The Fairy Tale Bride (6 page)

She disappeared into one of the rooms and he casually strolled down the corridor nibbling the cookie. It didn’t take him long to spot Lisa.

She was dressed in black again – why did she always wear black? – and was sitting next to an elderly patient helping her with her food.

Adam recognized the patient – Mrs. Goldman. A frail elderly woman with dementia. He’d been called to the ward on a few occasions to help out. The lady was easily agitated and very confused about time and place – all expected in dementia, but sometimes difficult to deal with, especially when the patient was out of familiar surroundings.

Lisa was chatting away as she cut the food into bite size chunks and lifted it to Mrs. Goldman’s mouth. Dementia patients were often poorly nourished – forgetting about food on a regular basis. But Lisa’s voice was soothing. Mrs. Goldman seemed to be having a moment of lucidity and she was chatting with Lisa about when she got married, and Lisa, in turn, was telling her about her wedding dress shop.

By the time they’d finished chatting the food was more or less gone and Lisa lifted the plate and offered to go and make Mrs. Goldman some tea.

As she came out the room she started when she saw him. “Adam, hey. What are you doing here?”

He lifted his hand. “I heard there were cookies. Seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.”

She smiled as she loaded the plate and tray into the food transport trolley. “Aha, so you’re not just a chocolate stealer, you’re also a cookie stealer.”

She walked over and rested her elbows on the desk. “I think I’ll take one of these for Mrs. Goldman. She might like it with her tea.”

He nodded slowly. “You were really good with her. I didn’t expect to see you down here. I thought you volunteered on the children’s ward?”

She shrugged. “I just go wherever I’m needed.” She glanced back towards the room. “Mrs. Goldman seems to like me and if I can keep her calm and help her to eat, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“No fairy tales?”

She gave her head a little shake. “Oh, Adam. You’re such a novice. There are
always
fairy tales. It just depends how you tell them.” There it was again. That little twinkle in her pale blue eyes – just like he’d seen a few nights ago in Grey’s.

It was the way she said his name. So casually, as if it just flowed off her tongue. But the strangest part was how it sounded. As if she were meant to be saying it.

She was intriguing.

He
was intrigued by her. This was good. He’d spent the best part of the last year tiptoeing around people. Men and women of all ages, wondering whether they actually liked him for him, or liked him because of his money. It wasn’t exactly a good feeling.

But Lisa knew nothing about that. Was this borderline flirting? Because it felt a little like that. Or maybe he was just so embarrassingly out of touch that he didn’t even know when a woman was just being friendly. Please let his instincts be a bit better than that.

He picked up the tray of cookies and offered her a napkin. She picked out a chocolate chip one for Mrs. Goldman. She gave a little gesture with her head. “Come with me while I make the tea. It will only take a minute.”

She walked into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle. “Are you busy? Do you want some coffee?”

For a second he hesitated and then followed her to the doorway. That had
definitely
been an invitation. He wasn’t reading anything wrong.

“So how come you hang out at the hospital so much?”

It was the most natural question. The one that had been playing around in his mind. Lisa was a good-looking woman with a business to run. She didn’t seem awkward and she wasn’t lacking in friends, so it seemed a little unusual. The hospital wasn’t exactly overrun with young volunteers. Lisa must be the only one that didn’t have grey hair.

She licked her lips as she put out the cups. “I like it. It’s a nice way to give back to the community.” It was an evasive answer at best and she wasn’t looking him in the eye.

“And…,”

This time she did meet him in the eye. “And in some places, Adam Brady, you might be called a nosey parker.”

He leaned against the door jamb as she spooned coffee into two cups and put a tea bag into a pot. “Ah, mystery. I like it.” He folded his arms. “So, let’s keep this going. Every time I’ve seen you, you’ve been wearing black. What’s that all about?”

She lifted the kettle and started pouring the boiling water as one eyebrow lifted in amusement.

“Don’t tell me,” he said. “It’s a secret society. An ancient prophecy. A different kind of religion.” The edges of her lips were turning upwards as he spoke. “No, wait. I’ve got it. You’re modelling yourself after that new TV female police detective that always wears black.”

She smiled as she handed over his coffee cup. “I think you’re going to need a whole load of sugar to sweeten that up.” She tipped her head to one side. “I don’t need to ask you if you’re single, Adam, because with those kind of sweet-talking words, I just know that you are.”

Good. She was every bit as fiery as he’d hoped. And she gave as good as she got.

She picked up the tea and cookie for Mrs. Goldman. “It could just be that I wear black because I think it makes me look more professional,” she edged past him in the doorway and then muttered, “and slim.”

It only took a minute for her to deliver the tea then return. “You’ve got a perfect figure. Why would you worry about looking slim?” he asked quickly.

She shook her head as she picked up a cookie from the nurses’ station. “I don’t really. I actually kind of like black.” She shrugged. “No mystery, it’s just become kind of a habit.”

He moved away from the door and back towards the nursing station. “I think you’d look good in other colors too.”

She gave him a suspicious glare. “What colors?”

“The blue. Like your friend was wearing in Grey’s the other night. It would bring out the color of your eyes.”

She laughed. “It would bring out the color of my eyes? Adam Brady, how would
you
know the color of my eyes?”

She set her coffee cup down on the nursing station right next to him and he gave a little smile. “I got a little close the other night. They kind of jumped out at me.” He was teasing – and she knew it.

“You did get a little close. Gotta be careful of that in a place like Marietta.” She gave him a little nod. “People might talk.”

He moved a tiny bit closer. She noticed and he smiled even more. “What would they say?”

