Just The Way You Are by Barbara Freethy Page A

staying with her."
    "He's a good friend. Or it is more than that?"
    Alli tipped her head. "Maybe. Grams is cagey when it comes to him. I do believe he has a thing for her, but I have a hunch that Grams is still in love with my grandfather."
    "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were spending the day at the hospital."
    "Tessa and Sam are there now."
    "And you don't want to keep an eye on them?" Mary Ann raised a questioning eyebrow.
    "I don't want to upset Grams. And I'm not sure I can keep my mouth shut when Tessa is in the room."
    "You know, I'm sure Tessa has all kinds of men dancing to her tune these days. She's a supermodel, for heaven's sake. Sam's just a small-town guy to her now. You have nothing to worry about."
    "But she never married. Don't you think that's odd?"
    "Tessa is living the jet set life. And she's not even thirty. There is plenty of time for her to settle down."
    "I know. You're right. Tessa is free as a bird." Alli's mouth trembled. "And in a short while Sam will be free, too."
    "Oh, honey," Mary Ann said with a compassionate shake of her head. "Why don't you call the whole thing off?"
    "I can't."
    "Sure you can."
    "No. Tessa is back now. It's fate. Sam has to find out."
    "Find out what?"
    "Whether or not he still loves her."
    Mary Ann looked at Alli with sharp, knowing eyes. "Are you sure you want him to find out? Because you could pull it in right now, take it all back, and I think Sam would go along with you. He loves Megan."
    "But does he love me?"
    Mary Ann sighed. "Maybe it's just enough that he likes you a lot. Come on, Alli. You're not a kid anymore. You have a child, a job, a mortgage, bills to pay. That's the reality of your life—mine, too. Some days I'm not even sure I like my husband anymore, much less love him. And as for sex, well, jeez, the one good thing about pregnancy is that I can plead a headache as often as I want."
    "You don't mean that. You're madly in love with Ron."
    "I'm not 'mad' about anything or anyone. Passion is for teenagers. Something for them to do with all their energy. It doesn't last in any marriage."
    "It's different for you. You know why Ron married you, and it wasn't because you were pregnant. Sam did the right thing by me. And I appreciate that. But we didn't marry for love."
    "Maybe you didn't start off right, but you and Sam have made a life together. Why throw it all away?"
    "Because this is the right thing for me to do—for Sam. When I saw that box of photographs and magazine covers, I felt like I'd stumbled on Sam and Tessa having sex together. It was awful." Alli shook her head, still feeling the pain of that moment.
    "So he kept some mementos. Big deal. It's his past. You're his present, his future."
    "They weren't from the past; the pictures were of Tessa today. Sam has been following her career, keeping his eye on her, probably counting the days until Megan turns eighteen," she said bitterly. "That's why he hasn't wanted to have any more children. He knows once Megan is an adult he can walk away, having done his duty. And you know what, he won't even be forty. He can start over, have another family—with Tessa."
    "Whoa, slow down," Mary Ann said sharply. "You are way out there."
    "I can't help it. I forced Sam to be a husband, a father, a provider. I thought I could make it work. I pretended for a long time that he would fall in love with me by the sheer force of my will, but I know now that Sam hasn't forgotten Tessa, and I don't think he's given up on her either. She still has his heart. And if she has his heart, she might as well have him. Because I can't go on living like this. I want my husband to be in love with me. I want to have more children."
    "Then don't give up on your marriage." Mary Ann walked up to the counter and looked Alli straight in the eye. "You're not a quitter, Allison Tucker. Everyone in this town knows you fight for what you want. Why don't you make Sam see that you are still the best thing that ever happened to