To Make a Marriage(26)

Adam would be perfectly happy with Andie staying at home to care for  their children. In fact, he would prefer it. But there was no way he  would ever make that decision for her. 'Wait and see how you feel,' he  advised cautiously. 'You may find you miss all that glamour after a few  months.' After all, Andie had always been extremely fashion-conscious  herself.

'Motherhood may not be glamourous, but I'm sure the twins will keep me  more than busy. In fact, it will probably be infinitely more fun than a  job that now seems frivolous and unimportant.'

'We could always employ a nanny-'

'No way,' Andie told him determinedly. 'None of us ever had a nanny,  Mummy always looked after us herself, and she said that, no matter how  hard and difficult it could sometimes be, it was worth it, if only in  the fact that we each knew we were totally loved.' A slightly wistful  look came over her beautiful face. 'She also said that no matter how  many children you have there's always enough love to go round.'

Barbara would say something like that, Adam realised sadly. She would also have been overjoyed at the prospect of grandchildren.

'Do you still miss her?' Adam heard himself ask. And then wished he  hadn't, as Andie's beautiful face clouded over. 'Forget I said that,' he  told her hastily. 'It was a stupid question. What I suggest we do now,  if you have no other plans,' he added softly, aware that he could be  domineering in his decisions without actually meaning to be; he had been  in charge of just his own destiny too long, it would take time to  adjust to the three-no, four-of them, as a unit!

'I have no other plans, Adam,' Andie answered him, obviously fully aware of what he was endeavouring to do.

'I just have to pop back to my office to check on a contract my  secretary was preparing when I left earlier, and I thought you could  come with me. Once I've dealt with the contract we could perhaps go on  to an estate agent and make some enquiries about houses?' He looked at  Andie questioningly.

She nodded. 'That space and garden you mentioned seems all the more  appealing now that we know there will be two babies and not one. A visit  to an estate agent's sounds like a very good idea,' she agreed happily.

Adam felt such a sense of ecstatic happiness himself, at the thought of  their future life together, that for a moment he couldn't speak. He  could see the four of them now, out in the garden together, Andie  laughingly happy, the two babies gurgling merrily on a blanket on the  lawn.

But, as always happened when he imagined that complete happiness, a  shadow loomed. A dark, ugly shadow that he wanted nowhere near his  future life with Andie.

The same shadow that loomed as they approached his offices!

Once again there was that familiar figure, patiently waiting, a newspaper tucked under one arm!

Adam didn't need to be told that Glenda had seen the announcement. He  had spoken to her only last week, dealt with that situation-for what he  had hoped at the time would be several months; there was absolutely no  reason for Glenda to be here now, other than the fact she had seen the  marriage announcement in the newspaper she so conspicuously carried.

'Adam … ?' Andie looked up at him uncertainly as she seemed to sense his sudden tension.

What did he do now? He could hardly turn tail and run. But to actually  speak to Glenda, with Andie at his side, was even more unacceptable.

Why was there never a bus to walk under when you needed one?





CHAPTER ELEVEN




THEY had come to an abrupt halt on the pavement after getting out of  Adam's car outside his offices, Adam's sudden tension a tangible thing  as Andie looked up at him worriedly.

She followed his line of vision, but there was really nothing to see,  just a blonde woman in a poppy-red suit, reading some notices in an  office window.

But Adam was staring at the woman as if he had seen a ghost!

Andie turned back to look at the woman herself. Tall and very slender,  that blonde hair resting silkily on her shoulders, she had a sensual  beauty that sometimes came with age, a beauty Andie was sure men would  find attractive.                       
       
           



       

That Adam had found attractive?

It suddenly occurred to Andie that this woman could be one of those  loose ends she had expected Adam to deal with now that he was marrying  her.

She felt tense herself now. The last thing she wanted, today of all  days-the incredible news of their twins still uppermost in her  feelings!-was to have to deal with one of the legion of women who had at  some time been part of Adam's life!

