High-Society Seduction (12 page)

And now look what his lapse had done!

Jenna could be pregnant.

She could be carrying
his
child.

He couldn’t go through that again. A loss like he’d had wasn’t something a person could overcome. He could still see Maddie’s ecstatic face telling him she was pregnant and the lump of emotion the thought of her carrying his child had brought. She’d been such a lovely person. She’d only wanted to be a good wife and a good mother. And she would have excelled at both.

If she’d been given the chance.

At the next intersection, he turned his car around and headed toward the cemetery.

She fought not to stress about it. Maybe it was burying her head in the sand, but right now she had too much else to worry about. Nor would she let herself think about what Adam’s reaction would be if he were to become a father, though if it was anything like his reaction now she didn’t think he was going to like it. Nonetheless, she took comfort that Adam was the kind of man who took his responsibilities seriously. She would worry about it
if
it happened. Not before.

Keeping busy after that was a necessity, especially when he didn’t call her at work the next day, or the next evening, nor were there any messages left on her cell phone. But on Wednesday evening her doorbell rang and her heart jumped in her throat. Adam was here! She raced to answer it.

She could feel her face fall with disappointment when she saw her sister-in-law at the door.

Vicki wrinkled her nose. “You look like you were expecting someone else. Sorry, I should have called first.”

Jenna summoned a smile. “You’re welcome here anytime, Vicki. Come on in.”

“I won’t stay long if you’ve got someone else coming soon,” she said, stepping into the apartment.

Jenna realized it was fortuitous that Adam wasn’t here. It was best to keep them all apart, not because she thought Adam might say something about the money, but because she didn’t want Vicki seeing how her relationship with him was falling apart. Right now it was just so personal.

She shook her head and tried to appear unconcerned. “No, I’m not expecting anyone else.” She gestured for Vicki to take a seat on the couch. “So, what have you done with the children?”

“I dropped them off at Mum and Dad’s place.” Vicki’s parents had died when she was a teenager, so she considered the older Bransons her parents now. “I told them I wanted to go to the library and get some books and that it was best if I didn’t take the kids.”

Jenna had an uneasy feeling. “This all sounds rather mysterious.”

“It is.”

“Would you like a cup of coffee first?” She was starting to get heart palpitations that Adam might arrive now, but she couldn’t be impolite.

“No, thanks.” Vicki took a letter out of her handbag. “You might be able to help me figure this out, Jenna. The quarterly bank statement came today for our mortgage and I’m confused. It says that we’re behind on payments. Worse, that we still owe three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” Her forehead creased. “Last year we only had fifty thousand dollars left on the loan, so I don’t know why this extra amount has been added. And such a large amount, too.”

Jenna lowered her lashes, trying to appear as if she knew nothing. “Let me see the statement.” Vicki handed it over, but Jenna already knew what she’d find. “Yes, that’s what it says.”

If only Stewart had thought to have mail from the bank sent directly to him. Of course, he’d been a mess when he’d left the country and no doubt it hadn’t occurred to him. Anyway, Vicki had said “quarterly” bank statements. Just their luck the end of the quarter had been now.

“It has to be a mistake, right?” Vicki said.

Jenna tried to appear unconcerned. “I’m sure it is.”

Vicki looked relieved. “That’s what I thought. I didn’t get to open the letter until tonight. Otherwise I would have phoned them to check.”

Thank God she hadn’t. “Did you mention this to Stewart?”

“He’s only contactable via email at the moment, but no, I didn’t want to worry him when he’s so far away. And I didn’t want to worry Mum and Dad, so I didn’t tell them, either.”

Jenna nodded, greatly relieved on both counts. “Good thinking. No need to worry any of them.”

Vicki’s brows drew together. “The trouble is it’s my turn to help out with the lunches at the school tomorrow and I’ll be busy all day with that. I won’t be able to phone the bank in private.” She paused. “Do you think you could phone them for me tomorrow sometime?”

Jenna knew instantly that the bank wouldn’t speak to her about it, but she needed time to think about this latest development. “Sure, leave it with me. I’ll see what I can find out and give you a call tomorrow night.” If she could just stretch things out, give Adam time to end the investigation and put the money back, then perhaps Vicki need know nothing of what had transpired.

“Come for dinner after work,” Vicki said. “It would be lovely for the girls to see you again. They’ve missed you.”

Jenna’s heart softened. “I’ve missed them, too.”

Vicki left after that and Jenna sat on the couch and worried herself crazy. She had Stewart’s email address, so she should probably contact him about it all, but that would only upset him, being so far away from home and unable to explain it all to Vicki in person.

Damn her brother for letting himself get involved with Liam Roth. And damn her brother for getting
her
involved in this, as well. It was affecting too many lives now. Perhaps destroying them.

She didn’t phone him first though, frightened he might put her off coming. It was only on the way over in her car it occurred to her that another woman might be there with him. Her heart constricted at the thought. Well, then, at least she’d know it was officially over.

The concierge was pleasant, but he insisted on phoning the penthouse first, and she was fine with that. In the quietness of the foyer, she could hear Adam’s voice as he answered. There was the slightest pause when he heard who wanted to see him, though Jenna was at least grateful the concierge didn’t seem to notice. Or he was probably too well trained to show it.

“Go on up, Ms. Branson.”

Adam was waiting when she stepped out of the elevator. Her step faltered as she walked toward him. He looked as gorgeous as ever, but his face was slightly pale and that caught at her heartstrings. Was the thought of her being pregnant making him look like this?

She frowned. “Adam, are you okay?”

He avoided her eyes as he leaned down and kissed her, not on her mouth but on the
cheek.
“I’m fine.” He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch, but she preferred to stand.

