Second Best Wife by Rachel Lindsay

Author:Rachel Lindsay
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

The breakfast room was completed in just over a week. Julia managed to keep it a surprise for Adam by ensuring that the builder arrived and left while he was away from the house, so that there was no sign of activity or mess.

On the morning it was finally ready for use, she was up at seven to supervise the laying of the table and to make sure everything looked its best: the white cane furniture, whose green upholstery was dotted with gay sprigs of flowers that matched the fabric hanging on the walls; the terracotta tiled floor and the rustic-looking French windows opening to the terrace. Happily she gazed about her. She could have been in a little dining room in the heart of the Mediterranean, rather than in fume-filled London. She only hoped Adam would like it as much as she did.

She was on her second cup of coffee when she heard him enter the dining room. He paused as he saw the dining table was unlaid, then noticing that the secret door was open, he came through it.

'Good God!' he exclaimed in astonishment. 'You've worked a minor miracle here, Julia—congratulations! This is just what a breakfast room should be like. And you've co-ordinated everything perfectly too.' He smiled at her. 'A beautiful picture in an elegant frame.'

'Compliments at eight-thirty in the morning? You must be in a wonderful mood!'

'You shouldn't sound so surprised. I always used to be—when you were my secretary.'

Julia made a face at him. 'Perhaps you're a better employer than a husband!'

He chuckled, in no way put out by her comment, though the answer he gave showed that he had taken it seriously.

'A business relationship is easier to maintain than a personal one, Julia. As I think we're both beginning to realise. Though I must say my feelings towards Susan Smith occasionally verge on the murderous! She never stops moaning and bursts into tears at the slightest provocation.'

'Then you'll have to be more careful with her,' Julia said firmly. 'You have a quick mind and a razor-sharp tongue, which can be really petrifying.' 'It never petrified you.'

Accepting this, Julia frowned. 'If you're not satisfied with Susan, I'll be happy to find someone else for you.'

Adam looked about to say yes, then shook his head. 'You're my wife, Julia. I don't want you getting your roles mixed.'

Crossing over to the hotplate on the bamboo trolley, he helped himself to some grilled kidneys and bacon before sitting at the table, taking a chair that gave him a view of the terrace and garden.

'This is considerably nicer than the other dining room,' he said. 'I feel as if I'm in the country.'

'I'm surprised you don't have a place out of town.' 'This was enough for me to cope with when I was on my own. But it might be worth considering now. Perhaps you'd like to start looking around?'

'Don't buy anything just because I suggested it,' Julia said hastily.

'You know me better than that. I never do anything unless I really want to.

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