Queen of Hearts Read online

  "Something wrong with the car?" he asked, sounding amused. "That charming way you have of looking down your elegant nose is very much in evidence."

  Janna shrugged with elaborate unconcern. "What you drive is your own affair. And I believe Continentals and Cadillacs are the usual cars chosen by people who have made money the hard way." There! How snobbish could one get, she thought, feeling better. She would teach him to try and bribe her!

  "Implying, I suppose that people with fancy educations and proper backgrounds select other styles of transportation?" He didn't sound offended, she thought, merely interested.

  "Usually something foreign," she smiled sweetly, thinking of the Mercedes' and BMW's which were parked in the driveways of the more successful faculty. Those still on the way up, such as Scott Barrett, generally chose a less expensive but still foreign car. The thought of Scott made Janna relax a little more. The sandy-haired, bearded assistant professor of English had been making more and more casual stops by the reference desk this past week. And while he certainly wasn't built along Adam's massive lines, he was almost six feet. She could wear low-heeled shoes if he asked her out...

  "Perhaps, having made my money the, er, hard way, I have a slightly greater sensitivity to the current balance of payments in this country," Adam said, breaking into her small reverie about Scott.

  Surprised, Janna glanced across at him and then smiled in spite of herself. She knew when she was beaten.

  "Okay. You win. I'm not about to get into an argument on international economics with you. I admit I was being a bit of a snob about the car, but you deserved it for the crack you made about being able to buy me a ticket on the first trip to the moon! Just how much would you give me if I agreed to leave your precious brother alone?" She deliberately kept the bitterness out of her voice, allowing only plain, greedy curiosity to show. It might be rather fun to lead him on, make him think he could bribe her and then throw the money in his face. No, that wouldn't work. She probably wouldn't see him again so how could she throw the filthy green stuff at him?

  "You're the one who interpreted my comment as an attempt to buy you off," Adam pointed out virtuously, piloting the large car onto the main thoroughfare through La Paloma as if he knew exactly where he was going.

  "You mean it wasn't?" she demanded suspiciously. "You followed it up by claiming you would do anything you had to in order to separate me from Nat!"

  "I would, but offering you money wouldn't work so I would never have tried it."

  "What makes you so sure?" Janna asked, eyeing him.

  "If I handed you a wad of money in exchange for staying away from Nat you would probably tear the bills into tiny pieces and take great pleasure in dropping them at my feet, wouldn't you?" His slashing grin made her think of an eighteenth century highwayman.

  "To be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of throwing the pieces in your face, but you have the general idea," she agreed wryly. "So what did you mean by being able to afford the trip to the moon?"

  "Just what I said."

  "No hidden implications?"

  "Just the obvious one," he hedged.

  "Which is?" she prodded.

  "That I would give my woman her heart's desire if it was possible and if I thought it was good for her," he concluded quietly.

  "If you thought it was good for her!" Janna pounced on that, instinctively trying to keep the verbal bantering going. She didn't trust the way Adam's voice had deepened, sounding rich and velvety as he spoke of what he would give his wife. No, Janna corrected herself, his woman. Adam Halleck would always think in the most possessive, fundamental terms. His wife would be his woman in every sense of the word. Her legal status before the law would mean nothing to him. She would belong to him. Full stop. Janna shivered, recoiling a little from the knowledge. She didn't know how she had come to that conclusion but she knew it was the truth with every bit of female understanding she possessed.

  "Does that bother you?" he asked calmly, slowing to turn into the parking lot of one of La Paloma's better restaurants, "The idea that I might exercise some judgment in what I would give my woman?"

  "Yes!" she snapped, loosening her seatbelt as he parked the car.

  "Why?"

  "Because it sounds patronizing, egotistical and chauvinistic!" Janna declared evenly, opening her own door and sliding out of the car.

  He sighed, climbing out of his side of the car and turning to face her across the top. "It probably sounded like that because I am all of those things. I believe a man should protect his woman and his family." He looked almost earnest, she thought ruefully, as if he was trying to impress he with the depth of his feelings on the matter.

