“Shh.” He took her hand.
Kate let him hold it but couldn’t resist glancing at the section of seats he’d indicated.
Her eyes met Steve’s across a row of heads, and her face grew hot.
Was he searching her out, too?
Their eyes locked for a moment, tension radiating across the room between them. Then Steve smiled and, although she couldn’t tell for sure in the dimness, she thought he winked.
And she flushed again, this time with anger. How dare he try to flirt with her when he was with another woman—his wife, no less.
With a toss of her head, she turned her eyes back toward the stage. Shifting her shoulders, she leaned lightly into Paul.
Paul clasped her hand a little tighter and looked at her. “You okay?”
She gave him a bright smile. “I’m great.”
But she could not concentrate on the play—until words of Shakespeare’s lovesick Helena caught her attention. “You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant...”
Kate’s heart echoed the words: You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant, and she stifled an urge to cry along with poor Helena, who now pleaded with her “heart’s desire” to give up the power he had over her.
“Do I entice you...?” the hard-hearted Demetrius shouted at the weeping girl onstage.
Yes, Kate’s traitorous heart whispered. You do entice me, Stephen Adams, with the way you smile, the way you speak, the way you look at me....
“...Do I not in plainest truth tell you, I do not, nor I cannot love you?”
No, Steve. You never said you cannot love me. You never told me you love someone else. That you have a wife.
Instead, Steve had kissed her, cooked for her and taken care of her as no one ever had before. He had touched her and tended her injuries more tenderly than anyone else ever had. He had treated her as though she were someone special to him.
And she had come to believe it might be true. Then, she’d learned he was married and had tried to do the honorable thing by staying away from him. But would he let her? No. He’d harassed her on the telephone by continuing to call her. And now he had the nerve to smile and wink at her in a crowded room.
She glanced across the darkened theater to where he sat now, just as he leaned over to whisper something in the ear of the dark-haired woman sitting beside him.
Kate took a quivering breath and bit her bottom lip to prevent it from escaping audibly. You have only been playing with my silly schoolgirl heart, Stephen Adams. But no more. Don’t you dare ever speak to me again.
She pulled her hand from Paul’s and stifled a sob as she searched frantically in her tiny black bag for a tissue.
When a masculine hand pressed a crisp white handkerchief into her hand, she took it numbly and lifted it to her dripping nose. “Thank you,” she mumbled on a quivery breath, without looking at the man beside her. She blotted tears from her cheeks and wiped her nose again.
When she finally squelched her tears enough to look up, Paul was studying her. His lips twisted in a slight smile.
Kate sniffled again and tried to smile as she reached the handkerchief out to him.
He patted her hand. “Keep it.”
She nodded and touched the square of linen to her eyes.
The elderly woman on the other side of her patted her hand. “It’s all right, dear,” she whispered. “I cry when I read Shakespeare.”
Kate hoped Paul thought her tears were for poor Helena, too, instead of realizing she was crying over another man.
Well, they were the last tears she’d ever shed over that cheating louse, she promised herself.
She sat up straighter in her seat and turned her attention back to the stage, where the lovesick Helena and hard-hearted Demetrius had exited the woods and the stage. Fairies were now devising a way to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena.
Kate wiped her eyes again. If only a flower could so easily make Steve love her. But even a real miracle couldn’t erase the fact that he was married.
After the final curtain call, Paul’s hand on her elbow guided her out to the aisle away from Steve and his group, then through the crowd and out to his car.
Settling into the deep upholstery of the Lexus, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The strain of this night had exhausted her.
She jolted alert when the car stopped. They sat in a hotel parking lot. “How about a bite to eat? The hotel has a great restaurant.” He slipped a hand to the back of her neck and began slowly massaging it. “You’ve seemed a little tense since intermission.”
She leaned back against his hand and closed her eyes. The muscles in her neck were beginning to relax.
“They also have Jacuzzis....”
The hot water would feel great.... “I think we’d better go. It’s getting late.”
“And soft beds...”
Her eyes flew open. She jerked his hand from her neck. “Start the car, please, Paul! And take me home.”
He caught her fingers with his and held them. “How long have we been seeing each other, Katerina?”
“Well, let’s see,” she said icily. “I first came to your office the day after Thanksgiving....”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” He released her fingers. “Do you ever think about where this...relationship is heading?”
“Heading? What do you mean? Why does it have to head someplace? Why can’t we just be employer and employee—and friends who enjoy each other’s company? And your kids when they are with us?”
She added the last as a reminder that he wasn’t some young playboy but a father responsible for the welfare of two children. “Don’t you need to check on Lisa and Paul Jr.?”
He smoothed the fabric of her coat sleeve. “Mrs. Mason is with them. Is this the coat you bought when you and Lisa went shopping together? With my credit card?”
She yanked her arm away from his hand. If she didn’t think she’d freeze before she got home, she would rip the coat off and give it back to him. “Start the car, Paul. It’s cold in here.”
He gave her a wry smile in the light from the parking lot. “I noticed.”
