Queen of Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page A

of his feelings on the matter.
    "I hope," she said silkily, smiling politely across the white metal surface of the Continental, "that you wind up marrying a genuine shrew!"
    Adam grinned. "I have the distinct impression my fate has been sealed!" He moved, coming around the front of the car to take her arm and guide her toward the restaurant door. "There's just one thing, Janna," he began politely.
    "What's that?" she inquired, arching one brow in mock inquiry.
    "When you're on a date with me, you will stay in the car, vulgar and flashy though you may find it, until I have a chance to play out the male role and open the door for you." The words were spoken lightly, almost humorously but Janna wasn't fooled.
    "Why, Adam? Do you find even such petty displays of female independence too much for your ego to cope with?" The smile on her mouth was deliberately aloof and superior. She watched his reaction with sparkling eyes that dared him to admit he would really make an issue out of such a small thing.
    "Normally, no," he grinned down at her frankly. "But in your case I think it's going to he necessary to begin with a very tight rein. There will be time enough later to relax it." His grin widened as her smile hardened. "A little, at any rate," he amended.
    "As this will be our first and last occasion out together, I doubt that you will have to worry too much about trying to control my, er, unfeminine behavior," she retorted sardonically as he reached out to pull open the heavy wooden restaurant door. Janna swept inside with all the regal dignity at her command, gliding to a halt in front of the hostess's desk.
    "I never said your behavior was unfeminine, Janna," Adam said quietly, coming up behind her and continuing the conversation just as if the hostess wasn't standing there, taking in ever word. "I only..."
    In silent fury and embarrassment Janna drove the tiny heel of her left sandal onto the toe of his expensive shoe, felt Adam wince and, mercifully, shut his mouth. She smiled politely at the hostess.
    "A table for two, please," she said calmly and, without looking around to see if Adam was following, trailed smoothly after the curious woman who obediently set off in the direction of a booth.
    It was only as Janna turned and slid gracefully onto the softly upholstered banquette that she realized Adam was still making his way toward her, weaving a path through the tables and booths. Every head in the place seemed to be swiveled with varying degrees of discreetness in his direction. And in a second Janna realized why. It wasn't only Adam's striking size or the overall impression of strength and control he projected without even trying. It was because he was distinctly limping!
    For a moment Janna sat stunned, horrified by the knowledge that everyone in the room must have come to the unavoidable conclusion that she had callously swept on ahead of a date who clearly suffered from a painful physical problem but who bore the ill-manners of his female companion with a martyr's courage.
    It was too much. After the moment of horror at the thought of the scene Adam was creating, Janna's sense of humor overcame her. She burst into muffled laughter, nearly collapsing with it as Adam finally settled himself carefully into the booth beside her and fixed her with the gentle, reproachful look of a wounded spaniel. She lifted a hand as if to fend off his antics.
    "Enough!" she gasped between giggles. "We're even!" She tried to summon a quelling look. "Oh, Adam. How could you make such a scene? Everyone in this room must think the most awful things right now about my manners!"
    "And so they should!" he informed her grandly, lifting the hefty, tasseled menu. "My toes may never be the same!"
    "You had it coming and you know it!" she shot back, reaching for her own menu. "If I hadn't done something drastic you would have kept right on with your lecture about my unfeminine behavior. The hostess was listening to every word!"
    "It wasn't your