Queen of Hearts Read Free Page A

away from Adam until the marriage had taken place.
    "I'll take care of the tab," Adam said as the waitress brought the bill. He scooped up the slip of paper and threw a generous tip onto the table without even bothering to count it. Then he got to his feet in a smooth, fluid movement that left Janna thinking he was in complete control of every muscle in that large body. An instant later he was behind her, casually pulling out her chair.
    "Thank you," she said automatically, rising to her full height beside him and experiencing the rare sensation of having a man tower over her. Not only was he taller than she, but the sense of massive strength in his hard frame left her feeling small and fragile. The thought brought a tiny quirk to her lips which she turned away too slowly to hide.
    "Something amuses you, Janna?" Adam asked politely, pushing her with what he probably assumed was a gentle touch in the direction of the door. Nat was already weaving a path through the tables, smiling casually at friends as he passed. Friends, Janna knew, whom he didn't plan to introduce to his brother.
    She shook her head, smiling in response to Adam's query. "I was just thinking that it's nice to know there are other people in the world who probably have the same trouble buying clothes as I have!" she lied. That hadn't been exactly what she was thinking at all. Her thoughts had been much more personal. Something along the lines of how nice it was to know there were potential dance partners around for women her size! Too bad this particular representative was all wrong in other respects.
    "Funny," he replied, pausing by the cashier's desk to pay the bill, "I was just thinking that it was nice to find a full sized woman. Far too many of the shorter variety around. You know, the kind who were designed for men like my brother."
    A sensation of pure outrage swept over Janna at his words, but with an act of will she held her tongue until
    Adam had finished paying the cashier. As he turned to follow her toward the door where Nat waited she shot him a furious glance out of the corner of her eye.
    "If you are going to make nasty personal cracks you can find yourself another dinner partner!"
    "Now why would I want to hunt up someone else to spend the evening with? I've just said you're the right size for me," he grinned back, grey-green eyes alight with humor.
    "You implied I was too tall for your brother and you know it!"
    "Well, you are," Adam told her agreeably. "He's only about an inch taller than you and he hasn't got the strength to give you the weekly beating it's going to take to keep you in line."
    "That does it!" Janna ground out bitterly. "Amuse yourself tonight. Our dinner engagement is off." She stormed through the door and out into the bright, sunlit street, nearly colliding with a startled bicyclist on the sidewalk.
    "Watch where you're going," she growled at the unfortunate cyclist.
    "Sorry," he apologized instantly, even though the near collision hadn't been his fault at all. He pedaled quickly away as the door opened again and Adam and a puzzled Nat emerged.
    "Quite a sight when she's angry, isn't she?" Adam inquired of his brother while casting an admiring glance over Janna, who had drawn herself up to her full height and was regarding both men as if they were beneath contempt. It was Nat who received the royal edge of her tongue, however.
    "I'll be working the Reference desk this afternoon," she informed him. "Drop by and see me. We have things to discuss!" Without waiting for an acknowledgement of the command she swung away toward the campus, even in anger moving with an unconscious grace and dignity.
    "I'll pick you up at seven," Adam called out as she strode away. She didn't bother to turn around.
    By the time Janna had reached the entrance to the Library she had cooled down sufficiently to begin to see the humorous side of the situation. There was no telling how much of Adam's rudeness was due to naturally bad manners and how much