Deceptions of the Heart Read Online Free PDF

minutes ago—that it all came back to money where Jennifer was concerned? And didn’t Sairs imply the same thing?
    “You should eat. It’s not good for you to skip meals.”
    “I’m not hungry.” My tone was defiant.
    “You ate hearty at lunch,” he muttered.
    Pride stiffened my backbone. “So you’re dictating what I eat—”
    “I’m just saying you should be careful what you eat…and how much you eat…and when you eat. You know these things. That’s all I’m saying.” Weariness tinged his words. Like he was tired of dealing with Jennifer’s temperament, her indiscretions, and her fractious attitude.
    “Was Marnie supposed to spy on me…make sure I followed orders?”
    “Jennifer, please. Let’s don’t do this. Not again.”
    His eyes might have said much to me as they searched the depths of mine…if I had known the man better. It was like trying to decipher a dead language without a dictionary. I sensed he was waiting for me to say something, biting his tongue to hold back what he wanted to say, giving me the chance to go first.
    My conscious pricked me. There were unaddressed issues between us.
    How do I tell him I’m not his wife? If I’m Rhonda, where is Jennifer? Should I tell him about my five-year lapse of memory? Should I tell him I don’t know him?
    “Anson…”
    Sudha entered the room, clearing the dishes in stony silence. Anson and I remained seated at the table, neither of us making a move to end the evening. Jennifer’s stomach churned. Being someone I’m not is exhausting work. Her anxious heart pumped her blood at an alarming rate. The turmoil wasn’t good for either of us.
    I was no closer to unraveling the mystery or devising a viable solution to my dilemma, so I left Anson alone in the dining room to speculate on my odd behavior. He didn’t try to stop me, letting me go without a word.

Chapter Six
    After my escape from dinner, I discovered the verandah—an inviting hideaway secluded from the neighbors by a high privacy fence, stone at the foundation, pickets at the top. An expanse of decking surrounded three-quarters of the house, starting left of the front door, continuing on the right side, and ending by the back door. White-painted rails with handcrafted carvings lined the deck. Set about at regular intervals were large pots of annuals. Boston ferns hung from crossbeams.
    My muscles relaxed as I settled into an old-fashioned porch swing. The motion calmed my overwrought nerves. A full moon bounced into view as day receded into the darkness of night. No breeze. My eyelids drooped until Anson paused the swing. Our elbows brushed as he eased into the seat next to me. Every one of my nerves tingled. He sighed and flexed his fingers above his head before he rested one arm across the back of the swing. Without a word, we started the back and forth again.
    “Will you really go to California without me?” His words floated across the still night.
    I rubbed my hand over the surface of the arm rest. Many hands had worn the wood to a warm gloss. “You won’t go with me?” A note of disappointment crept into my tone, despite my conviction the trip to the west coast was something I needed to do alone.
    “No, I won’t. You’ll go whether I think it wise or not?”
    I turned toward him, sideways in the swing, tilting its motion to a peculiar, hitching glide. “Why don’t you want me to go?”
    “The last time you went it nearly killed you.”
    A shiver traversed my spine. “Surely you exaggerate.”
    “The long plane ride when you were barely recovered from the surgery. The stress of the situation. The disappointment when no one would cooperate with you.” These were all gentle reminders, not harsh criticisms. “It will do you no good to go through that again.”
    Why would Jennifer cheat on a man like Anson? Even in his distress, he shows compassion toward her. Why isn’t he striking with venom and heat?
    “I’m stronger now.”
    “You fainted last