Love Is Elected (12 page)

His criticism sparked her annoyance. "This isn't even your district," she reminded her husband. "Why do you have to be so obliging here?"

"People from my district—like my mother—come shopping here. Besides, it's important to cultivate support all over the state. I thought you realized that when you brought up the consumer safety issue. But I guess you've got a lot to learn about how politics works."

"I thought I was helping you make a contact, not trading my dinner for a political rally," Kara snapped petulantly. But Matt ignored the challenge in her voice.

By this time they were in the covered parking garage. Matt steered her toward the Porsche. Then he opened the door and helped her in. When he had lowered himself into the plush bucket seat on the driver's side, he turned to Kara.

"A politician has a certain responsibility to the people," he told her. "And I take that responsibility seriously. It means I not only have to look out for their best interests in the legislature, but I also have to be accessible. But that doesn't mean I can't have a private life, too. I've just learned to make the most of every minute when I'm not in the public eye. So let's stop wasting time. We're going to put this incident behind us and have a pleasant dinner together." And then his face broke into a sardonic grin. "Even if it kills us."

Kara couldn't help responding to the absurdity of his last statement. And she grinned back. "Is the food at your Mexican hideout that spicy?" she asked teasingly.

"You'll soon find out," he replied as he began to back out of the parking space.

The restaurant was only a few miles down the road, in an old house set well back from a busy highway. Entering through the enclosed front porch, they were greeted in the hall by the maitre d'.

"My wife and I would like some privacy," Matt told him. "So could you give us a table in the corner of the back room, Jorge."

"
Si
, Se
ň
or Jordan. Follow me," the man replied, shooting Kara a brief, admiring glance.

Jorge led the way through the living room and dining room to a corner table in what must have been a former back bedroom. Kara looked around. The restaurant was decorated in red and black, with hanging wrought iron lamps and bullfighter posters adorning the walls.

"We'll have Margaritas to start with," Matt told the waiter. Jorge nodded, and they were left alone.

"When do we get the menus," Kara inquired. "I'm starving."

"We don't. The food here is served family style, and you get whatever the chef has fixed for today. But don't worry, it's always delicious, whatever it is."

After Matt and Kara had finished their Margaritas, a waitress came around with a tray of guacamole salads and a side dish of triangular tortilla chips. This was followed by a spicy chicken dish with seasoned rice, cheese enchiladas, soft beef-filled burritos with green chili sauce, and a simple but elegant custard with burnt sugar sauce for dessert.

Kara tried each new dish cautiously. But each was so delicious that she found it hard not to ask for the second helpings she saw some of the other diners requesting.

While they ate they talked.

"It was Lew who introduced me to Mexican food, you know," Matt told Kara. "But the Tex-Mex chili he fed me that first time almost did me in." He smiled at the memory and continued. "I pitched his chili pot in the duck pond, and he pitched me in after it."

The image of a surprised young Matt hitting the water flashed into Kara's mind, and she laughed aloud.

"Well it doesn't seem to have done you any harm," she told him, smiling.

"My mother found out about it, of course. She didn't say anything to me or Lew, but she made the cook spend six weeks learning Mexican dishes. Then she invited me and Lew to a special dinner. And it's a good thing she did too, or I might have thought I hated the stuff."

"And look what you would have missed," Kara told him. "This is all so good, I'd like more of everything. But I've already eaten so much, I'm afraid I won't fit into all those new clothes I got today."

"Tell me about what you bought," Matt questioned, his eyes resting warmly on her face.

"Oh no. I'm not going to," Kara countered playfully. "You'll just have to wait and see as I wear them."

"Well, if you look as good in everything as you do in this outfit, it will be a real treat," Matt assured her.

Kara smiled with pleasure. Matt was being charming. And it was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy his company.

"Would you like an after-dinner liqueur?" he questioned when the waitress had cleared the table.

"Yes," Kara answered, not because she really wanted the drink, but because she wanted to prolong the pleasure of this dinner together.

"I think amaretto would be just the thing," Matt told her, turning to the waitress. "We'll have two."

As they sipped the sweet, almond-flavored drink from tiny liqueur glasses, Kara felt a warmth steal through her that had nothing to do with the effect of the alcoholic beverage.

Matt leaned across the table and stroked her hand lightly, rubbing the sensitive inside of her wrist with his thumb. Tantalizing sensations began to flicker through her body.

"It's time to go home now," he murmured, looking at his watch and frowning. Not noticing the frown, Kara nodded in agreement, feeling that his words had a special meaning tonight.

In the car on the way home, Matt tuned in some relaxing music. And Kara felt herself becoming drowsy. She settled back in the bucket seat and closed her eyes for just a minute.

