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“MY POOR VARIK.” Ursula wound her clingy self all over him like the persistent ivy growing in the backyard. There was nothing he hated more than pity, especially from a woman. Especially if that woman was his ex-wife.
“Hvorfor ikke bare snakke med meg pa norsk, elskling?” Ursula asked, clearly doing her best to look alluring.
“No, I do not want speak Norwegian to you. I speak English now.” He let forth a growl of frustration. “And not anymore to call me elskling, eh...” he thought for a moment, “darling,” he translated. “You and I not darlings. And Varik not need Ursula’s pity, understand?”
“Yes, Varik. There’s a great improvement in your English. Tore is teaching you well.”
“Tore very good man,” he said, recalling a painful time he wanted desperately to forget. “Thank Gud Tore know better than to bed with Ursula. So very bad...so wrong you try that with my cousin.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Ursula freely admitted. “What can I say? Men are my weakness.”
“Ja, jeg vet.” Frustrated he’d slipped back into Norwegian, Varik corrected himself. “Yes, I know.” He found it difficult to remember to speak English when he was angry or upset. “Then you should not be a married woman,” he told her. “You make great heart pain and elendighet...eh...misery for me and many other.”
He thought about the vast differences between his ex-wife and Delaney. Ursula probably didn’t have an honest bone in her body. While beautiful, she was devious, self-serving and amoral, while Delaney was sweet, loyal and honorable.
His lip curled into a sneer. At least that’s what he thought before he’d heard Ursula’s gut-punching news, and had seen the proof of it for himself.
“You’re right,” she said again. “I’ve been a very bad girl.” Her cherry-red lips pouted and she gazed up at him from beneath long, lacquered lashes.
Undeniably striking, she looked younger each time he saw her. Obviously a hefty percentage of her earnings lined the pockets of plastic surgeons. It was the one thing he pitied Ursula for—her dreaded fear of aging. At forty-seven, she was nearly ten years older than Varik, which he hadn’t realized until after they’d married. She’d had her publicity people shave several years off her age for her official biography. It wasn’t the age difference he minded, it was her dishonesty about it.
With Ursula’s arresting looks she easily could pull off the lie. But one day it would catch up to her, perhaps due to a greedy cosmetic surgeon with loose lips. He feared his ex would suffer a mental collapse should the truth about her age be revealed.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Varik,” she said in her most convincing manner, snapping his thoughts back to the present. “You must believe that. You’re the only man I’ve ever truly loved. The only man I still love. I flew all the way here, right after they stopped shooting my scenes, just so I could see you. I want your forgiveness, Varik, and another chance for me to prove I can be a good wife to you.”
Eyeing his ex up and down, Varik remembered how taken he was when they’d first met. Already well known throughout Scandinavia, the model and actress was just beginning to achieve international acclaim. Spotting Varik in an Oslo restaurant, Ursula sent a drink to his table. Intrigued at the bold move, Varik, temporarily in the city taking courses at the university, strode to her table. After dismissing the others who sat with her, she invited Varik to sit next to her. He found her beauty, power and obvious confidence addictive.
Having been raised by his grandfather without television, radio or movies, Varik had no idea Ursula was a celebrity. He only knew she was gorgeous and sexy as hell. Fascinated by the only man she’d met who didn’t know who she was and who didn’t seem to have an agenda to sleep with a famous actress, then sell his story to the papers, she pursued him in earnest.
After a whirlwind courtship, the two married, against the advice of his grandfather who’d warned him about the woman after meeting her. The perceptive old man had been right all along about Ursula’s questionable character. But, smitten, Varik didn’t want to hear it, deciding Grandpa Anders was simply behind the times.
It wasn’t long before Varik grew tired of being known as Mr. Lovdahl. The constant intrusion of photographers, her agent and publicity people, her celebrity friends, and throngs of persistent fans left them little time alone. He wanted to start a family but Ursula had no interest in children, telling him pregnancy would destroy her perfect figure. He soon learned she had no interest in much of anything domestic, or the time-honored tradition of fidelity in marriage.
It was during one of Tore’s visits back home to Norway that Varik learned the extent of his wife’s adulterous nature. His older cousin took him aside, warning Varik that Ursula had done her best to seduce him. Tore readily admitted he was tempted—what red-blooded man wouldn’t be? But Tore assured Varik he loved his wife far too much to cheat on her.
The worst part of Ursula’s treachery was that Tore’s wife was dying of cancer at the time...and Ursula knew it.