Close to tears, Kate leaned back in the car seat, hugging herself with arms clothed in the coat he’d bought. A bonus for her work in his office, he’d said. Now he expected her to pay for it with a night in a five-star hotel and a Jacuzzi? This whole time he hadn’t been pushing her for more intimacy, he’d been biding his time, waiting for such an opportunity as this.
“You’re in love with Adams, aren’t you?”
She bit her lip before she answered. “Yes.” Not that it will do me any good. “I’m sorry, Paul.” But I wouldn’t be spending the night with you, even if I wasn’t.
He started the car. “I’m sorry, too.”
When they were out on the open road he put a CD in the player.
“My heart cries for you...”
He pushed a button and changed the disc. They pretended to listen to jazz piano and big band all the way home.
When Paul stopped in her aunt’s driveway, Kate opened the car door. “Good night, Mr. Boyer. Thank you for an interesting—and enlightening—evening. You don’t have to walk me to the door.”
He nodded and she got out of the car.
* * *
She didn’t go into the office the next morning until it was time for him to be at a meeting. She would gather her personal belongings from her desk drawer and leave him a note—and let him make do the best he could until Jane came back to the office.
When the phone rang, she let the machine take it. “I need to leave a message for Kate Sanderson, please.”
Kate grabbed the receiver. “Steve! Why are you calling me at the office? What do you want?” How could her voice sound so steady when her bones were jelly?
“You wouldn’t return my earlier calls to your home, so I thought I’d try to catch you at work. There are some people I want you to meet.”
“I did that last night, remember? At the theater.”
He laughed. “This is someone else.” He sounded a little shaky, too.
He was nervous about introducing her to his kids. He probably thought if she met them, she wouldn’t have the heart to take away the land and deprive them of the house he wanted to build for them and their mother. He didn’t know she was no longer looking for a way to take the place or that she had seen her grandfather’s will.
“They’re coming over from Atlanta in the morning. Will you come?”
“I don’t think so. I—have things to do.” It had been difficult enough meeting Steve’s wife. She didn’t want to have to smile and make small talk with his kids while her heart broke all over again.
“You won’t have to stay long.”
Kate took a deep breath and held it for a long moment before she let it out. She may as well go on and get it over with. How much worse could it be than meeting their mother? After all, she had already seen the children.
She took a deep, shaky breath. “All right, Steve.” After tomorrow she would finally put Steve behind her and move on. But move on to where?
Chapter 20
Kate heard children’s voices as she walked up Steve’s steps the next day. They sure were a noisy pair. Or else he had more kids than she realized.
The door flew open. “Katie! Come in.”
It was Elizabeth. Now she was using Grandpa’s pet name for her.
Kate stepped inside, and the room went quiet. Several young boys, and the little girl Kate had seen in the woods, stared at her.
Oh, my, he has a houseful of kids.
The children sat on benches with a board game spread out on the table in front of them. The table looked like the one Steve had used in the woods. Only now, it and the benches sported a shiny coat of white paint.
A plump, older woman with a kind, motherly smile rocked a curly-haired toddler beside a dying fire in the fireplace. The delicious aroma of vegetable soup filled the room.
Elizabeth met her at the door smiling. “Let me take your coat.” Feeling suddenly too warm, Kate gladly shed her jacket.
Elizabeth reached for it. “I’ll hang it on a chair for you. I’m afraid the rack is full.” She nodded at the small jackets and caps hanging on the clothes tree by the door. “Steve and Dad walked out to the building site. Steve said if you came before he gets back to tell you he’ll only be a few minutes. He had to show a deliveryman where to unload building materials.”
Building site. Building materials. Kate felt the color drain from her face.
Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice as she walked toward the fireplace. “Come meet Mom.”
Kate followed her on shaky legs. Elizabeth took her arm. Her smile seemed genuine. “Mom, this is Steve’s Katie.”
Steve’s Katie? Couldn’t the woman be at least aSTET little bit jealous of her?
The older lady smiled. “I would have known even if you hadn’t already called her that, with that beautiful red hair. She’s just like Steve described her. Except for the short hair. Glorious stuff, Stephen called it. Why did you cut it off, dear?”
Kate blinked and tried to smile. Why was Steve’s family making such a fuss about her hair?
“Come over here, Kate, and give me a hug. I can’t get up with this sleeping child in my lap. And I don’t dare disturb him, poor tyke, after the trouble he has sleeping.”
Dazed at their greeting, Kate bent and hugged the lady.
“Now, come meet the kids.” Elizabeth took her hand. She introduced the boys as Bobby, Brian, William, George and “my Freddy.” She touched the little girl on the head. “And this is Jody. Say hello to Kate, kids.”
The older boys, who appeared to be around eight to ten years of age, spoke solemnly in unison, “Hello, Kate.”
Freddy looked up from dominoes he was stacking. “Hi, I’m building a fort. See this line right here? It’s the wall. You have to have a wall around a fort to keep the enemy out. That’s why...”
Just like you, Elizabeth had said to Steve. Always ready with a detailed explanation.
