Kiss an Angel(102)

He ran his index finger over her bottom lip. “Do you have any idea how sorry I am?”

She brushed his hand away impatiently. “I forgive you! Now, let’s go!”

He wanted to kiss her and shake her at the same time. “Don’t you understand? Thanks to Heather, everybody in the circus thought you were a thief. Your own husband didn’t believe you.”

“That’s because you have a naturally pessimistic attitude. Now, enough of this, Alex. I understand you’re feeling guilty, but you’ll simply have to deal with it some other time. If Brady’s harmed her in any way—”

“He won’t. He’s mad as hell, but he won’t lay a finger on her.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“Brady’s a big talker, but physical violence isn’t his style, especially against his own daughter.”

“There’s always a first time.”

“I heard Sheba talking to him just before we went inside. She’ll guard Heather like a mother lion.”

“Trusting Lizzie Borden to protect her doesn’t comfort me one bit.”

“Sheba’s only selectively vicious.”

“She certainly hates me.”

“She would have hated anybody I married.”

“Maybe. But not the way she is with me. When I first came along, it wasn’t so bad, but lately . . .”

“It was easier on her when everybody disliked you.” He rubbed her shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to get caught up in this war Sheba’s fighting with her pride. She was so talented, even as a kid, that people made allowances for her they shouldn’t have. Her father worked her hard, but he also inflated her ego, and she grew up believing she was perfect. She can’t accept the fact that she has human frailties like everybody else, so she has to blame other people.”

“I guess it’s never easy to face your own shortcomings.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t you start feeling sorry for her. You keep your guard up when she’s around, do you hear me?”

“But I haven’t done anything to her.”

“You married me.”

She frowned. “What happened between the two of you?”

“She thought she was in love with me. She wasn’t—she loved my lineage—but she still hasn’t realized that. There was an ugly scene, and she fell apart. Any other woman would shrug it off as an unpleasant memory, but Sheba’s not like that. She’s too arrogant to blame herself, so she has to blame me for seeing her like that. Our marriage was a huge blow to her pride, but as long as you were in disgrace, I don’t think it was too bad for her. Now, I’m not sure how she’ll react.”

“Badly, I imagine.”

“She and I know each other pretty well. She could live with the past when she had something to hold over my head, but now it’s going to start all over again. She’ll want to punish me for being happy, and I only have one weakness.” He gazed at her.

“Me? I’m your weakness?”

“If she hurts you, she hurts me. That’s why I want you to stay alert.”

“It seems like such a waste of time to expend all that energy trying to convince the world you’re better than everyone else. I can’t understand it.”

“Of course you can’t. You like nothing better than to point out all your character flaws to everyone who’ll listen.”

She must have found his exasperation amusing because she smiled. “They’ll discover those flaws for themselves if they’re around me long enough. I just save them the effort.”

“What they discover is that you’re one of the most decent people they’re ever likely to know.”

An expression that almost looked like guilt flashed over her face, although he couldn’t imagine what she had to feel guilty about. It was quickly replaced with worry. “Are you sure Heather will be all right?”

“I didn’t say that Brady’s going to punish her for sure.”

“Since I was the person wronged, I should decide on the punishment.”

“Brady won’t see it that way, and neither will Sheba.”

“Sheba! That’s so hypocritical! She loved believing I was a thief. How can she punish Heather for giving her her dearest wish?”

“As long as Sheba believed it was true, she was satisfied. But he has a strong sense of justice. People in a circus have to live close together, and there’s nothing anyone hates more than a thief. When Heather stole and lied, she violated everything Sheba believes in.”

“I still think she’s a hypocrite, and nothing’s going to change my mind. If you don’t do something about Brady, I will.”

“No, you won’t.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say a word, he leaned down and kissed her. She resisted for all of two seconds trying to prove she wasn’t a pushover, then she grew pliant.

God, he loved kissing her, feeling the sweep of her tongue, the gentle crush of her breasts. What had he ever done to deserve this woman? She was his own private angel.

An undercurrent of frustration swept through him because she hadn’t demand the pound of flesh she deserved. Vengeance wasn’t part of her nature, and because of that, she was vulnerable.