While Varik didn’t want to believe the worst about his wife, he had unflinching faith in his cousin, knowing the man had no reason to lie about something so devastating.
So after two less than blissful years of marriage, Varik divorced Ursula, which made headlines all across Scandinavia. It was impossible to go into a supermarket without seeing his name and photo splashed across one of those trashy magazines. That, and his grandfather’s death, propelled Varik to move to the States.
Fortunately, Varik made amends with Anders before he died. His grandfather accepted Varik’s apology, assuring him that he understood. Sometimes the only way a man can learn a good lesson, especially when it comes to women, Anders told his grandson, is by experience.
Seemingly Varik hadn’t learned his lesson well enough the first time.
He moved back to his grandfather’s secluded cabin in the mountains of Oslo where he’d remained the past two years, waiting for his divorce to become final. The day it did, he bought his airline tickets and headed for America.
Varik flatly refused Ursula’s substantial offer of a financial settlement. Hardworking and self-reliant, he didn’t want or need her money to make a life for himself. Ursula told Varik he was the only man she’d known who didn’t try to take her for everything she was worth.
The last thing he expected today was to find Ursula on his doorstep. The unwelcome sight of his ex-wife brought back a flood of unpleasant memories.
“No, Ursula,” Varik responded now. “I give you no more chances. You need to find a good man and treat him right, treat him with respect. Love him the way you want to be loved. That man is not me. Sorry, my feelings are dead for you now. I can forgive but never forget.”
He watched Ursula’s eyes spark with what appeared to be veiled rage.
“Well what a shame, especially seeing as how your new little friend, Danielle—”
Expelling a whopping groan, Varik corrected, “I already tell you, it is Delaney.”
“Right. Now that she’s off overnight with her handsome boyfriend, at the hotel where they’d first met some years ago—”
“Overnight...” The word reverberated through his head.
“Right.” With a guiltless expression, Ursula tacked on, “It all sounded very romantic.”
A thousand thoughts roared through Varik’s head. How could he have been so wrong about Delaney? He could have sworn she’d developed strong feelings for him. She seemed interested in exploring a loving, monogamous relationship. That had Varik huffing humorless laughter.
Anger and disgust swelled inside until he could almost feel his heart being encased in steel. Never again, he promised himself, would he allow any woman close enough to access his heart.
“My poor Varik,” Ursula said for the tenth time. “You look mad enough to spit nails.” She pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, luv. I had no idea she was important to you. If I had, I wouldn’t have said anything. She’s a foolish woman to give you up.”
Varik shook his head back and forth. “I do not care. Delaney mean nothing to me.”
“Good...” Ursula cooed, smoothing her hand along his shirtsleeve. “That’s just what I wanted to hear. You’re too good for her, Varik. You deserve better.”
This was one time he decided his ex-wife was right.
The kitchen timer rang and he headed for the oven.
“I was going to set the table but I see you’ve already done it,” Ursula called from the dining room.
Varik snickered. “You set a table?” he said, pulling the food from the oven. “This thought is too funny.” It took him a few minutes to get the ribs, potatoes and the salad he’d made on the table. He didn’t bother taking the same care he’d reserved for dinners with Delaney. The candles remained unlit and the wine glasses empty.
“True, I may not be very domestic, but I’m good at pouring wine,” Ursula said, settling herself in what was to be Delaney’s chair and pouring herself a glass before filling Varik’s. “What, no candles?”
“No candles.”
“Don’t be silly.” She rose from the table, returning with her purse a moment later. Retrieving a diamond-encrusted lighter, she lit the candles. “There. That’s much better, isn’t it?”
“Ursula.”
“Yes, darling?”
“Remember. You just eat then go.”
“Yes, of course, if that’s what you want. It’s just that...well, everything is so nice and cozy. I thought after sharing your lady friend’s cookies over coffee, we might—”
“No talking. No making table look better. No thinking. No call me darling. Just eat supper and go. Understand?”
Heaving a sigh, Ursula nodded.
“Take cookie box to hotel with you.”
Ursula snickered. “Can you just imagine if I allowed myself to indulge in all that fat and sugar? My goodness, I’d look as lumpy as your lady friend, Danielle.”
Mindful that Ursula was egging him on, Varik chose not to correct the mistaken name again. And he certainly wasn’t going to comment on his ex-wife’s figure or Delaney’s. There were specific subjects any man with an ounce of intelligence knew should be off limits.
“I can tell you one thing,” Ursula said after a few blessed minutes of silence, licking barbecue sauce from her fingers. “If you had gone through all this trouble to cook a wonderful, romantic dinner for me, I never would have stood you up. Your ill-mannered lady friend has no idea what she’s missing.”