She surreptitiously glanced around, noting the papers spread on the dining table where he’d obviously been working. She was intensely relieved not to see any signs of another woman’s presence. “I’m interrupting your work.”

He grimaced. “The last couple of days have been…hectic.”

“I see,” she said slowly. Then she took a deep breath. “Adam, my sister-in-law came to see me tonight.” She explained about the bank statement. “So I was wondering if you knew anything more about the money?”

His face shuttered. “No, I’m afraid not. It’s still being investigated.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “It’s taking a long time, isn’t it?”

He shot her a glare. “That’s the way it is sometimes.”

“I see.” She drew herself up straighter. Clearly she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him about this right now. “Please let me know if you find out anything.”

“I will.”

He was like a stranger, and she couldn’t stand it any longer. Her niggling doubts suddenly took over. “Look, Adam, if we’re finished please tell me now.”

“What the hell!” His brow knitted together. “What gave you that idea?”

She faced him fully. “Oh, just a little matter of you not wanting to be with me, that’s all.”

And the kiss on the cheek before.

And the condom breaking.

His gaze held hers. “I
do
want to be with you.”

She didn’t let herself acknowledge relief. “Really? You’re very good at putting up walls.”

A curious look passed over his face. “What are you on about?”

“You’ve stayed away all this week, yet last week you couldn’t get enough of me.”

“I still want you,” he growled. “Don’t doubt that.”

“Then why aren’t you showing it?” she challenged, relieved but not.

He heaved a sigh. “Look, with Dominic back in the office we’ve had a lot of work to catch up on. We’re working on something new, too. It’s eating into my evenings.”

She searched his eyes, wanting him to tell her the truth even if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He seemed sincere, yet… “Do you realize you’ve never stayed overnight at my apartment?”

He stiffened. “So?”

“It’s your way of keeping your distance, isn’t it?”

His brows drew into a straight line. “I’ve let you stay here overnight. How can that be keeping you at a distance?”

“Don’t try and confuse the issue. This is about
you
staying with
me,
not
me
staying with
you.
”

He gave a short laugh. “There’s a difference?”

“You know there is.” She would stand here until he acknowledged it. “See, you’re doing it even now. You’re trying to twist things around so I won’t notice that you’re holding yourself back from me.”

Another short laugh. “Obviously, it’s not working.”

“Don’t make fun.”

He sent her a sharp look, then ran his fingers through his hair. “What do you want from me, Jenna?”

“Honesty, Adam. Just plain old honesty.”

Several seconds crept by.

“So you want honesty?”

She braced herself. “Yes.”

He expelled a breath. “Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my wife’s death,” he said, making her gasp. “
That’s
why I’ve stayed away this week.”

Her breath deserted her for a couple of seconds. “Oh, Adam, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t expect you to know,” he said in a low voice.

She felt a twinge that he had shut her out, but then, he didn’t owe it to her to tell her this. It was such a private thing. She just wished… “I’ve made it worse for you.”

He took steps toward her and pulled her close. “You didn’t,” he muttered into her hair. “I’ve been trying to keep busy and work through it all.”

Her heart ached for his ache.

“Tell me about your wife.” She felt him startle against her and she frowned as she eased back. “You don’t want to talk about her?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…no other woman has asked me to talk about Maddie before.”

Her heart swelled. “I’m glad I’m the first.”

Squeezing her hands, he stepped back and went to stand a few feet away near the dining table, putting distance between them, but this time she understood his need to stand alone.

He lifted his shoulders. “Where to begin?”

“What sort of person was she?” Jenna asked, helping him out, curious all the same.

“Beautiful.” He smiled at himself, then inclined his head. “A beautiful person. She loved life and it showed. She used to giggle a lot. A schoolgirl type of giggle. She was such a practical joker.”

“She sounds like she was great fun.”

“She was. The day she was…” his eyes filled with pain “…killed, she had all these balloons in the car. I assume she was bringing them home to plant around the house as a surprise. The police don’t know why she swerved into a light pole, but we think it might have been because of the balloons. A witness said she saw Maddie trying to push one over the backseat just before the accident.” He took a shuddering breath, looking bleak. “God, it seems like only yesterday she was here with me. Yet at the same time it seems like forever.”

A lump welled in her throat. “Oh, Adam.”

He gave a hard laugh. “Did you really want to hear all this?”

She went to him then, slipped her arms around him and hugged him tight, wanting to take away his pain. “Yes,” she whispered, leaning up and kissing him tenderly on the mouth. “Adam, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“I know.”

“Would it be wrong of me to make love to you right now?”

His eyes darkened. “I think it would be very right.”

She kissed him again, then took his hand and led him into his bedroom where she stripped the clothes from both their bodies and made love to him, needing to help him forget his pain.

They both fell asleep, but in the early hours of the morning she woke and lay there curled up beside him, thinking about what he’d told her. Until now she hadn’t really had time to reflect on Adam being a widower. She’d had so many other things of concern that thinking beyond any immediate problems hadn’t really been an option.

Now she at least knew what was going on with him. Their relationship wouldn’t lead anywhere in the long run, but she was pleased she at least understood some of his actions. He’d lost the love of his life and he wasn’t about to settle for second best. Sadly, to him all women were considered second best…and that included
her.

At the thought, she knew she needed some breathing space. Careful not to wake him, she slid out of bed and dressed quietly, then crept out of the apartment, leaving him sleeping heavily.

It was only as she drove home that something occurred to her. Adam had said nothing about the possibility of her being pregnant, and she hadn’t brought it up, either. It was as if he’d shut it out of his mind. Thinking back on the terrible week that he’d had, there was no way she’d remind him now.