Part Time Marriage (15 page)

`You're over your rotten temper, I hope,' she said for starters, tearing her gaze from his quite fabulous mouth.

`I should have counted ten,' he owned. It wasn't an apology, but she supposed it came close.

`Come in,' she invited, and when he followed her into her sitting-room, she offered, `CanI get you a coffee or something?'

He shook his head. `This won't take long."

`You've changed your mind? You do want a divorce?' she cut in, pride rearing its ugly head again. `No, I do not want a divorce! Hell's teeth, woman,' he barked, checked, then took a steadying breath. `Shall we sit down?' he suggested.

Elexa thought it a good suggestion and took the chair nearest to her, while he took the one opposite. But looking over at him, loving him so very much, she just didn't want to fight with him and, before she knew it, she found she was explaining- apologising-and making a very good job of it. `I wasn't trying to get out of our-um- bargain,' she told him swiftly. 'I'm sorry if you thought I was. It was-well, you know I thought I'd failed you when I-er-it didn't happen before. This time I was feeling a double failure... And I suppose I thought you would want a divorce because we d- don't seem to be getting very far.'

Noah surveyed her for long moments. Then, suddenly, he smiled. It was a nice smile, a giving smile, and Elexa fell in love with him all over again. `You're too anxious,' he said softly, and because his tone, his smile, was makinga nonsense of her, Elexa had to force herself to concentrate on guessing why he had come to see her. It wouldn't take long, he'd said, and it wasn't about divorce. Sowhy ... ? Colour flared to her cheeks as she realised that Noah must have calculated that next Wednesday would be the right time for them to try for a baby, but had called to tell her that he had to be elsewhere at that time.

`You're going to be away next Wednesday?' she blurted out in a rush, very much aware of Noah's speculative glance on her heightened colour. `You needn't have called; you could have said over the phone,' she added just as speedily. `You-' `I am home,' Noah interrupted.

`You are? You're not going away?' she questioned, more slowly this time.

`For a change, I shall be in London all next week,' he informed her.

'That-um-willbe a change,' Elexa commented. `But...' bearing in mind he had never called to let her know his whereabouts before '...that wasn't what you came to tell me?"

'It wasn't,' he agreed, and paused for a moment before he revealed, `The fact is that I've been batting off strong hints for weeks now that you and I spend some time with my family.'

`My mother would quite like it if we had dinner with them at some future date, too,' Elexa mentioned, to let him know that she understood.

Noah gave her a friendly look which warmed her heart, and went on, `Naturally I've got the two of us out of anything specific.'

`Naturally,' Elexa murmured, intelligent enough to know that that wasn't the end of it. 'But.."

'But now Lewis Wheeler has proposed to my sister, and Sarah has accepted.'

`Oh, how lovely!'Elexa exclaimed without thinking.

`Oh, it is,' Noah agreed.`Except for the fact that Sarah, probably because she has been engaged and married before, doesn't want an engagement party this time.'

`Am I allowed another but?'

`You are,' Noah permitted, and Elexa felt a warm glow. `But,' he continued, `my mother is still feeling short-changed that you and I didn't have an engagement celebration.' Elexa had had no idea of that, and warmed to him some more because, whatever family pressure Noah had been under, he had handled it without worrying her with it. 'I'm afraid that not only is she insisting that Sarah at least has an engagement dinner-but is insisting that I'm there too.' 'Ah!' Elexa exclaimed, and thought she had it, but asked anyway, `Where do I come in?"

'You're my wife,' Noah answered succinctly, and Elexa's whole being leapt at the joy she felt to hear him say those three words.

`You want me to come with you?' she asked, her voice remarkably calm in the circumstances-his wife, she was his wife, and she was to spend some time with him!

`Would you mind?"

'After you so nobly came to my cousin's wedding with me? I wouldn't dream of refusing,' Elexa replied sunnily.Though suddenly a thought struck her. `We wouldn't have to... ?I mean, we're not staying the night? I know it's a drive of an hour or more, but..." She broke off, feeling awkward all at once and wishing she had never raised the subject.

`You know I don't snore,' Noah answered pleasantly, but there was such a gleam of devilment in those grey eyes that Elexa knew that he was teasing. `In that case, I won't bother to take an overnight bag.'

