She stepped back. "What was I thinking? You're just out of the hospital a couple of hours ago. They used your hips as pincushions and sucked out quarts of bone marrow. Sit down right now."

He shook his head. "No. Let's keep going."

He took her hand and brought it to his groin. He was hard and when she touched him, he flexed against her fingers.

She knew that she was already wet and swollen, but none of that mattered.

"Cal, be serious. You've just had general anesthetic. You're weak, tired and this is the last thing you should be doing."

He stared into her eyes. She looked back, letting him see the need inside of her.

"Rain check," she whispered, as she kissed him. "I promise."

"No. We can do this."

"Right. Because you whimpering in pain is really s.e.xy."

"I don't whimper."

"I know. You're a big strong guy who right now needs a nap. Alone."

He picked up her hand and kissed her palm. "I want you."

Words to make a pregnant woman dance with delight. "I want you, too. We'll do something about it real soon. I promise."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. I think I need to crash for a while."

"The doctor said it would take a couple of days for you to get the anesthesia out of your system. Plus, you have to get your strength back from the whole bone marrow sucking. Go take a nap. I'll run over to the restaurant, then be back to fix meat loaf."

He squeezed her fingers. "Thanks. You don't have to do this."

"I know, but I want to."

Although why, she wouldn't, she couldn't, say.

DANI SEALED the box and put it on top of the others by the front door. She would either have to come back later with a couple of burly guys and a van or work out a financial agreement with Hugh about him buying her out of half the furniture. For now, she only wanted her clothes and some personal items.

She hadn't slept much the previous night. Although Penny's guest bed had been comfortable, Dani had had too much on her mind. So much had happened so quickly. Hugh wanting a divorce, finding out he was cheating on her, moving out. It would be a while before she was finally able to draw in a breath and relax.

She opened the linen closet and pulled out a big box of photos. More things she was going to have to go through. She tossed it into a carton. She would sort them at Penny's and return Hugh's to him. She had no idea what they would do with the pictures they had taken together. Who would want those?

So many things to divide. Their good china and crystal, DVDs, electronic equipment. They'd been together nearly seven years. That made for a lot of baggage.

She heard the garage door open and stiffened. A quick glance at her watch told her Hugh wasn't due home for another two hours. She'd planned to be finished long before that.

She had a brief thought that his chickie had stopped by for something when she heard the soft sound of wheels on hardwood.

"Dani?"

She closed the linen closet door and stepped into the living room. "You weren't supposed to be here," she said.

Hugh looked as he always did-handsome, strong, s.e.xy. The wheelchair did nothing to detract from his appeal. A friend from grad school had once confessed-after too many rum-and-c.o.kes-that the wheelchair only made a woman think about being more creative, where Hugh was concerned. At the time Dani had laughed off the comment. Now she realized she should have paid attention.

He sat straight in his chair, his gold-blond hair a little too long, his blue eyes looking both innocent and soulful. There was something about his mouth, something that made a woman want to kiss him.

He had big hands and, at least for him, the old wives' tale was true. Even with the loss of sensation for Hugh, that part of him could still work, and she'd had plenty of fun riding him to paradise.

As had others, apparently.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he said. "I didn't mean for you to find out."

She walked into the bedroom and began pulling clothes off hangers. "Interesting. You're not sorry you were cheating on me, you're just sorry you were caught." She heard him move into the room. "With a student, Hugh. That's tacky, even for you."

"It's not what you're thinking."

"You have no idea what I'm thinking." She tossed the clothes into an open box, then glared at him. "You don't know anything about me. I'm furious. You want a divorce. Fine. We'll get one. You've moved on. I can accept that. But what I can't accept is that you're messing around with your students. G.o.d knows how many."

"Don't be insulting."

"Oh, right. Because only sleeping with one of them is so n.o.ble. What a great man you are. How proud we all are." She moved close and stared down at him. "I was there for you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Every day from the second you were hurt. I gave up my life to help you. I encouraged you, I begged you to keep living. I loved you with every fiber of my being. What I expected in return was for you to love me just as much. And if you couldn't do that, I expected you to respect me. But you didn't."

"Sure. Make me the bad guy."

She wanted to scream. "How am I at fault in any of this?"

"I just wanted a divorce. Why is that a crime?"

"It's not, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You lied and cheated. You betrayed me. That student isn't the first. I'm stunned to find out you're a lousy human being."

He glared at her. "Because I'm in a wheelchair, you expect me to be a saint? I'm not supposed to have flaws like other men, because I'm not really a man?"

She'd never wanted to hit another person before in her life, but the urge to pick up a lamp and crash it over Hugh's head was incredibly powerful.

"I expect you to be a decent person because we're married," she yelled. "I expected you to honor your wedding vows because I thought you had a sense of morality and because I thought you cared about me and our relationship. Not everything is about you being in a wheelchair. You being an a.s.shole has absolutely nothing to do with you being in a wheel chair. You'd be one even if you could run a marathon. Now get out of here so I can finish getting my things."

"Dani-"

"Get out!"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

"THE MUSHROOMS SMELL FUNNY," Penny said as she held a clean cloth to her left ring finger.

"They're mushrooms," Naomi told her. "They're supposed to smell funny. Do you need st.i.tches?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Is my finger still attached to my hand?"