The Adventurous Bride

by Molly Liholm

  Adam didn’t want to believe Meg might be right. “He and Gloria could be out of the country by now. They had no reason to stay, or to go after Kelly. Reid let Kelly go once,” he argued logically, but felt sick to his stomach. His damn nerves were telling him that Meg was right. Reid was going to use Kelly as leverage.

  His damn instincts were also telling him he was making a mistake saying goodbye to Meg. It was only lust, he tried to tell himself, but he knew he was lying.

  “Reid and Gloria are greedy,” Meg answered, picking up her coffee spoon and tapping it against the table. “You interrupted them before they were in business for long. Knowing the little I do about Gloria and Reid, I’m sure they’re not willing to leave and live in exile. I imagine them relocating somewhere in this country and beginning the whole scam again under new identities. Their only problem is you. You could take it upon yourself to keep your eyes and ears open, look for something unusual. A clue that would lead you straight to them.” Meg gave a couple of hard taps and then smiled crookedly at her own actions. “Funny, I thought I’d stopped this habit of mine. I guess the stress of the last few days has brought it back.”

  She smiled weakly at him and Adam realized that Meg, too, was contemplating the end of them. That’s why the unusual habit of hers had resurfaced. Suddenly he was furious that she didn’t believe it was even worth trying—but he stopped himself. Meg was only concluding what he had kept insisting. After all, he didn’t believe in happy endings. He refused to tell her how he felt about her.

  “That’s why they want to make sure that you’re silent.” Meg returned to their original topic. “And Kelly is their best, most direct route.”

  Adam digested her words and had to admit they made a lot of sense. If Reid managed to use Kelly successfully as leverage against him, he would stop any investigation. Then Reid and Gloria could start business fresh. Their operation had only been up and running for two years, and while they had surely netted a hefty profit, there was a lot more to be made. From his other stories, he’d learned that the hard step for any criminal was first crossing that line into illegal territory. Afterward it was difficult to get out.

  “Tell me about Kelly,” Meg suggested.

  Adam sat back in his chair, crossing one jean-clad leg over the other. He might as well tell Meg everything. She deserved it. “Kelly is beautiful, wonderful, sensitive and caring and doesn’t know the first thing about taking care of herself. My job has been to look after her.”

  “Ever since your father died?”

  “Yes.”

  Meg tapped her spoon against the side of her cup and then grabbed the utensil with her other hand. “You look after your mother and brother as well?”

  “Yes. I admit I’m probably overprotective now, but I’ve learned from hard experience that I need to be. Dad died shortly after losing his company, then my mother lost all of her savings and her insurance in a pyramid scheme. Walter, my brother, turned into a juvenile delinquent, while Kelly drifted from dream to dream and man to man.”

  Meg kept a neutral expression as he told his family’s story, but he could read a faint bit of criticism.

  “If the men Kelly picked hadn’t been so impossible,” Adam continued, “I would have been happy for her. I would have been happy for anyone in my family who managed to find some joy for themselves after the devastation of my father’s death, but it never happened.”

  Meg reach across the tabletop and clasped his hand. With shock, he saw that her eyes were glazed with tears. “Maybe you were the one who missed your father most.”

  Adam looked at her and worked past the lump in his throat. “I think so. I really loved him and admired him. When Dad was around, our family worked. My mother was always impulsive and flighty, but together they made a nice team. It was afterward that I realized how foolish she could be. Within six months of his death, she had lost every penny she had to live on.”

  “Oh, how awful.” Meg got out of her chair, wrapping her arms around him. Reflexively, he held her to him and felt better.

  “By the time I began to get her life in order, Walter was out of control. It wasn’t so difficult to help him straighten out. I had been ignoring him during my own grief, but he was the one I really focused on for the next year.”

  “And then Kelly became a problem?”

  “Yes. Although it was just small things. She finished college and had no focus, just all kinds of crazy dreams. I got her a job in an advertising agency, but soon she was having an affair with her married boss. When that affair ended badly she lost her job. Then she started to drift. She tried running her own catering business, but that lasted less than two years.

