To Make a Marriage(27)

'If you don't mind, Adam, I think I'm really too tired to bother with  the estate agents today.' To her surprise her voice sounded lightly  dismissive, instead of how she really felt-heartbroken! 'In fact, I  think I'll return home and rest for a while if we're going out this  evening with Danie and Jonas.'

Something she was no longer looking forward to, Andie acknowledged  heavily. Half an hour ago the world had seemed bright and full of  promises, now it only consisted of two tiny innocent beings caught at  the centre of what was, after all, merely a loveless marriage! Carrying  out what now seemed nothing but a charade, in front of her sister and  Jonas, was going to take every ounce of courage she possessed!

'Andie-'

'I'll call Danie and Jonas later this afternoon, and let you know where  and at what time we're meeting them for dinner,' Andie pushed smoothly  into what she knew was going to be Adam's protest at having her cut  their afternoon together short like this. She did it with all of her old  authority; she was perfectly capable of choosing to make decisions  without consulting Adam first! 'I'll leave you to talk to Mrs Howarth,  Adam.'

'I hope I haven't interrupted something?' Glenda Howarth said cattily.

Telling Andie that she hoped no such thing at all! The other woman was  enjoying herself at the expense of Adam's marriage to Andie-and Andie,  for one, had taken enough of it.

'Not in the least, Mrs Howarth,' she came back smoothly. 'Adam and I  will have the rest of our lives together, I certainly don't begrudge you  a few minutes of his time.' Her emerald-hard gaze told Glenda Howarth  that if it amounted to anything more than that, begrudging a few minutes  of Adam's time would be the least of the other woman's problems.

Blue eyes returned to hers unflinchingly. 'That's very gracious of you.'

Gracious was the last thing Andie felt-she could cheerfully have wiped  that condescending smile off the other woman's face! But, having no idea  what this woman meant to Adam, that was something she couldn't do.

She turned to Adam. 'I'll give you a ring later.' She reached up and  placed a light kiss on his rigidly clenched jaw. 'Goodbye, Mrs Howarth,'  she added with more than a little force.

'Miss Summer.' The other woman was still confidently unperturbed.

Adam seemed stunned by the suddenness of her decision to leave, Andie  realised as she turned away from them to signal a passing taxi to stop.  He hadn't come out of that stupor by the time she had climbed into the  waiting taxi and turned to give him a dismissive wave through the  window.

She gave the taxi driver her address before sinking wearily back into  the seat, realising as she did so that her legs were actually shaking.

She hadn't liked Glenda Howarth on sight, and further acquaintance  hadn't changed that opinion, the other woman proving to be hard and  brittle. Worst of all, she seemed to have some sort of hold over Adam …

That was the thing that bothered Andie the most about that unexpected meeting.

Adam hadn't been at all pleased earlier when Jonas had told them Rome  had put their marriage announcement in the newspaper, and at the time  Andie had guessed there was someone that Adam didn't want to see that  announcement.

She now knew, with sickening clarity, that person was Glenda Howarth!

Who was Glenda Howarth?

More to the point, what did the other woman mean to Adam … ?

Andie had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer to either of those questions!



Adam watched Andie as she chatted happily with Danie across the dinner table.

As promised, Andie had telephoned him at five-thirty to tell him she had  managed to contact Danie, and that the four of them were meeting up for  dinner at Cleo's at eight o'clock.

Andie had sounded bright and cheerful enough on the telephone, just as  she had looked stunningly beautiful in a knee-length black dress when  he'd called at her apartment for her shortly after seven-thirty so that  they could drive to the restaurant together. And she seemed happy enough  in Danie and Jonas's company now too.

But for all that bright happiness Andie portrayed, Adam knew that  something had subtly changed between them this afternoon. Andie was  politely gracious when he told her how beautiful she looked this  evening, politely considerate of everything he said, politely distant!  In fact, Andie was just too damned polite!

