The Fairy Tale Bride (8 page)

The sound of melodic tunes met them as they pulled into the parking lot. The cookhouse was one of the classiest places around. Plate-glass windows overlooking Marietta River, a permanent piano player and yellow roses on every white-covered table. The seating was more relaxed than traditional restaurants with comfortable upholstered chairs at every table.

They were shown to their table and the waiter left them menus. Adam obviously wasn’t accustomed to the fare around here, his eyebrows shot upwards. He peered around the menu at her and smiled. “So, it’s ribs then?”

She laughed. “Or you can have ribs if you prefer.” She leaned over and flicked through the pages. “Ribs are the specialty here and all the ingredients are locally sourced. There are other food options closer to the back. Chicken, steak, fish. It’s all there.” She sat her menu on the table. “But I’ll be having the ribs.”

“You make it sound like a challenge.”

She glanced down at her red dress. “Oh believe me, it will be.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess ribs aren’t really a first date kind of food.”

“Is that what this is? A first date?”

Heat flooded her cheeks. Oh no. Had she totally misread the situation? He was staring at her with those brown eyes of his. Totally unreadable.

The skin on her shoulders and arms felt as if a thousand little caterpillars were stomping all over it. “What do you think it is?” Even her voice sounded awkward. She didn’t even want to contemplate what her stomach was currently doing.

Adam’s face broke into a smile. “I guess it is. It’s been a little while since I played the whole dating game. I think I’m out of practice.”

“The dating game? Is that what this is to you?”

The waiter had just appeared. He put a jug of water on the table along with some glasses and made a hasty exit.

She tried not to smile as she watched him shift in his seat.

“Well, no, I didn’t quite mean that. What I meant was–”

He caught sight of the expression on her face and relaxed back into the seat. “You’re joking, right?”

She laughed as she reached for the water jug. “I just wanted to see you squirm for a second. See how you handle pressure.” She filled her glass and his and lifted one towards him. “Not bad, Dr. Brady. Not bad at all.”

His fingers brushed against hers as he took the glass. “Do you want some wine?”

She nodded. “With ribs? No way. I want a beer.” She glanced at the napkin laid across her lap. “You do realize I’m going to have to tuck this into the top of my dress? This might not be the most glamorous date in the world.”

Their gazes meshed. “You’re wrong,” he said quickly. “I think this is going to be the most glamorous date I’ve ever had.”

*

Two hours later
she’d drunk one beer, two sodas and did her best to eat ribs without getting sauce on her chin or in her hair. She hoped she’d succeeded.

Adam Brady was intriguing. He talked freely about his work and medical training, but was cagey about his past. Not the kid stuff. Just the adult stuff. It made her wonder if he was trying to hide something.

“So, where exactly did you stay in Washington? I know it quite well. I’ve a few friends from there and I visit a lot.”

“Just in the city. I worked in Washington General and lived in the area.”

She frowned. “Washington General covers a huge area. Whereabouts did you stay?”

She recognised evasive answering. Time to find out more about Adam Brady.

“Are your mom and dad from Marietta?” he asked.

She took a sip of her soda. He’d just completely avoided her question. “I grew up in Marietta, but my mom and dad moved to Florida a few years ago. There’s just me left now.”

“No brothers or sisters?”

She hesitated. How to answer that question? Chances were, if he asked anyone else in Marietta about her they might mention her sisters. There was no sense in lying.

“Two sisters. Both not around anymore.” Her heart squeezed inside her chest. She said it so casually – as if it didn’t really matter. Fundamentally, it was true. Even if it wasn’t exactly honest. There was a huge difference between Grace being buried in the local church yard and Melody running away with her fiancé.

But Adam didn’t seem to pick up on anything. “Are your mom and dad happy where they are?”

She nodded. “They loved Montana. But my dad’s really arthritic, they needed to move to a warmer climate. The winters around here are just too cold.”

He gave a smile. “I kind of like the cold – and the snow. Makes it feel more like Christmas.” He gave a shrug. “I like seasons in general.” He looked out of the window at the warm summer evening. “I like the summer too.” His eyes skimmed over her bare shoulders. “A chance for wearing a little less clothing.”

There it was again. The tingling. The warm feeling spreading over her skin. This was nice. This was
so
nice. It had been so long since she’d flirted like this. It had been so long since she’d actually contemplated dating again. It had so long since she’d felt a connection to anyone.

Her stomach gave a little twist. She’d trusted Joe. She’d known him for years. She had felt completely betrayed by him and her sister. It’s probably why she hadn’t dated in so long. It was so easy to lose herself in the shop. To help everyone else with their happy ever afters. She’d spent the last few years pretending she was too busy to find her own.

Was she finally ready to trust someone again? To share with someone?

Adam reached over the table and touched her hand. “You okay, Lisa? You look kind of lost in your own little world.”

She gave a start and straightened self-consciously in her chair. “Sorry.”

He leaned back again. “So, do you really buy into all this celebrity wedding stuff?”

She smiled and gave a shrug. “I have to. I buy into everyone’s wedding stuff.” She looked up, “Every bride wants to have the best wedding day and be the most beautiful bride. I get to play a part in all that.”

His eyes narrowed for a second. Guys. They had a hard time with all this fairy tale stuff. “Don’t you think it’s all just a big fuss? People spend the kind of money that could be a deposit on a house in one day. Then, if it doesn’t work out,” he popped open his fingers, “then poof, it’s all gone.”

