The Second Mrs. Adams

“And I offered to drive you home that night, because we worked late.”

“I’ll bet that didn’t thrill Morgana.”

He frowned. “You don’t like her very much, do you?”

“Don’t be silly,” she said quickly. “How could I not like her when I hardly know her?”

David reached across the table and took Joanna’s hand. “She was a good friend to you, Jo. After you and I married, you felt a little, well, lost, I guess. And Morgana did everything she could to help you settle in.”

“Settle in?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “It was all new to you. Living in Manhattan, entertaining…”

“You mean, I was the poor little match girl who married the handsome prince and went to live in his luxurious castle,” she said softly.

“No. Hell, no.” His fingers tightened on hers. “You weren’t accustomed to…” To money. To status. But, by God, she’d grown accustomed quickly enough…

“I understand.” Joanna sighed. “And I’m sure Morgana was terrific. I don’t know why…” She sighed again and gave him a little smile. “Actually, I do know. It’s because she’s so gorgeous and she gets to spend so much time with you. For a while there, I even thought—I imagined…”

“Morgana is my right-hand man,” David said, dragging his thoughts from where he wished they hadn’t gone. “She’s efficient, and very bright, and I trust her implicitly. But that’s all she is and all she ever has been.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Joanna said, and smiled. “Go on. Tell me what happened when you drove me home.”

He felt some of the sudden tension ease from his muscles. He grinned, let go of her hand and picked up his spoon.

“What do you think happened?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Cross my heart. You were the soul of propriety, and so was I.”

“Good.” She laughed. “For a minute there, you had me thinking that—”

“I wanted you so badly that I ached.”

Color swept into her face. “Right away?”

“Oh, yeah.” He spooned up some chili. “The minute I saw you. But I did the right thing,” he said, deadpan. “I waited until our second date.”

“Our second…” Joanna’s color deepened. “Tell me you’re joking!”

“We made love,” he said, smiling into her eyes, “and it was incredible.”

“Incredible,” she whispered, as fascinated as she was shocked.

“Uh-huh. And a few days after that, we got married.”

Joanna’s spoon clattered against the tabletop.

“Got married? So fast? After knowing each other, what, two weeks?”

“Ten days,” he said, making light of it, wishing he could tell her how he’d proposed with his heart in his mouth for fear she’d turn him down and walk out of his life…and how, not even a year later, he’d wished she had.

Ten days, Joanna thought. Well, why not? It couldn’t have taken her more than ten minutes to have fallen in love with David.

But what about him? She’d been the soul of propriety, he’d said. What had happened? Had he wanted her to sleep with him—the ever-ready male anatomy at work—and when she’d refused, had he made an impulsive offer of marriage and ended up regretting it?

Was that what had gone wrong between them? Had he simply looked at her across the breakfast table one morning and asked himself what in hell she was doing there?

When the sexual excitement of this weekend was over, would he look at her and think that same thought again?

“Jo?” David reached for her hand. “What is it? You’re so pale.”

Joanna forced a sickly smile to her lips. “I think…I think you were right when you said I shouldn’t overdo.” Carefully, she pushed her bowl of chili away. “Would you mind very much if we went back to the house now?”

He was on his feet before she’d finished speaking. “Let’s go,” he said, tossing a handful of bills on the table. She stood up, he put his arm around her and the next thing she knew, he was carrying her from the diner.

“David, put me down. This is silly. You don’t have to pick me up every time I—”

He kissed her, silencing the quick flow of words in a way that made her heartbeat stutter.

“I love holding you,” he whispered fiercely. “I’d hold you in my arms forever, if I could.”

He tucked her gently into the car, buckled her seat belt, then got behind the wheel and drove slowly home. And all the time, she wondered if he’d meant what he’d said, if it would last or if everything that had happened between them would end when the weekend did.

He insisted on lifting her from the car and carrying her into the house.

“I’m going to take you upstairs and put you to bed,” he said. “And when you’re feeling better, I’ll make us some supper.”

“Don’t be silly. I feel better already. I’ll cook.”

“What’s the matter? Afraid of trying my extra-special canned chicken soup?”

Joanna laughed. “At least let me lie down in the living room so I don’t feel like a complete invalid.”

“Deal.” He lowered her gently to the couch and smiled at her. “And since you’re feeling better, I’ll let you have a vote.”

“A vote on what?”

David grinned. “Raise your hand if you want us to stay right where we are for the rest of the week.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you mean it?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful. But your office…”

“They’ll manage.” He leaned down, brushed his mouth lightly over hers. “Lie right there and don’t you dare move an inch. I’ll put up the kettle for some tea and phone Morgana.” He smiled. “She’ll probably be delighted at the chance to run things without me for a while.”

Joanna smiled and lay her head back as David made his way to the kitchen.

Had she ever been so happy in her life?

Even the fears she’d had just a little while ago didn’t seem quite so awful now. There was more to her relationship with David than sex. There had to be. That he wanted to stay here with her, away from the rest of the world, was wonderful.

Regaining her memory no longer seemed as quite as important as it had. What mattered now was getting her husband to admit that he loved her.

“Jo?”

She looked up. David was coming slowly toward her, his smile gone.

“David, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really.” He squatted down beside her and took her hand in his. “I mean, it’s not like it’s the end of the world or anything…”

“But?”

He sighed. “But Morgana said she’d been just about to phone me. I’ve been working on this project for the Secretary of Commerce… Hell,” he said with an impatient gesture, “the point is, the White House has become interested.”

Joanna gave a little laugh. “The White House? Are you serious?”

David nodded. “The Secretary wants a meeting. Gypsy, there’s no way I can put him off.”

“Of course not.”

“If it was anything else…”

“David, you don’t have to explain. I understand.”

“Look, we’ll go back to New York tomorrow, I’ll meet with the Secretary and his advisors and next weekend, we’ll drive up again and stay for the week. OK?”

Joanna nodded. “Sure.”

She hoped she sounded as if she meant it but as she went into David’s arms and lifted her face for his kiss, there was a hollow feeling in the pit of her belly, as if she knew in her heart that they would not be returning to this house again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE servants in the Adams town house were in the habit of taking their mid-morning coffee together.

It was Mrs. Timmons’s idea and though it made for a pleasant start to the day, it was a ritual that had less to do with congenialit

y than with efficiency. The housekeeper had found she could best organize the day with Ellen and Hollister seated opposite her at the kitchen table.

But she could see instantly that that wasn’t going to work this morning.

Nothing was going according to schedule. And she had the feeling that nothing would.

The Adamses had returned from their weekend outing late last night. Mrs. Timmons had been watching the late news on the TV when she’d heard them come in and she’d risen from the rocking chair in her bedroom cum sitting room off the kitchen, hastily checked her appearance in the mirror, and gone out to see if she were needed.

What she’d seen had made her fall back into the shadows in amazement.