Her concentration on the job at hand the next day was at a minimum. Again and again her thoughts kept winging to tomorrow, and the hours she would spend with the man she loved.

`How's my favourite flower?' Des Reynolds stopped by her office to enquire.

At one time she would have acidly rebuffed him. But today she barely noticed him. `Blooming,' she answered, and discovered that her soft dreamy tone had far more effect than any sharp instruction that he go play on the motorway.

`You love another,' he accused.

She saw no reason to deny it. `True,' she answered-and he went off in disgust.

There was one area in her workday, however, where she had to concentrate her thoughts: when her immediate boss came and told her that the vacancy for a junior manager would be posted on the staff noticeboard later that day.

`Should you intend to apply-and you'd have my backing-I'll miss you, Elexa,' he added.

Elexa was ready and waiting when Noah called for her late on Saturday afternoon, and she stored up every wonderful memory of that drive down to Sussex. It seemed impossible then-as she and Noah sometimes chatted, sometimes were companionably silent for long stretches, and then talked some more, even laughed together occasionally-that she had ever thought of him as being.stern .

`What sort of a week have you had?' she asked him once.

`The usual juggling of hours,' he replied.`How about you? That promotion you're after any nearer?"

'The managerial position?'She was flattered that he had remembered. `The vacancy was officially announced yesterday.' `You've applied?"

'Clive hinted I should.'

`Clive?"

'Clive Warren, my immediate boss.'

`Sounds as if the job's yours,' Noah deduced.

`How do you make that out?"

'Either Clive Warren wants to get rid of you from his section, which I don't believe for a moment,' Noah replied, `or he's going to recommend you for the post.'

Elexa felt all gooey inside that Noah didn't believe Clive wanted her out of his section. 'Clive said as much,' she admitted. `So you did apply?"

'I think mine must have been the first application in.'She smiled. `Though, since there's a closing date, I shall have to wait ages for my interview.'

`You'll get it-the manager's job,' Noah said, and sounded so positive about her abilities that she wanted to hug and to kiss him for his confidence in her.

She and Noah were warmly welcomed by Ruth and Brandon Peverelle, and Elexa quieted any feeling of guilt that she and Noah weren't the `normal' married couple, as perceived by Noah's parents, by consoling herself that, as Noah had said, she was his wife. She did love him too. And, since Ruth Peverelle was very like her mother, and might be as anxious also for a grandchild, perhaps with any luck she would be able to present them with their first grandchild before too long.

`I've given you Noah's old room,' Ruth Peverelle was saying as they stood in the hall. But, just as Elexa was starting to feel a touch panicky, she realised that Mrs Peverelle had very kindly merely given them Noah's old room perhaps in case she wanted to freshen up, or, if she'd arrived wearing jeans, wanted to change before dinner. Just then, however, Debbie, who had come to give a hand in the kitchen, appeared, and seemed to have need of an urgent word with their hostess. 'I'll show Elexa up,' Noah volunteered, and together they went up the stairs.

Only halfway up, Elexa suddenly halted. `Perhaps I should have offered to help,' she spoke her thoughts out loud, half turning to go back the way they had come. But Noah, taking a hold of her elbow, stopped her.

`The more I know you, the more I'm charmed by you,' he remarked, his expression serious as he looked down into her eyes. Her heart turned over with joy. But she guessed she should take that as no more than a passing compliment for, in the next moment, Noah was giving her elbow a little nudge to urge her on their way and was commenting conversationally, `Trust me-my mother will have everything well organised and will have all the help she needs. She can handle a special dinner for seven without turning a hair.'

Noah showed her to the light and airy room that had been his in his growing years. Elexa wanted to touch the furniture his hands had touched, to lie on the large bed on which he had once lain, a bed that had probably been changed from a smaller one as he had outgrown it-then realised she was going all soft inside about him again.

`Seven?' she picked up rather belatedly. She had somehow gained an impression that, because Noah's sister didn't want any fuss, it would be just the six of them at dinner.

`Sarah didn't think it fair that Lewis should be outnumbered by thePeverelle' s -she invited his brother along.' Having dealt with that subject, `The bathroom's through there,' Noah said, pointing to the other door. `My father wants to show me his latest engineering gadget.'

