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Mary leaned her head on her hand. “She told you?”
He nodded. He didn’t add anything else. He wasn’t quite sure just what Mary knew.
But Mary wasn’t finished. She walked around the desk. “So, Lisa told you about her – but you didn’t tell her about you.”
He cringed. When she said the words out loud it sounded so much worse. He put his head down on the desk. “I know, I know. I just didn’t tell anyone.” He raised his eyes. “Let’s just say my previous experience wasn’t great. I wanted folks in Marietta to get to know me, instead of Adam, the millionaire doc.”
Mary waved her hand. “You don’t seem like a millionaire to me. Anyway, these days you can spend a million in a matter of minutes. Do you have any left?”
He shrugged. “Just a little. Enough to help out a friend if they needed it.” His hand continued to play with the keys on the desk. There was a flicker of recognition in his brain. He held them up. “These are Lisa’s, aren’t they?”
Mary glanced over her shoulder. “I could tell you, Adam, but I’d have to kill you.” She gave a little smile. “Found a way to make it up to her?”
His mind was spinning. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. And exactly how he wanted to do it.
He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note. “When Lisa comes looking for her keys, give her this.”
Mary gave him another smile. “Adam Brady, you better do right by this girl. She’s part of Marietta’s family.”
He paused, looking around him and thinking about how much he’d grown to love this place in the space of a few months.
He met her careful gaze. “Here’s hoping I’ll be part of Marietta’s family too.”
Chapter Twelve
‡
Lisa hurried along the street. It was only a ten minute walk from Marietta Hospital to her salon. Mary had been most mysterious. Just thanking her for spending time with Alice and Faye and telling her there was a surprise for her back at the salon.
Her heart flip-flopped as she walked along. She was still mad with Adam. Still mad with him for not telling her about himself. It wasn’t the fact that he’d won the lottery. She didn’t care about how much money he had in the bank. What she wanted in a relationship was trust. The thing that had obviously been lacking between her and Joe.
She couldn’t be in a relationship with someone she didn’t trust. And that worked both ways. If Adam couldn’t trust her enough to tell her the truth about himself, maybe the connection she’d felt between them wasn’t there at all?
The sun was setting, leaving the sky streaked with pale orange and lavender. She passed a few familiar faces on the way home. The smell of pizza drifted down the street towards her. Her stomach growled. It was the first time she realized she was hungry. Living next to a pizza parlor was both a blessing and a curse. They did a gorgeous lighter style pizza with the middle missing and filled with salad. It made her mouth water just to think about it.
As she neared she narrowed her gaze. Something wasn’t quite right in the bridal salon. She never left the lights on at night. And even though the main chandelier wasn’t lit – there was definitely some kind of flickering light coming from the shop. Was it a fire?
Her heart-rate quickened as she started running along the street. She reached the door and pushed it open. What on earth was going on?
She sucked in a breath. The whole shop was lit by flickering candles in all shapes and sizes. It was magical. The white lights reflected off the crystal chandelier sending a whole array of rainbow colors across the walls and satin gowns. Blue, red and purple glimmered all around her.
And in amongst it all was Adam. He stood up from behind the counter where he was still lighting candles. His shirt shoulder was scuffed with dirt and one of the buttons was missing. His hair all mussed up.
He caught her gaze, looked down and shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to get changed.”
She looked around. It was like a fairy tale in here. But she wasn’t a child. She was an adult. “What are you doing, Adam?”
He stepped out hesitantly from behind the counter. “I’m trying to find a way to say sorry.”
She bit her lip and stepped forward. His chest was only inches away from her nose. “To say sorry for not telling me about who you are?”
He gave a little nod of his head, but she hadn’t finished yet. “To offering me money to help keep my business afloat – even when I told you I didn’t need it? Or want it?”
She was feeling angry again – insulted by his actions. Part of her should feel comfort that he’d been prepared to reach out. But her independent streak just wouldn’t let her consider that.