Her voice lowered. “Just that some newbie hot-shot doc was getting fresh with a local girl.” She gave a little tut. “Could get him in a whole host of trouble.” She was starting to laugh now. Playing him at his own game.

He leaned forward. “So, what do people do around here for fun?”

She raised her eyebrows. “For fun? You’ve never lived in a town like Marietta before, have you Dr. Brady?”

He shook his head.

She reached up and touched his tie. “Talking of clothes – did I mention that the last time I saw you – you were wearing the same tie?”

He looked down. “Really?” He hadn’t even though about it. This blue tie was one of his favorites.

She nodded. She was standing just under his chin looking up at him with those pale blue eyes outlined in black. For a second he quite forgot where he was. They could be back in Grey’s, rather than in the middle of a hospital ward.

Something sparked behind her eyes. “It seems I’m not the only one with a habit.” She lifted her hands. “As for things to do in Marietta, I’ve got to assume you don’t do rodeo?”

He shook his head quickly.

“And you’re too early for the Marietta Fair. That’s a whole lot of fun.”

“So what does that leave?” he asked.

She shrugged. “There’s really only one thing left then.”

“There is?” Right now his city-boy blood was starting to race. Lisa Renee was a whole lot hotter than ever expected. He had no idea at all where this was going.

“There is.” She kept him waiting. She was doing this deliberately. Toying with him. He hadn’t flirted this much in the last two years.

She titled her head to the side, giving him a clear view of her soft skin at the bottom of her neck. Boy, this woman knew how to flirt. Why on earth was she still single?

“Come on, Adam, it’s easy. Food.”

Food. Of course. Not quite the answer his brain had been racing towards, but it would do. Anything that meant he might get to know Lisa Renee a tiny bit better.

“Where do you suggest?”

She licked her lips again, then lifted her hand, counting off on her fingers. “Well, there’s Grey’s – but you’ve already been there. Then there’s Rocco’s Italian, the Main Street Diner, Beck’s Place a few miles from town, or the Long River Cookhouse a few miles in the other direction.”

“Which is your favorite?”

She seemed surprised by his instant response. “It depends who is paying,” she shot back.

“I am.”

She blinked, then the edges of her lips turned upwards again. “Dr. Brady, are you asking me out on a date?”

“I might be.”

She put one hand on her hip. “How do you know I don’t have a husband and ranch full of children?”

He pointed to her hand. “No ring. And…,” he squirmed a little, “I might have asked around.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Oh no. Round here that’s almost like inviting folks to the wedding.”

He laughed. “Call me a city boy then. I’ve obviously got a lot to learn.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one else was listening. “Are you going to teach me?”

Her gaze narrowed and for a second he wondered if he’d taken things just a tiny bit too far. But how far could you really go in a brightly lit hospital ward, with twenty patients, other staff and a full set of clothes?

“I have work to do,” Lisa said quickly, walking behind the desk and picking up a pile of books – fairy tales, of course. “I’m due on the children’s ward.”

She started to walk down the corridor towards the swing doors. Black baggy yoga pants again, but he was remembering the slim fitting jeans from Saturday night.

As she reached the door she turned her head. “Pick me up on Thursday night at the salon. 7:00pm. And surprise me.” And with a swing of her hip she knocked the doors open and disappeared.

‡

L
isa couldn’t quite
work out where all the jitters were coming from.

It could be the annoying reporter that had phoned her shop seventeen times this week, trying to get an exclusive on Nancy’s dress.

As if.

It could be the fact that the bridesmaids were late. Again.

Her fingers kept straying to the massive amount of chocolates from Sage’s. If she kept going like this it wouldn’t be Polly that wouldn’t fit into her bridesmaid dress – Lisa would have to replace her entire closet.

Or it could be that this was Thursday and Adam would be picking her up for dinner in the next few hours.

Any one of these things could be responsible for the ten thousand butterflies that were flapping around her stomach right now.

She glanced at the clock again. Ruby and Polly had an appointment yesterday, but after Lisa had waited around for three hours, Nancy’s PA had finally phoned to say they couldn’t make it and could they come today.

Two hours past their appointment time today and they still hadn’t shown. Lisa was getting mad.

Her black lace dress hung in the storeroom at the back of the shop – ready for her to slip it on before Adam came to collect her. What had possessed her?

There was something about him. First, he wasn’t a cowboy. She’d sworn off them since the Joe Talbot fiasco. And that was the trouble with Marietta – it was full of cowboys. Once they’d been taken out of the picture the dating pool kind of narrowed.

Adam was new. She was kind of surprised that he hadn’t been snapped up already. Single men could be a premium around here.

And there was something about being around Adam that made her feel…sexy again. Probably the way he looked at her with those dark brown eyes, as if he were already undressing her. It had been a long time since her body had reacted to anyone. A long time since she’d even contemplated going there again.

Someone new to the town was appealing. They hadn’t grown up together and gone to school together. He didn’t know about her two sisters. He wouldn’t ask questions about an ex-fiancé.

Adam seemed like an interesting kind of guy. Just as long as he didn’t have skeletons in his closet.

The door swung open and Polly and Ruby burst into the shop mid-argument. “I’m sick of you,” Polly shouted. “And I’m sick of this backwater town in the middle of nowhere. How on earth could Nancy stand living in a place like this?”

Ruby folded her arms across her chest. “Well, if you ask me, you fit right in here.” She sneered at Polly. “Doesn’t it just seem like your old trailer park?”

Polly hissed and jumped towards Ruby, who’d cleverly just put Lisa between them both. Lisa held out her hands. “Stop it. Stop it now. If you two want to fight you’ll need to take it out on the street.” She gritted her teeth. “People in Marietta don’t behave like that.”