To Make A Marriage
Now he knew what was different about Andie! Like her mother before her, Andie always looked perfect, her make-up in place, no matter what the time of day, her clothes always beautifully tailored. Andie’s make-up was still perfect, but for once she wasn’t wearing any of her designer label clothes. Instead, she had on a loose green shirt over fitted denims, the former so big it looked as if it could be one of Rome’s cast-offs!
Not that Andie didn’t look as gorgeous as always; in fact, the casual clothing gave her a more approachable appearance, Adam decided thoughtfully. He was just surprised at the change in her, that was all…
She paused in the act of dead-heading roses, turning as she seemed to sense his gaze on her, a slight blush colouring her cheeks as she looked at him—warily, it almost seemed to him…? Had their friendship really come to that?
Probably, he acknowledged with a regretful sigh for the easy camaraderie they had once shared. But what had he expected? Nothing stayed the same. The fact that Harrie and Danie were now both married was testament to that.
‘I was just thinking how much like your mother you are.’ He spoke quietly, knowing, with this newfound strain between them, that Andie would not welcome any comment he might make concerning her personal appearance.
Andie’s expression changed from guarded to noncommittal. ‘She would have approved of Harrie and Danie’s choice of husbands,’ she commented huskily.
Yes, she probably would. Barbara, like Rome, had adored all of her daughters, wanted only the best for them. From the little he had seen of Quinn and Jonas, he had a feeling Barbara would not have been disappointed.
But what about Andie—would Barbara have approved of her lifestyle…? Andie was a career woman, had been the senior editor of Gloss for three years now, and showed no signs of wanting to change that for a husband and family of her own.
Yes, Barbara would have approved, he decided; Barbara would approve of anything that made her daughters happy.
Besides, Harrie and Danie still had their respective careers, as well as their husbands!
‘I’m—’
‘So here you are, Adam,’ Rome’s rasped comment as he entered the greenhouse interrupted what Adam had been about to say. ‘Audrey said you were around somewhere.’
Adam briefly studied the older man, and he did not like what he saw. Rome’s boyish good looks—blonde-haired, blue-eyed—were still the same, but there was a look of strain about those eyes and his mouth, a hardness to the latter that boded ill for anyone who got in his way.
‘And, as usual, she was right,’ Adam returned lightly.
‘How on earth are you going to manage without her, Rome?’
Rome glared at him through narrowed lids. ‘No one is indispensable, Adam,’ he responded coldly.
Adam raised blond brows. ‘No employee, possibly,’ he returned acidly. ‘But I always thought of Audrey as being more than that,’ he added challengingly, aware that Andie was listening to the verbal exchange with a pained expression.
But it had taken only one look at Rome’s face, at the hard implacability of his expression, to realise that the friendly chat he had intended having with his longtime friend was out of the question; Rome looked as approachable as a wounded bull-elephant!
Rome gave a dismissive shrug of broad shoulders. ‘Obviously Audrey had decided differently,’ he rasped harshly. ‘And, as I have learnt to my cost recently, there is absolutely no point in trying to stand in the way of a woman who has made up her own mind what she intends doing with her own life!’
The remark, Adam knew, could have been directed at Harrie and Danie as much as at Audrey, and their determination to marry the men of their choice with as little delay as possible. However, Adam sensed, rather than actually saw, Andie’s reaction to her father’s remark, could feel the tension emanating from her as she paused in her care of the roses.
Leading Adam to wonder about the decision concerning what she intended doing with her own life Andie could possibly have made recently for her to assume Rome’s remark was actually directed at her…?
Seeing no immediate answer to his question in either Andie or Rome’s faces, he turned his attention back to Audrey; he would try and talk to Andie later on in the weekend. Try—because that hadn’t been too easy to do just recently!
‘And what does Audrey intend doing with her life?’ he prompted the other man.
‘I have no idea,’ Rome answered scathingly. ‘I suggest you ask her that yourself.’
‘Meaning that you haven’t bothered?’ Adam countered, his expression deliberately innocent as the other man scowled at him.
‘Meaning that Audrey has made it more than plain that it’s none of my damned business!’ Rome snapped.
‘Hmm,’ Adam murmured thoughtfully.
‘What, exactly, does that mean?’ Rome challenged hardly.
“‘Hmm”?’ Adam repeated, realising he was provoking the other man but knowing he had no choice if he was to get anywhere in this conversation at all. ‘I’ve always thought of it as a pretty noncommittal remark, myself.’
‘Then why make it?’ Rome grated disgustedly. ‘You—’
‘Daddy,’ Andie interrupted softly. ‘Aren’t you being just a little—aggressive to your guest?’ she said, once she had Rome’s full attention.
