'Try to see it from my point of view, Andie,' he cajoled, still alarmed by her paleness. 'You're being unreasonable-'
'I should have known I was asking too much,' she cut in, giving him a disgusted glance before dropping those concealing sunglasses back down on the bridge of her nose.
'You're offering only half a commitment, Adam, for the sake of our child. I'm sorry, but I couldn't live that way.' She turned away, her face set in rigid lines.
Adam grasped her arms, turning her back to face him. 'You couldn't live that way?' he echoed disbelievingly. 'Then why the hell should you expect me to?' He shook her slightly in his agitation. 'From what I understand, marriage can be difficult enough, without having to sit there waiting for your partner to fall in love with someone else!'
Andie opened her mouth to say something. And then closed it again, looking up at him frowningly.
Adam coldly withstood that searching gaze. He would do a lot for Andie, agree to almost anything she asked of him, but he could not agree to committing himself to sitting there wondering when she would leave him. He just couldn't do that.
She hesitated. 'I didn't-I wasn't-Adam, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding-'
'No misunderstanding, Andie,' he bit back. 'Either you agree to marry me, on the understanding it's a lifetime commitment-with no third parties involved. Ever,' he added grimly. 'Or we forget the whole thing.'
His heart was beating so loudly in his chest he could almost hear it, the blood rushing through his veins at break-neck speed as he felt his future balanced on the knife-edge of Andie's reply. He hadn't meant to issue her with an ultimatum, but in the circumstances he didn't feel he had any option. Even so, he stopped breathing as he waited for her to speak.
A nerve pulsed erratically in the slender column of Andie's throat. 'Adam,' she began slowly. 'Just now, when you said those terms were unacceptable to you, I thought you meant that fidelity to me was unacceptable to you, not-' she licked the dryness of her lips '-not the-the fact that the marriage might eventually fail because one of us fell in love with someone else!'
Adam's lips thinned. 'I may have come into the idea of marriage a bit later than most people, Andie, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own views on what it should be. And it shouldn't be a relationship that has the sword of Damocles hanging over it!'
That nerve was still pulsing in her throat, but some of the colour seemed to be returning to her cheeks now. Thank goodness, Adam noted with relief. He had come here to offer a solution to their problem, not to make Andie ill.
Her body relaxed slightly beneath the tight hold Adam still had of her arms. 'I agree,' she finally said softly.
Adam was perturbed. What did she agree to? This was turning into a nightmare; his emotions were like a roller coaster, one minute up, the next minute down.
Andie drew in a steadying gulp of air, her chin raised determinedly. 'On the understanding that it won't be a temporary thing. No half commitments, no third parties involved. Ever,' she repeated his words clearly. 'I agree to marry you.'
That knife-edge was suddenly no longer there, the sword no longer threatening. Andie was going to marry him!
And for the moment, that would have to be enough …
CHAPTER SIX
THE angry bellow could be heard throughout the whole house. Although the house staff, thank goodness, were used, over the years, not to react to their employer's occasional bouts of temper, apparently carrying on with their daily chores.
Something Andie was most grateful for as she shot Audrey a pained grimace. The two of them were in the sitting-room, supposedly drinking coffee together. Although, so far, that coffee had remained cooling in the cups as the two of them sat tensely waiting for Rome's reaction to Adam's news.
They had just heard it!
'It's gone very quiet,' Andie murmured a few seconds later, straining her ears trying to hear any further reaction from her father. The house remained silent with expectation. Unlike Andie, who was expecting, but certainly couldn't remain silent. Especially if her father were now in the process of doing Adam some physical damage. After all, she had been there three months ago too … ! 'Do you think I should-?'
'No, I don't,' Audrey answered calmly, finally reaching forward to pick up her coffee-cup and sip at the now tepid liquid.
'But Rome might-'
'He won't,' Audrey assured her with certainty, looking serenely beautiful as she sat in one of the armchairs.
Andie wished she had the older woman's control! But she didn't, standing up to pace agitatedly up and down the room, glancing towards the doorway often, the two men ensconced in Rome's study down the carpeted hallway.
'How can you be so sure?' Andie finally burst out, the lack of any noise whatsoever coming from the direction of the study grating on her already frayed nerves. 'I realise that your engagement, and the wedding next month, have calmed Daddy down a lot, but even so, he isn't going to be pleased by what Adam's telling him, is he?' A frown marred her creamy brow.
'You might be surprised,' Audrey came back dryly. 'Oh, not by his reaction to your and Adam's news,' she added at Andie's obvious surprise at the remark. 'His reaction to that is anyone's guess, I'm afraid. No, I was referring to Rome's calmness.' She shook her head. 'He isn't calm at all since I told him that I had lived here, and worked for him, for twelve years, without going to bed with him, and that now I intended to wait until our wedding night!'
Andie gave a choked laugh, her own worries temporarily forgotten. 'You told Rome that?'
'I certainly did.' The older woman returned her smile.
'My assurance that anticipation is half the fun didn't go down too well, either!' she confided mischievously.
'I'm sure it didn't.' Andie laughed out loud now, easily able to imagine her father's frustration with such a decision. Although he still looked a lot happier than Andie had seen him for years. At least, he had looked happier … Her smile faded, to be replaced by her previous frown. 'But you must have some idea of what Rome's going to say about-about-' She still had trouble formulating the words herself. 'I wanted to tell Daddy myself, but Adam insisted he had to be the one to do it,' she went on, irritated beyond words at what she considered Adam's chauvinist behaviour.
In fact, what she had really wanted to happen was for Adam to return to England after their talk, while she stayed on in Majorca for another week. But Adam wouldn't hear of it. They either both stayed in Majorca, or they both returned to England. And he had been absolutely adamant that he would be the one to talk to Rome.
'Quite right too.' Audrey nodded. 'It's his responsibility, Andie,' she added firmly before Andie could protest.
'Don't be ridiculous, Audrey. I'm almost twenty-six years old; I knew exactly what I was doing when I made love with Adam.'
Just once, she had promised herself at a point in their lovemaking when she had known she could have stopped it if she had wanted to. Just once, to be held in Adam's arms, to be loved for herself, and not for her resemblance to her mother. Just once-and it was turning into a lifetime commitment for both of them!
It was going to be no easy thing to be Adam's wife, to know that she could only ever be second best. But any woman would have been second best after her mother, so why not let it be her? After all, she loved Adam, and maybe one day-one day, he might be able to love her a little in return. Better, Andie had decided in Majorca, to be with the man she loved, than spend the rest of her life doing what she had already done for so long: watching and loving him from afar …
Audrey gave her a searching look. 'I'm sure you did,' she finally said. 'As did Adam. Which is why he should be the one to tell your father.' She gave a smile. 'Rome is so overjoyed at the idea of being a grandfather, he might just decide to overlook the fact that the two of you didn't get married first. I-' She broke off as a door could be heard opening down the hallway. 'I think we're about to find out,' Audrey revised quickly.
Andie could feel her tension growing as the two men made their slow progress down the hallway. At least, it seemed slow to her, they could actually have been running for all she knew!
Her father was the first to enter the sitting-room, a quick search of his rigidly set features telling her nothing, her gaze quickly passing to Adam, her heart sinking as he gave a slight shake of his head.
Whatever did that mean? Even if her father wasn't agreeable to them getting married, they were adults, for goodness' sake, could do as they pleased. They had done exactly that three months ago, which was why they were here together today at all! They had only come here to tell her father of their plans; they weren't asking his permission!