Love Is Elected (21 page)

Vera gasped. But her recovery was almost instantaneous. "Why, Matt darling. We were just talking about you," she purred.

"I know you were," he replied evenly. "I heard most of it."

Coming up behind Kara, Matt put his strong arm protectively around her. "It seems to me, Vera, that your interest in my affairs has gone well beyond that of a reporter. And I would appreciate it if in the future you would restrict yourself to news coverage."

"I don't have to take that from you," Vera flung back. "I can ruin you, Matt Jordan."

For an answer he threw back his head and laughed. "I think you have a rather inflated opinion of your influence, Miss Caldwell. I have nothing to hide." Dismissing Vera with icy disdain, he turned his attention back to his wife. "I think we should go out and join the celebration."

Gently he propelled Kara down the hall, leaving the reporter clenching her fists.

As they neared the main room, Matt leaned over and murmured in Kara's ear, "I think I see things more clearly now—including the effects of Vera's lies." He looked down at his wife with a new warmth in his gray eyes. But before he could say more, a crowd of workers had swarmed around them.

"Quick, come over to the TV set. Bill Thorp is about to make his concession speech," someone shouted. Kara and Matt were swept along by a tide of well-wishers to the other side of the room.

The rest of the party was a blur of smiling faces, warm congratulations, popping flashbulbs and bubbling champagne. The only conversation she really remembered was a brief one with Matt's mother who had come to congratulate her son on his victory. After Mrs. Jordan had greeted Matt, she kissed and hugged Kara.

"Things seem to be working out the way you wanted, dear," she whispered, her blue eyes twinkling.

"Maybe you're right," Kara responded, daring to hope for the first time that there might be a way to straighten things out between her and Matt.

It wasn't until well after midnight that the young couple could make their escape from the room full of well-wishers and reporters.

"What about my car?" Kara asked in the parking lot.

"Oh, we'll get it later," her husband responded, putting his arm around her shoulder and guiding her toward the silver gray Porsche.

Once alone in the car with Matt, Kara felt suddenly nervous, wondering what to expect. And her feelings of anxiety intensified when Matt failed to say anything on the short drive home. Why was he so silent? What was he thinking about?

As they entered the foyer of the town house, the silence between them suddenly became unbearable. Kara put a tentative hand on her husband's arm. "Matt," she began, but the troubled look on his face brought back all her earlier doubts, and she didn't know how to break down the barrier.

"Let's go into the living room," he suggested at last. "We have to talk."

Apprehensively Kara sank down to the sofa. Matt joined her, sitting close enough for her to feel the overwhelming sensual awareness of his masculine presence even though he refrained from touching her.

From under fringed eyelashes, Kara studied her husband's finely chiseled profile. She could feel the tension within him—or was it just inside herself— she wondered fleetingly as he turned to look imploringly at her.

"Why did you come tonight, Kara?" Matt questioned intently as his strong hand took hers prisoner, keeping her from pulling away from his compelling gaze. He wasn't going to make this easy for her, Kara thought with dismay. He'd probably force her to confess her feelings for him then tell her that he was filing for a divorce.

"Your mother made me realize how important today is," Kara began uncertainly.

"So that's it," Matt said hoarsely, dropping her hands as a look of severe disappointment crossed his proud features. "You came out of a sense of duty," he added flatly. "You'll probably call me a fool. But Kara I'd hoped you had come back to me for another reason."

"And what other reason were you hoping for Matt?" Kara prompted gently, the quivering butterflies in her stomach making it difficult to breathe, much less talk.

Matt once again took her hands in his, and looked directly into her eyes. "You know I've been crazy with worry about you?" he began to explain, seemingly reluctant to answer her question directly. "I returned to your apartment that day—the day I behaved like a madman," he confessed. "When I had a chance to cool down, I was sick with shame over the way I'd treated you. And when you weren't there, I figured you'd left me for good."

Kara stared wordlessly at him for a moment. Then, seeing the anguish etched on his hard face, she found she couldn't doubt the sincerity of his words.

