Married By Mistake

said, hastening to quash any implication that James might have been less than the generous, loving man he was. “I’m just...better on my own.”
    Though if that was so, why on earth had that stuffy Sam been occupying her thoughts to such an alarming extent, ever since she’d taken a look at him last week and realized Casey was right? The man was handsome. Very handsome. She should have noticed that before. Then it wouldn’t be bothering her the way it did now.
    Eloise fanned her face against a sudden heat that had nothing to do with the late afternoon sun streaming into the kitchen. She was behaving like a silly girl whose head had been turned by a dash of male attention. So what if Sam liked her, in a way that was annoyingly, yet quite endearingly, inept? He wasn’t James.
    James isn’t here.
    Eloise tamped down the traitorous thought. She loved James and always would.
    “The thing about Sam,” she said to Casey, “is he acts as if I do everything wrong. If I ever wanted another man, which I don’t, I’d want someone who wants to love me, not to improve me or organize me. Someone who wants what I have to offer. Which is love. Only love.” She smiled at her daughter-in-law. “Really, what could be better than that?”
    Casey didn’t know how to answer. In her experience, few people wanted only love. They wanted love plus housekeeping. Love plus babysitting.
    Never just love.
    Sometimes not even love.
    Eloise’s face softened. “I do wish we’d had longer, so James and Adam could have reconciled. Adam blamed James for his mother’s death, you know.”
    Casey tipped the tomato she’d just chopped into the salad bowl. “He says his father changed when he met you.”
    Eloise nodded. “After I met him, James was ashamed of the way he’d behaved toward his family. His own parents were cold and distant, and he married Adam’s mother for the worst of reasons—her family’s money—and made no secret of it. By his own admission, he was a lousy husband, and a poor father to Adam.”
    “It must have been hard for Adam, to see his father so loving toward you.”
    “So you’ve noticed I’m not Adam’s favorite person?” Eloise laughed at Casey’s stricken expression. “My dear, you can understand where he’s coming from. I didn’t find out about the financial mess James was in until he died, so Adam must have thought me utterly profligate. He was probably right. He wouldn’t touch a penny of his father’s life insurance to rebuild the business. He said I’d need that for myself. There I was, living the life I’d always lived, while that boy worked like a dog to rescue Carmichael Broadcasting from a disaster he blames me for.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.” Casey whisked balsamic vinegar in a jug, together with some olive oil.
    “Adam felt betrayed,” Eloise said gently. She slid the salt and pepper across the island to Casey. “James taught him that the business came first, that family was a distant second. Then, just as Adam finally had the chance to get close to his father at work, James changed the rules on him.
    “Then he made that foolish will, which meant Adam ended up more annoyed than grieved when his dad died. I tried to convince James to change the will after his stroke, but he refused.
    “But then you came along,” Eloise said briskly. She drank the last of her coffee. “And dear Adam will have the happiness he deserves.”
    “Adam and I... It’s early days. We’re still getting to know each other.” Maybe Casey could prepare Eloise for the blow she would suffer when the annulment came through.
    “Of course you are, my dear. It must be so exciting. But one only has to look at the two of you together to see how right you are.” Tears glistened in her eyes, and she blew her nose delicately. “I’ll just wash my hands, dear.”
    When Casey heard the kitchen door open a minute later, she assumed Eloise had returned. Without turning around, she said, “How do you know when two people are right together?”
    “When wanting the other person keeps you awake at night,” Adam said.
    Casey squawked and spun around. “When did you come in?”
    “Just now.” He walked up to her, so close he could kiss her, but he didn’t. “How long have you been talking to yourself? You know that’s a sign you’re not getting enough sleep.”
    “Wanting you does not keep me awake at night,” she said, as crushingly as she could.
    “You mean you’ve been stockpiling sleep?” he