And I might have enjoyed being a bride.
Chapter Fifteen
ADAM WATCHED THE RENTAL car drive away until it disappeared around the corner along with all his hopes. When he whirled back around, his expression must have been fierce, because his family scattered like roaches running from the light.
After a quick glance to be certain he’d left the window down in the back seat for Kujo, Adam gathered the pages fluttering on the front porch and tromped into the house. As he wandered through the downstairs, he recognized what he should have seen weeks ago... Ash had stopped all the renovations. No real progress had been made since the first week of reconstruction.
He perched on the front of the couch, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, wondering where he’d gone wrong. Was she running from some abusive ghost in her past? Or was it, as he feared, that she found his temperament too volatile? It hurt to think she might be afraid of him, but he knew it was the most likely answer. Her abrupt change in behavior a few weeks ago, criticizing everything he held dear, was a bit too deliberate to be real. He recognized her efforts to drive him away, though he refused to be dissuaded.
A motorboat rumbled beside him, and he lifted his head to find Lucky perched beside him on the couch. Her tawny eyes regarded him with something akin to curiosity before she bent her head, butting against his arm.
He let out a bitter laugh as he stroked her fur and she arched into his hand. “I’ve finally got enough antihistamines in my system that I can sit beside you without an allergy attack, and look what good it did me.”
Lucky purred even louder.
“I know you’re not worried about it. You’re the one who got chosen. You’ve got a home with Ash forever. I’m the orphan here.”
On the side table, a buzzing noise caught his attention. A cell phone—Ash’s phone—was ringing. The word “Maggie” flashed on the front.
Maggie—her best friend in New York!
Adam dove for the phone. “Maggie? Is this Maggie?”
“Yes.” The girl’s voice was coated in suspicion. “Who is this?”
“This is Adam. Listen, Maggie... if you love Ash, you have to help me...”
ASH WAITED AS LONG as possible before returning to the hous
e for Lucky and her suitcases, in hopes of avoiding an awkward confrontation with Adam. But as she turned on Scott Street, she spied his truck in front of her house, though it had moved into the driveway.
Her palms started sweating, and she felt warm, despite the frigid November air.
“I can’t very well go home without my stuff,” she muttered as she parked behind his truck.
She didn’t notice the paint until she got out of her car. Someone had ruined the beautiful paint job on Grammy’s house. Jet black paint covered an entire lower section of the front wall. And the window trim in that section had been repainted as well... hot pink.
She didn’t notice the painter until she climbed the steps of the front porch. Splattered from head to toe with black and pink paint, Adam stood in the open doorway, assaulting the front door with the same awful paint.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted, belatedly remembering the house was his to ruin if he chose to do so.
“Can’t you see I’m painting?” He kept his eyes on his task, painting a bright pink letters on the freshly blackened door. “There! Finished!”
He stepped back, admiring his work.
Great Scott
New York Inspired Eatery
“Why are you doing this, Adam?”
He turned to face her, his humorless eyes regarding her with a steady stare that looked even more intense with splotches of pink and black paint accenting his face. The modern art on his face, however, did nothing to detract from his strong, masculine allure. On the contrary, he reminded her of a hunky soldier headed into combat.
“You left your cell phone here.”
“I know.” She swallowed, unable to drag her gaze away from his.
He took a step toward her.