"I just had to get out of there," she explained in a low voice, unconsciously twisting her wedding ring on her cold finger. "I was sure after you left that you couldn't possibly love me."

"Not love you! But Kara, I've been crazy about you from the moment I first saw you in the firelight in your uncle's cabin."

Kara blushed when she thought of how she must have looked then, remembering their first stormy encounter.

"I knew then that I wanted you—that I would do anything to get you. I wouldn't have pushed you into marriage otherwise. Those reporters with your uncle did me a favor."

Kara gasped with surprise. "You mean you really did want to marry me?"

Matt looked a little shamefaced. "Well, what I wanted at the time was to get you into my arms— marriage seemed the only way. I spent the next few days wondering how I was going to follow through on my plans." Matt laughed briefly, his mouth twisting in an ironic grimace. Then he turned serious as he looked into Kara's questioning eyes. "It wasn't until I had to leave on that campaign trip that I realized what I really felt for you was love."

"Oh, Matt. That's when I knew too. And I felt so rejected when you left that night."

"Darling, you don't know how hard it was for me to leave you," he groaned, pulling her closer against him and nuzzling her neck with gentle lips.

"I thought of nothing but you all that week." He paused. "I can't say much for my behavior afterwards," he continued regretfully. "Seeing you in Wayne's arms and then your telling me you wanted an annulment—it was more than I could bear. I was consumed with jealousy and need for you. Where you're concerned I'm not quite rational."

Kara's heart pounded. "But, but what about Vera Caldwell?" she stammered.

"Kara, there was never anything between me and Vera. It was all in her mind. How could you believe that I could fall for someone like that?"

"And how could you believe that I would still be interested in Wayne after marrying you?" Kara countered.

Matt shook his head. "I was so afraid that I was going to lose you that I just wasn't thinking straight. But I realize now that if we had only known each other a little longer and had been able to talk to each other openly, we would have avoided a lot of misunderstandings."

Kara nodded in agreement. "And I guess it must have been Vera who clued in Wayne about our 'marriage of convenience'."

Matt tightened his arms around his bride. For a moment they sat in silence as he stroked Kara's hair and brushed her forehead with his lips. Looking over in the corner, she saw the silver mylar balloon from Harborplace still floating—although it was now several feet from the ceiling. For a moment she was touched, but then an unwanted memory slid tauntingly into her mind.

"Matt, there's just one more question I have to ask you," she began hesitantly.

"Don't be afraid, Kara. We've got to base our marriage on trust of each other," her husband responded reassuringly.

"Well, what about that conversation I overheard between you and Frank Adams the morning after you had made love to me?"

Matt smiled ruefully. "Kara, I realized as soon as I saw you in the hall how it must have sounded. But you have to understand Frank Adams' point of view, too. You represented a terrible threat to all he'd worked for. First he couldn't believe I'd married someone he'd never even heard of. And then he was convinced that our marriage would cost me the election. I was trying to reassure him in a way that I thought he would understand. What I said to him had nothing to do with our lovemaking," he explained looking at her tenderly.

Kara felt her heart turn over. "Oh Matt, I love you so much. I'm sorry I ever doubted you," she exclaimed, snuggling closer to the warmth of his embrace.

His lips brushed her hair. "Kara, I do love you so much," he murmured. "Winning your love means more to me than any election."

Kara's spirit soared. Then she heard her husband chuckle. "My room or yours?" he questioned.

"Ours," Kara responded dreamily as Matt swept her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

Hours later, content in the fulfillment of their love, they held each other close in the large king-size bed.

"I have a week before I have to start campaigning again for the fall election. What do you say we take a honeymoon?" Matt suggested.

"I thought
this
was our honeymoon," Kara giggled.

"No, this was only the warmup. I have some influence with the owner of a romantic little cabin in the woods. Why don't we hide away there for a week," Matt told her.

"You've got my vote for that," she said as she reached out to stroke her husband's cheek. "But as long as we're together, it really doesn't matter where we are."