  “One day she claimed she needed to experience new things, an adventure—” Meg winced “—in order to discover herself. The only way to do this, apparently, was through travel. My mother received a postcard from her every once in a while. The last one we received was a picture of the Grand Canyon.

  “Kelly was in a coma for two weeks before she came back to us. And she’s never told me a word of what happened to her.”

  “It must have been very difficult for you,” Meg said as she rubbed her face into his chest. Adam enjoyed her touch. She was warm and loving and beautiful—everything he could ever want in a woman. But he was making a mistake.

  “Your wife was similar?” Meg asked his chest.

  When he didn’t say anything, she raised her head, searching for the answer in his face. An answer he could see she was afraid to learn.

  “Exactly the same. I repeat the same problem.”

  “And you think you’re making the same mistake with me?”

  Adam remained silent, but he didn’t deny her words. He was making the same mistake, but he couldn’t regret it. Meg was spirited and beautiful and wonderful.

  If only she wasn’t going to break his heart.

  “I TOLD YOU I COULD GET us a good flight into New York,” Meg said as they deplaned at LaGuardia. In a strange way Adam felt that the closer they got to New York, the further he felt Meg moving away from him. Moreover, he had to restrain himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her until she agreed to stay with him. At first she’d chattered excitedly about seeing her brother, his new wife and her father, but as the miles distanced them from Arizona, she grew quieter. Twice she’d begun tapping her swizzle stick against the food tray. The second time, she’d thrown it away in disgust.

  Passing the luggage carousel, Meg weaved her way through the crowd of anxious passengers who were wondering if their luggage had decided to arrive in New York with them. “This way.” She walked through the airport quickly, her carry-on luggage slung over her shoulder. Her slim, jean-clad legs gathered the appreciation of several men, and Adam was forced to glare at all of them.

  Meg clearly was a New Yorker. He’d almost doubted her claim to Long Island roots, but her expert maneuvering of LaGuardia made its familiarity to her very clear. “Let’s ignore the taxi line,” she said of the queue snaking along the street. Instead she headed toward the limousines. “We have an account.” She scanned the line and waved at someone, after which a car started to make its way toward them.

  “Quick, while none of the officials are looking.” Meg took off at a run, heading forward as the limo sped past them and the LaGuardia officials who carefully regulated the New York taxis, then Meg grabbed the door handle and threw herself and her bag into the moving car, and Adam followed suit.

  The man behind the wheel accelerated, weaving expertly through the traffic. Once he’d gotten them into the outside fast lane—fast by New York standards—he grinned into the rearview mirror and tipped his hat. “Miss Cooper, how delightful to see you this afternoon. I was not expecting you.”

  Meg leaned forward and smiled broadly. “Graham, my favorite driver. Now I know I’m really home. I can’t believe my luck at having found you!”

  The man grinned, checking out Meg and Adam in his rearview mirror. “But I had no idea you were coming back to town. No o
ne has mentioned a word, and they’ve all talked about you a lot. I was so sorry to hear about your very sad nuptials.”

  “Fourteen months and one week ago, Graham. My life has changed since then. I’d like you to meet the new man in my life, Adam Smith.”

  “Ah.” Graham nodded as he cut off three cars. “I was sure you would be back. Very nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. Any friend of Meg’s can always get a ride from me.” He took a hand off the wheel that Adam wished he wouldn’t, rifled through paperwork on the seat next to him, took his eyes off the road and then handed a card back to Adam. Adam grasped it quickly, wanting Graham to return his attention to his driving.

  Meg and Graham continued a gossip session. Adam studied the Manhattan skyline as it came closer and closer. He wasn’t used to the variety of emotions he was experiencing. He liked having Meg with him. He was worried about his sister. He was accustomed to the latter but was disconcerted by the first.

