“Was there something you wanted, Adam?” she asked, sitting there behind that wide walnut desk where he’d had her.
“Yes, Gracie, there is. Marry me.”
Excerpt from “Adam’s Mistress” by Stephanie Grace
Grace sent in an official resignation from her job at Tremmel-Bowen in the mail on Monday. She’d spent the weekend dodging calls from reporters and local television media, both of whom had shown up about ten minutes after Adam had left.
He’d called a few times and she’d let the machine take his calls. She didn’t know what to say to him. She was so embarrassed by what she’d written and by how she’d acted when she’d realized he’d known how she felt the entire time.
She wanted to cry when she thought of how he’d taken her erotic dreams and made them come true. He hadn’t deserved her anger but she’d been unable to stop herself from acting out.
She’d never had a short fuse until Adam. And she knew that was only because she’d wanted to be wanted by him. Really wanted, not wanted because she’d aroused him.
She’d had two calls from different magazine publishers offering to publish her story. Adam was big-time news and any sensational story featuring him interested the national media.
She knew she couldn’t hide in her house forever. For one thing, she was going to run out of food before too much longer. And her house was closing in around her. The place that she’d created to be her sanctuary had turned out to be a bed of thorns since Adam had left.
She saw him everywhere. Every place they’d made love. Every inch of her house seemed to be imbued with him and she felt lonelier than she’d ever felt before.
Her doorbell rang and she peaked out the small window on the side to see who was there. Adam stood on her doorstep. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a long oxford shirt with the tails hanging out. He had on dark sunglasses and held something in his left hand.
“I can see you,” he said.
She unlocked the door and opened it. He stepped inside just as the Fox 4 van pulled up at the curb. He closed her door for her, locking it.
“Thanks for letting me in.”
“I couldn’t let you face the media by yourself.”
She still felt raw and had no idea what to say to Adam. No idea how to move past what had happened.
“I know you don’t want to talk to me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did, when you let every call of mine go to voicemail. I’m not just here to talk about our relationship.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I’m here as an official representative of Tremmel-Bowen. We aren’t going to accept your resignation. You are a viable part of the school, and this particular scandal isn’t going to break the school.”
“Oh, are you sure?”
“Yes. Have you been watching the news or reading the papers?”
“No. I’ve just been hiding out.”
“Well, Dawn felt bad about what she did. She’s gone to the media and told them that she wrote the story to get back at you and I for firing her.”
“That’s not true.”
“Well, she did do it for revenge but she regretted it almost immediately.”
“I wonder why?”
“She said something about owning up to the mistakes she’d made and not blaming you for her problems.”
Grace was glad to hear it, but still wasn’t entirely sure that she could go back to her job.
“I think you should know that Sue-Ellen and Malcolm are giving me an hour to convince you to come back.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The past month has really brought us all together as a school community and everyone agreed you are part of the school. An important part.”
“I don’t know what to say to you. I’m still embarrassed.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “You didn’t do anything to be ashamed of.”
“I’m the only one who can decide that.”
“Gracie, your passion and your desires were so sexy and sweet. Please don’t ever think that there was anything wrong with that. Your story changed my life.”
“Sexy scenarios changed your life?”
“Your sexy scenario led me to you.”
She blushed at his words and stepped farther into her house. “Want to come in and sit down?”
“Not yet. I wrote something for you.”
“What?”
“A short story, like the one you wrote. I figured turn-about was fair play.”
He handed her a file folder. A plain manila one like she’d used. She peaked inside and saw the title of the story.
“Grace’s Husband.”
She was almost afraid to read the pages. But Adam was standing in her foyer and she knew she wasn’t going to have another chance with him.
She took the folder into her living room and sat on her couch and read it. It was a sweet story…their story, with a happy ending. Adam was brutally honest when it came to his own faults, but glossed over her own like they didn’t exist.
She realized as she got to the part where they moved into his big house and started having children that Adam wanted to stay here with her. That he saw his home and his future in her. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she looked down. How had she gotten so lucky? To find a man like Adam, a man who loved her for who she was. A man who wanted a future with her.
She looked up to see him standing over her. “I think you might be a better writer.”
“I don’t know about that. Did you mean this?”
“Yes,” he said. He scooped her up and then sat down on the couch, cradling her in his arms. She slipped her arm around his shoulder, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
She felt safe again. For the first time in three days she felt the knot in her stomach ease. He tangled one hand in her hair, tipping her head back for a long slow kiss.
When he lifted his head, she caught his face in her hands. “I want that story, Adam.”
“Me, too, Gracie. I’ve been playing at living, pretending I had a full life but deep inside I knew I was running from the emptiness of the life I once believed was mine.”
“What were you running from?”
“I told you about being adopted, but I hated that people saw me as something I wasn’t. A real Bowen, you know.”
“Oh, well, you are a real Bowen. You proved that when you worked so hard to save the school that your family established.
“Are you ready to stop running?” she asked.
“Only if you stay with me. I’ve found what I was looking for here, with you. I’ve talked to Malcolm and the board, we want you to stay on as headmistress. Together I want us to run the school and raise a new generation of Bowens.”
“Are you sure, Adam?” she asked, because she couldn’t believe that she’d finally have everything she’d dreamed of.
“I love you, Gracie. I’ve never said those words to anyone except my parents. But I know that I can’t live without you.”
She hugged him tight, burying her face against his shoulder. “I love you, too.”
He carried her down the hall to her bedroom and made love to her all afternoon. They made plans for the future and talked about their fantasies and dreams.
Adam promised to always make all of hers come true.
And he did.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0117-4
MAKE-BELIEVE MISTRESS
Copyright © 2007 by Katherine Garbera
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