had to be a way to figure out who the woman was—maybe do a reverse search on the email address? Was that even possible? Will would help me if asked him to. If I could find this one, maybe she ’d lead me to the others—if there were others. Oh hell, there had to be others. A cheater never cheated just one time, did he? Maybe I didn’t want to know how many other women there’d been. Perhaps simply finding out who Charlie had been screwing around with at the end would give me some sort of peace.
    Sliding my arm across his stomach, I allowed myself to settle deeper into Will ’s embrace, even though I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the new turn in our relationship. Ironic because I was the one who’d taken it to a higher level. When I’d left him last night, I had no idea where we were headed or if I even wanted it to go anywhere, but I’d stopped fighting the attraction.
    The moment he appeared at my door with breakfast and a concerned smile, it was obvious he was all in. He wanted me despite how I’d used him, despite the difference in our ages, and despite the fact that I was an emotional basket case. He was sticking. I had to decide if I was.
    But not now. Not today.
    We turned together and stretched out on the sofa. Will held me close, and his breathing grew