  "I hope," she said silkily, smiling politely across the white metal surface of the Continental, "that you wind up marrying a genuine shrew!"

  Adam grinned. "I have the distinct impression my fate has been sealed!" He moved, coming around the front of the car to take her arm and guide her toward the restaurant door. "There's just one thing, Janna," he began politely.

  "What's that?" she inquired, arching one brow in mock inquiry.

  "When you're on a date with me, you will stay in the car, vulgar and flashy though you may find it, until I have a chance to play out the male role and open the door for you." The words were spoken lightly, almost humorously but Janna wasn't fooled.

  "Why, Adam? Do you find even such petty displays of female independence too much for your ego to cope with?" The smile on her mouth was deliberately aloof and superior. She watched his reaction with sparkling eyes that dared him to admit he would really make an issue out of such a small thing.

  "Normally, no," he grinned down at her frankly. "But in your case I think it's going to he necessary to begin with a very tight rein. There will be time enough later to relax it." His grin widened as her smile hardened. "A little, at any rate," he amended.

  "As this will be our first and last occasion out together, I doubt that you will have to worry too much about trying to control my, er, unfeminine behavior," she retorted sardonically as he reached out to pull open the heavy wooden restaurant door. Janna swept inside with all the regal dignity at her command, gliding to a halt in front of the hostess's desk.

  "I never said your behavior was unfeminine, Janna," Adam said quietly, coming up behind her and continuing the conversation just as if the hostess wasn't standing there, taking in ever word. "I only..."

  In silent fury and embarrassment Janna drove the tiny heel of her left sandal onto the toe of his expensive shoe, felt Adam wince and, mercifully, shut his mouth. She smiled politely at the hostess.

  "A table for two, please," she said calmly and, without looking around to see if Adam was following, trailed smoothly after the curious woman who obediently set off in the direction of a booth.

  It was only as Janna turned and slid gracefully onto the softly upholstered banquette that she realized Adam was still making his way toward her, weaving a path through the tables and booths. Every head in the place seemed to be swiveled with varying degrees of discreetness in his direction. And in a second Janna realized why. It wasn't only Adam's striking size or the overall impression of strength and control he projected without even trying. It was because he was distinctly limping!

  For a moment Janna sat stunned, horrified by the knowledge that everyone in the room must have come to the unavoidable conclusion that she had callously swept on ahead of a date who clearly suffered from a painful physical problem but who bore the ill-manners of his female companion with a martyr's courage.

  It was too much. After the moment of horror at the thought of the scene Adam was creating, Janna's sense of humor overcame her. She burst into muffled laughter, nearly collapsing with it as Adam finally settled himself carefully into the booth beside her and fixed her with the gentle, reproachful look of a wounded spaniel. She lifted a hand as if to fend off his antics.

  "Enough!" she gasped between giggles. "We're even!" She tried to summon a quelling look. "Oh, Adam. How co
uld you make such a scene? Everyone in this room must think the most awful things right now about my manners!"

  "And so they should!" he informed her grandly, lifting the hefty, tasseled menu. "My toes may never be the same!"

  "You had it coming and you know it!" she shot back, reaching for her own menu. "If I hadn't done something drastic you would have kept right on with your lecture about my unfeminine behavior. The hostess was listening to every word!"

  "It wasn't your unfeminine behavior I was discussing, Janna," he told her with a small smile, glancing up from his study of the menu. "I was about to point out that, on the contrary, your challenge is very, very female."

  "Ah! You are now an authority on the psychology of the sexes?" she quipped, not trusting the look in the grey-green eyes.

  "No," he admitted readily, watching her until in self-defense J anna lowered her own gaze to the listing of foods in front of her. "But there is something male in me that seems to understand something female in you. If you would stop fighting me long enough to think about it, you would probably realize what I'm talking about." Suddenly the velvet was back in the rich voice and janna felt herself tremble very lightly in response. She had to get a grip on herself! This strange reaction to a man like Adam Halleck wouldn't do! It was all wrong! He was all wrong. Especially for her. Scott Barrett would never have embarrassed her in a public restaurant! So why had she laughed so hard a small voice prodded. Janna ignored it. Certainly she and Adam had little in common and his domineering ways would soon irritate her beyond reason. And above all else, she realized with a small sense of shock, the only explanation for the fact that she was even with him tonight was that he had admitted he wanted to talk her out of marrying his brother!