  He had to admit that Meg could be correct. Reid might have decided to use Kelly against him. What would happen to his sister? Reid had almost destroyed her once, yet Adam knew how biddable his sister was. Could she possibly stand up against Reid’s tactics? Deep down Adam doubted it. His sister could be manipulated so easily. That was why he’d had to protect her for so long.

  “East Fifty-fifth Street,” Meg suddenly announced. Adam turned to her, surprised she was giving Graham his address. “I’ll drop you off at your apartment. You try to contact Kelly. I’ll go to my place and you can phone me as soon as you’ve found out anything. You will phone me?” she said suddenly, studying him intently.

  “Yes.” He accepted her number, written on the back of her airline ticket.

  The car pulled in front of his apartment. “Meg...”

  “Phone me as soon as you learn anything,” she said again, but she didn’t look at him. She was fiddling with something in her purse. He slid a hand under her chin and raised her face to his. Her brown eyes were filled with concern, her face pale.

  “Meg, I...” he began, but didn’t know how to continue. They had agreed that they would separate, each returning to his and her regular New York life. Actually, Meg had insisted, claiming she wanted to see her family and check on her old job. Suddenly Adam had a bad feeling about letting her leave him. Maybe he should just go into the apartment with her and make love to her until they both forgot everything except each other.

  She broke away from him and gathered her bag, holding it against her chest as if for protection. She looked back at him. “Please, call me. I deserve to be in on the end of this.”

  “Yes,” he agreed, wondering what exactly he was promising. That the end of the investigation was going to be the end of them?

  ADAM SLEPT UNCOMFORTABLY, waking early, feeling disgruntled. He took his time showering, then got dressed, made coffee and read the paper, checking his watch. He was meeting Meg at eight. It was Monday, just over a week since he’d met Megan Cooper and begun to fear for his own sanity.

  They were meeting for breakfast at the Plaza, Meg’s suggestion. As a Long Island heiress, she was used to spending money, so the exclusive hotel’s restaurant, usually frequented by New York business and entertainment elite, suited Megan Elizabeth Cooper, he reminded himself yet again, trying not to remember how much he had missed her since they’d separated. He’d only missed her because they had spent almost every second together since they’d met. Had it really been only nine days since he’d met her? He felt like he’d gone through a lifetime with her and was already regretting when it would end.

  Nevertheless, he left his apartment too early and was seated in the restaurant by quarter to eight. He ordered coffee and waited, watching New York’s elite make deals, schmooze and breakfast.

  A very attractive brunette dressed in a killer black suit with a short skirt and high heels entered the restaurant. Adam casually surveyed her, admiring her figure and her confident, hip-swaying walk as he looked past her toward the door, anxiously awaiting Meg. He wiped his sweaty palms on the cloth napkin. He was behaving like a ridiculous schoolboy with a crush on the head cheerleader.

  The brunette headed in the general direction of his table. She waved to the publisher of the New York Star and stopped to talk to the editor of a women’s magazine. The editor motioned for her to sit down, but the woman indicated she had a previous engagement. Adam rechecked his watch. He was still early. It was only ten to eight.

  He noticed a pair of very attractive, slim female legs stop at his table. Slowly, appreciatively, he perused the long legs, short skirt and slim hips, past the nicely tailored jacket waist and very nicely curved breasts to...“Meg?”

  He couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice as the maître d’ seated her. She looked like a successful, capable New York businesswoman.

  “Of course,” she said, unfolding her napkin. “Close your mouth. You shouldn’t be so surprised that I own a designer suit. I told you I was from New York.”

  “You told me you were from a rich family in Long Island.”

  “I also told you I was a successful career woman. In Manhattan. You didn’t believe me. You assumed because I was willing to be different, because I was searching for adventure, I had to be some kind of a hippie. I’m not.”

  “Who are you?” he spluttered.

