The Fairy Tale Bride Read online

  He thudded the tray down on the table. “Naw. No pretty women. Just a big queue at the bar. Now, whose hand is it?”

  *

  Lisa watched Adam’s retreating back through the crowd. He was wearing a simple polo shirt. It was the first time she’d noticed the defined muscles in his upper arms, or just how broad his shoulders were. As she turned back to her cocktail Mags met her with a hard stare. She shook her head, blonde hair everywhere. “Oh no you don’t, girl. Spill. Now.”

  Lisa shifted uncomfortably on her stool. She’d been friends with Mags forever. Mags knew things about her that the rest of the world didn’t. And vice versa.

  Even though they’d been young, Mags had been the friend to hold her hand when her sister had died. She’d been the person that Mags had shown her positive pregnancy test when she’d been seventeen. It didn’t even matter that Mags had moved away. It just meant lots of long late-night phone and video calls – the distance hadn’t mattered at all. Watching Mags’s bouncing baby girl grow into a beautiful teenager had been one of her great pleasures. She’d been her shoulder to cry on when she’d caught Melody in bed with her fiancé.

  She was just so glad that Mags had moved back home. Not only did she have a knockout face and figure – she also had a knockout voice.

  But a knockout voice didn’t pay the bills when you had a baby. Mags was now an experienced web designer and had been bending her ear for months to help her develop the website for Married in Marietta.

  Tonight, was supposed to be a business meeting. But no one had told the cocktails.

  Lisa took a sip of the strawberry daiquiri. “What?” she tried to say innocently. “There’s nothing to tell.”

  Mags narrowed her gaze. “This is me you’re talking to. Did you see the way the hottie doc looked at you?”

  Lisa felt her cheeks flush. “No. What do you mean?” Her stomach gave a little flip flop. She hadn’t imagined it. She hadn’t imagined that tiny second where all she could focus on was those brown eyes.

  “I thought you called him Dr. Grumpy? He didn’t seem all that grumpy to me.” She gave a wicked little smile. “He mightta looked like a whole lot of other things though.”

  “Mags! Stop it!”

  Mags waved her hand. “Fine. If you want to pretend he doesn’t exist and his eyes weren’t permanently fixed on your cleavage then that’s fine.” She pushed some papers over towards Lisa.

  Lisa was glad of the distraction. Mags had a tendency to not let her away with anything. A change of subject was just what she needed. After a strawberry daiquiri she’d cave easily. “What are these?”

  “These are what one friend does for another. I’ve registered your domain name. Married in Marietta is now officially a website. Once news gets out about the celebrity wedding everyone will want to know about the stock in your store. Get your digital camera out girl. You’re going to need it.”

  Lisa shook her head, then rested it on the bar. “After today? You have no idea. There’s every chance they won’t choose anything from my store. This whole idea could be a bust.”

  “Oh ye of little faith.”

  Mags was good at this. For other people she had all the confidence in the world. For herself? Not so much.

  She leaned forward. “Just think, if we make you a killer website, and we photograph all the dresses you have available, as soon as news hits that the Wedding of the Year is going to be in Marietta, people will be all over your site.” She lifted her eyes up as if she were dreaming what it would look like. “This could be the break you’ve always needed. Your dresses are exquisite. It’s about time the whole world knows it.” She shrugged. “Anyway. How bad can Nancylynn Pruitt be? She might be a few years younger than us but wasn’t she okay in high school?”

  “It’s not Nancylynn that’s the problem. It’s her bridesmaids. The two pneumatic blondes. Apparently Married in Marietta is the eighteenth store they’ve visited to try and find bridesmaid dresses. I feel as if I should rename it Last Chance Saloon.”

  Mags laughed and shook her head. “Oh no you don’t. That domain name is probably long gone. Married in Marietta it is.”

  Lisa was still stirring her daiquiri with a straw. She was trying to concentrate on what Mags was saying – honestly, she was – but a set of deep brown eyes kept invading her consciousness.

  “Lisa?”

  “Oh, what? Sorry.” Lisa straightened in her seat. “You’re right. You know you’re right. I’ll take my camera tomorrow and start photographing the dresses. And thanks for registering the domain address. How much do I owe you?”

  Mags was grinning at her. Her smile reached from ear to ear and her head was shaking, ever so slightly.

  She sagged back in the stool. “Wow. It’s a long time since I’ve seen that face.”

  Lisa wrinkled her brow. “What face?”

  Mags pointed her finger. “That face.”

  How many daiquiri’s had she drunk? “What on earth are you talking about?”

  This was the trouble with having a lifelong friend. Nothing could be hidden. And sometimes Mags could read her better than she could herself.

  Mags started to laugh. “This was the look on your face the first time you saw Jimmy Belmont in grade school. This was the look on your face in high school when you had the hots for Frankie Mason. And this was the look on your face the first night we came to Grey’s and you met Joe Talbot.”

  Lisa was horrified. “You’ve got to be joking. There’s nothing going on with my face.”

  She pushed herself up on the stool, trying to catch a glimpse of herself in the glass gantry of the bar. “There’s nothing weird about my face. Nothing at all.”

  Mags gestured over to Cameron, the barman. “Two more cocktails, Cam.” She rolled her eyes as she looked at Lisa. “We’re going to need them. It’s going to be a long night.”

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  It was ridiculous. He felt like some kind of night-time prowler. He’d spotted Lisa earlier, talking to someone at the hospital entrance and this was the third ward he’d ‘wandered into’. What on earth was wrong with him?

  Mary had eyed him suspiciously on the children’s ward as he’d glanced into the room she’d been in before. He’d said he was looking for Dan – but he was quite sure that hadn’t washed.

  The nurse on the assessment unit was friendly and easy-going. “Hi, Adam. You heard we had cookies, didn’t you?” She lifted a silver tray from behind the desk. The aroma hit him instantly. Double chocolate, white chocolate and cranberry, raisin and oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies were all crammed on the tray.

  He smiled. “Have you been guarding these with your life? I’m surprised the whole hospital isn’t queued out the door.”

  She gave him a wink. “You’re late. This is actually the third tray. One of our nurses was baking cookies for her kid’s school and decided just to bake a whole lot more for us. We’ve had people in and out all day.”

  Adam grabbed a cookie and took a bite. “What kind of people?”

  He cringed as she frowned. Subtlety obviously wasn’t his strong point. She waved her hand as she picked up a set of notes and started down the corridor. “All sorts. Help yourself. I need to finish admitting a patient.”

  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 poorl
y 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 of
f 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.

  Chapter Five

  ‡

  Lisa 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.