Married By Mistake

tenderness, the passion of that night were symptoms of his current malaise, not the cause.
    Which brought him to the real question: what exactly was this malady? There was only one diagnosis that didn’t give Adam the urge to lock himself in his office and never come out again.
    Lust.
    That Casey occupied his thoughts to an alarming extent, not just with the memory of her exquisite body, but with her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her kindness, her mind. It all came down to lust.
    He’d hurt her with his coldness the morning after they made love, he knew. But the generosity of her lovemaking had scared him. She’d given him everything, and that intimacy had been more precious than he’d known it could be.
    Was she in love with him? Or did she at least think she was?
    Adam told himself he hoped she meant what she’d said. That if on Saturday night she’d for some foolish reason thought she loved him, his coldness on Sunday morning had changed her mind.
    Because Adam didn’t do love. And he especially didn’t do adoring.
    He glanced at his desk calendar. If Sam’s petition to Judge Skelton was successful, the annulment would be through very soon. Life would go back to normal. Adam forced himself to smile.
    Hopefully, he and Casey could part as friends. Although, since Sunday morning, there hadn’t been anything more than chilly politeness between them.
    He should fix that before it was too late. Explain himself better, make sure she understood. And let her know he appreciated just how great her gift had been.
    The clock on his wall clicked over to noon. That’s right; she had the neighbors Adam had never met coming for lunch. At his house. With his wife.
    “Cancel my afternoon appointments,” Adam told his startled secretary. “I’m going home.”
    * * *
    T HE DOORBELL RANG at noon, just as Casey typed “The End” at the bottom of her manuscript. She’d written the book, she’d revised it to her satisfaction, and now those two little words gave her a deep feeling of accomplishment.
    They also gave her a sense of foreboding. As if they might refer to more than her book.
    She pushed her uneasiness aside as she went downstairs, reminding herself to enjoy the release that came from not having an incomplete manuscript hanging over her head. I feel great, really I do. There was an almost genuine smile on her face as she pulled the heavy front door open to welcome the Harveys, and, coming up the walk behind them, Alison Dare and her children. “Come in,” Casey said.
    She’d just served the soup when Adam walked into the dining room.
    What was he doing here? Surely he wouldn’t throw the neighbors out, just because he’d told her not to invite them?
    He walked up to her, kissed her lightly on the lips. “Hi.”
    “Hi,” she said nervously.
    Adam scanned the room. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
    Casey performed the introductions, then sat speechless through most of lunch as Adam chatted to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey about the changes in the neighborhood, and took an apparently genuine interest in Alison’s three not-very-well-behaved children.
    When Bob Harvey made mention of a street party as he left, Adam didn’t even flinch.
    * * *
    “W HAT WAS THAT ABOUT ?” she demanded, as he shut the door behind the departing guests.
    He headed for his den, Casey on his heels. “What do you mean?”
    “You didn’t want them here. Why were you
so nice?”
    He leaned against the oak roll-top desk. “I know you could have coped on your own. But you
shouldn’t have to.” When she didn’t say anything, he added reluctantly, “That neighborly stuff matters to you. I thought you’d like it if I was here.”
    Casey caught her breath. “What do you care if I’d like it? You don’t want me.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    T HE PAIN BEHIND HER WORDS seared Adam’s conscience. “You can’t seriously believe I don’t want you.”
    “It’s what you said.”
    And he’d been planning on saying the same thing to her again now.
    They stood facing each other, a few feet apart, the tension almost a physical barrier between them.
    Adam drew a calming breath, loosened the fists he’d clenched at his sides. “I care about you, Casey. That’s why I came home. And I care about your future. You’re a wonderful person—I hope you find a man who deserves you.”
    She took a step closer to him, then another, until she stood only inches away. She swallowed. “What if I find him and he doesn’t want