Anna could barely swallow the bile rising into her throat at the lies he was spinning out one after another to this wonderful woman in the hospital bed. God, if she'd only known how good he was at lying when she'd met him, she never would have married him.

At least, that's what she tried to convince herself.

Because the alternative--that she wouldn't have been able to resist him, no matter what

--wasn't something she wanted to believe about herself.

"Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

Anna tried not to flinch at the endearment. "Yes. Right." She forced something she hoped resembled a smile.

His grandmother's eyes narrowed slightly, but then she smiled. "I want to hear everything. How did you meet? When did you know that you were meant to be together forever?"

Anna swallowed hard at forever. Cole was a heck of a lot better at lying that she was. She didn't dare respond first.

"I saw her across a crowded room."

Well, that much was true. Anna barely held back a snort.

"She had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. The same blue-green as the ocean."

Anna couldn't stop herself from looking at him, then.

"But so much prettier. I knew right then and there that I wanted to marry her."

Cole's grandmother sighed with pleasure. "How lovely."

Anna silently cursed herself for falling under his spell again. He was too good at this, too good at making it all sound so romantic.

"Our first kiss sealed the deal."

His grandmother raised an eyebrow. "Is that so, Anna?"

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to deny it, but not wanting to confirm it either, Anna simply said, "Your grandson is very persuasive."

Especially, she thought with a flush she couldn't contain, when her wrists and ankles had been bound and he'd been driving her wild with more pleasure than she'd ever thought she could feel.

"Tell me about yourself, honey."

Anna could almost feel Cole's silent sigh of relief that his grandmother had bought his story and was moving on. Barely restraining herself from elbowing him in the ribs simply for the pleasure it would bring her to hear him grunt in pain--but that would be immature and she was never immature--she said, "I'm a first-grade teacher."

"Isn't that perfect, Grandma?"

There was no helping it. Anna's eyes rolled. And she snorted aloud. And she said, "I hate it when you say that. Like I'm some sort of prize instead of a flesh-and-blood person."

"That's right, honey, he needs someone to give him hell. Women have been coddling him for too long, giving him everything he wants. You tell him."

Anna's eyes widened at his grandmother's approval and she quickly said, "I'm one of five girls."

His grandmother's smile nearly broke her heart. "I wish I could see Cole surrounded by little girls." Anna found herself blinking back tears as Eugenia turned to him. "I always knew you'd be a wonderful husband and father. The very best, just like your grandfather. Just like your father was before the accident."

And in that moment, as Cole's mouth tightened in pain, as sorrow filled his eyes, it didn't matter what he'd said to her in the car. It didn't matter that he'd lied to her every moment since they'd met.

All that mattered was comforting him.

She brushed his jaw with the fingertips of her free hand and he turned into it just enough that she could feel the pressure of his cheek against her palm.

"I'll take care of him for you."

The promise left her lips before she could stop it, before she'd even known it was on its way.

His grandmother put her hand on top of their entwined fingers. "Thank you for loving my baby, Anna. It's all I've ever wanted."

* * *

"Oh God, I shouldn't have done that." Anna wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt nauseated. Dizzy with remorse. "Your grandmother didn't deserve any of those lies, but especially mine." Cole pulled her out of the hallway and in through the nearest door, a linen supply closet.

"You did a good thing, Anna. You made her happy. Just like I knew you would."

"But none of it was true."

"All of it is true."

"You just twisted your story to fit the situation."

"Damn it, Anna, I did see you across a crowded room. You do have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. And we really are married."

And she supposed he was right, all of those things were true. Especially since not once had he mentioned love anywhere in there, not to her, not to his grandmother.

So, then, why was she still stupid enough to long so desperately for his love?

"I can't do that again, Cole. I can't stand pretending to be someone I'm not." She hugged herself tighter. "I made good on my side of the deal. Now it's time to make good on yours." She lifted her gaze to his and held it. "I want a divorce. Today."

"What if my grandmother finds out?"

Anna shook her head. "No one knows we're married, so no one will know we got a divorce. I'm sorry. I know how hard it must be for you, but I can't keep bending my moral code for you."

"You're right. You shouldn't make the decision to stay married to me for her. Or even for me." He paused, dropped his gaze to her mouth with such desire her traitorous lips actually tingled. "You should do it for yourself."

"How could I possibly want to stay in a fake marriage to you for myself?"

The supply room suddenly seemed too small as he moved closer and she backed into a laden metal shelf.

"Remember what you said to me last night, sweet Anna, about how you'd never even had the chance to do something crazy that you could regret in the morning?"

"Well, I sure have now."

"And was it enough?"

"Yes."

"Now you're the one who isn't telling the truth, aren't you?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

He didn't come any closer, didn't press his hard body against hers, simply brushed the back of one hand against the side of her neck.

"Now that Pandora's box is open, you're wondering what else there is in there, aren't you?"

Yes.

"No."

"Tell me, sweet Anna, how has lying to yourself about what you need worked so far?