To Make A Marriage

‘I thank you, anyway.’ Audrey smiled up at him as she squeezed his arm. ‘I’ll just go and get another cup and you can join us for a coffee,’ she said before disappearing out of the room.

The silence that followed her departure was stilted to say the least, Andie decided as she glanced across at Adam beneath long lashes.

He was dressed casually today, in a black silk shirt teamed with fitted black denims, having thrown his silver-grey jacket into one of the wicker chairs as he’d entered the sun-lounge a few minutes ago. He was looking tall and lithe, his slightly overlong silver-blonde hair brushing the collar of his shirt, a slender gold watch nestling in the golden hair of his right wrist.

Adam looked exactly what he was, Andie realised: a highly successful businessman, and a very eligible bachelor!

His expression was guarded as he looked across at her. ‘You decided to come down, after all,’ he murmured distantly.

He was still angry, Andie realised. But by what right? Okay, so they had all been a bit unthinking where Audrey’s resignation was concerned, but Adam had no idea of the circumstances of the last few weeks—and he would remain in ignorance as far as she was concerned! He had no right to judge what he didn’t understand. Besides, she still stuck by her position that it wasn’t for any of them to stand in the way of what Audrey had decided she wanted to do.

‘Yes, as you can see,’ she replied, sitting forward in her seat as she prepared to stand up. ‘You’ll have to excuse me, I’m afraid; I was just about to go over to the hothouse to check on Mummy’s roses.’

Adam gave her a derisive glance. ‘I’m sure they can continue to grow for the next ten minutes or so without your checking on them! Long enough for you to sit with me while I drink my coffee, at least.’

She drew in a sharp breath at his undoubted mockery. She and Adam seemed to have been at odds with each other just recently—and she couldn’t say it was something she was very comfortable with.

‘I’m sure they can,’ she acknowledged softly as she remained seated. She was feeling slightly vulnerable since her leave-taking of the magazine yesterday, and certainly didn’t feel up to another confrontation with Adam. ‘Did you know that it was Jonas presenting Danie with a bunch of yellow roses, just like the ones Mummy loved to grow, that confirmed for Danie that she was in love with him?’ she continued conversationally.

‘No.’ Adam smiled as he stretched his long length in the chair opposite hers. ‘Although that sounds like the unpredictable Danie we all know and love,’ he went on affectionately. ‘How do you feel about having a doctor in the family?’

Her aversion to anyone in the medical profession, since going into hospital at the age of five to have her tonsils out, had become a family joke. And as Adam had been almost part of that family for the last twenty years…

She retained her casual demeanour. ‘He could come in useful, I suppose,’ she answered flippantly.

Adam chuckled. ‘I’m sure Jonas would be pleased to hear it!’

‘He’s an obstetrician, did you know?’ Andie said.

‘I think Rome did mention it.’ Adam nodded. ‘I wonder how on earth Danie ever met him?’ he asked thoughtfully.

Andie knew exactly how her impulsively madcap sister had met the gorgeous Jonas Noble. But that was something else that wasn’t for public knowledge. And in this particular case, Adam was definitely part of the public…

‘Rome is out on the estate somewhere,’ she very firmly changed the subject. ‘But he shouldn’t be too much longer.’

‘I’m not complaining,’ Adam drawled, smiling warmly as Audrey returned with the promised cup and saucer.

‘What man would complain about having coffee with two beautiful women?’

‘One beautiful woman, I’m afraid,’ Audrey announced.

‘The post has just arrived, so I’ll have to leave the two of you for a while,’ she told them regretfully.

‘Shall I pour, or would you like to be Mother?’ Adam invited sardonically, once he and Andie were alone once more.

Andie gave him a sharp glance, her hands clenched tightly on the arms of her chair as she felt her cheeks lose all their colour, breathing shallowly in her shock.

Did Adam know? Had her father, despite her request for privacy, confided her condition to this man, his best friend?

Because she was going to be ‘Mother’—in six months, she was going to have a baby!

