Still Mr. And Mrs. by Patricia Olney

before.
    “You look awful. Rough night?”
    “Keep going, Evelyn,” Gabe warned, hoping she’d drop the subject.
    “Well you didn’t stay long enough at the party to have a hangover,” Evelyn continued, her sharp comments grating on his nerves.
    Evelyn took a sip of her tea. “Besides, I know what you look like when you do have a hangover. And that’s not what I’m seeing right now.”
    Evelyn leaned closer. “She turned you down, didn’t she?”
    Gabe shoved his coffee aside. “You know, Evelyn, one of these days I’m going to disown you.”
    Evelyn laughed. “Disown me? Hah, you’ve got that one turned around. I should disown you for being the stubborn jackass you are.”
    “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
    “Oh, my dear boy. I can read you so clearly. You’re stuck and don’t know what to do. That beautiful granddaughter-in-law of mine has finally gotten the best of you, and you can’t handle it.”
    She waved Hines to her side. “I’d like a mimosa.” She challenged Gabe with her steely glare.
    “Evelyn,” Gabe warned.
    “And don’t lecture me about drinking this early in the day,” she told him. “I think a celebration is in order and a mimosa sounds good.”
    Before Gabe could utter a smart retort, Rebecca walked into the garden room.
    “Morning, everyone.” Her voice was velvet-edged and husky.
    Her body gently brushed against his shoulderas she passed him, leaving behind a light scent of jasmine and freshly washed hair.
    His gaze traveled up her tanned legs and the soft lavender bicycle pants she was wearing.
    She poured herself a cup of coffee and stirred in a little cream.
    He watched her every movement, her every breath as the memories of what it was like to be loved by her drifted through his mind.
    His head pounded harder. Good Lord, he didn’t need this.
    Actually the truth was, he didn’t want to get hurt. The fear that Reb would leave him again ate at his insides. He couldn’t make her happy and though he wished it was just a sex thing between them, he knew in his heart it was much, much more.
    He didn’t want to think about it or the fact that more heartache was sure to follow if he didn’t set the record straight.
    Rebecca smiled as she sat next to him, giving him a better chance to watch her.
    She appeared calm, rested and even a little bit cool. Perhaps a little too cool. Which wasn’t what he was expecting.
    “Sleep okay?” she asked. She took a leisurely sip from her mug.
    She had her hair pulled up in a loose ponytail, a few unbound tendrils falling down the back of her neck.
    His gaze wandered up her neck, to her ear, to her face and lips.
    “Fine. How about you?” he asked, feeling his control slip a notch.
    He waited for any sort of reaction on her part. A smile, a touch of her hand on his.
    Anything.
    She sat as still as a doll, staring contentedly into her mug of coffee.
    The muscles in his forearm hardened beneath the sleeves of his royal-blue polo shirt. He wanted to touch the tender spot under her ear with his tongue and assail her with his kisses.
    “I don’t remember falling asleep.” She leaned back in her chair as though she didn’t want to sit so close to him.
    “As a matter of fact, after the party, I don’t remember a thing.”
    “It was a lovely party, wasn’t it, Rebecca dear?” Evelyn asked.
    “Oh, yes,” Rebecca agreed.
    Gabe could only stare at the two of them as they began discussing the evening before, completely ignoring him.
    Reb’s voice was calm, her gaze steady. She was acting as though the intimacy they’d shared the night before never had happened.
    He should be happy that she was behaving this way. It sure would make walking away a lot easier. It was exactly what he had wanted. No ties, no commitments, no strings.
    But for some strange reason he felt angry.
    The night before had changed everything, had made him realize his true feelings for her.
    When Evelyn finally left the garden room to make arrangements for