Stormy Passion (24 page)

“
I don't have a child. My
wife miscarried.” Adrian's voice was rough. “She wasn’t a nice
person, Dani. Someday I’ll tell you the entire story.”

Those few words ended their conversation and
the easiness she'd felt before. Not only did she have the answer to
her question, she had gleaned some additional information. Adrian
had married her for the baby. Could he actually have thought she
would do away with her child?

With the brief glimpse of what his wife had
been like, Dani realized she'd have a hard road ahead to prove she
was a very different person than the first woman he’d married.

Chapter
Fourteen

Adrian sat with his back to his desk looking
out the picture window of his new office in San Antonio. He had to
admit that things had worked out better than he first thought. He'd
found an office with a picturesque view of the river, and some days
he'd fly to New York for meetings and back in the same day with
Dani never being the wiser.

Adrian knew he should tell her the whole
story of who he was, but he wanted to wait until they got to know
each other better. He wanted her to know
him, the real him,
and not the corporate machine he was portrayed to be, so he simply
told her a small lie that he'd gotten a construction job at the new
amphitheater. And he really was working there, only not as the
hired hand he'd led her to believe.

Today Adrian had to go down and check on some
final touches for the theater. He'd forgotten how good it felt to
be building something again instead of buying companies and
splitting them up for profit. How easy it had been to sit behind a
desk and become the cold, calculating corporate machine he’d come
to be known as. He reached for his hard hat just as the phone
rang.

“
Hello.”

“
How's married life
treating you?” Marty asked.

“
Not bad. How's things up
there?”

“
Just received the final
papers on the new municipal building in Munich. It will soon be
yours.”

“
Good.”

“
You never did tell me why
you wanted that building.”

“
I've had a good tip that
Munich is expanding the airport next year, and that will make our
building's value soar. I was thinking about converting the building
into a mall.”

“
Smart move, but then all
your ideas are smart,” Marty admitted. “How's Dani?”

“
Growing bigger every day.”
Adrian chuckled. “She only has a couple of months to go, and then
she'll be back to her normal size. Her biggest complaints these
days are--she's hot and her feet are too big.”

“
Gee, you sound
married.”

“
I am married,” Adrian
said. “And tonight, I get to experience my first baby class. Can't
remember what you call it. She's been going with her friend Susan,
but she's sick, so I'm the substitute.”

“
Oh, how I'd love to get a
picture of that.”

“
Knock it off. Was there
pressing business you needed to talk to me about?”

“
There is one small
matter.”

“
Well--”

“
You've been summoned by
Coffee Advertising to appear in court next week.”

“
And just why are they
suing me, might I ask?

“
They're not suing you.
They are suing Kapur and Associates. You're to testify in Coffee's
behalf.”

“
That's the most ridiculous
thing I've ever heard! Does the Coffee Agency really think this
suit will endear them with me?”

“
I don't think so. Sounds
like the old man is after your wife. Evidently, they don't know
she's your wife.”

“
Probably not. And Dani
doesn't know that I'm the Mass Corporation either.”

“
I thought you were going
to tell her.”

“
Somehow I never got around
to it.”

“
Well, there's no avoiding
the problem now.”

“
Guess not,” Adrian agreed.
“Talk to you later.” Adrian said, but thought.
This doesn't look
good
.

He'd have to tell Dani tonight.

And, he hoped she'd understand.

Dani stood in the shower, trying to grasp the
bar of soap she'd dropped for the third time. The cool water felt
good on her overheated body. May had brought hotter than normal
temperatures and, with them, her feet had begun to swell big time.
She dusted herself with powder, then donned a white smock with
gingham trim and an appliqué of Raggedy Ann on the pocket and white
slacks. Then she went to the living room and settled herself on the
couch.

Things had gone well over the last few
months, better than Dani had ever thought. She enjoyed having
Adrian around more than she'd like to admit. She especially liked
snuggling with him as they slept. That was the one time when she
truly felt like a wife and not a cheap imitation.

Adrian had been true to his word. He'd not
pressured her about sex as he promised, but it left her wondering
if he desired her at all.

Dani sighed and patted her stomach. She
didn't feel very sexy in this stage of her pregnancy, anyway. In
fact, she was damned tired of being fat. It had been a long time
since she'd been able to look down and see her toes. She gasped as
the baby gave her a swift kick.

“
Am I late?” Adrian asked
as he laid his hard hat on a chair by the door, which was his
custom. That familiarity gave her a contented feeling every time he
walked through their front door.

“
No. I just finished
dressing. The shower's all yours.”

“
Good.” Adrian leaned over
and kissed her on the cheek. “It's been a long day. I'll be just a
minute. Did you have a good day?”

“
Yes. I finished my
sketches for Mama Rosé’s Dress Store.” Dani picked up the stack of
mail and motioned to Adrian. “Go ahead and get ready. We don't want
to be late for my Lamaze class. I'm going to read the
mail.”

“
Be back in a flash,”
Adrian said as he exited into the other room.

She thumbed through the bills, then her
favorite--junk mail, until she came to a cream colored envelope
hidden under a flyer. Nothing could change her good mood, or so she
thought until she focused on the last letter in the stack. She went
cold all over. The letter was from Jones and Jones, Coffee
Advertising's legal firm. Carefully tearing open the envelope, she
pulled out a legal document, then swore as she scanned the
page.

“
They did it.” Coffee
Advertising had made good on their threats. She'd have to appear in
court in two days. Jumping to her feet, she said. “Those dogs! They
have some nerve.” She began to pace, too agitated to sit
still.