He knew the reason for it, of course. Andie was puzzled, if not a little  hurt, by that strained meeting with Glenda earlier this afternoon. The  problem was, he wasn't sure, without telling Andie everything, how he  could make things right between them again. It was something he had  hoped to avoid until after he and Andie were safely married.                       
       
           



       

Although he had had the satisfaction, after Andie had left so abruptly,  of leaving Glenda in no doubt that if she tried to interfere in his life  again in the way she had today, then she would get nothing else from  him. Absolutely nothing.

As Glenda's interest in him had only ever been a financial one, he was pretty sure she would take note of that warning.

Which took care of Glenda, for the immediate future, but did absolutely  nothing to put things right between himself and Andie. If he tried to  touch her, put his arm about her waist, hold her hand, she found some  way of eluding that touch. When he had moved to kiss her on arrival at  her apartment earlier, she had turned her face slightly so that he'd  ended up kissing her cheek.

In other words, he was back to square one as far as Andie was concerned!

It wasn't acceptable to him! Being with Andie was the best thing that  had ever happened in his life-and he wasn't about to lose it.

He reached out and took her hand in his, his grasp tightening as she  seemed to instinctively move away. 'Isn't it time you told Danie our  news … ?' he prompted as Andie turned to look at him questioningly.

Her cheeks became slightly heated, her gaze shifting uncertainly away from his.

Andie didn't want to tell Danie they were expecting twins!

Adam knew that as clearly as if Andie had shouted the words out loud,  feeling a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Andie had  seemed as excited as he was earlier when Jonas had shown them the two  babies on the screen. Obviously it was something that had happened since  that had changed that.

Glenda had happened!

His mouth tightened at that realisation. Glenda was responsible for much  of the unhappiness in his own life; he would not allow her to be the  cause of any in Andie's.

'We already know about the wedding.' Danie was the one to break what was  becoming an uncomfortably long silence following Adam's question.

'Andie?' Adam prompted again, his hand tightening reassuringly about Andie's now.

She drew in a sharp breath before smiling across at her sister. Adam  just hoped he was the only one who could tell how strained that smile  was!

'Jonas did a scan for us today,' Andie told Danie lightly.

'It was-very illuminating,' she added with a return of some of her mischievous humour.

Danie turned to her quietly listening husband. 'You didn't mention that,' she rebuked playfully.

Jonas shrugged. 'Doctor and patient confidentiality still stands, even  from the patient's sister. Even if that sister happens to be my own  wife. As you very well know.'

'Can you believe this man, Adam?' Danie turned to him, her eyes  twinkling humorously. 'For several weeks after Jonas and I first met, I  thought he was a heart specialist, or, at worst, a cancer specialist!'  She shook her head. 'I even got the patient wrong!'

Adam smiled. 'Sounds like an interesting story,' he said.

He had always rather liked the red-haired Danie; of the three sisters  she was probably the most spirited. Although Jonas didn't seem to be  having any problems as her husband, looking confidently relaxed as he  sat beside his wife.

The other man had a quiet strength of character that was more than a  match for Danie's more extrovert one, Adam was quickly learning. The  other man was also highly intelligent. Jonas was a very capable  obstetrician. And obviously deeply in love with Danie. It was the latter  that made Adam like him the most.

'Oh, it is,' Danie confirmed. 'So tell me your news,' she demanded.  'Obviously Jonas already knows it.' She gave her husband a playfully  chastising look.

Adam could see that Andie was still having trouble sharing their news.  'How about if we show you instead of telling you?' he suggested, taking  out his wallet to remove the photograph Jonas had given him earlier.

Danie's reaction to the two babies was as joyful as expected, the two  men sharing an indulgent glance as the two women launched into  conversation about twins, baby buggies, cots, clothes, everything that  could possibly be needed for the arrival of two babies instead of one.

'I'm afraid this evening must have been very boring for you,' Andie said  shyly on the drive back to her apartment later-much later-that evening.  'All that baby talk,' she explained.

Adam raised blond brows, his mouth tight. 'And why should I be bored talking about our babies?'