Married By Mistake

front of her as she weeded around the base of the sundial.
    “You know you don’t have to work in the yard.” He sounded annoyed.
    She looked up. With the sun low in the sky behind him, his face was in shadow. “I’m doing this for relaxation. Sue left a crab salad for dinner if you’re hungry.”
    “Maybe later.” His tone more friendly, he said, “If you’re ready to stop relaxing, how about a drink?”
    She smiled. “Sure, I’ll just finish up here.”
    By the time she’d stowed her tools in the shed and washed her hands, Adam had surprised her by setting up drinks on the back porch. He stood waiting for her, two glasses of chilled white wine on the wrought-iron table. He looked tired, his eyes shadowed, lines visible at the corners of his mouth. He’d been putting in long hours with Sam, working on their legal case, as well as running Carmichael Broadcasting.
    Casey sat on the swing seat and patted the space next to her. “If we sit here we’ll see the sunset.”
    He smiled faintly as he settled beside her. “I wouldn’t want to miss that.”
    Casey leaned back and took a sip of her wine. With her foot, she pushed off the ground and set the swing gently rocking. “I met one of your neighbors today. Bob Harvey.”
    Adam put one foot down. The swing stopped. “I thought I said no neighbors.”
    “He stuck his head over the wall while I was gardening. I couldn’t ignore him.”
    Adam looked skeptical. “And when are he and Mrs. Harvey coming for dinner?”
    She chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
    “Good,” he said with feeling.
    Casey set the swing in motion again. Then Adam said, “How was your lunch with Brodie-Ann?”
    “Interesting.” She took a long swallow of wine. “She brought Joe along.”
    Adam stiffened. “The Joe who dumped you on TV?”
    “Ouch,” she said in mild protest. “Yes, that Joe.”
    Adam stopped the swing once more and put his glass on the table. He’d figured this would happen, just not so soon. A guy wouldn’t let Casey go and not regret it. “I suppose he asked you to go back to him.” Adam kept his voice controlled, though he wanted to shout. Dammit, he never shouted.
    “How did you know?” Casey ran a finger down the condensation on the outside of her wineglass. She wouldn’t meet his eyes; she must have decided to go back to Joe.
    “It’s obvious,” he said contemptuously. “It was only a matter of time before Joe finally realized life was a lot harder without you to look after him.”
    “You think he can’t love me for who I am?” She’d taken his words as an insult, but Adam was too riled to pander to her hurt feelings.
    “You mean, he loves you so much he was happy to humiliate you in front of millions of people?”
    Casey put her glass down. She made a face, as if her wine suddenly tasted sour. “Don’t be horrible.”
    Since that abortive lunch at the Peabody, Adam had worked late at the office to stay out of Casey’s way. He’d felt closer to her that Sunday than he was comfortable with, and it made sense to put some space between them. But even knowing she was at home and that he would see her in the evening made a difference to his days. That he would lose that before he was ready to, and that Joe would have her back, sent a surge of fury through him.
    “I’ll bet he knew just the right words to have you running back into his arms,” Adam sneered. “Did he tell you he adores you?”
    “More or less,” Casey admitted. “He was very sweet.”
    “I don’t believe this.” The swing rocked violently as he stood up. “I shouldn’t have let you see Brodie-Ann on your own. I knew something like this would—”
    Casey was on her feet now, too. “You don’t get to let me or not let me do anything, you jerk. I’ll decide who I see, I’ll decide who my friends are, and I’ll decide if I should go back to Joe or not.” She was pale with anger, and it made her lips look redder, softer. Had she kissed Joe when she told him she was going back to him?
    “You don’t make decisions!” Adam roared. So much for never shouting. “You’re a pushover, remember? You let people manipulate you with their neediness and their sweet-talking and their adoring. Just don’t blame me when you’re back in that rut you used to call a life.”
    Her cheeks flamed with anger, and she clenched her fists at her sides. “I told Joe it was over!” she shouted back. “I told him I wanted more than he could offer. I told him