Rome looked far from pleased at the obvious rebuke. Adam couldn’t say he was exactly overjoyed by it himself; since when had he been relegated to being Rome’s guest…?
But he already knew the answer to that, he acknowledged heavily. He and Andie, although still polite to each other—overly so, Adam felt!—were no longer friends, that easy camaraderie they had once shared no longer there. He knew the reason for that all too well, and regretted it more than he could say! More than he had ever regretted anything else in his life!
‘I can take a little aggression,’ Adam assured Andie lightly; in fact, he would relish it. His relationship with all of the Summer family had changed over recent months, necessarily so with Harrie and Danie, now that they were both married. But he had a feeling that if he were to speak as plainly to Rome as he wished to concerning Audrey, then he might jeopardise his friendship with the older man to such a degree that it would be irretrievable. Which meant his visits here would be a thing of the past…
Did he really want that?
Of course he didn’t! His friendship with the Summer family had been his anchor for more years than he cared to think about!
But he couldn’t just stand by and watch Rome make the biggest mistake of his life, either. He, perhaps more than most people, knew what it was like to love a woman who was completely out of your reach. As Audrey would be to Rome if he should let her leave…
‘Let’s walk back to the house,’ he suggested to Rome as he walked over to join the other man in the doorway.
‘There are a few things I need to discuss with you anyway.’
‘And I thought you just came down to visit with all of us,’ Andie put in with hard derision. ‘How silly of me!’
Adam glanced back at her, sighing heavily at the sparks in her eyes as they easily held his.
His own friendship with Andie, it seemed, was already irretrievable…
CHAPTER THREE
SHE didn’t have too much of an appetite at the moment, Andie thought—her morning sickness seemed to start in the late afternoon and continue until she went to bed! But the strained silence around this dinner table certainly wasn’t helping to improve that situation!
Adam and Rome didn’t appear to be talking to each other—indeed, Rome wasn’t particularly talking to any of them!—and any remarks that passed between Andie and Adam were politely strained. In fact, the only person who seemed to be talking naturally and easily, to everyone, was Audrey!
The older woman looked dazzlingly beautiful this evening, her knee-length black dress shot through with silver, her smile warm and charming, her manner as friendly as usual.
But Andie wasn’t fooled for a minute by the other woman’s charming ease, could still see that sadness in the deep blue of her eyes…
‘I thought salmon was a favourite of yours?’ Adam was the one to break the awkward silence, looking at Andie as she pushed the grilled fish around on her plate.
It had been—but as with so many other foods she had once liked, now the mere smell of it only seemed to increase her nausea! The thought of actually eating any of it was complete anathema to her…
She put down her knife and fork, giving up all effort to try and hide the uneaten fish under the salad—she obviously hadn’t been succeeding, anyway! ‘I’m really not very hungry,’ she dismissed. ‘In fact, if you’ll all excuse me, I think I may just disappear outside for some fresh air.’ She didn’t wait for their response, standing up to let herself out of the French doors into the garden, breathing the air in deeply, hoping to eliminate even the smell of the salmon from her already quivering senses.
‘Not exactly a lot of fun in there, is it?’
Andie turned sharply at the sound of Adam’s voice; his hair looking almost silver in the half-light of this late-summer evening. She hadn’t realised he had followed her—and she couldn’t say she was altogether pleased at the realisation now!
She gave a rueful shrug. ‘Rome has been like this for days,’ she replied, wishing Adam would go back into the dining-room and leave her alone. She might have made her decision concerning having the baby, but there were still a lot of things for her to think over, and that was something she couldn’t do around Adam!
Adam strolled across the patio to join her where she stood against the metal balustrade that looked out over the gardens. ‘I don’t think I’ve exactly helped,’ he admitted. ‘I told him earlier that he must be a fool if he’s seriously going to let Audrey just walk out of his life in this way,’ he explained.
Andie raised her eyebrows. ‘And you’re still alive to tell the tale?’ she responded mockingly, well aware of how volatile her father was at the moment; she wouldn’t have even dared to broach the subject with him herself! Although obviously Adam felt no such qualms…
He seemed relaxed about it. ‘And to have dinner. Although from the way Rome is stabbing at his food rather than eating it, I think he wishes the salmon were me!’ he joked.
Andie giggled. ‘So you just left poor Audrey to face his moodiness alone!’
Adam sobered, his gaze intent on the half-shadow of her face. ‘I was concerned about you.’
She stiffened. ‘Me?’ she echoed sharply, a pulse beating erratically in her throat. ‘Why on earth should you be concerned about me?’
