they do not include a husband.”
Adam pulled on his waistcoat and jacket, and stuffed his cravat into his pocket. “I don’t think either of us is in the proper frame of mind to make such a decision.”
“My mind is quite made up, Mr. Harrington. And I’ll thank you to keep this entire unfortunate incident to yourself. I’m leaving.” Haley headed for the door.
“Wait.” Adam followed her across the room.
She grasped the doorknob and looked up to find him standing over her. His height was overwhelming. She barely reached his shoulder. “What?”
He reached over her head and held the door closed. “Isn’t a husband allowed a goodbye kiss?”
Haley’s knees nearly gave out. A heat, an aura, engulfed her as Adam eased closer. His gaze captured hers, and all rational thought left her head. He folded his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She felt the strength in his arms, tempered by the gentleness of his touch.
“Well?” A tiny grin pulled at his lips.
She tried to protest, but couldn’t speak the words. Visions, images, flashed in her mind.
Adam touched his mouth to hers, kneading them together gently until she parted her lips. He moaned deep in his throat as his tongue met with hers in an intimate exchange. She was sweet, giving, exquisite…just as he remembered.
Desire coiled in his belly as further recollections surfaced in his mind. He pulled his lips away and kissed a hot trail down her cheek, nestling against her neck. She tasted good. He wanted more.
“We don’t have to call off the marriage right this minute,” he whispered against her ear. “Another hour or two wouldn’t make any difference. How about it?”
Adam lifted his head and looked down to find Haley staring at him. Her lips were wet and swollen with his kiss, and her body was nearly limp in his arms. But her eyes, deep blue eyes, were wide with fright.
They’d made love all night, done wonderful things with each other, and he didn’t understand her reaction. He wanted to be mad, but couldn’t. Instead, he stepped away and pulled in a deep breath.
“Well, at least let me walk my wife down to get a cab.”
Befuddled, Haley stepped aside as he opened the door and walked with him down the carpeted corridor. The air was cooler here, and it helped clear her mind—enough for her to worry that they would be seen in the hotel together.
At the head of the grand staircase that descended to the lobby, Haley stopped. “I’d rather go down alone.”
Adam peered down the stairs. The double doors at the main entrance were only a short walk across the lobby. Several men sat on the settees and others stood near the front desk. Haley in her evening gown— modest as it was—certainly would catch their attention. And suddenly he didn’t like the idea of those men ogling her.
He shook his head. “I’ll see you to the cab.”
Haley started to protest, but he closed his hand over her elbow and led her down the stairs. She took heart in the strength that radiated up her arm.
Crossing the lobby, Haley kept her head down, though she could feel the stares of everyone there. At least she was new in town and almost no one knew her, the chances that she’d be recognized were slim.
She lifted her gaze for an instant, calculating the distance to the doorway. Only a few more feet and she’d be safely out of the Madison Hotel, safely away from the man clinging to her elbow, safely on the path to salvaging her reputation, not to mention getting her plans back on track. Her spirits lifted. No one would ever know.
Aunt Harriet stepped into the doorway.
Haley dug in her heels and pulled back. What was her aunt doing here at the Madison on a Sunday afternoon? Her first instinct was to run, but the man at her elbow anchored her in place. She pulled against him.
He held tight and looked down at her. “What the devil is the matter with you?”
Her breath came in quick puffs as her aunt’s gaze fell on her. She watched in horror as the older woman’s expression turned from surprise to anger.
Suddenly Aunt Harriet was surrounded by three other women. Haley’s knees trembled. They were her aunt’s friends, the cream of Sacramento’s society. How could she explain away what was so painfully obvious? Her gaze swept the lobby as she looked for an escape route, a place to hide—anything.
Adam looked at the women, then down to see the terror on Haley’s face. “I take it you know that woman,” he whispered.
She worked her mouth, but no words came out.
The three women spotted her, and recognition bulged their eyes. They bent their heads together, whispering, then craned their necks at Aunt Harriet.
Haley clamped her hand around Adam’s arm. “She’s my aunt. And those old hens are her dearest friends.”
Adam looked at the women, then back at Haley. “She’s your aunt? Harriet Covington is your aunt?”
She bobbed her head quickly and gazed up at him, desperate. “What are we going to tell them?”
Adam couldn’t hold in the grin that pulled at his lips. He slid one arm around her waist and bent until his mouth brushed her ear. “We could always try the truth.”
Haley wanted to slug him. “I told you, I don’t want anyone to know about this—this mess.”
“Would you rather tell them we simply spent the night together?”
Aunt Harriet advanced on them, her wrinkled cheeks pink with anger, her body rigid with well-practiced containment of her emotions. Behind her, the three other ladies stared, wide-eyed.
Her gaze raked them both. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Mrs. Covington, it’s good to see you again. Haley tells me you’re her aunt.” Adam smiled smoothly.
She looked up at him for the first time, and recognition drew her mouth into a tight bow and bobbed her brows to her hairline. “But—I—You—Well, Mr. Harrington?”
“We were just on our way to see you, Mrs. Covington, weren’t we, dear?” Adam gave Haley a squeeze, and a squeak slipped through her lips.
Aunt Harriet glanced back at her three friends who were hovering within earshot. She pulled herself up straighter. “Mr. Harrington, I must ask for an explanation.”
“Believe me, Mrs. Covington, the whole thing came as quite a surprise to us all. Isn’t that right, dear?” Adam looked down at Haley, a gracious smile in place. “Go on, tell your aunt.”
Haley would have collapsed onto the floor long ago, had it not been for Adam’s strong arms around her. She felt the hot glare of her aunt, the nosy exchange of her friends, who must be dying to spread this juicy piece of gossip unfolding before them. But which was the worst scandal? Marrying a stranger in a drunken stupor, or getting caught sleeping with one?
Haley
