Time Enough for Love by Suzanne Brockmann Page B

face and over his hair to grip the tensed muscles in the back of his neck. He swore, softly but steadily.
    “Please?” She reached out to touch his arm.
    He pulled away as if she’d burned him. “Maggie, Christ—I can’t explain. Not without … Not easily.”
    “Not easily?” The way he’d jerked his arm away from her made her want to cry. “So it won’t be easy. Do you think any of this is easy for
me
? Do you think it’s going to be easy for me to put on some stupid dress and seduce some stranger who both is and isn’t the man I
really
want to be with? I don’t want to make love to Charles, I want to make love to
you
.” Oh, damn, she’d gone and told him far too much. But now that she’d started, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Except, he’s you. He’s part of you, and if I
do
make love to him, I’m making love to you, too, aren’t I? And … and … it’s
so
damn
confusing
!”
    There were tears in his eyes as he stood there, just looking at her. “Dear God,” he whispered, “I’ve done this all wrong.”

SIX
    M AGGIE SAT DOWN and closed her eyes, feeling all of the fight draining out of her. He’d done this wrong. He’d made mistakes.
    Not half as many as
she’d
made, obviously.
    She felt the mattress sink as he slowly sat down on the bed. He didn’t move to touch her, he just sat there, next to her.
    “Mags, I … I’ve known you for seven years,” Chuck said quietly, haltingly. “And I swear, I’ve wanted you in every way possible for every single second of that time.”
    She lifted her head, turning to look at him, uncertain of what she’d just heard. “What?”
    He gave her one of his crooked half smiles. “Don’t make me say it again. Once was hard enough.”
    Maggie turned toward him. “But …”
    “I’ve been fighting like hell to stay away from you these past few days.” He reached up with one hand, again as if trying to loosen the muscles in his shoulders and neck. “And yes, you were right. I was trying to set it up so that this time when you met me—Charles—at that party, you’d end up going home with him. See, I thought that might be a way to compress those seven years into just a few short weeks. But we don’t have weeks anymore. We don’t even have days. Only
hours
. I don’t know, maybe it’ll still work. See, I thought if I could make Charles feel the same way as I do about you …” He took a deep breath as he glanced at her, then shook his head. “I guess I just thought … I mean,
I
can’t imagine making love to you and then letting you walk away. I guess I thought if I did this right, Charles wouldn’t let you walk away, either.”
    Maggie was watching him silently, her brown eyes subdued. Chuck wanted to reach out and touch her cheek. Her skin looked so smooth and soft. But he knew that touching her was the last thing he should do. “I’m sorry. I said that badly.”
    “No,” she said softly. “You did okay.”
    “You were right about my having double memories,” he told her quietly. “If you and Charles …” He couldn’t say it, but he knew from her eyes that she knew what he meant. “I guess I figured at least I’d have
that
, because you’re right. I’d definitely remember. I haven’t quite figured out what it is—maybe some kind of hormonal release that affects certain memory centers of the brain—but even a simple kiss is enough to make a residual memory extremely clear and—” He broke off. He was babbling now, and she was just watching him, her eyes so soft, so warm. He could drown in those eyes.
    And still, she didn’t speak.
    “So now what?” He forced a half smile. “Which one of us locks ourself in the bathroom until checkout time?”
    Maggie touched the side of his face. “How about neither?”
    Chuck knew he should stand up and put some distance between them, but he had no strength left. Instead he closed his eyes, allowing himself the forbidden pleasure of her touch. He felt her move