“Are you going to show this time?”
He stopped so fast she stumbled straight into him. Strong hands caught her elbows, steadying her. Dark stubble lined his jaw because he hadn’t bothered to shave. Her husband did rugged awfully well. Made her want to swoon, just a little. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Let me guess—that was before.”
“It was.” Blue eyes narrowed but he couldn’t quite keep the start of a smile off his face. A smile was a victory on what had to be an awful day for him, no matter what he said. “You’re a bit of a smartass, princess.”
“I’m your worshipful wife,” she corrected.
“Ah. That would be it.”
“Best five days of your life, since I arrived.”
“True.”
“So I think you should turn up this time and tell the nice lady as much.”
He nodded gravely. “I will. We’ll go together.” Adam dipped his head and kissed the tip of her nose, the jut of her chin. His eyes radiated warmth, affection. “Best five days of my life.”
And her heart kind of tipped and fell for him. Which terrified her, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.
“Adam.”
“Mmm?”
She couldn’t afford this, the feeling of being opened wide, everything exposed. Falling for this man could definitely expose her and her secrets. It could endanger them both. The district attorney had been insistent. She could tell no one. It would only put them in jeopardy. What happened to Con might have been a mess of his own making, but it wasn’t happening to Adam. He wouldn’t get dragged into it. She wouldn’t allow it. Now more than ever, she had to keep her shit together. There was still a price on her head for testifying at Con’s murderer’s trial. People still wanted her dead, if they could find her. A guard had been tortured to death not long before she’d shipped out because someone in the DA’s office had spoken out of turn. If the guard had known…
Louise stared at him with her mouth gaping but nothing coming out. Her husband.
An abyss yawned wide inside her and she stood on the edge, alone and uncertain. Her head was cluttered with all the things she couldn’t tell him. All the truths she couldn’t speak because he’d become precious to her. She couldn’t tell him the truth. Couldn’t risk it.
“You okay?” he asked.
Determinedly, she pushed back all the emotions pounding inside her. It took a long time for them to settle and recede. “Yeah.”
Adam stared at her long and hard. “Shall we go to your garden and get this done?”
“Sure. Let’s do that.”
Adam watched his wife as she watched Esther’s version of the Northern Lights do their thing. Dazzling streaks of green and blue and silver played across the sky overhead. Louise’s face was upturned, eyes wide with wonder. Adam sat entranced by her. He found her a million times more interesting than the show nature was staging outside. She sat in the passenger seat beside him, the low glow of the transport panel lighting her face.
Glacial winds howled and buffeted the sturdy scout-class transport they’d borrowed, but otherwise the night was fine. Or fine for Esther.
“Tell me about your family,” he said.
Her eyes darted to him. “My family?”
“Mmm.”
“They died a while back. I was an only child. Not much to tell.”
“You really were a princess. I bet they spoilt you rotten.”
She gave him a distracted smile.
“Come and sit on my lap,” he said, grabbing her hand and tugging her over his way. The perfect place for her to be for a nice heavy petting session.
“There’s no room…”
“Sure there is.” Another tug on her hand and she rose, giving him a dubious glance. He shuffled back in his seat so she could squeeze between him and the console, sitting sideways on his lap. “See. Now you can put your head on my shoulder and watch the lights. Won’t hurt your neck so much.”
“My neck was fine,” she said, but did indeed nestle into his hold and lay her head on his shoulder. The warmth of her felt wonderful and the scent of her filled him with a sense of rightness. His woman. His wife. No place he would rather be.
“Thank you,” he said, his fingers finding and stroking over the curve of her hip under her sturdy work pants.
There hadn’t been time to change after completing all the jobs she’d set for them in the garden. She’d restricted his activities to fetching and lifting heavy objects after he had inadvertently crushed the fifth baby-whatever seedling requiring a pot. Everyone down there adored his wife—some of the botanical boffins a bit too much. A menacing look or two had set them straight.
“What work did you do before?” Adam inched a finger beneath his wife’s baggy jumper. One of these days he would buy her some clothes that actually fit. His wife had a beautiful body. Hiding it was stupid.
“I worked in a dress shop,” she said. “I told you already.”
“Ah. That’s right.”