His insides churning, Varik merely grunted in response. The last thing he felt like was making small talk with Ursula, especially with Delaney as the topic.
“Hmm...” Ursula mused a short while later, chewing and swallowing a forkful of potato before continuing. “I wonder what Darlene and her date are having for dinner.” She shrugged. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can’t hold a candle to this exquisite meal you’ve prepared. They’re probably eating some mediocre restaurant food by candlelight. You know, something like steak or lobster or—”
“Ursula.” Usually a man in control of his emotions, Varik felt the raw heat of anger clawing up from his gut.
“Yes, darling?” She sipped from her wine glass. “Mmm, so good. What is this?” She lifted the bottle. “Riesling, just as I thought. The perfect accompaniment for ribs. Ready for a refill?”
Ignoring her question, Varik replied, “I do not care what Delaney is having for dinner. I do not want to discuss her with you. Just let me eat in peace.” Too agitated to focus on his food, he could have been eating barbecued cardboard instead of ribs without knowing the difference.
“Oh how thoughtless of me.” Conveying a look of sympathy, she reached across the table, covering his hand. “My poor wounded Varik, of course you don’t want to hear about what’s-her-name and the man she took off with. It must be terribly painful. What shall we talk about instead?”
“Nothing. Just finish your food and go.”
“All right, I will. I can understand why you’d prefer to be alone,” she said, her tone soft, full of concern. Shaking her head, she tsked. “It’s so easy to fall for the wrong sort of person when you’re on the rebound. Believe me, I know. She clearly took advantage of your kind nature, Varik...you poor dear.”
This time Varik kept his mouth shut, recognizing how close he was to roaring his displeasure and blurting a vile string of derogatory words, strong enough to strip the varnish off the furniture. He feared once he started it would be difficult to stop.
His gaze lifted, watching his ex-wife’s lips opening and closing as she prattled on, doing her damnedest to assure Varik knew how terribly he’d been wronged. If he was a man of violence, he thought for the second time this evening, he could easily see himself strangling his verbose ex and burying her in the backyard.
The resulting image brought a smile to his face for the first time since he’d gotten out of the shower. He polished off the wine in his glass and poured himself another.
“There, see?” Ursula beamed a smile. “I can tell you’re feeling better already. I told you I was good company.”
Varik ignored her. Though she made several more attempts to engage him in conversation, he maintained his silence while luxuriating in a pleasing assortment of homicidal scenarios. Perhaps he was inclined to be a man of violence after all. The notion had his lip curling into a half-smile.
“There is one question I have,” he said, curiosity getting the best of him toward the end of the meal.
“Yes?”
“Did you tell Delaney you were my ex-wife or,” he swallowed hard, “my wife?”
“She thought I was your sister when she heard my last name,” Ursula recounted with a chuckle. “Isn’t that amusing?”
“And you told her...?”
Ursula gave a nonchalant shrug. “That I am your ex-wife, of course.” Almost looking as if she were about to cry, she leaned toward him, folding her hands on the table and positioning her breasts to rest there. “I love you, darling. If only you’d let me prove it to you,” she said, her earnest tone matching her facial expression.
“If you love me, you know nothing more important to me than truth and honesty.”
“I know. Believe me, Varik, I am being entirely truthful when I say I love you and only you.”
“And are you honest about everything else?”
He watched Ursula’s fist clench until it was white-knuckled.
She licked her lips before asking, “What do you mean?”
“Everything you tell me about Delaney.” With his gaze locked on hers, he watched his ex-wife closely for any gesture, any nuance that might give her away.
“Certainly. Please don’t make me remind you that you’ve already seen the proof of my honesty with your own eyes. The woman and her lover were perfectly framed for all to see, right there in her window.” Ursula gestured in the direction of Delaney’s townhouse.
Varik’s eyes narrowed as the unsavory image of Delaney and the other man embracing permeated his brain. While Ursula was untrustworthy, she was right about him seeing the proof of her words.
“What earthly reason would I have for lying? I don’t know the woman from Adam.” She drained the wine from her glass, pouring another.
“Because you are a woman of great...” He paused, tapping a finger on the table as he searched for the correct word in English. “Great jealousy,” he finished. “You want Varik only for yourself. You want me to take you back. Yes?”
“Yes.” Nodding, Ursula let out a breathy sigh. “I know I’ve done some terrible things, Varik, but deliberately trying to hurt you is not one of them. I regret causing you pain more than I can possibly say. Believe me, I would never make up a spiteful lie, even if I thought it might help to win you back.”