  "Save your 'battle of the sexes' routine for someone more susceptible," she told him firmly. "The reason you and I are at odds is because of your brother. If it weren't for him we wouldn't even be here right now!"

  "You mean if Nat were removed as a bone of contention, you would melt into my arms?" he asked with lively interest, setting down the wine list to meet her eyes directly. There was laughter in those steel-green depths now, Janna knew, and what else? Eagerness? She pulled her own gaze away in a small, almost nervous movement. "You didn't listen," she retorted with an effort at lightness. "I said if it weren't for Nat we wouldn't be eating dinner together. We would never have gotten our association as far as a dinner date!"

  "I'll admit I owe Nat for the introduction, but beyond that I would have taken matters into my own hands. We would still be having dinner tonight, Janna, even if my obliging brother hadn't virtually tossed you into my lap!"

  "Not a chance," she said crisply, still not meeting his eyes. "You and I are not each other's type at all!"

  "Now you're trying to be the authority on male and female psychology?"

  "I'm simply stating a fact. Give me some credit for intelligence, Adam," she shot back aloofly. "I'm old enough to have come to some decisions about the kind of man who attracts me and whose lifestyle will be compatible with mine!"

  "Getting on in years, are you?" he asked sympathetically.

  "Twenty-five is old enough for a woman to have reached certain important conclusions!"

  "You're two years older than my brother, are you? I thought so. That's not good, Janna," he told her, suddenly serious.

  "Why not?" she bridled instantly. "Are you still caught up in the old theory that the man should be older than his wife so that he will be in a position to guide and instruct her from the depths of his own experience?" she inquired with patently false interest.

  "That wasn't the reason men were usually older than their wives," he argued firmly. "It was a matter of economics. A woman needed a man who was in a financial position to care for her. That usually meant he was a few years her senior. It takes time to establish a sound, secure economic base..."

  "Fortunately the financial aspects of the matter are no longer so important. Women have been working for several years now, in case you hadn't noticed. They no longer need to examine a potential husband's bank statement prior to accepting his proposal!" She lifted her chin and eyed him with a,small amount of menace. "And you promised me you wouldn't discuss the matter of who should support whom in a marriage!"

  "So I did. I apologize," he grinned, holding up a hand in mock surrender. "I really didn't intend to get into the financial aspects of the matter. We were discussing age, as I recall!"

  "My rather advanced one," she acknowledged wryly. "No, I believe it was the two year difference between your age and Nat's that was the topic," he corrected quietly. "My brother is still maturing, Janna. He shouldn't be marrying a woman as forceful as yourself. The two years you have on him give you two years more strength of personality and character. He's not really equipped to manage you yet and bring you to heel when you step too far out of line. He'll only know that after a few months he'll be frustrated and resentful of your natural authority. It will lead to disaster!"

  "Thank you very much for that lovely character assessment!" Janna ground out, seething. It didn't help any to realize that Nat's true intended was probably just right for him. Soft, pliable, obliging Lucy would be more than content to let Nat grow into a strong masculine role. And the younger man's obvious desire to protect and care for his future wife was the reason she, Janna, was having to tolerate Adam Halleck tonight! She opened her mouth to finish giving Adam a piece of her mind and then had to close it as the waiter stepped forward to take the order. The interruption gave Janna a chance to think. Why should she bother arguing with Adam? Why not simply try and get through the evening quickly and without any more outbursts? Try to think about Scott Barrett. Perhaps he would wander through the library again tomorrow night when she was on duty. Things were slower at the reference desk during the evening hours. They would have a chance to chat for a few minutes... The image of Scott had no sooner taken shape in her mind than reality matched it. Janna glanced idly across the room while Adam finished ordering the wine and her eyes widened unconsciously at the sight of Scott entering the restaurant. With a woman, she realized in sudden dismay. Of course he would have a girlfriend. After all he was good-looking, charming, and on his way to the top of the academic ladder. She watched as the fair-haired man with the trim, urbane beard and slender build allowed himself and his friend to be escorted to a table a few booths away. He wore a deceptively casual tweed jacket with leather patches on the sleeves that instantly marked him as a member of the academic community. He lacked only a pipe at the moment to complete the picture, but Janna remembered seeing him with one in the past. Now, she thought determinedly, who was he with...