He gave a slight shake of his head. ‘I don’t know… There’s something different about you.’
She turned away, swallowing hard. She was sure her pregnancy still didn’t show; her black silk trouser suit, with its mid-thigh-length jacket, completely hid the thickening of her waistline and slightly larger breasts.
The latter had been quite unexpected, and were a bonus as far as Andie was concerned; she had always thought herself lacking in that particular area!
So in what way was she ‘different’…?
‘That bad dose of flu took a lot out of me,’ she excused.
Adam disagreed. ‘It isn’t just that. Andie—’
‘Leave it, Adam,’ she cut in sharply, sure she knew what he was about to say. She didn’t want to hear it!
This man had been, and probably still was, in love with her mother, and, while she might be deeply in love with Adam herself, she was not willing to be a substitute for another woman—not even her own mother!
Adam turned, reaching out to lightly grasp her shoulders as he gently turned her to face him. ‘I think we need to talk—’
Her eyes flashed deeply green in the moonlight. ‘Why?’ she challenged, her head held back proudly.
He looked grim. ‘You know why, damn it!’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ she returned. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I came out here to appreciate the peace and quiet—not to engage in a verbal fencing match with you!’ She glared at him. ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘we both know how much you hate all this clean country air!’
Adam came down to the estate most weekends when he wasn’t busy elsewhere, but he had never made any secret of the fact that he simply did not understand the liking Rome and his family had for country life.
‘I could grow to like it, if I had to,’ he said quietly.
Her mouth tightened. ‘There’s absolutely no reason why you should,’ she responded hardly. ‘I think one of us should do the decent thing—and go back inside and rescue Audrey from my father’s foul temper!’
Why didn’t he just let her go? She cried inwardly. His grasp wasn’t tight on her arms, and yet she still tingled from his touch, warmth spreading through the whole of her body, her legs starting to feel as if they couldn’t support her weight.
She still turned to liquid gold at his merest touch? After all that had happened? Despite all the complications her baby was going to cause in her life? In spite of the fact that Adam would never—could never—return her feelings!
She gave a self-disgusted shake of her head. Adam was way beyond her reach—even more so now!—and always would be…
‘I—’ Adam abruptly broke off any reply he might have been going to make to her suggestion as the sound of shattering glass was clearly heard from the direction of the dining-room, quickly followed by the sound of raised voices.
Andie turned back in alarm towards the house. ‘You don’t suppose Rome has completely lost it, do you, and actually attacked Audrey?’ She gasped even as she pulled away from Adam and ran back towards the French doors that led into the dining-room.
From the scene that met her eyes as she rushed back into the room, Andie had a feeling it was probably more a case of the other way round!
Her father was alone in the room now, standing back from the table, the front of his white shirt and the black dinner jacket looking more than a little damp, a shattered wineglass on the table-top in front of where he had previously been seated.
‘What the hell have you done to Audrey?’ Adam demanded, obviously having assessed the situation in a couple of seconds—and drawn his own conclusions.
Rome turned to him with blazing blue eyes, the mature handsomeness of his face contorted with anger. ‘I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice,’ he replied furiously, ‘but I’m the one with white wine all over me!’
The situation wasn’t in the least funny, Andie inwardly thought, realising that Audrey must have been severely provoked to have thrown a glass full of wine—the glass included, by the look of it!—all over Rome. But, for some reason, she had the distinct urge to laugh!
For one thing, Rome looked ridiculous, with wine still dripping from his chin onto his already sodden shirt. And, for another—she simply admired Audrey for having the guts to act on her instincts. Andie could think of a few people she wouldn’t mind throwing wine over herself!
‘I noticed,’ Adam drawled dryly. ‘But I also know Audrey well enough to realise she must have been provoked into such an action,’ he opined hardly. ‘So what did you do to her?’ he repeated.
‘Nothing,’ Rome bit out harshly, dabbing at his wet shirt-front with one of the snowy white napkins now.
‘Daddy!’ Andie gasped reprovingly; she also knew Audrey well enough to realise Rome must have said or done something to elicit this response.
Her father glared across at her. ‘Whose side are you on?’ he accused angrily. ‘I—’
‘I’m not taking sides,’ Andie cut in. ‘But I think I know the two of you well enough to be sure Audrey would not simply have thrown a glass of wine over you without good reason!’ she added assuredly.
‘Then you are taking sides.’ Rome straightened to his full height of six feet two, throwing the damp napkin down disgustedly on the table-top. ‘I never thought I would see the day when one of my own daughters—’
‘If I still had the violin you forced me to learn to play when I was younger, then I would play it now!’ Andie cut across this attempted emotional pressure on her father’s part. ‘But as I don’t, and as you don’t seem in any hurry to enlighten us as to the reason for Audrey’s outburst, I think I’ll just go upstairs and see if Audrey will be any more forthcoming!’