“
I'm ready sweetheart.”
Adrian appeared in the doorway dressed in a blue shirt and jeans.
“What's wrong?”

“
What makes you think
something is wrong?”

“
Because you're as pale as
a ghost.” He moved closer to her, the concern evident on his
face.

“
Coffee Advertising is
suing me for conflict of interest. They said I stole their ideas.
Their ideas! They were my ideas from day one. I did an incomplete
set of drawings for them, but the ones I presented where completely
different.”

“
Now I see why you're
upset.” Adrian held out his hand.”Let me see.”

“
Never mind.” She threw the
document on the table. “You can look at it later tonight. Right now
we have to get to class, and I don't move quite as fast as I used
to. We’d better get going. Did you remember that object I'm
supposed to focus on?”

“
I got it.” Adrian held the
door open, chuckling as he did so. “Waddle would be a good word to
describe your movements.”

“
Oh, shut up.”

They walked the six blocks to class along the
beautiful waterway, and the tension eased as Dani put the letter to
the back of her mind. She'd think of some way to get out of this
mess later.

“
This place kind of grows
on you,” Adrian remarked as Dani preceded him through the door to
the recreation center.

“
I've always thought it was
beautiful here. Not as pretty as Sea Horse Island, but a close
second.”

“
Dani. You're just in
time.” Rene walked over to them. “And this is?” She held out her
hand.

“
The baby's father,” Dani
said, then added when Rene looked at her quizzically. “I mean my
husband.”

“
Well, we're glad to have
you both here. You picked the perfect night. We're going to see a
delivery film.”

“
Thank you, I think,”
Adrian said. He guided Dani over to where the woman pointed for
them to sit on the floor. He sat down on the thick mat and spread
his legs like the other couples, so Dani could sit down and lean
back against him.

The light went low and the film started. He
felt just like he was back in school. Until they got to the
delivery room clips, that is. They had never showed anything like
this in school. The woman's legs were in stirrups, and the doctor
held a scalpel. He lowered the knife and cut.

“
Omigod,” Adrian
moaned.

“
Shsss.” Dani turned to
him. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

“
Look at all that blood.”
Adrian grimaced just as a baby slid out into the doctor's
arms.

“
There's supposed to be
blood,” Dani whispered. “Now, be quiet so I can watch the
film.”

Adrian didn't know it, but he'd just voiced
Dani's exact thoughts. The whole thing looked painful, and with
Adrian's responses, she wasn't too sure he was going to be her
tower of strength she needed. More than likely, somebody else would
be picking him up off the floor where he'd fainted. Who would have
thought this big, strong man would be a coward when she needed him
most?

The lights came back on. “I want the coaches
to be thinking of an object that your wife can focus on during
delivery. Something that will make her feel happy and make her
forget,” Rene said to the group.

Dani looked at her husband, wondering what
object he'd brought. She hadn't given him any suggestions.

She watched him reach into his shirt pocket
and pull out a small object. He opened up his hand and there
sitting in the palm of his hand was a tiny pelican.

“
I hope this will do.
Captain Bass gave it to me the day you left Sea Horse.”

Dani eyes moistened, but she was determined
not to cry. “It's perfect,” she whispered. She took the wooden
figure from his hand. “Perfect.” She swallowed and looked at him
again. “If you dare laugh while I'm panting like a dog for the next
half hour, I'll personally kick you.” With his grin, the
sentimental moment was broken.

“
All right. All right.”
Adrian held up his hands, but keeping that promise proved to be
difficult.

When class was finally over they went for ice
cream cones, then started for home. They were strolling back when a
voice called out.

“
Hey, little mama. Want a
free ride?”

“
Thanks, Lopez. My feet can
use the rest.” Dani took Lopez's hand and carefully stepped into
the boat. “Is this your last run tonight.”

“
Sí
.”

“
We'll be glad to pay you,”
Adrian commented when he took his seat beside Dani.”

“
Your money is no good with
me, gringo. When is the little
bebe
due?”

“
June sixth.”

“
If it's a boy you can name
him after me.” He pointed to himself. “Lopez.”

“
If it's a boy, she'll name
him after me,” Adrian stated stiffly.

“
Don't I get any say-so in
this?” Dani asked. She was a little surprised by the fearlessness
in Adrian's voice. Then she reminded herself that the baby was the
main reason Adrian was with her. She wished things could have been
different, and they had married for love.

Now as her time grew near, she had to face
the fact that Adrian might leave after the baby was born.

Chapter
Fifteen

“
You know, we haven't
discussed names for the baby,” Dani said, moving over to the couch
where she settled in and propped her puffy feet on the coffee
table. “Oh, that feels so much better,” she murmured as she pushed
off her shoes.

“
I'll pop some popcorn and
get a couple of sodas, and we'll talk about it.” Adrian didn't wait
for her reply, but headed for the kitchen.

“
Need some
help?”

“
No. I got it. There's
supposed to be a good movie on television tonight. See if you can
find the channel.”

“
What's the
name?”

“
Can’t
remember.”

Dani picked up the remote control and
switched on the tube, flipping several channels until she found it.
“ 'Casablanca.' That's a good movie. It starts in ten minutes,” she
shouted, then turned to see if he'd heard her.

“
At your service, ma'am.” A
few minutes later, Adrian handed her a big bowl of buttered popcorn
and set two icy drinks down on the coffee table.

“
This smells great. Grab
that letter off the bar before you sit down,” Dani said as she
reached into the bowl.