Nobody's Angel Read Online Free PDF Page B

fi
nito.
I don't need your problems.”
    “Tony did a job on you, too, huh?” Awkwardly, he adjustedthe uncomfortable position of his long legs as he swiveled to watch her. “Why didn't you ever have kids of your own?”
    “None of your damned business.” The pain curled inside her, a spiked ball that gored her vital organs. “I'm heading into the mountains for the day. You'll be bored silly.”
    “If I wasn't bored silly staring at four walls and butt ugly men, I won't be bored in the fresh air and freedom of the mountains.”
    Faith winced at the dry whiskey of his voice. It really did have a magic quality that wrapped an air of trust and security around him, even though she knew he was a lying, conniving thief. A
dangerous
conniving thief. Even worse, a
lawyer
.
    “You're not afraid I'll leave you stranded on a mountaintop?” she asked boldly.
    “Not now that I'm warned of the possibility.” Humor sparkled through the dryness. “You're not at all what I expected.”
    “Disappointed?” she taunted, hitting the gas. “Thought I'd be another of Tony's tarts?”
    “Sounds like a frozen pizza dessert—Tony's Tarts, with lemon cream marinara sauce—yum yum.”
    A grin tugged at the corner of Faith's mouth before she caught it and remembered just exactly who she was dealing with here. “Most amusing, but you'll remember I lived with charm and wit for eight years. I'm not fooled by appearances any longer.”
    “Eight years?” Astounded, he stared at her. “You endured that lying bastard for
eight years
? Are you a saint or just stupid?” He waved his hand hastily. “Forget I said that. He must have married you out of the cradle.”
    “There you go again. It comes as naturally as breathing for you, doesn't it? It still won't do you any good. I don't have any papers, and I don't have the money, so you can't charm me out of them.”
    “All right, let's say I buy that for now. We can have a refreshing trip through the autumn hills and figure out what Tony might have done with them. Or we can drop the topic, enjoy the day, and get to know each other. Right now, I'mabout ready to opt for that last. I can always track you down again tomorrow and continue the argument.”
    Faith shot him a doubting look. “I just told you, I lived with a con artist. I know better than to believe one now.”
    He leaned forward to admire the spectacular view of the mountains ahead. She might survive this trip if he would leave her alone. Concentrating on the traffic and the road, she pretended he was a tourist.
    He waited until they'd reached the dangerous passage through the mountains before he tried again. “Why did you run from the shelter? You looked as if you'd been gut-punched. You have some strange kind of phobia about kids? Are you allergic to them? Is that why Tony kept Sandra on the side, to produce miniature Nichollses?”
    Struck broadside, Faith considered ripping the steering wheel from the dash and pounding it over his ponytailed head, but the semis roaring around them discouraged it. She'd forgotten how irritating, demanding, self-centered, and just plain ornery men could be.
    “I can't have kids,” she said bluntly, hoping to put him in his place. “We waited years until Tony was earning enough to support children, and then I couldn't have them.”
    Adrian stared at her in disbelief. “Of course you couldn't. Tony had a vasectomy while he was still in school, right after Sandra had the twins.”
    The VW shot straight for the side of the road.

Five years earlier
    “Faith, give it up, willya? We've tried and we can't have kids, so just let it be. It's not that I'd have time for them anyway.”
    “But
I
would,” Faith argued timidly. She didn't want to send him on a tirade, but she wanted this desperately. “I have enough time for both of us, Tony. If only—”
    He flung the papers he'd been holding at his desk. “They'd be nothing but a hassle. You wouldn't have time for our social engagements, and we'd