Married By Mistake

fraught with unexpected complexity. All day at the office, when he should have been immersed in his work, he’d found his thoughts drifting to his honey-haired wife.
    “Mrs. Lowe offered to prepare steak, but I asked for a chicken salad instead,” Casey said. “I don’t like a heavy meal on such a hot evening.”
    “But I had a light lunch today, knowing it was my favorite for dinner.” What hope did he have of keeping her out of his thoughts, if he came home every night to find his life disrupted? “I told you I didn’t want changes around here.”
    “I’m sorry, I won’t interfere again.”
    His point made, Adam tackled the salad. It was delicious, as all Mrs. Lowe’s meals were, and he started to feel better. He could always fill up on bread.
    Prepared to be conciliatory, he said, “Are you missing out on your psychology classes, staying here?”
    She shook her head. “Summer vacation. I start again in September.”
    “So what did you do today?”
    Casey took a sip of her wine. “I read about you and me in the newspaper, saw the highlights of our wedding on the Channel Eight news and checked out which TV stations are showing Kiss the Bride this week—which are quite a few.”
    Adam made a mental note to tell the Channel Eight newsroom not to run any more stories about him and Casey. Then he remembered his strict policy of nonintervention in the news department. He sighed. “Did Eloise call?”
    “The phone rang several times, but I wasn’t sure if I should answer it. I think Mrs. Lowe took some messages.”
    “It’s okay to answer it,” he told her. “Did you do any work on your book?”
    “I don’t have it here with me,” she said. “I have a couple of articles due to the newspaper I freelance for, too. I’ll have to go back to Parkvale to fetch my files. Besides, I’ll need more clothes. I thought I might take a bus home tomorrow, then I’ll drive my car back here.”
    “A bus?” Adam thought about that as he chewed. “Why don’t you do a one-way car rental? It’ll be faster.”
    She hesitated, her fork halfway to her mouth. “I can’t afford that. The bus will be fine.”
    “I’ll pay for the rental.”
    Casey shook her head. “No thanks. Like you said, you don’t want someone needy.”
    “I didn’t mean it like that.”
    “I know, but I don’t want to feel as if I’m taking advantage of you.” She grinned. “What would Sam Magill say?”
    “Forget Sam.” Adam watched her evident enjoyment of her meal. “If my wife is seen taking a bus long distance, people will talk.” He drummed his fingers on the table. This marriage was turning into a whole new set of obligations he didn’t need. “I’ll drive you to Parkvale myself. We’ll leave early in the morning.”
    She opened her mouth, and he said, “Don’t even think about offering to pay for the gas.”
    She closed it again.
    He might as well get all his obligations out of the way. “There’s one more thing.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crimson velvet jeweler’s box.
    Casey bit her lip. Surely he hadn’t gone out and bought her a ring?
    He opened it and she saw a gold wedding band, engraved with a delicate, swirling pattern.
    “This was my mother’s,” he said. “You’d better wear it while you’re here.”
    “I don’t think—”
    “We’re trying to make this marriage look real,” he interrupted. “You have to wear it.”
    Casey extended her left hand. She could have sworn that, despite his impatience, Adam hesitated before he slid the gold band onto her finger.
    His touch was warm as he held her hand for another moment, looking down at the ring. She couldn’t help feeling that in wearing it she was joined to Adam by some invisible bond that hadn’t been there a few minutes earlier.
    “I guess your Mom’s not around anymore,” Casey said.
    His expression became shuttered. “She died when I was ten years old. Just died in her sleep, no one knew why.”
    “How awful for you and your father.”
    Adam took his time finishing the last of his salad and she thought he wasn’t going to answer. But he pushed his plate aside, looked her in the eye and said, “My father didn’t give a damn. My mother loved him, but there was never a day in their life together when he acted as if he might love her back.”
    The raw pain in Adam’s voice shocked Casey. “Did he love you?”
    His black look said he resented the question, but maybe because he’d just put a ring on her