  "Is my brother aware of this tendency of yours to ogle other men when you're out on a date?" Adam asked casually, causing Janna to snap her dark, sleek head around quite suddenly in surprise.

  "I beg your pardon! I was not ogling!"

  "I'm surprised Nat hasn't managed to buy you a ring. The weight of it on your finger might keep your mind on him." Adam leaned back against the upholstery and studied her with a bland look.

  He knows! Janna thought in alarm and then immediately forced herself to calm down. How could he? All she had to do was keep cool and collected.

  "Nat said he told you that he hasn't been able to afford a ring yet. We have an understanding but we haven't made a formal announcement to the world," she reminded him stiffly, trying to recall the few details she and Nat had been able to sketch out when they had evolved the plan.

  "And until this formal announcement is made you're allowed to cast that peculiarly speculative female look on other eligible men?" Adam smiled. The smile wasn't very nice, Janna thought nervously.

  "I just saw someone I know. That's all," she grumbled by way of explanation.

  "Someone sandy-haired, blue-eyed, about six feet and looks as if he plays a lot of tennis?" Adam glanced with evident disinterest in Scott's direction.

  "Yes!" she snapped, goaded.

  "If you were mine and had the distressing habi
t of looking at other men in that fashion..." Adam began, his eyes becoming strips of steel behind narrowed lids.

  "Well?" Janna challenged, angry now. "What would you do? Beat me?"

  "For starters," he admitted deliberately.

  Janna lifted furious, taunting eyes to glare at him, uncomfortably aware that Adam's rich voice had deepened with warning and even menace! But he had no right to threaten her, damn it! And he never would. Any woman silly enough to tie herself to Adam Halleck would deserve everything she got.

  "Thank the Lord your brother is more civilized," she countered, unable to continue a lecture because the salad plates were being set before them. Adam had no such qualms, however. As soon as the waiter withdrew he leaned forward intently, resting his arms on the white tablecloth.

  "A true, civilized gentleman isn't what you need, Janna."

  "Nevertheless, it's what I'm looking for," she flung at him, seething. Picking up her fork she stabbed a bite of salad. "I certainly don't want a man who...who threatens me!"

  Adam smiled abruptly, the highwayman's grin cutting across his mouth, displaying strong white teeth, humor back in his eyes. In spite of herself, Janna was glad to see the steel fade.

  "I think once you know whose woman you really are; know and accept it, you won't give your man too much cause for violence," he said almost lightly. "You'll love with a great deal of strength and passion. I believe that when you finally admit you're in love it will be almost an act of surrender..."

  "That sounds horrible!"

  "Why? You won't be losing any of your natural spirit or aliveness," he continued more seriously, persuasion imbedded in his tones. "You'll be giving yourself to a man who has shown you that he knows how to appreciate and care for the gift of your love and loyalty..."

  For a frightening moment Janna felt almost mesmerized by the intensity of his voice and the glittering depths of the grey-green eyes. It took an effort of will to break the spell the man was casting.

  "I much prefer Nat's approach to love and marriage!" she announced grimly, hoping that the mention of his younger brother would recall him to the reality of the situation. She was supposed to be almost engaged to Nat and as much as Adam might disapprove of the situation, he certainly wouldn't try using seduction to separate her from the younger man. Or would he? Janna went cold with a new fear. How did she know to what depths Adam would descend in his efforts to rid his brother of a woman he thought was wrong for him? What a mess! How had she ever let herself be talked into this?