"There's something I have to tell you," Matt began. But when he glanced at his bride he stopped in mid-sentence. She was fast asleep.

The next thing Kara knew Matt was shaking her gently. She opened her eyes and looked up. Her head had fallen on his shoulder.

"Come on in the house, sleepy head," he told her gently. But she felt reluctant to move away from the warmth of his strong body and made no effort to straighten up.

"You don't want to sleep out here, do you?" he asked, opening the car door. In a moment he had come around to her side and was helping her out. With an arm across her shoulder, he led her inside.

Automatically she headed up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. She had removed the jacket of her new linen suit and was beginning to fumble with the top button on the blouse, when there was a light tap at the door.

Did she want Matt here in her bedroom? she asked herself. The answer was yes.

"Come in," she called softly.

Matt entered, his own jacket off and his tie loosened at the neck of his blue oxford cloth shirt. He looked disturbingly masculine and appealing as he came toward her.

"Kara, I really enjoyed our evening together," he told her.

"I did too," she agreed, feeling a kind of joy she had never allowed herself to experience with Matt before. In a few quick strides, he had crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. This time when his lips took possession of hers, they met no resistance. She felt her body molding itself to his, clamoring for complete union with her husband.

"Matt, oh Matt," she murmured, as his lips brushed her hair.

"Kara, there's something I have to tell you," he responded thickly.

"Darling, whatever it is, it doesn't matter," she whispered, her lips caressing his enticingly as she spoke.

Matt groaned. "Kara you're making this harder for me. But you must listen. Frank Adams has booked me on the eleven p.m. commuter flight to Cumberland. I'm committed to a breakfast speaking engagement at the businessmen's association. I have to leave tonight."

Even though his words were gentle, it was as though he had slapped Kara in the face.

"You mean you're leaving now?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes. My bags are all packed. And Frank will be here to pick me up in a few minutes. The keys to the Porsche and the house will be on the sideboard in the hall."

"Bags?" she asked, stunned.

"It's a week-long campaign trip, Kara. Frank has been telling me how important it is, and I agree."

"But what about us?"

"We'll have to sort that out when I get back. Remember, I tried to explain it to you back in the parking lot. I have my public duties too."

"And they always come first," Kara accused, her violet eyes flashing.

"Not always. But I'm in the middle of a campaign, remember? And these commitments were made before I even knew you existed. Don't make things more difficult for me than they are already. Don't you think I want to stay here with you tonight?"

"I don't know anymore," Kara flung at him.

His eyes hardened as he stared down at her furious face. Without replying he turned on his heels and left her standing in the middle of the room. A few minutes later she heard him descending the stairs. Then the front door slammed, and he was gone.

Like a robot, Kara took off her clothes and got ready for bed. But when her head touched the pillow the reaction from her last emotion-charged scene with Matt enveloped her. She had offered herself to him, and he had spurned her. She felt humiliation and anger at herself.

Why was she leaving herself open to this kind of abuse? She should be cool and able to play the games that Matt wanted without letting him affect her. But she knew that she could never be cool where Matt was concerned. Just being near him aroused a special longing within her—a longing to be loved and to give love in return.

She sat up suddenly as realization dawned on her. Love—that was the key to the whole thing. She was falling in love with Matt Jordan. She knew it now. But this evening just proved the point that
he
didn't love
her
. The kind of intimate, sharing relationship she had always imagined marriage to be could never be possible with a man like Matt.

It can never work, she told herself brokenly as she began to sob at the hopelessness of the situation. It was a long time before the sobs subsided and she fell into a restless sleep.

After a night of tossing and turning, Kara awoke feeling even more exhausted. Her disappointment and humiliation at Matt's desertion of her for his campaign trip had made it impossible to sleep.

Kara looked over at the vacant pillow beside her and then laid her hand on it. The cloth was cold to the touch. Would Matt have warmed it if he hadn't gone away? She had a pang of longing for him and remembered back to the night before when she had felt so comforted and protected in his arms. Now she found herself longing to have them around her once more.

Her overwhelming and bittersweet desire shocked her. At first she had feared and despised Matt, but now her heart leapt at the mere thought of him. She really was falling in love with him.

The thought brought her up short. Kara sat up in bed, shivering again and pulling the covers protectively around her slender body. She thought back, remembering vividly the way Matt had manhandled her in the cabin, the arrogant way he'd snatched her necklace from her throat and later instructed her to clean up the bathroom. And then there were his other women. She was sure he was still seeing them. Why, he'd spent their wedding night with Vera Caldwell and was probably in the redhead's company right now—using his campaign as a convenient excuse. She could not, would not, allow herself to love this infuriating man.