His expression changed.
“Oh, God, Linda…”
“I know what I did was wrong. I’m not trying to excuse it. But I wanted one night… just one night… to feel like someone still desired me.”
Robert lowered his head.
When he finally spoke, his voice sounded different.
“It wasn’t you.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“It wasn’t your body. It wasn’t your age. And it certainly wasn’t because I stopped wanting you.”
I couldn’t understand.
Robert placed his hands on his knees.
“Two years ago, my doctor told me I had a heart condition.”
I froze.
“What condition?”
“I didn’t want to frighten you. I was taking medication. The doctor told me I needed to be careful about physical strain.”
I stared at him.
“That’s why you kept pulling away from me?”
He nodded.
“At first, I was scared. And then every time you came close to me, I thought about what might happen if something went wrong right there beside you. I knew you would blame yourself.”
