The Man She Should Have Married by Patricia Kay Page B

banter, the kitchen was clean and Norma suggested they go into the living room “where it’s more comfortable.”
    They passed another pleasant hour talking and watching Thea play with the Lego set Norma kept in a toy box for her beloved granddaughter. But at seven o’clock, Olivia reluctantly said she thought it was time to go. No matter how much she loved this part of the day, it couldn’t last forever. “Put the Lego away, sweetie,” she said to Thea.
    â€œI don’t want to,” Thea said, pouting.
    â€œThea,” Olivia said.
    Thea’s lower lip protruded.
    â€œI mean it.”
    With a long-suffering sigh, Thea began to very slowly put each Lego piece in the toy box.
    Olivia considered saying something about speeding it up, but didn’t. It was enough that Thea was obeying.
    â€œNeed some help with that, princess?” Matt said, getting down on the floor with her.
    â€œMatt... “
    He looked up, and when his eyes met hers, the rest of what Olivia was going to say died on her lips. There was something undeniable in his eyes, something Olivia knew she was going to have to deal with. The only question was, how? Because here...and now...she knew it wasn’t going to be easy to walk away from him, no matter how much she knew it would be the right thing to do.
    Why does he have to be so wonderful? And why am I so attracted to the absolute wrong man?
    Heart pounding, she looked away and began gathering her things.
    Finally they were ready to leave.
    At the door, when Norma hugged Olivia goodbye, she whispered, “He would make Thea a wonderful father.”
    â€œMom!” Olivia whispered back. What if Matt had heard her?
    But he hadn’t. He’d instead picked up Thea and was allowing her to sit piggyback, which she loved to do. She was giggling and he was pretending to be a horse, complete with neighing sounds as he transported her outside to the car.
    All the way home—which was only minutes away—Olivia couldn’t get her mother’s comment out of her mind. Hadn’t she thought the same thing earlier? That Matt would make a wonderful father? And he’d probably make an even more wonderful husband.
    And lover.
    That thought made her breath catch, almost as if she’d said it out loud. She glanced over at Matt, but he wasn’t looking at her. Thank God. Even though she’d not voiced that thought aloud, her eyes might have betrayed her.
    When they reached her house, she turned to say goodbye to him at the door, but he said, “I’ll come in. Help you get Thea ready for bed.”
    â€œYou don’t have to do that, Matt. I know you have things to—”
    â€œI want to.”
    What could she say? I don’t want you to. That would be a lie because she did want him to. The fact was, she wanted even more. She wanted, after they’d gotten Thea ready for bed and settled her into her room, to take Matt’s hand and lead him into the master bedroom. She wanted him to stay the night. She wanted him to undress her and make slow love to her, not once, but several times.
    She remembered that old song from the oldies station her mother used to listen to—the one about slow hands.
    She swallowed.
    Just thinking about what she wanted made her stomach feel hollow.
    It had been so long. So very long. She could hardly remember what it had been like to be held, to be loved, and touched, and cherished. She and Mark had been too young, really. Their lovemaking had been fast and impatient, the way young lovers are. Mark had never had the chance to grow with her.
    She was so lonely.
    Her loneliness hadn’t been so bad when Eve was living there, when they’d been in the same boat, but now Eve had found love again. A wonderful, passionate, grown-up love. All you had to do was look at her to see how happy she was. How fulfilled.
    I want that, too. I deserve that, don’t I?
    Why was she torturing herself? She knew