Stormy Passion (17 page)

Without warning, Adrian grasped her arms and
in one swift move, he was on top and inside of her, moving with a
steady rhythm that built until white stars flashed across the back
of her eyelids. Somewhere, a voice called Adrian and simultaneously
he shuddered and collapsed into her arms

She wanted to murmur all the love words which
burst within her, but now wasn't the time, so she lay contented in
his arms as she silently said a small prayer for the storm that had
brought her
true love
.

Dani wasn't sure what woke her. Perhaps, it
was the niggling suspicion that something wasn't right. Quickly,
she opened her eyes, and realized she'd spent the entire night with
Adrian. But he wasn't in the bed beside her.

Something rattled in the bathroom, and she
let her breath out. Just for a minute, she'd thought he was gone.
She wrapped the sheet around herself, and slid from the bed. Adrian
came out just as she reached the bathroom.

“
You look just like the
first time I met you,” he teased.

“
But you're all dressed.”
Dani couldn't stop the surprise in her voice.

“
I have an early flight
this morning, and you were sleeping so peacefully I hated to wake
you.”

“
Well I would have been
disappointed if you hadn't,” she said as she went into the
bathroom. “Excuse me.”

After using the bathroom and rinsing her
mouth, she went back into the bedroom in time to see Adrian
replacing the receiver. “I've got to go, Dani. I just called a
cab.”

“
If you'll wait a minute,
I'll get dressed and go to the airport with you.”

“
No,” he said much too
quickly, and Dani eyes widened at the abrupt answer. What was wrong
with him? They had shared something special last night.

Dani stood, frozen, as he moved toward her,
then wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened.

“
Listen, Dani. Last night
was special to me, but I can't stand saying goodbye to you twice in
one week. It will be better this way.”

“
But--”

He placed a finger over her mouth. “Don't.
I've got to get back to New York, but I'll call you soon.”

Everything was happening much too fast.
Adrian pressed a kiss on her lips, turned, and walked out of her
life for the second time, and she didn’t utter one word. She was
too stunned. She would hope, but she knew Adrian wasn't going to
call.

Hot tears filled Dani’s eyes then trickled
down her face. She gave in to the sobs washing away all traces of
Adrian Massimino.

Chapter Ten

Three months later

Where had the last three months gone? Dani
wondered while she rode the bus home. During the first few weeks,
she'd hovered by the phone waiting for Adrian to call. When he
hadn't, she invented all kinds of excuses as to why the call never
came: he was very busy, he was sick, he'd lost her unlisted phone
number.

Somewhere around the third week, Dani woke up
and realized she was acting just like she had with Steven. And she
didn't want to be like that anymore. After much agonizing, Dani
decided she'd forget that Adrian Massimino had ever existed.

The bus jerked as it wound its way through
the traffic. Dani remembered the shocked look on Mr. Coffee's face
when she'd quit. He had been so unbearable since she'd broken up
with Steven, complaining about everything she'd done with her
accounts. Finally when she couldn’t take it any longer, she
quit.

With the decision finally made, a huge burden
had been lifted off her shoulders. Steven Coffee was out of her
life. And so was Coffee Advertising. She had set up her own
advertising agency just as she'd always dreamed of doing. Now she
was in direct competition with Coffee Advertising who would stop at
nothing to run her into the ground.

She'd worked like a dog these last couple of
months and landed two new accounts for Kapur and Associates, of
course, she was the only associate. She was also running short of
funds. Her aunt had left her a huge trust fund, but Dani could only
access the money if she married and stayed married for a year. Her
aunt certainly had a warped since of humor.

Dani stared out the bus window, seeing
nothing. Now this had to happen. She frowned, recalling how she'd
spent the last hour.

The bus halted at her stop, jarring her out
of her daydreams. She didn't know what she was going to do. Of all
the things to happen to her--she'd never expected
this.

Wearily, she climbed the steps to her
apartment, fumbling for the house key in her slacks pocket. Before
she could put the key in the lock, the door flew open and Susan
asked, “So what did the doctor say? Did he confirm?”

Dani nodded before she moved past Susan and
sank down to the couch, throwing her purse on the cushions next to
her.

“
What are you going to
do?”

“
Buy a crib.”

Susan chuckled. “Only you would joke at a
time like this.” She closed the door “But you’re going to be a
single mother, and that in itself will make it hard. And your
job!”

“
Susan, you're giving me a
king-sized
headache!”

“
With a headache you can
take Excedrin. But a baby, Dani. Why in the world didn’t you
practice safe sex?”

Dani gave her friend a long thoughtful stare.
“That would have been the smart thing to do. But the first time it
happened, I don’t even remember because I was too drunk and the
next time I figured we were going to die in a hurricane. So you can
call me stupid, but I just didn’t think.”

Susan laughed. “If it makes you feel any
better, I’d have probably done the same thing.”

“
I guess I'm going to have
to learn to do things differently,” Dani said as she rubbed her
temples.

“
I'll say.”

Dani frowned. “You could be a little more
positive here.”

“
All right. I know a great
Lamaze teacher.”

“
I don't need that.” Dani
eyes widened. “When the time comes, I want a shot. I'm not much
into pain.”

“
Even if you don't have
natural child birth, Lamaze will help.” Susan laughed. “It’ll teach
you how to breathe.”

“
Panting like a puppy
doesn't sound appealing to me, and I don’t’ see how that will help.
Besides I know how to breathe.”

Susan reached over and patted Dani on the
knee. “Not like this you don't. Believe me, it will help.”

