“Lord save me from men who have a great deal to talk about.” This might not be the best time. She was still out-of-sorts from the argument with her family. Or perhaps this was the perfect time. She took a deep swallow. “But you’re right, we do need to talk.”

“About the past.” He nodded.

“Oh, my. Yes, let’s start with the past, shall we?”

He drew a deep breath. “I’m not sure where to begin.”

“At the beginning?”

“Of course.” He thought for a long moment.

Impatience washed through her. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go on. This is what you’ve wanted. This is what you’ve gone on and on about since you first walked in the door. Good Lord, Grayson, get on with it.” She tossed back her brandy, then crossed the floor to the decanter and refilled her glass.

He raised a brow. “Another brandy might not be wise, Camille.”

“No one has ever accused me of being wise.”

“Still, it’s not like you—”

“How dare you presume to know what is like me and what is not like me?” The anger she’d felt for him since he’d walked out of her life—anger that she’d thought had abated in recent days—now rushed back full force. “You have not been here! You have not been in my life for eleven years!”

“I am well aware of that.”

“I am so glad you’re aware of it. That makes it all so much better.” He was right, although she would never admit it to him. She did not drink excessive amounts of brandy. Fortunately, she had a few glasses left until she reached excessive. And she would need every one of them. “Go on, then. Talk.”

“Very well.” His forehead furrowed in thought. “Eleven years ago . . . when I . . . well . . . that is . . .”

“You seem to be having a great deal of trouble deciding exactly what you wish to say.”

“It’s not easy.” His jaw tightened. “The right words are eluding me, and this is too important not to find the right words. I’m not exactly sure how to say what I want to say.”

“Really? I find that most amusing.”

“ ‘Amusing’?” He stared. “How is that amusing?”

“Because I have known what I wished to say to you for eleven years,” she snapped. “Exactly what I wished to say.”

“Then perhaps you should begin.” Caution sounded in his voice.