His hand reached out and touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lisa. I’m sorry that a reporter told you who I was. But I had good reason for keeping secrets. Winning the lottery makes you a target. It’s hard to know who wants to be friends with you, and who wants to be friends with your bank balance. Moving to Marietta got me away from all that. It gave me a chance to do a job I loved and to make a whole new bunch of friends who didn’t have any idea about my past.”
But Lisa was stuck on his first words. “And that’s what you thought about me? I might be interested in you because of money?” She turned away in disgust but Adam caught her arm and pulled her back around towards him.
“No. Of course not. It’s just made me wary of people. It’s made me take time to get to know them.” He looked around the shop and held out his arms. “But I wasn’t the only one with secrets, was I?”
She flinched, “This is the strangest apology I’ve ever heard.”
Her hand rested on the counter. One of the dresses was still there after the girls’ dressing-up session today. It was the sample dress – covered in pale pink ribbons. She took a deep breath and pulled it towards her.
Adam was still looking at her. The flickering light seemed to darken his chocolate-brown eyes. “I need to know, Lisa. I need to know what it is that you want.” He pressed his hand over his heart. “I know what I want. I know what I’ve found here. But I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”
She felt tears brimming in her eyes. It had only been a few short weeks but Adam had touched her heart in places she’d never even known existed. He was questioning her. He was asking her about her own issues. Her own abilities to trust. He was putting himself out there for her. This wasn’t just about him. She had to reach out too.
She looked down at the dress and blew out a long, slow breath. “This was a sample dress,” she said slowly. “A sample of the dress I planned to wear at my wedding.”
She saw him flinch but she had to continue. “I picked this dress because of the bows.” She touched one between her finger and thumb. “Melody and I talked about this. Grace loved pink bows. She had them everywhere – on everything. Picking a dress like this,” she said, holding it up in the flickering candlelight, letting the glimmers of red, purple and blue hit it like a magic firework display, “meant that Grace would still be with us on my wedding day.” She sighed. “It wasn’t even the dress of my dreams. But it meant something. It meant something to us both.”
“And now?” Adam’s voice was wary.
She breathed in. Closure came in lots of different ways. “Now, I think this dress would be perfect.” She met his gaze. “Perfect, to be made into a christening gown for my new niece. Perfect for a way to keep a little of Grace with us
.”
He reached out and touched her hair, running his fingers through her soft locks. “Have you spoken to your sister?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.” Her hand reached up and closed over his. “But I will. I’m hoping I will have someone to introduce to her.”
She stepped forward, her body coming into contact with his. Her other hand putting the dress back on the counter and the flat of her hand resting on his chest. “What is it you want, Adam? What is it you’ve found?”
He nodded slowly. His other hand anchored on her hip as he pulled her even closer. “I’ve found Marietta,” he breathed. “A place I want to call home. I place I can see myself growing old in. And I’ve found love.”
His heart was beating steadily under her palm. She tipped her chin up towards him. “Anyone you plan on growing old with?”
He gave her a smile. “There might be.” He traced a finger down her cheek. “But she’s tricky.”
Lisa raised her eyebrows. “She is?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah. She’s got a nickname you know. It kinda puts pressure on a guy.”
“Which nickname?” she whispered.
He bent down and murmured in her ear. “I mean, how’s a guy supposed to propose to the Fairy Tale Bride?”
Her skin prickled and her breath caught in her throat. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. Adam’s arms were around her. Just where she wanted them to be. She slid her hands up around his neck and smiled. “I’d say you were off to a good start,” she whispered.
“Well, that’s something,” he replied. He pointed to the table in front of her – something she hadn’t even noticed. A heart-shaped chocolate surrounded by candles. Something was glittering in the middle. She stepped forward and let out a gasp.
It was gorgeous. Silver piped icing covered the top of the heart. Will you marry me? And underneath, set upright in the chocolate was a ring – a single sparkling diamond.
