Her husband wasn't a man to hesitate. He didn't do it often but he did so now. He exhaled sharply and jerked his fingers through his hair. "I wish you wouldn't look at me like that. I feel like enough of a heel as it is."
"One movie? Or should I plan on taking in a double feature?" she asked stoically.
"I forgot about the stupid game, all right? There've been other things on my mind lately. If you want to crucify me for that, then go ahead."
She took her own sweet time buttoning her coat. "Do you need me to fix you something for dinner before I leave?"
Riley shook his head. "No, thanks."
"All right then, I'll go now. I assume you have no objections to my taking the car?"
"Of course not."
"Fine. Then I'll plan on being back as late as I can."
He closed his eyes tightly. "Why do I feel so damn guilty?" he shouted. "I forget about a stupid poker game and – "
"Perhaps it's the other thing you're forgetting that's troubling you," she announced calmly. Her heart was pounding at double time, but for all outward appearances she was the picture of serenity. A deep blue mountain lake couldn't compare with the tranquillity she faultlessly portrayed.
"The other thing?" he yelled. "Damn it ail to hell. There's nothing I hate more than a woman who refuses to talk straight. If you have a problem, I suggest you spell it out right now, because I refuse to play guessing games with you."
"Guessing games?" she returned flippantly. "I don't like playing them myself." With a scornful tilt of her head she tapped her finger against her lips. Until she'd married Riley, Hannah hadn't known it was in her to be so sarcastic. "Now let me see, when will Riley be shipping out next? I do wonder."
His mouth tightened. "Cheryl told you."
"No," Hannah cried, battling fury and pain. "She assumed I knew…assumed any husband would tell his wife. Only I'm not any wife, am I? You want me about as much as you want this marriage. You couldn't have spelled it out any plainer than this. Well, I don't want this marriage, either."
The crescent-shaped lines around Riley's mouth went white. His eyes, sharp, clear, intense, cut into her as effectively as a hunting knife. It was all too apparent he was having difficulty holding on to his composure. "We'll discuss this later."
"There's nothing more to discuss," she retorted. "You've already told me everything I need to know. I'm an encumbrance in your life. You don't want to be married to me. Trust me, it doesn't come as any shock. I didn't want this marriage, either – you were the one who insisted. I don't understand why. I never intended to drag you into this. I never even intended for you to know about the baby. You were the one… Why, Riley, why did you insist upon marrying me? I have a right to know that much."
Her demand was met with stark, naked silence. She rubbed the heel of her hand down her face, wiping away evidence of her tears. She stared at him, damning him for being there that fateful night. How much simpler her life would have been if she'd called a cab. She'd been such a fool, and her stupidity was ruining three lives.
"Why did I insist upon marrying you?" he repeated hoarsely. "Because I didn't want my son to grow up a bastard the way I did."