Grabbing his hand, she clasped it tight. “I love you and want you to be happy...even if it’s not with me.”
“So if I tell you I find woman who make my heart happy,” he touched his chest, “you would give your blessing?”
“Well,” Ursula chuckled, “no, I’d definitely be lying if I said I’d give you my blessing. But if you’re asking if I’d step aside...if I’d be willing to give you up so you could live happily ever after with a good woman who loved you, then the answer is a resounding yes. I would make that sacrifice for you because I love you that much.”
She seemed so sincere, as if she spoke from her heart. Varik wondered why he and Ursula had never bothered to talk this way before. As he recalled, most of their discussions had been frivolous, focusing on trivial matters like the pricey new shoes, purses or dresses she’d bought, or her newest hairstyle or manicure. He’d never realized she had this much depth as a person. Maybe Ursula really had changed.
“Let me to prove to you that I’ve changed and that I can make you happy,” she said as if reading his thoughts.
“How have you changed?” He eyed her skeptically.
“Oh my God...” Her eyelids fluttered closed and she shook her head back and forth. “In so many ways, Varik.” Opening her eyes, she smiled brightly. “If you want babies, we’ll have babies. If you want a house in the country or in the mountains, we’ll live like happy hermits. If you want me to learn to cook, I’ll take classes on how to use the oven and the stove and all those pots, pans and utensils. I’ll even learn to keep house. You can teach me how to use the vacuum.” She laughed and Varik couldn’t help joining in.
“Whatever it is you want, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Lost in thought, Varik was silent for a long moment.
“I will give up my acting career,” she announced. “I’m obligated to the studio for three more films but after that, I’m walking away from all of that. You have my word.”
That was one thing Varik never expected to hear. He supposed it could be possible that his self-absorbed ex had matured enough to be ready to focus on the important things in life rather than fame, fortune, and a glamorous, flashy lifestyle.
And other men.
Again, as if she could read his mind, she said, “Being loyal and faithful to you is at the top of my list.”
“I want to believe you, Ursula but...”
“Don’t you think by now I’ve learned the importance of not lying to you?” Ursula’s expression, tone of voice and body language gave Varik the impression that, maybe for the only time in her life, Ursula was telling him the truth.
“I’ve been such a fool.” She bowed her head, looking contrite. “Concerned with silly, unimportant things...always focused on myself and my looks. I don’t want to be that self-centered immature woman anymore, Varik. With you by my side I could develop into the woman you always hoped I’d be. Do you think there might still be a chance for us?” She held her thumb and forefinger an inch apart, giving him a beseeching look. “Just the whisper of a chance?”
Cognizant that he needed to protect his heart from the stomping it had received under Ursula’s previous care, Varik gave plenty of thought before he responded. At least he knew fairly well what he had with Ursula. With Delaney, he thought he knew her but was profoundly mistaken. He’d been deluded once again by a pretty face and the pack of lies that came with it. He’d presented his heart to Delaney and she’d made mincemeat out of it.
“We have a history together,” Ursula urged, her voice soft, sweet, nearly inaudible. “We know each other. Understand each other. I would devote my life to making up for the heartache I caused you in the past, Varik, if only you’d give me the opportunity.”
Varik spent a long silent moment, looking off into the distance, images of Delaney seizing his thoughts. God how he had cherished the woman. Her spontaneous laughter was infectious, her spirit full of fire, her demeanor sweet, kind and generous.
That one very special evening they’d shared the day he landed on her doorstep was one he’d never forget. Delaney had captured his heart in a way Ursula never had...and never could. He had allowed Delaney to infiltrate his very soul until he believed they were destined for each other.
How could he have been so wrong?
Regardless of what the future held for him and Ursula, it was time for Varik to lock Delaney out of his life. From this moment forward, she would be relegated to the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind where she’d dwell as nothing more than a ghostly reminder of how he’d been foolish enough to give her his heart. His trust. His love.
Varik turned his attention to Ursula, noting her hopeful, expectant expression. There were times when she could be rather endearing.
“No promises but maybe we can try taking small steps,” he suggested, willing to consider the possibility of renewing their relationship, even though he would never give her his love again, at least not in the way he had the first time. Regardless of how much she may have changed, Ursula would never have the opportunity to stomp on his heart again.
Wiping a tear from her eye, she clasped his hand and squeezed. “Thank you, my darling Varik, for believing in me. Maybe we can start by clearing the table and doing the dishes together.” Smiling up at him from beneath her lashes she added, “You can teach me how.”