She wouldn't have minded looking at the gadget either, but it was probably an all- men-together type of thing. `See you later,' she said pleasantly, aware that it wasn't so much the gadget she was interested in as a need to spend every moment she could with Noah.

You've got it bad, mygirl, she lectured herself once Noah had gone. We have an agreement, pure and simple, and it is never going to be anything more than that, so get that indelibly printed in your brain, do. Hadn't Noah that day of Rory's wedding said it plainly enough? Noah might have hinted at being briefly charmed by her, but that didn't alter the fact that once she had given him the son he wanted it would be divorce time. `I quite enjoyed being married,' he'd said, but, to let her know there was nothing permanent in their relationship, so she needn't start thinking otherwise, `For the day' he had added.

Because she did not want to be in the way, should it all be happening on the catering side, Elexa stayed upstairs until Noah came looking for her. By then she'd had an injection of pride that declared Noah Peverelle could go hang if he thought for a moment that she wanted it any other way. A divorce would suit her just fine.

`Did I do something?' he enquired as they went down the stairs.

Trust him to notice that her mouth smiled but that her eyes did not. `Of course not,' she denied at once, and was glad that there was no chance of other private conversation because by then they were crossing the hall to the drawing-room.

It was obvious that Sarah and Lewis were ideally suited and the evening got off to a good start with everyone toasting them with champagne.

Because this was a special time for the newly engaged couple-their evening-Sarah and Lewis were the focus of attention. But as they all moved to the dining-room, so Ruth Peverelle managed to have a private word with Elexa.

'I'm so glad you were able to make it this weekend,' she beamed, `and so happy that Noah found you. You'll make a big difference to him.' She gave her arm a small squeeze. `You'll have to use your influence to stop him working so hard.' Aware that her influence was nil, all Elexa could do was smile and take her seat next to Noah.

Scott Wheeler, Lewis's brother, was somewhere in his late twenties and, although not as tall as Lewis, he was good looking and, Elexa discovered, full of chat. He was sitting at the other side of her at dinner and, because she intended to take jolly good care that Noah knew nothing of the depth of the love she had for him, she was happy that Scott chatted to her. His conversation was inconsequential, but at least it gave her something else to fix her thoughts on other than the man she had married.

Quite when during the meal she became aware that Noah was displeased about something, she couldn't have said. Perhaps he wasn't displeased about anything at all, she tried to tell herself. Perhaps, over-sensitive where he was concerned, it was just her oversensitive imagination imagining it.

It was towards the end of the meal-Sarah and Lewis and their future plans being the centre of attention-that Sarah, having frequently brought her future brother- in-law into the conversation, turned her attention on to her obviously adored elder brother.

`So you're home for a while, Noah?' she asked. `Just next week,' he answered.

`Then you're off where?' his mother joined in.

`Europe, mainly.'

`Didn't I hear you were off to Australia?' his father asked.

`Next month,' Noah replied.

`Are you going with him, Elexa?' his mother enquired.

I should be invited! `Not this time,' Elexa answered.

`Oh, what apity ! But you'll be able to go to Vienna with him when he addresses that major international conference?' Ruth Peverelle persisted. `Noah will be so thrilled to have you there, at his most ...' 'Elexa has her own career,' Noah chipped in pleasantly.

`Yes, but...' she began, but was interrupted by her husband.

`It's not for six or seven weeks yet, dear,' Brandon Peverelle reminded her with a smile, and it became obvious to Elexa that Noah's parents followed their son's career with loving parents' natural great interest. `And as long as Noah is there-' he turned to smile at his daughter-in-law ` that's the essential thing, isn't it, Elexa?'

`Of course,' she answered gratefully, not knowing the first thing about it, though as the talk went on she started to glean that, come hell or high water, Noah, as chief speaker, had to be there.

`What sort of work do you do?' Scott Wheeler butted in to ask her, and Elexa, while extremely proud of Noah's achievements, was so relieved to be off the subject of the important international conference in Vienna of which she was supposed to know something but of which in actual fact she knew nothing, that she gave Scott a warm smile. `I'm with Colman and Fisher, the marketing company,' she replied, and, out of courtesy, asked, `What sort of work do you do?'