  Meg took her time, as if enjoying his discomfort. “I’m the editorial director of Scorpion Books. Or at least I was until my sabbatical. You never know how things change, especially in publishing, when you’re away. And yes—” she shook her head sadly “—I do work for my father’s company. But I’m a good editor, really good. I’ve had a lot of offers from our competition and a lot of books on the New York Times list, not that I really consider that a good indicator of worth. Nevertheless, I could get a position with any publisher in New York. But I like my family’s company. I like what we’re trying to do. Not all family is a weight around your neck.”

  “Point taken,” he agreed, but he was still stunned by the appearance of the new Megan Cooper. It was more than the clothes, it was her natural confidence in an atmosphere he admired.

  “Don’t be fooled,” she added mischievously, as if reading his mind. “I’m still nuts.”

  “I missed you last night.” Adam reached for her hand and kissed it.

  Meg blushed and pulled her hand away, looking confused. “I did, too. Did you talk to your sister?”

  “No.” According to his mother, Kelly hadn’t come home last night. She had called saying she was okay, but hadn’t offered any further information. Adam hadn’t wanted to worry his mother by telling her that he was afraid she was with Reid. Would Kelly have really gone with Reid voluntarily? Was she still in love with him even after what he’d done to her? Or was Reid coercing her?

  “Do you have any ideas?”

  “Yes.” Then, unable to help himself, he asked, “Do you always look like this in New York?”

  “Always,” Meg said blandly. “I am editorial director. In fact, I believe we bid on your last book. You profiled ten successful leaders.”

  “Scorpion made an offer.”

  “It was a good book. But you wanted too much money.”

  “I don’t come cheap.” He grinned at her.

  She smiled a killer smile back, and he suddenly imagined her as a very ruthless negotiator.

  “Good thing I have a powerful agent,” he added.

  “Your agent was dreaming. Most of them do. Never mind all that. What are we going to do about Kelly?”

  “My mother hasn’t seen her since Saturday; she left the house by herself for the first time. Then there was her call last night. Kelly claimed she was with friends, but my mother wasn’t so sure. She thought Kelly’s voice sounded strained.”

  Meg tapped her spoon against her coffee cup. “So Kelly disappeared right around the time Reid Logan could have arrived in town.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What about your friends at the Times? Did they come up with anything?” Adam had spent last ni
ght talking to all his contacts.

  “I managed to get more background on Reid, but nothing on what he might be doing right now.”

  “So what should we do?”

  The waiter arrived at their table. Meg smiled at him. “The usual please, Stuart,” she said.

  Adam ordered pancakes while she considered her options. She was worried not only because she didn’t know what else to do, but because of how admiringly Adam was staring at her. He liked the old Megan Elizabeth Cooper, supersuccessful New York editor.

  But that was no longer her. Meg could still walk the walk and talk the talk, and she intended to do something about her career with Scorpion, but Adam had to understand the new Megan Elizabeth Cooper was the person she was meant to be. It had taken her thirty-three years to figure out that truth.

  They ate and Meg considered. Adam had spent the night working his leads, so he hadn’t been able to come to her. At least that’s how she’d reassured herself last night Or was it that he already wanted to end their affair? She wanted so much more. Would she be willing to settle for an affair, no matter how passionate and wonderful it would be while it lasted. And afterward? How would she mend her heart? Now that she’d found her man, would she be able to leave him? How was she going to live without him?

  The political editor of the Times made his way over to their table and kissed Meg on the cheek. “Oh, hello, Adam. I didn’t see you,” he said. “Don’t tell me you’re lucky enough to have sold your book to Meg?”

  Meg smiled at the rotund, dapper man. “Thomas, always a delight. You do realize that I’m still waiting for a new book from you. Even a nice collection of essays would make Daddy happy at this point.”

  “Soon,” Thomas promised. “When did you finally get back into town?”

  “Just last night.”

  “And Adam already cornered you for breakfast. He must be desperate to sell that manuscript.”

  “Our relationship is purely personal,” Adam muttered between clenched teeth, glaring at Thomas’s hand on Meg’s shoulder.