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After everything that happened, it would have been nice to hold a warm, sexy woman in his arms while he slept but, as enticing as she was, Varik wisely sent Ursula on her way, promising he’d meet her for lunch after his English lesson with Tore.
It was difficult concentrating on his session with thoughts of Delaney insistently rising to the surface, regardless of how hard he tried to squelch them. Picking up on his uncommon inattentiveness, Tore asked him about it. After hearing what had transpired, Tore advised Varik to leave both deceitful women in his past, warning that Ursula wasn’t to be trusted no matter how sweet and innocent she came across. She was, after all, an award-winning actress, he reminded Varik.
He knew his cousin was right. As Tore pointed out, a good woman would never proposition her husband’s happily married cousin, especially when the man’s beloved wife was dying. Varik strongly doubted there could be a future for him and Ursula. If she really had changed, he’d be able to tell over time. And he had plenty of patience. It was easy for her to gush out all those promises during their dinner, while doing her utmost to convince him they belonged together. The hard part for Ursula, Varik knew, was being able to keep up a front for any length of time if she was lying.
Lunch was uneventful, with Ursula maintaining her new, improved persona, jabbering away about all the happy, fun-filled things they’d do together once they started living together again. It was during lunch that she told Varik she’d left her diamond encrusted lighter at his townhouse. She must have tucked it under something because he would have spotted it otherwise. It seemed to be a well-planned excuse for returning to his place so she could finagle him into sleeping with her.
Since he’d already made up his mind that wasn’t going to happen, Varik agreed to take her back to his house so she could retrieve her lighter, informing her she couldn’t stay long because he had a performance of the Viking play that evening.
As they turned down the street Varik’s eyes widened at the for sale sign in Delaney’s front yard.
“She’s moving,” he said absently.
“Yes,” Ursula said, “she mentioned it to me last night when she stopped by. Didn’t I tell you?”
Stopping the car in the middle of the road, Varik turned to her. “No.”
“She’s moving in with her boyfriend.”
Driving two houses down, Varik pulled into his garage, dazed and bewildered. Considering his past with Ursula, he couldn’t help wondering if all women were two-faced or if he just had rotten luck.
The more Varik thought about it, something just didn’t feel right.
In the kitchen, he turned to Ursula. “It seems you and Delaney did much talking together for two women who not really know each other.”
With a blasé flip of her hand, Ursula said, “I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that your friend has a penchant for chattering away.” She made a clicking teeth motion with her fingers.
“But why she tell so many personal things to stranger?” It didn’t make any sense to him that Delaney would so freely share her personal information with Ursula.
“Who knows? She just prattled on and on about all sorts of things, her dog, her ex, her job...probably because she was so excited about the return of her boyfriend. You’ve never seen her like that before?”
Varik recalled that when Delaney got nervous she did tend to jabber a lot. She’d even made fun of herself for doing it. “Sometimes,” he admitted.
Clasping Varik by the shoulders, Ursula gave him yet another pitying look. “Women often feel comfortable talking to other women about such things as boyfriends and relationships.” Her expression full of compassion, Ursula squeezed his shoulders. “I’m sorry you’ve been hurt again. It seems Delaney played my poor Varik for a fool...a sucker. Do you know what that means in English, darling, or should I explain it?”
“No need for explain. I understand perfectly.” Varik hated that she was right. Hated he’d been so incredibly gullible. “Sucker is like what you do to me before.”
Letting out a sigh, Ursula nodded, allowing her hands to drop to their sides. “Sadly, yes. I hate seeing another woman put you through what I did. My poor Varik.”
He realized it was useless telling Ursula to stop all the annoying pity references. He’d already told her numerous times and it hadn’t done any good. She was clearly intent on coddling him.
Ursula closed the distance between them. “Don’t worry.” She wrapped her hands around his neck, stroking the back of his hair, “I’ll make you forget she ever existed. I know just what to do to take your mind off Delaney.” Licking her lips, she rocked herself against him.
“I’m sure you do.” Varik stepped out of her embrace before he forgot himself and gave in to her considerable charms. “But for now, it’s time for you to find your lighter and be on your way.”
Pouting, Ursula went to the living room, making sure to treat him to the jiggly sway of her backside as she walked. Retrieving the lighter from beneath a throw pillow, she said, “Well what do you know? It was right here on the loveseat all along.”
Varik noted she’d made a beeline for the lighter. The quick discovery was interesting, seeing as how they hadn’t sat on the loveseat at all the night before.