Dani sighed and slumped further down in the
couch. “A Mother, Susan. I'm going to be an unwed Mother. This
isn't the way I had it planned. I was going to have a big wedding .
. . lots of bridesmaids, and Prince Charming smiling as he took my
hand. And then we'd have children on down the line. But this. . .”
She waved her hand helplessly through the air. “This is all
backwards.”

“
Well, you could still get
married. You have plenty of time.” Susan's eyes warmed with
sympathy. “The only thing is--you need a willing
bridegroom.”

“
Willing!” Dani's eyes
blazed. “He hasn't even called. What makes you think he'd be
willing?”

“
Maybe there's a good
reason why he hasn't phoned. You've got to tell him.”

“
Says who?” Dani came to
her feet, feeling a surge of energy. “I don't have to do anything.
Besides, he should call me--not the other way around.”

“
You're living in the dark
ages, Danielle Kapur. Men expect women to call. Maybe he's thinking
you want no part of him because you haven’t called. Just like
you’re thinking right now.”

A glimmer of hope flashed though Dani as she
looked at her friend. “You really think so.”

“
I liked Adrian when I met
him. He didn't strike me as a no account. He was nice.” Susan
stood. “And good-looking too. You'll have a beautiful
baby.”

Dani smiled for the first time today. “Yes, I
will.”

The phone rang. Dani reached over to answer
it while Susan announced she had to go get the kids.

“
Bye,” Dani said before
picking up the receiver.

“
What do you want for
Christmas?” Her mother asked cheerfully on the other
end.

How about a husband
? Dani thought
wryly. Her mother would have a cow when she found out about the
baby. As a matter of fact, her entire family were old-fashioned.
“It's still three weeks away. I haven't given it much thought. I
could use a wind suit.”
In super XL
, she carefully didn't
add.

“
Really. I saw a white one
that would be beautiful with your hair. You are coming home for
Christmas?”

“
Yes, Mom. I'll be
there.”

“
Good. Well, better run. My
bridge club is coming over.”

Dani sighed as she laid the phone down.
Twenty years down the road she’d be asking her child the same
thing.

The tears she’d been fighting back wouldn't
wait any longer. “You'll be grown and gone.” She patted her
stomach. “And I'll be an old maid.” Dani could see her whole life
passing before her, and she couldn't control it.

She began to pace. “Think, Dani. Where's that
positive attitude?”

“
It went out the door when
my life started falling apart.” Damn, she was even answering her
own questions. She was worse off than she thought.

She moved over to the calendar so she could
mark her next doctor's visit. A little saying printed across the
top jumped out at her. “When God shuts one door, he opens
another.”

Looking up at the ceiling she said, “God, you
need to help me out of this one--I don't see the other door.”

The phone rang again. Dani smiled still
looking at the ceiling. “Thank you.”

A lady's voice came through, “Is this
Danielle Kapur?”

“
Yes, it is.”

“
I'm calling for the Mass
Corporation.”

“
Really.” Dani couldn't
believe her luck.

“
We're interested in seeing
your proposal, and would like to meet with you next week if that's
convenient.”

“
Let me check my calendar,”
Dani said, thumbing through several empty pages of a magazine for
effect. “I'm free Tuesday.”

“
Good. If you'll call with
your arrival time, I'll arrange for a limo to pick you up from the
airport.”

Dani smiled as she hung up. She could do it.
She knew she could. But first she needed to finalize her
presentation so she could knock them dead at the meeting.

Going into the spare bedroom, she went to her
sketching table and started to work, but her mind keep wandering to
a different subject.

Adrian lived in New York. Was there any
change she might run into him? She tried to picture him at a
variety of jobs, but couldn't. Cut off jeans and a blue shirt would
always be the way she pictured Adrian. The man didn't need a suit
to make him distinguished. He had such a dynamic presence he'd
stand out in any crowd.

Should she call him to tell him she’d be in
town?

Should she tell him about the baby?

She didn't have the answers, but she would,
at least, call him once she was in New York.

Marty Townsend walked into Adrian's office
grinning like he was getting ready to make Adrian's life
miserable.

Sitting down in one of the burgundy
winged-back chairs that faced the desk, Marty folded his hands
behind his head, leaned back and announced, “It's all set.”

Adrian put his pen down and sat back. “Which
deal are you referring too?”

“
Why, the amphitheater, of
course. Remember the one that I thought would be a great deal, and
you wanted to know why we would want something like that.” Marty
crossed his leg over his knee, laying a hand on his ankle. “Ah, I
see a gleam in your eye. You do remember. “And do you recall that
you were singing a different tune after you took that little side
trip to San Antonio?”

“
You know damn well, I have
a
great
memory, so you can quit rubbing salt into the
wound.”

“
It's not often I have the
upper hand.” Marty chuckled. “Anyway she's coming. She'll be here
next week.”

“
How about the other ad
agencies?”

“
We have three making
presentations this week and two next week. But I don't see why
we're bothering. I think I know where
your
interest
lies.”

“
You should know better,”
Adrian reminded him. “I'm a businessman first. My personal feelings
will be set aside. If Danielle Kapur makes the best presentation,
she gets the job. It's that simple. Remember, I've not spoken to
the woman in three months.”

“
I can't wait to meet the
lovely creature. Anyone that has managed to make you see women in a
different light must be something.”

Adrian didn't bother to smile as Marty left
his office. It was probably better not to encourage him. Adrian had
already taken a bunch of ribbing from Marty and his other cronies
about Dani. They had wanted all the details of his brush with death
and the mysterious woman. Adrian had hit the highlights of this
adventure, but he’d refused to tell them the intimate details of
his weekend with Danielle Kapur, and he’d thought that would have
been the end of it.

Then, one night when he had a little too much
to drink, he’d told Marty about the feisty woman he'd met. Big
mistake. Now Marty had a good idea what Dani meant to him.