97 wivesbehavingbadly

if i had truly loved nathna .... if i truly had.... this imperfect . humiliating pretense would have cut my heart in two .
" let us know ," i said ." we 'll make a point of watching ."
rose picked up the fashionable handbag and searched inside it ." did i leave the keys in my coat ? i shouldn't do that , they're always falling out . no  , here they are ." she managed to convey a sense of charming disorder that would not , nevertheless inconvenience anyone .
nathna was spellbound .. he gazed down at rose from his height ." i'll ring sam tomorrow ." he touched her arm ." and i'll find out if he's serious about this taxan job ."
"i'm off to italy tomorrow . last minute , spur of the moment .long weekend . then i have a couple of pieces to write that will take lots of research , but they should be fun ."
there was so much more about rose that she could have told us . she had walked into number 7 carrying a new history about which nathan and i were largely ignorant . she could have told us about her intriguing new life . i live here . i work there .i had dinner with so and so . if ihad been prepared . i couild have dealt with it . i would even have wanted to hear it because i would have been able to make realistic comparisons , instead of the reserse .
she placed her hands on nathna 's shoulders and leaned forward and gave a light kiss on his cheek ." i'll give you a ring next week . and ....nathan about that other idea ..." the light caught the gloss on her hair and the sheen on her jacket ." let's talk about that too ."
nathna 's hands into his pockets androcked back on his heels . suddenly , iglimpsed the youngerr nathna - the one who had swept rose up from her disaster with hal thjorne , married he , and given her children and a domain that she had guarded until i came along .