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Something flitted across Lisa’s face and, if he wasn’t mistaken, her gaze swept over his hand.
“How do your family feel about moving to Marietta?”
Ahh. That was it. “There’s no family. Just me.” Bramble Lane was probably considered as houses for families. Detached three and four bedroom houses. Probably not single guy material.
She gave him a curious stare. “You don’t seem to have any accent. Where are you from originally?”
“Washington, DC. I graduated from University of Washington and worked in a few hospitals in Washington, DC, then Montana.” Was she smiling just a touch again?
“And you like it here?”
He almost laughed out loud. Was she going to start asking for references? “Well, I’ve bought a house. So I’m planning on staying a while.”
He glanced down at her well-worn pile of books. “Fairy tales? Do you always read them to the kids?”
She nodded and waved her hands. “Nothing better than a bit of make believe. Especially in a place like this.”
He felt himself bristle a little at her words. The ped department here was one of the warmest, friendliest places he’d experienced. He kind of knew what she was getting at; he just didn’t like someone saying it.
Her eyes had drifted back to one of the rooms that contained a kid having cancer treatment. “Sometimes make believe is better than reality.” Her fingers brushed over the well-worn books and she gave a little smile. “For adults as well as kids.”
What did that mean? Her phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. “Excuse me.”
She started talking lowly. All wedding stuff – it must be a business call.
Mary came down the corridor towards him and gave a little nod towards Lisa. “Ah, good. You’ve met.” She had that twinkle in her eye. It didn’t take Einstein to figure out where her brain was going.
Mary was the central hub right now of the Marietta gossip tree in the hospital. If she didn’t know it – it wasn’t worth knowing. She glanced at Adam, even though it was clear she was eavesdropping into Lisa’s conversation.
“I told Ryan’s parents you would go over the procedure and get them to sign the consent form. They seem relieved to know what’s wrong with him.”
“Any idea how he ended up inhaling a dime?”
She grinned. “Oh, yeah. Ryan was balancing the coin on his nose and trying to flip it in the air and catch it with his teeth. Looks like he caught this one in more ways than one.”
Adam shook his head. Mary was still listening intently to Lisa’s conversation. She sucked in a loud breath. “Nancylynn Pruitt’s getting married here?” Her voice rose and Lisa’s head snapped round and she waved her hand at her to try and silence her.
“Who is Nancylynn Pruitt? And why is it a big deal?”
He was still trying to get his head around how a place like Marietta worked. Everyone seemed to know everything about everyone. Most people in the town seemed connected in some way.
Mary gave him a playful slap on the arm. “Everyone knows Nancylynn. Don’t you watch Sultry Suburbs? Nancy Parsons?”
Adam frowned for a second. Of course he’d heard of her. She was right up there with Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. “Nancy Parsons is from Marietta?”
Lisa was continuing to talk. She was focused. She was professional. She also seemed to be bending over backwards for an extremely difficult customer. “Of course. If that’s what they want. It’s a little unusual, but I think I can manage that. I have other customers to deal with, but I’ll do my best.”
It started to annoy him. He didn’t know Lisa at all. He’d only met her for the briefest of moments.
Mary could hardly contain her excitement as Lisa finished the call. “Is Nancy Parsons getting married here, in Marietta?” She clapped her hands together before she even had the answer.
“Shh…,” said Lisa and glanced around. “I’m not quite sure how public the news is yet. All I know is the date – which is only a few weeks away – and the fact that Nancy has said she wants to use lots of the local businesses.”
Adam felt himself cringe and he took a step back. Publicity. In spades. In the middle of Marietta. The last thing he wanted. Marietta was his salvation. His sanctuary. He’d moved across states to get away from publicity.
A celebrity wedding? Reporters and photographers would swarm around here for miles. It would be a nightmare.
Lisa, however, looked thrilled. “Isn’t it great?” she said to Mary. “They’re coming to look at bridesmaid dresses tomorrow. Apparently the whole wedding party will be here in the next few days.
“Who are the bridesmaids, and where will they be staying? Do you think Nancy will introduce me to Jared, her groom? I’ve always wanted to meet a movie star.”
Adam was astonished. Mary was the most sensible woman he knew. But the first whiff of a celebrity and she was twittering like a teenager.
“Do you think they’ll use the Grand Hotel?” asked Lisa. “It’s gorgeous for a wedding. I would have thought Nancy would want to get married at the Four Seasons. I’m surprised she wants to come back to Marietta,” Lisa’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “But the more I think about it, the more excited I get. I think I’ll go back to the shop and see if there’s anything else I can do before tomorrow.”
Adam felt a little uneasy. This beautiful, peaceful town that he’d found and made a home in, was about to be invaded by press and photographers. There was only the remotest possibility that someone would make a connection to who he was, but it still made him uncomfortable.
He’d moved to a whole different state to escape the ‘lotto winner’ label. It hadn’t even been a huge amount of money. Enough to clear all his medical school debts, allow him to buy his new house outright and have some money in the bank. The ‘millionaire doctor’ label wasn’t entirely accurate anymore. But the constant harassment from the media had burned a permanent reminder in his brain.
The female attention – women with an interest purely in his bank balance – had been a whole new experience and one he didn’t want to revisit.
Lisa and Mary were still twittering away, rejoicing at the amount of people that would swarm into the town and the business it would bring to Marietta.
“Mary?” he said sharply. “Let’s get things organized for Ryan. The sooner we get him downstairs the better.”
Mary’s sentence was interrupted full flow and she blinked before glancing towards Lisa and giving a little nod. “Of course, Dr. Brady.”
He hadn’t meant to sound quite so blunt. But it was too late now. Lisa picked up her fairy tale books and gave him a careful look. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Brady,” she murmured before walking down the hall.
It was all he could not to follow every swing of her hips in those dark loose yoga pants.
Chapter Two
‡
Lisa was excited. She’d hardly slept all night.
Sage unlocked the front door of Copper Mountain Chocolates. “Lisa, what on earth are you doing? You’re standing out here with a hang-dog expression on your face?” She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not even 9:00 am.”
“Isn’t it?” Lisa looked down at her watch, then smiled and took a deep breath. She always loved walking in here and being hit with the smell of fresh chocolate. There was a hint of ginger in the air.
She gave a little sigh and leaned on the glass counter. “I wish you were next to my salon and not the pizza place.”
Sage smiled. “Brides don’t want to put on weight before their weddings. You’d expect me to keep turning them away.”
A noise at the door behind her signalled she wasn’t the only person in town desperate for a chocolate fix. But her eyes opened in surprise at the sight of Adam Brady.
Sage nodded in greeting. “Well, if it isn’t my two favorite chocoholics. Have you two met yet?”
Adam looked equally surprised to see Lisa. He gave his eyes a little rub. Of course, he’d been on-call in the hospital al
l last night. He must just have got off shift. “Yeah, we’ve met,” he said carefully then he glanced back at Sage. She, at least, got a smile. “And don’t give all my secrets away. A doctor who loves chocolate? You’ll ruin my reputation.”
