The Art of Deception by Nora Roberts Page A

The eyes that had been alive with humor were frigid. Something hard, strong and unpleasant came into them. Seeing the change, Adam realized she’d make a formidable enemy. There was grit behind the careless wit, the raw sexuality and the eccentric-rich-girl polish. He wouldn’t forget it.
    â€œStuart,” Kirby said in a brittle voice. “I really wouldn’t know.”
    â€œOh, dear.” At the arctic tone, Melanie caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Have you two had a row?”
    â€œA row?” The smile remained unpleasant. “One might put it that way.” Something flared—the temper she’d been prodding out of the wood. With an effort, Kirby shrugged it aside. “As soon as I’d agreed to marry him, I knew I’d made a mistake. I should’ve dealt with it right away.”
    â€œYou’d told me you were having doubts.” After stubbing out her cigarette, Melanie leaned forward to take Kirby’s hands. “I thought it was nerves. You’d never let any relationship get as far as an engagement before.”
    â€œIt was an error in judgment.” No, she’d never let a relationship get as far as an engagement. Engagements equaled commitment. Commitments were a lock, perhaps the only lock, Kirby considered sacred. “I corrected it.”
    â€œAnd Stuart? I suppose he was furious.”
    The smile that came back to Kirby’s lips held no humor. “He gave me the perfect escape hatch. You know he’d been pressuring me to set a date?”
    â€œAnd I know that you’d been putting him off.”
    â€œThank God,” Kirby murmured. “In any case, I’d finally drummed up the courage to renege. I think it was the first time in my life I’ve felt genuine guilt.” Moving her shoulders restlessly, she picked up the wood again. It helped to steady her, helped her to concentrate on temper. “I went by his place, unannounced. It was a now-or-never sort of gesture. I should’ve seen what was up as soon as he answered the door, but I was already into my neat little speech when I noticed a few—let’s say articles of intimate apparel tossed around the room.”
    â€œOh, Kirby.”
    Letting out a long breath, Kirby went on. “That part of it was my fault, I suppose. I wouldn’t sleep with him. There was just no driving urge to be intimate with him. No…” She searched for a word. “Heat,” she decided, for lack of anything better. “I guess that’s why I knew I’d never marry him. But, I was faithful.” The fury whipped through her again. “I was faithful, Melly.”
    â€œI don’t know what to say.” Distress vibrated in her voice. “I’m so sorry, Kirby.”
    Kirby shook her head at the sympathy. She never looked for it. “I wouldn’t have been so angry if he hadn’t stood there, telling me how much he loved me, when he had another woman keeping the sheets warm. I found it humiliating.”
    â€œYou have nothing to be humiliated about,” Melanie returned with some heat. “He was a fool.”
    â€œPerhaps. It would’ve been bad enough if we’d stuck to the point, but we got off the track of love and fidelity. Things got nasty.”
    Her voice trailed off. Her eyes clouded over. It was time for secrets again. “I found out quite a bit that night,” she murmured. “I’ve never thought of myself as a fool, but it seems I’d been one.”
    Again, Melanie reached for her hand. “It must have been a dreadful shock to learn Stuart was unfaithful even before you were married.”
    â€œWhat?” Blinking, Kirby brought herself back. “Oh, that. Yes, that, too.”
    â€œToo? What else?”
    â€œNothing.” With a shake of her head, Kirby swept it all aside. “It’s all dead and buried now.”
    â€œI feel terrible. Damn it, I introduced