And she did. She waited . . . watched him rise from the bed . . . struggle for words, but the ones he finally came up with weren’t nearly good enough. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She needed to get to the bathroom before she was sick in front of him. She thought of what she’d told him about Dennis and hated herself. Even though she hadn’t confirmed it, she’d let him make love with her, and he knew.

“Nealy,” he said softly, “I give you my word that I won’t betray you.”

Her throat felt dry and rusty. “It’s too late. You already have.” She rushed blindly for the bathroom and closed herself in.

Afterward, Mat came up with a dozen better ways he could have told her. He should have eased up on it instead of just blurting it out. He should have been more gentle, done whatever he needed to so that porcelain skin wouldn’t go pale, so those patriot-blue eyes wouldn‘t look so stricken.

The frail world they’d built together had toppled, and it was his fault. He turned away from the bathroom door and slowly made his way downstairs. There was nothing he could say to make it better, no excuse he could offer.

The dark blue Taurus was parked across the street. They might still not be absolutely certain who she was, but they weren’t taking any chances.

Knowing she’d be safe, he grabbed the keys to the Explorer and stalked outside. He had to be by himself for just a little while. Maybe that would clear his head enough so he could figure out what to do next.

Button curled her fingers in a tired bye-bye wave as Charlie drove away from the house. Then she snuggled against Lucy and whimpered. Lucy remembered how much Button was starting to like snuggling up with Nell when she was tired.

Not Nell. Mrs. Case. Cornelia Case.

Lucy hadn’t told Charlie and Bertis who Nell really was. She hadn’t told them that Nell would be going away soon, going back to Washington and being the First Lady.

It was all Lucy’s fault. If she hadn’t dragged Nell into that lookalike contest, nobody would have found out and everything could have gone on like it was, with just the four of them and Button snuggling in Nell’s lap when she got cranky.

But Lucy knew she was lying to herself. Nell still wouldn’t have married Mat. She was Mrs. Case. If she ever got married again, she’d marry somebody famous. And even if she did decide to adopt some kids, they’d be polite, smart kids, not poor, beat-up kids like her and Button.

As for Mat . . . he hadn’t wanted them from the beginning.