Because of You by Candy Caine Page B

first time in her marriage, Jill actually welcomed it. She had already come to the conclusion she’d have to broach the subject one more time. She wanted his approval and the only way to get it was for Adam to understand how important this tour was. At the time he’d called she had been emotionally drained and hadn’t been in the mood to argue. Therefore, his coming home late had been a welcome reprieve.
    “I’d like to discuss my tour with you, Adam.” Jill brought the subject up after he had parked himself in front of the TV in the den.
    “I thought I’d made my feelings concerning it quite clear this morning. There’s nothing further to discuss.” He depressed the power button on the remote, turning on the TV.
    “Fine,” Jill said and left the room, half-hoping Adam would follow her.
    Adam remained in the den and Jill made a list of the last minute items she’d need to take on the trip. Still not a hundred percent certain she was doing the right thing, she would live with her decision and find a way to cope with the blowback. Or so she hoped.
    Jill got into bed early and was asleep by the time Adam joined her. Nothing more had been said about the tour.

Chapter Fourteen
    Adam had left for work hours before the car service pulled up in front of their large colonial house located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. The driver, dressed in a black suit, knocked on the double-sized wooden door. Jill opened it and he stepped inside to retrieve her luggage. Before leaving the house, Jill attached a copy of her itinerary to the refrigerator door with a magnet. At least Adam would know where she was—if he wasn’t too angry to care.
    The driver closed the trunk of the Lincoln Town car as Jill slid inside to find Evelyn sipping a cup of coffee from a Styrofoam cup. She looked lovely. Her coat was open to reveal a black suit accented by a very pretty, bright red-and-black silk scarf.
    “Good morning, Jill,” she said, handing her a Starbuck’s cup of coffee.
    Jill smiled. “Thank you. I seem to live on this stuff lately.”
    “Excited?”
    “And scared.”
    “Don’t be. You did well on our dry runs, but let’s revisit some of the questions that you will be asked by Brooks Benning, the star of the Night Owl Show . We’ll be taping later this afternoon as I told you.”
    Jill had slept poorly the night before. She still worried about her decision to go on the tour and her fear of making a total fool of herself. How Adam would react when she returned home weighed heavily over her like a storm cloud. After her New York interviews they would be flying directly to Los Angeles. To achieve some semblance of mental balance, she’d consoled herself that she’d set everything in motion and couldn’t undo a thing to change it. What she could do was be her best and hope Adam accepted her decision to further her career. If not…
    She pushed those negative thoughts away. She could ill afford to dwell on them now. Besides, she was too nervous about appearing on TV. Evelyn sensed her nervousness and tried her best to calm her.
    They arrived in Manhattan and its blaring horns and kinetic activity shortly before noon and immediately checked into the Marriott Marquis hotel located on Broadway in the Times Square area. It was a crisp autumn day complete with bright sunshine, giving ample reason for people to be out and about—and they’d arrived at the height of the lunch hour. Even the hotel lobby was crowded.
    Evelyn signed them in. They had adjoining rooms on the 20 th floor and went upstairs and unpacked their suitcases.
    Thirty minutes later, the women headed across the street to Junior’s for a quick lunch. Jill had to be at the Ed Sullivan Theater at 54 th Street and Broadway at three o’clock to prepare for the taping of Brooks Benning’s show.
    Junior’s, a restaurant known for its great deli, was busy, and they had to wait at least fifteen minutes for a table. Jill watched the waiters hustling from table to table