“Well, this so-called marriage of convenience certainly worked out,” Summer told him.
“It sure did.”
While she was looking around the table for anything left to eat, she noticed that James was studying her. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“A thousand times better.” She smiled and lowered her voice so he alone could hear. “If what you’re really asking is if I’m well enough to make love, the answer is yes.”
He swallowed hard.
“Shall we hurry home, James?”
“By all means.”
He paid the tab and they were gone. “You’re sure?” he asked as he unlocked the car door and helped her inside.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Summer smiled up at her husband. “Am I sure? James, it’s been months since we last made love. I’m so hot for you I could burst into flames.”
James literally ran around the front of the car. He sped the entire way home, and Summer considered it fortunate that they weren’t stopped by a traffic cop.
“Torture...every night for the last week,” James mumbled as he pulled into the driveway. “I couldn’t trust myself to even touch you.”
“I know.”
Her time in Seattle hadn’t started out well. The first morning, she’d woken and run straight for the bathroom. James helped her off the floor when she’d finished. He’d cradled her in his arms and told her how much he loved her for having their baby.
Her first few dinners hadn’t stayed down, either. But each day after her arrival, the nausea and episodes of vomiting had become less and less frequent. Now, one week later, she was almost herself again.
He left the car and came around to her side. When he opened the door, she stepped out and into his embrace—and kissed him.
James groaned and swung her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Carrying you over the threshold,” he announced. “You’ve been cheated out of just about everything else when it comes to this marriage.”
“I haven’t been cheated.”
“You should’ve had the big church wedding and—”
“Are we going to argue about that again? Really, James, I’d rather we just made love.”
He had a problem getting the door unlocked while holding her, but he managed. The minute they were inside, he started kissing her, doing wonderful, erotic things that excited her to the point of desperation.
Summer kicked off her shoes.
James kissed her and unsnapped the button to her skirt. The zipper slid down. All the while he was silently urging her toward the stairs.
Her jacket went next, followed by her shirt.
She made it to the staircase and held out her hand. James didn’t need any more encouragement than that. They raced to the bedroom together.
Summer fell on the bed, laughing. “Oh, James, promise you’ll always love me this much.”
“I promise.” He tried to remove his shirt without taking off his tie, with hilarious results. Arms clutching her stomach, Summer doubled over, laughing even harder. It was out of pure kindness that she climbed off the bed and loosened the tie enough to slip it over his head. Otherwise, she was afraid her normally calm, patient husband would have strangled himself.
“You think this is funny, do you?”
“I think you’re the most wonderful man alive. Will you always want me this much?”
“I can’t imagine not wanting you.” And he proceeded to prove it....
* * *
James was half-asleep when he heard the doorbell chime. He would have ignored it, but on the off chance it was someone important, he decided to look outside and see if he recognized the car.
Big mistake.
Ralph Southworth was at his door.
James grabbed his pants, threw on his shirt and kissed Summer on the cheek. Then he hurried down the stairs, taking a second to button his shirt before he opened the door. “Hello, Ralph,” he said, standing, shoes and socks in hand.
Ralph frowned. “What the hell have you been—never mind, I already know.”
“Summer’s here.”
“So I gather.”
“Give her a few minutes, and she’ll be down so you can meet her,” James told him. He sat in a chair and put on his shoes and socks. “What can I do for you?”
“A number of things, but mainly I’d...” He hesitated as Summer made her way down the stairs. Her hair was mussed, her eyes soft and glowing.
“Ralph, this is my wife, Summer,” James said proudly, joining her. He slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“Hello, Summer,” Ralph said stiffly.
“Hello, Ralph.”
“When did you get here?”
“Last week. Would you two like some coffee? I’ll make a pot. James, take your friend into the den, why don’t you, and I’ll bring everything in there.”
James didn’t want his wife waiting on him, but something about the way she spoke told him this wasn’t the time to argue. That was when he saw her skirt draped on a chair, and her jacket on the floor.
“This way, Ralph,” he said, ushering the other man into the den.
He looked over his shoulder and saw Summer delicately scoop up various items of clothing, then hurry into the kitchen.
“Something amuses you?”
James cleared his throat. “Not really.”
“First of all, James, I have to question your judgment. When you told me you married a showgirl—”
“Summer’s an actress.”
Ralph ignored that. “As I was saying, your judgment appears to be questionable.”
This was a serious accusation, considering that James was running for a position on the superior court.
Ralph’s lips were pinched. “It worries me that you’d marry some woman you barely know on the spur of the moment.”
“Love sometimes happens like that.”
“Perhaps,” Ralph muttered. “Personally I wouldn’t know, but James, how much younger is she?”
“Not as much as you think. Nine years.”
“She’s unsuitable!”
“For whom? You? Listen, Ralph, I asked you to manage my campaign, not run my life. I married Summer, and she’s going to have my child.”