Married By Mistake

impossible—getting young people not to take themselves so seriously.
    He’d considered her novel-writing a silly dream. But Casey seemed to have a knack for making dreams come true.
    When he heard the crunching of tires on gravel around the front of the house, Adam went inside and joined Casey at the front door to greet her relatives.
    “Let’s lay it on thick,” he murmured in her ear—and got a jolt of pleasure at the wicked look in her eyes.
    But they were only briefly arm in arm, presenting a united front. Then Casey rushed forward to take the baby, car seat and all, from Karen.
    “Let me,” she said.
    Adam rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Darling, that looks far too heavy for you,” he said solicitously. He took the car seat from her and gazed down at Casey’s niece.
    “Isn’t she gorgeous?” Casey demanded.
    A far as Adam could tell, this was a pretty ordinary baby—red in the face, with a trail of drool at one corner of its mouth. He’d bet any daughter of Casey’s would be far prettier. Not that I care what Casey’s babies might look like.
    “Gorgeous,” he agreed with complete equanimity. He juggled the baby seat to shake hands with Casey’s father, Ed, who in turn had to juggle the cane he was using to walk. Next, Adam kissed Karen on her cheek. Mike hadn’t come, but since he wasn’t the target of this campaign, that didn’t matter.
    When they got everyone inside, Adam had to forcibly restrain Casey from trying to simultaneously carry all the bags upstairs, make coffee and feed the baby its bottle. No wonder her family never did anything for themselves. He sent Casey and the others to the living room, put the kettle on the stove and took the suitcases himself.
    He stowed Ed’s in a downstairs bedroom, since the older man might have a problem climbing stairs. Karen’s bag, along with the portable crib and a mini-Everest of baby gear, went in what was normally Casey’s room. Leaving it there reminded Adam that he and Casey would be sharing a bed tonight. Not that he’d forgotten.
    Tonight, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
    Actually, he knew damn well that he would. Somehow Casey had ended up calling the shots on this sex thing. She was in control, and Adam hated it.
    Yet somehow, he couldn’t get mad about it.
    Back in the living room, he walked right up to Casey and leaned over the sofa from behind to drop a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you, my love?” he asked tenderly. “Feeling better?”
    “Is she ill?” Ed asked, confused. Casey looked equally puzzled.
    “She’s been working too hard,” Adam said. “I’m always trying to get her to slow down.”
    “What work?” Karen said curiously. “The newspaper said you had a housekeeper.”
    “I’d never expect my wife to do housework, Karen.” The guilt in her eyes suggested he’d hit the target. “Casey’s been working hard on her writing,” he elaborated.
    It was plain from Karen’s bewilderment that she’d never thought of her sister’s writing as work.
    “And you, Karen,” he said. “You’re not working at the moment, are you? You’re taking maternity leave?”
    “I—well, yes, but it’s not easy looking after a baby on my own,” she said, a tremor in her voice.
    “That’s right,” Adam said innocently. “You wanted Casey to work as nanny for you, didn’t you, so you could go back to your law job?”
    If looks could kill, the daggers coming from Casey would have slain Adam on the spot.
    Karen’s lip quivered. “Casey always knows what to do. She’d be better with Rosie than I am.”
    “That’s not true, honey,” Casey assured her warmly. “Rosie’s obviously very content—she’s been asleep in her car seat ever since you arrived.”
    It was clear to Adam that Karen actually believed what she’d just said. So while she was being selfish in her expectations of Casey, that selfishness stemmed from fear, a lack of self-confidence. He figured that attacking her would only encourage Casey to take pity on her sister, which wouldn’t be good for anyone.
    So he said, “Of course it’s not true. Babies take some getting used to, that’s all. You’ll be fine.”
    Smoothly, he steered the conversation to safer topics. He was still standing behind Casey, so he took the opportunity to give her a neck massage, as a loving husband might. Of course, it involved burying his fingers in that thick, lush hair to reach the tender skin of her nape. Barely discernibly, she arched