“Mommy, Freddy’s talking too much again.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Be patient, Jody. You’ll get your turn. Go ahead, Freddy, finish telling Kate about your fort so your sister can talk.”
“The enemy’s why I built the wall.” He looked at his sister. “And that’s all. I don’t have it finished yet.”
Kate forced a smile. “It’s a nice fort. Thank you, Freddy, for telling me about it.”
“You’re welcome.” He went back to his work, and Kate turned to Jody.
“I’m the scorekeeper,” the child said. “See.” She turned the pad in front of her, where Kate could see what she had written. “I know how to write my numbers and add.”
Kate nodded. “You write them very well, Jody. I’m sure your mommy—and daddy are proud of you.”
“Daddy says I’m smart.” Jody turned her pad around and studied it.
Daddy. Would she ever get used to thinking of Steve as Daddy?
The boy called Bobby studied Kate. “Uncle Steve said you’re fun.”
Uncle Steve. At least this one wasn’t Steve’s child.
“Smart, too,” William added. “You wanna be my partner? I keep losing with George.”
George squirmed on the bench. “Yeah, I’m not very good at games.” He rubbed one eye with the palm of a hand. “I didn’t wanna play anyhow.” He stood and laid his game piece on the table.
Poor little fellow. Kate wanted to hug him. He probably felt as inadequate with the other guys as she had felt with her cousins when she was growing up. “I’ll bet George could play with a little help.”
She glanced at Elizabeth’s mother. What would they think if she sat down and played with the kids instead of visiting with them? Not that it mattered to her what Steve’s wife thought.
Both women smiled and nodded at her.
Kate glanced round the table. “I’ve never played this game. How about if George and I play together while I’m learning?” She winked at George and leaned toward him as if forming a conspiracy. “Maybe together we can beat them.”
He grinned, sat down and slid over to make room for Kate.
“Ah, we’ll still lose,” William complained. “But, okay. You’ll probably catch on a lot quicker than George.”
“Yeah, I don’t read very good,” George mumbled as Kate sat down.
“You don’t read very well,” Brian, the one with glasses, corrected. “His English is not too good, either.”
“You boys stop picking on George,” Elizabeth’s mother said. “He’s made a lot of progress.”
Bobby nodded. “Yeah, he has. When we first come to live with Mama and Papa Ad he wouldn’t talk none at all.”
Kate glanced from George to Bobby, noting the similarity in their coloring. “Are you two brothers?”
Bobby nodded while George rubbed his right ear with the palm of his hand, his big brown eyes downcast.
“Does your ear bother you?” Kate spoke softly, close to his ear.
He shook his head.
“It’s just a habit,” Bobby said. “He’ll get over it.”
“Sure he will.” Kate picked up the game piece and handed it to George. “You do the moving, George, and I’ll draw a card. We can read together to see what it says we’re supposed to do.”
They were finishing the first game when the front door opened. “Well, I see you’ve gotten acquainted with the kids, Katie.”
Steve followed a gray-haired gentleman into the room. They shed workmen’s gloves and dropped them in the corner u
nder the coatrack.
“Katie, this is my dad.” Steve put his hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Dad, this is Katie. Kate Sanderson.”
Mr. Adams was tall like his son, with a head full of snowy-white hair. Long creases appeared down each bronzed cheek when he smiled. He was dressed like Steve, in denim jeans, heavy boots and bright plaid shirt under a denim jacket.
Looks more like a lumberjack than a preacher. Kate slid off the bench and stood as he extended a hand to her.
“I hear lots of good things about you, Kate Sanderson. It’s nice to meet you.”
Kate smiled and placed her hand in his. She liked the feel of his strong, sure grip.
Glancing from the man to the woman holding the little boy, she did a quick mental calculation. If this was Steve’s dad, then the woman must be his mother. That would make Elizabeth their daughter-in-law instead of their daughter. Well, she knew other people who called their in-laws Mom and Dad. People especially close to their spouse’s parents. The thought made her even more jealous of Elizabeth.
“Look, Uncle Steve, Papa Ad.” Brian pointed at the score pad. “George is doing better with Kate helping him.”
Steve ruffled George’s hair. “He’s learning more every day, aren’t you, buddy?”
George grinned at him.
Steve looked at his mother. “Jamie still having trouble sleeping?”
She nodded.
“Poor child.” Papa Ad turned to Kate. “When he first came to us, one of us had to hold him most of the night every night for him to sleep. He’s doing a little better now.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Elizabeth went to answer it.
“Hello, ma’am. I have a delivery for Dr. Adams. Is he here?” A man stood on the porch with a clipboard in his hand.
Kate glanced at Steve’s dad. Dr. Adams?
Elizabeth turned to the people in the room. “Steve? There’s someone to see you.”
At Kate’s gasp, Steve looked at her. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his eyebrows and twisted his lips in a wry smile, as if to say, What can I say?
Kate gaped at Steve as he signed a form on the man’s clipboard.
Steve turned back into the room. “Dad, will you go show him where to take the stuff? Kate, will you come outside with me a minute?”
The Mistaken Heiress Page 15