Kiss an Angel(91)

“I’m not surprised. You’re really quite bright.” She gave him a mischievous smile.

“Lady, you are a crackerjack and a half.”

“Sexy, too.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Would you please say it anyway?”

“All right.” His expression grew tender. Reaching across the table, he took her hand. “You are, without a doubt, the sexiest woman I’ve ever known. And the sweetest.”

A lump formed in her throat, and she lost herself in the amber depths of his eyes. How could she ever have thought they were cold? She ducked her head before he could see the tears of longing form.

He began talking about the show, and soon they were laughing at a mishap between one of the clowns and a well-endowed young lady in the front row. They shared small details of their day: a problem Alex was having with one of the workers, Tater’s impatience at being tethered in a tent. They planned a much-needed trip to a laundromat for the next morning, and Alex talked about changing the oil in the pickup. They might have been any married couple, she thought, going about the business of daily life, and she couldn’t suppress a feeling of hope that everything would work out between them after all.

He told her he’d clean up the dishes as long as she stayed where she was to keep him company, then he complained good-naturedly about the number of utensils she’d used. While he teased her, the glimmer of an idea took shape in her mind.

Although Alex had been open about his Romanov heritage, he wouldn’t reveal anything about his present life, which was far more important to her. Until he told her what he did when he wasn’t traveling with the circus, there would never be any real communication between them. But she couldn’t think of any way to get the truth out of him except by using deception. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with a little deception, she decided, when their happiness was at stake.

“Alex, I think I might be getting an ear infection.”

He immediately stopped what he was doing and regarded her with so much concern that her conscience suffered a guilty twinge. “Your ear hurts?”

“A little bit. Not much. Just a little.”

“We’ll get you to a doctor as soon as the show is over.”

“All the offices will be closed by then.”

“I’ll take you to a hospital emergency room.”

“Oh, I don’t want to do that. I’m sure it’s not serious.”

“I’m not going to have you running around with an ear infection.”

“I suppose you have a point.” She hesitated, knowing this would be the tricky part. “I do have an idea,” she said cautiously. “Maybe—would you mind taking a look at it yourself?”

He went very still. “You want me to look at it?”

Guilt seeped through every one of her pores. She ducked her head and toyed with the edge of a crumpled paper napkin. At the same time, she remembered the way he’d grilled her about having a tetanus shot and the number of times she’d seen him give first aid to one of the workers. She had a right to know the truth.

“I assume that, regardless of your speciality, you’re qualified to treat a simple ear infection. Unless you really are a veterinarian.”

“I’m not a vet.”

“Well, then . . .”

He didn’t say anything. She held herself tensely while she rearranged the wilting clover and lined up the salt and pepper shakers. She forced herself to remember that this was for his own good. They couldn’t make their marriage work as long as he insisted on keeping so many secrets from her.

She heard him move. “All right, Daisy. I’ll look at it.”

Her head shot up. She’d done it! She’d finally trapped him! Using all her cunning, she had gotten to the truth. Her husband was a doctor, and she’d just forced him to admit it.

She knew he’d be angry when he examined her and saw that she didn’t really have an ear infection, but she’d deal with that when it happened. Surely she could make him understand she’d only done it for his own good. It wasn’t healthy for him to be so secretive.

“Go sit on the bed,” he said. “Near the light where I can see.”

She did as he asked.

He took his time drying his hands at the sink before he set the towel aside and approached her.

“Don’t you need your doctor’s kit?”

“It’s in the locker in the back of the truck, and I’d rather not get wet right now if I don’t have to. Besides, there’s more than one way to diagnose an ear infection. Which ear is it?”

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then pointed to her right. He brushed her hair back and leaned down to examine it.

“The light’s bad. Lie back.”

She lay down on the pillow. The mattress sagged as he sat next to her and curved his hand around her throat. “Swallow.”

She did.

He pressed a bit harder with his fingertips. “Again.”

She swallowed a second time.

“Mmm. Now open your mouth and say ‘ah.’ “

“Ahhh.”

He tilted her head toward the light.

“What do you think?” she finally asked.

“You definitely have an infection, but I’m not sure it’s coming from your ear.”