Although it seemed, as Adam tightly gripped her arm as they slowly began  to walk towards the building that housed his offices, that she was  going to have little choice in the matter.

The woman had turned now, was watching their approach with speculatively narrowed eyes.

Andie instantly felt an unexplained animosity welling up inside her!

She hadn't even spoken to the other woman. She had no proof that she was  someone Adam had been involved with. Nevertheless, Andie knew that she  disliked the other woman intensely.

'Adam,' the woman greeted.

'Glenda,' he bit out harshly, his hand falling away from Andie's arm now.

Andie watched the two of them, swallowing hard, knowing that if Adam  ever looked at her with such contempt she could want to curl up in a  corner and die.

'Aren't you going to introduce me to your fiancée, Adam?' the woman  Glenda said archly. 'I take it this is your future wife?' She looked  speculatively at Andie.

'I'm Andrea Summer, yes,' Andie was the one to answer stiffly, reaching  out to curl her fingers about Adam's hand. A hand that was surprisingly  very cold. Or perhaps not so surprising; Adam looked as if he were  carved out of ice at this moment.

The woman Glenda gave her a sweeping glance before turning her attention back to Adam. 'Adam … ?' she said pointedly.

His expression was grim, his mouth a thin angry line, grey eyes narrowed  chillingly. Andie felt a shiver down her own spine just looking at him.  Although the woman Glenda seemed unperturbed by Adam's lack of welcome,  smiling at him confidently …

He drew in a harshly angry breath. 'Andrea Summer. Glenda-Howarth.'

Was it her imagination, or had there been the slightest hesitation in  Adam's voice before he'd stated the other woman's surname? As if he  would rather not have said it!

Although Andie couldn't imagine why not. As far as she was aware, the  other woman's name meant nothing to her. Although the same obviously  wasn't true of Adam …

'Mrs Howarth,' Andie responded stiltedly, actually having no idea of the  other woman's married state. The too-slender hands were bare of rings,  but in this day and age that didn't mean anything; lots of women chose  not to wear a wedding ring.

'Miss Summer,' the other woman drawled derisively before once again  turning back to Adam. 'And the wedding is to be two weeks on Saturday, I  believe?'

Adam's nostrils flared as he looked at the newspaper tucked beneath the  woman's arm. 'That is one of the few newspapers I know that actually  print the truth,' he replied tautly.

The woman continued to smile undauntedly. 'I trust I will be receiving an invitation?' she queried.

Andie saw raw anger flare in Adam's tightly set features, that silver  gaze sending out shards of light. Whoever this woman was-whatever she  had once been to Adam-he obviously did not want her at their wedding!

'It's going to be a very quiet wedding.' Andie was the one to answer the  other woman. And not exactly truthfully; their guest list had added up  to fifty at the last count. 'With family and only a few very close  friends,' she finished firmly.

Blonde brows arched. 'Really? In that case-'

'We're actually in rather a hurry, Glenda.' Adam cut her short, fingers  tightening about Andie's hand. 'So if you wouldn't mind-'

'So it would seem.' The woman looked at him for several seconds before her slightly contemptuous eyes passed on to Andie.

This woman knew, or had at least guessed, that Andie was pregnant!

Andie didn't know how she was so sure the other woman knew, she just  knew that she did. Because Adam had told her? Had he excused his sudden  marriage by explaining that he really had little choice in the matter,  that it was literally a shotgun wedding; Rome would have taken a shotgun  to Adam if they weren't married and Rome recognised the baby as being  the other man's!

Andie felt slightly sick, those moments of deep emotional intimacy she  and Adam had shared, as they'd gazed at their babies, disappearing like a  puff of smoke.

Adam was being forced into marrying her by the circumstances of his  long-standing friendship with her family, her father in particular, and,  no matter how much she loved Adam, she knew she must never lose sight  of that fact.                       
       
           



       

She turned blindly to Adam. Blindly, because of the tears threatening to  fall. Something she would not allow to happen in front of Adam, let  alone this brittle, but beautiful woman.