The realisation of her pregnancy nine weeks ago had come as a tremendous shock to her, one that she hadn’t taken to too readily initially. After all, without the baby’s father in her life, it was something that she would have to go through alone.

But four weeks ago there had been the scare that she could lose the baby, and from feeling in the depths of despair, not knowing quite what to do, she had suddenly realised how much she really wanted her child. So much so that she wasn’t willing to do anything that might jeopardise the pregnancy going full-term. Which was why, on Jonas’s advice, she had taken a nine-month leave of absence from her high-powered, time-demanding job…

Her family knew of her pregnancy, of course, as did Audrey, but they had all been sworn to secrecy. Had her father now broken that promise and confided in Adam…?

Andie looked at him searchingly, seeing only lighthearted enquiry in his expression as he didn’t wait for her answer but poured the two cups of coffee himself, and started sipping the strong, milky brew unconcernedly.

No, he didn’t know, Andie realised with a thankful sigh. There would be plenty of time for that later, once her pregnancy began to show.

Strangely, she had lost weight at the beginning of her term, but Jonas had assured her that was only because of the worry and strain she had initially put herself under, because of her uncertainties, and that eventually she would start to put that weight back on. If the tightness of her clothing about her waist was anything to go by, that was starting to happen now!

But not enough, she was relieved to realise, for Adam to be in the least suspicious that his sardonic remark was actually fact! She was glad about that; Adam was the very last person she wanted to know about her pregnancy.

Because although she knew Adam had always been in love with her mother, Andie—for her sins!—had always loved Adam. Oh, she had always known it was a pointless love, that her feelings would never be returned, but she couldn’t help that, she loved Adam anyway. So his pity—or even worse, his scorn!—concerning her pregnancy, were not things she felt able to cope with on top of everything else…

Adam sipped the coffee without tasting it, his thoughts broodingly introspective. He had been pleased on his arrival to see Andie had come down this weekend after all—damn it, he was more than pleased! But it had become glaringly obvious during the last few minutes that the strain which he had sensed between them on Monday was still there. In fact, it was worse!

Hell!

He drew in a ragged breath. ‘How is Rome this weekend?’ His coffee finished, he relaxed back in his chair.

Andie grimaced. ‘About the same.’

Considering Audrey—from the little Adam had heard of the two women’s conversation when he’d arrived—was still intent on leaving, he wasn’t in the least surprised by Andie’s reply.

He shook his head. ‘I suppose I’ll have to have a chat with him,’ he said reluctantly; ordinarily Rome was the most genial of men, but not when it came to interference in his personal life. And whether Rome realised it or not, Audrey was very much in his personal life!

Andie gave a rueful smile. ‘He’s extremely volatile at the moment, so make sure you have your body armour on first! I only asked him to pass me the pepper at dinner last night, and he almost bit my head off,’ she explained with a pained grimace.

Adam groaned. ‘Maybe I should come and look at the roses with you before tackling Rome.’ He thought of the confrontation he would no doubt have with the older man once he had said what he felt needed to be said on the subject of Audrey’s resignation. ‘Isn’t there some sort of saying about stopping along the way to smell the roses…?’ he wondered.

Andie laughed as she stood in one fluid movement. ‘I think that applies to people who need to relax more—not someone who wants to avoid someone else!’

Adam looked up at her appreciatively. Her golden-coloured hair was loose today, falling silkily down her back, framing the loveliness of her face, a face dominated by those beautiful green eyes, her skin having attained a light golden tan from the summer months.

Yet as he continued to look at her he realised there was something different about her…

But as he stood up to accompany her out to the hothouse at the back of the house, where Barbara had spent so much of her time tending her beloved roses, he couldn’t quite decide what it was.

The heady perfume of the beautiful blooms assailed them as they entered the heated greenhouse, bringing back vivid memories to Adam of the woman who had first grown and tended them. Barbara had been such a lovely woman, inside as well as out, and her death ten years ago, from cancer, had been yet another blow in Adam’s life. He—

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?