It sounded a tiny bit cynical. She shifted on her chair. “You’re right. For some people it is a ridiculous amount of money. In my shop I have a whole range of dresses with different price tags. I always work around people’s budgets. That’s my job.” She licked her lips. “But this wedding – Nancylynn’s – it could make a huge difference to me. Once
Married in Marietta
is associated with a celebrity wedding it should be good for business. I’d be a fool to look a gift horse in the mouth. My friend’s already helping me with my website.” She gave a nod of her head. “This could make my business really soar.”

There was silence for a second, as if Adam were contemplating her words. He spoke carefully, a furrow wrinkling his brow. “Is your business in trouble?”

“What? No.” She shook her head and took a sip of her beer. “Not at all. Marietta might be a small town but my bridal shop has done well. I’m really happy. But if the online stuff takes off too…,” she raised her beer bottle to him, “I could be the next Donald Trump.”

He gave a thoughtful nod. For a few seconds she wondered what was running through his mind. Had she sounded too cut-throat? Too business minded? She was proud of her business. It had been the one thing that had kept her on track when the rest of the world was falling apart around about her.

Whatever it was – it passed in an instant.

He glanced over towards the waiter. “It’s a gorgeous night. How about we skip dessert and just go for a walk and a few drinks back in town?”

There it was. The slight suggestion of who knew what? She liked it. The buzz between them had been momentarily hushed, but now it was back.

She nodded. “That sounds good.”

He paid the bill and walked her out to the car, his arm gently resting at her back. His touch was gentle, but the warmth of his palm was sending little shock waves of heat along the small of her back. He opened her car door for her and she turned to face him. “Well, Dr. Brady, you’re quite the gentleman, aren’t you?”

He was standing right in front of her. His pale green shirt open at the neck, giving a tiny glimpse of a few curling hairs. She sucked in a breath and inhaled his woody aftershave. It was so easy. So easy just to tilt her head up towards his.

He gave a lazy kind of smile and their gazes connected. He lifted his hand and brushed his fingers along her shoulder. “Not really.” His hand closed in around the back of her head. He pulled her head towards his and bent to kiss her.

It was a definite surprise. A bolt from the blue. But if all bolts came with this amount of electricity she would happily sizzle from here all the way back to Marietta.

Adam’s lips were soft. But the way he held her wasn’t. He held her like a man in control. A man who knew exactly what he wanted.

One hand was at the back of her head. The other? It seemed to sidle its way around to her ass. She pressed forward a little, her hands on his chest as she kissed him back. It only took a few seconds for them to wind their way up around his neck and for her to push herself even closer.

Their kiss deepened. Her mouth opened and she relaxed into his warmth. He tasted both sexy and sweet and she felt a little surge of something – something she hadn’t felt in years.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t kissed anyone after Joe had left. Truth was she’d kissed quite a few. But none of them had felt right. Most of them she’d just wished to be over. None of them had made the blood rush through her veins the way it was doing now. None had lit a fire in her belly like the one that was burning right now.

He moved his hands, releasing her head and sliding both hands on to her hips, anchoring her even closer to him. She felt herself smile underneath his kisses and after a few seconds he was smiling too, stopping for a second so they could both come up for air.

He bumped his forehead against hers and let out a sexy laugh. “Well, I guess that got things out of the way.” His eyelashes flickered against her face, tickling her cheek. His gaze was downwards, directly into her cleavage.

She let out a laugh herself. “It certainly did. Adam Brady, did you have an ulterior motive for getting me to wear this dress?”

They were still locked together. It was the first time, in a long time, she hadn’t felt self-conscious. It was the first time, in a long time, she’d felt comfortable in someone’s arms.

He lifted his dark eyes to meet hers. “Busted.” His cheeky grin stretched from one ear to the other. His voice was husky. “I would have spent all night wondering just when to do that. I’d already spent most of dinner thinking about it.” He gave a little shrug. “It seemed easier just to do it now.”

“What – get it out of the way? See if you really wanted to take that walk in Marietta with me?” She was teasing him because he still hadn’t let her go. She didn’t have any doubt that Adam Brady was exactly where he wanted to be.

It was weird. Usually after a first kiss there was that moment of hesitation – wondering if the person had the same reaction that you had. This time she didn’t doubt it for a second. She could see the little pulse racing at the bottom of his neck.

Adam was trying to appear casual. Trying to be laid back. But they could probably light up the whole parking lot with the amount of hormones flooding through them both.

He leaned back a little against the car. “Oh, I definitely want to take that walk.” He pulled open the handle behind them and stepped away from her, opening the door to let her climb in.

She was surprised by how much she missed the feel of his body against hers. It was ridiculous. But his eyes hadn’t left her, so she moved slowly. She was more than capable of getting in a car, but the dress restricted her movements and she had to slide in bottom first, then swing her legs around.

Adam closed the door with a shake of his head. “You’ve no idea how much I like that dress.” He laughed as he walked around to the other side.

The drive only took five minutes and he parked in the main street. “Where to?”

She looked around. There were a few people around and it was still warm out. Grey’s was more a jeans kind of place. Her red dress might raise a few eyebrows. She wasn’t quite sure she was ready for that.

But something told her it was now or never. As soon as they were spotted together, Marietta would talk. Before, she’d always been uncomfortable about the topic of gossip. But with Adam? It didn’t feel quite so scary. She might even
want
people to talk. Want other women to know that she was the person he was seeing.

He came around to help her out the car as she slid her legs out, keeping them tightly together. It was easy to take his hand as he helped her out. It was even easier to end up back in the position she had before, bumping right up close to him.

The walk into Grey’s was the most self-conscious of her life. But Adam didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did, he handled it well. He slipped his hand into hers just outside the door and didn’t give her a chance to hesitate.