Complicated by Claire Kent Page A

mildly. “What exactly
were you referring to?”
    She shrugged, feeling like a fool. “I don’t know.
Everything, I guess. I mean, you’re so good at everything. Sex and…and other
things. And you knew to get that wash cloth. I just meant… Well, the guys I’ve
dated before were far more clueless than you are.”
    Greg gave her a half-smile. “I imagine I’m older
than them.”
    “Yeah but still.”
    “I suppose some of it might have been my
experience with my wife. But she didn’t really train me, at least not in
regards to sex.”
    “I didn’t mean that,” Victoria began,
terrified he’d think she was prying.
    She wanted to pry, but she’d had no
intentions of doing so.
    “She was… She was different from you. She
didn’t really enjoy sex.” Greg stared up at the ceiling. He didn’t look
particularly uncomfortable, although this couldn’t be easy for him to share.
“She loved me. But she was never very enthusiastic or adventurous. And I had to
always be careful when it came to sex.”
    Maybe that was why he was always so
considerate—even when he was smoldering with passion. She’d never met a man as
thoughtful in bed as Greg was.
    Or as inventive.
    Or as skillful.
    Or as innately passionate.
    “Oh,” Victoria said, feeling like she needed
to say something.
    She had to be careful and not read too much
into this. He might be sharing this with her, but it wasn’t a sign that their
relationship had shifted into something deeper.
    She was the one who’d brought it up.
    “She was always…delicate.” His voice was
thoughtful now, as if he were remembering.
    “Delicate?”
    “Her health was never good, but it was more
than that. I always had to take care of her.”
    Victoria’s heart constricted with a swell of
empathy, of affection. “I bet you were good at that.”
    “I tried.” He cleared his throat. “But she
took a lot of my energy. And I’m not sure I ended up giving enough to Carrie.
Between work and her mom…I did the best I could.”
    “I’m sure you did. I’m sure you were a great
dad.”
    “Her mom died when she was fourteen, and
then Carrie was all I had. I was so afraid of not being a good parent to her
that I went overboard. I spoiled her. I know I spoiled her.”
    “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”
Victoria felt like she was perched on the top of a cliff. One more step would
take her into a void—fast, mysterious, free—and she had no idea whether she would
fall or fly. She wanted to know more about Greg and was terrified at the same
time.
    He let out a long breath. “I don’t know. I
haven’t dated much since her mom died, and when I did it was always…private. I
should have done things differently.”
    “You did the best you could. You can’t beat
yourself up about it. She’s not a child anymore.”
    “I know.”
    They lay in silence for several minutes, and
Victoria knew the self-revelation was over. Her new knowledge of him churned in
her chest, making her feel more uncertain than ever.
    Then she started to think about something
else he’d said. “Do you really think I’m adventurous?” she asked out of the
blue, before she could stop herself.
    Greg glanced back over to her. His
expression didn’t hold any particular emotion but there was something oddly
serious in his eyes. “Of course. Didn’t we have sex on the balcony earlier this
week?”
    “Yeah. But most people think I’m quiet and
boring. And I have a friend who teases me about being repressed.”
    He shook his head. “Anyone who thinks that
being quiet and private is a sign of being repressed is crazy. Sometimes the
most passionate people are those who don’t show all their feelings on the
surface.”
    Something in Victoria’s chest felt like it
was melting, and a smile started to grow on her face, one she had no way of
suppressing.
    No one—no one in her whole life—had ever
said anything like that.
    No one had ever understood her so perfectly.
    She opened her mouth to