‘She’s packing,’ Rome muttered as Andie turned to leave.
Andie came to an abrupt halt, turning slowly back to look at her father disbelievingly. There was certainly nothing in the least funny about this situation now!
‘She isn’t going to work the rest of her notice,’ Rome continued. ‘She intends leaving right now.’
Andie slowly shook her head as she saw the implacability of her father’s expression. ‘And you aren’t going to do anything to stop her?’
Rome thrust his chin out arrogantly. ‘There’s nothing I can do.’
‘Adam’s right,’ Andie snapped scornfully. ‘You are a fool!’ She turned on her heel and marched purposefully from the room, hurrying up the stairs and along the hallway that led to the bedroom Audrey had occupied for the last ten years.
But Andie hesitated outside the door, not sure how to proceed. Her father was in the wrong, she was sure of it, but that didn’t mean Audrey was going to be any more pleased to see her than she would have been had it been Rome himself who came knocking on her door! But she loved Audrey, all the sisters did, and, despite what Adam might have assumed to the contrary, there was no way she was going to just let the other woman walk out of their lives in this way.
She straightened her shoulders, giving a determined knock on the door.
‘Go away,’ came Audrey’s abrupt response.
Andie turned the handle on the door, relieved to find it wasn’t locked, entering the room to find herself confronted by Audrey holding a vase of flowers aloft in her hand as she stood poised ready to throw it at whoever came through the doorway.
‘I come in peace!’ Andie cried even as she held her hands up defensively.
Audrey gave a shaky sigh before placing the vase of freesias back on the dressing-table. ‘I thought it might have been someone else,’ she admitted.
Rome… Despite Audrey’s having had the vase of flowers raised as another weapon to launch at him, Andie could see that Audrey was actually disappointed it wasn’t him!
Andie closed the bedroom door behind her, taking in the open suitcase on the bed, the clothes thrown haphazardly inside. Audrey really was packing to leave!
She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, realising as she looked around just how much this room had become Audrey’s over the years. The décor was blue and cream, family photographs adorned the table by the window, Audrey’s own as well as ones of Harrie, Danie, and Andie as they were growing up; the pastels on the walls were to Audrey’s taste too. Audrey wasn’t just leaving a job; this was her home!
‘Audrey.’ Andie spoke firmly as the other woman continued to throw her clothes into the suitcase. ‘I asked you earlier today why you were leaving, and you mumbled something about it being time to move on—’
‘I believe I spoke quite clearly,’ Audrey rebuked—although she didn’t meet Andie’s questioning gaze.
‘Maybe,’ Andie acknowledged. ‘But now I would like you to tell me the real reason—and please, don’t insult my intelligence again with that mumbo-jumbo,’ she continued as Audrey would have spoken. ‘I’m pregnant, Audrey, not mentally deficient!’
Audrey paused in her trips backwards and forwards between the wardrobe and the suitcase. ‘I never for one moment thought that you were.’
‘Well?’ Andie prompted.
The other woman seemed to crumple in front of her eyes, tears filling those deep blue eyes. Audrey completely lost the tight control she had had over her emotions as she began to cry in earnest.
Andie rushed over to gather the older woman in her arms, moved beyond words at this complete breakdown of defences. She loved Audrey, they all did, and to see her hurting in this way was unacceptable.
‘Audrey, you have to tell me.’ Andie moved back slightly to look at her. ‘I promise you I won’t tell a single soul,’ she promised chokingly, close to tears herself now.
Audrey gave a tearful smile. ‘Surely it’s obvious, Andie; I’m in love with your father! I always have been. And I always will be!’
Andie blinked. She didn’t know what explanation she had been expecting; an affair with a married man possibly, perhaps even-wildly!—a past tale of manslaughter that Audrey could no longer live with, but it certainly hadn’t been this…
‘Oh, Andie…!’ Audrey laughed mirthlessly at Andie’s stunned expression as she moved away to reach for a tissue from the dressing-table, mopping up all trace of tears from her cheeks. ‘You don’t see any problem with that, do you?’ she asked hesitantly.
Considering Andie knew she had loved Adam as hopelessly most of her own life…no!
But, as she also knew only too well, it hurt to love someone so helplessly, to spend hours in the company of him and know that love would never be returned.
Although after the way her father had been behaving since Audrey had given him her resignation, Andie wasn’t sure that was completely true in this case…
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