The last year had been the most difficult with Louisa not willing to embrace the treatment options Adam insisted would save her, even when he knew that because of the type of cancer she had there was little hope. His wife had been a great believer in fate and had accepted hers long before Adam had come to terms with any of it.
He stretched out his legs and leaned back, making the chair groan again as he stared up at the ceiling. At twenty-one, Louisa had found a grace and strength Adam feared he would never have. She’d died as she’d lived, with her gaze direct, her conscience clear, and her courage evident. He’d gone to pieces, ended up seeking consolation from their mutual best friend and destroyed another lifetime relationship.
He tried not to think about the night Lizzie had found him weeping beside his wife’s grave. He’d been really close to doing something so stupid and selfish, that she’d literally saved his life. Holding her, being with her in that anguished moment, had given him a new chance. He’d never had the guts to tell her that. He’d just hidden himself from her in his ongoing shame.
“Pathetic,” Adam muttered to himself. “Daisy’s right. I am way too stubborn.”
He sat back up, grabbed his phone, scrolled through to his text messages, and started typing.
Would you like to have dinner with me, Daisy, and Jackson tonight at the Red Dragon? (If you can get a sitter for Roman.) If so, I’ll see you in there around six.
He checked the time and realized Lizzie might not have access to her cell until she took a break. While he waited to hear from her, he’d better get a move on and straighten up the accounts.
* * *
Lizzie stared at Adam’s text message for way too long. Just seeing it pop up had made her heart skitter like a mad thing. She reminded herself that she wasn’t twenty anymore, and that as a mature women she didn’t have to get all stupid over a boy—although Adam was hardly one. He was more of a big, hot, smoldering hunk of grumpiness.
“You okay?” Yvonne asked.
“Yes.” Lizzie smiled at her boss and put her phone away. “I just got an invite to the Red Dragon tonight.”
“From Adam Miller?”
“Possibly,” Lizzie acknowledged. “But it’s far too late to arrange a babysitter for Roman anyway.”
“I’ll babysit.”
Lizzie blinked at Yvonne. “What?”
Yvonne shrugged. “I’ll do it. I’ve got to stay in and set up my schedule for next month before Rio gets back and demands all my attention. I could do it just as well at your place as mine.”
“Are you sure?” Lizzie asked cautiously. It was a measure of how much she wanted to go that she was even contemplating the idea. “You do know that Roman can be a bit of a handful.”
“Pfft.” Yvonne waved an airy hand at Lizzie. “He’s only a little boy. I’ve looked after him before. What on earth can go wrong?”
Lizzie sent Adam a text confirming she would be there at six. She somehow managed to get through the rest of the day without screwing anything up too badly, which was something of a miracle in itself. If she left work at four, she’d have plenty of time to get Roman settled. If she were really lucky, he’d be ready for bed by the time Yvonne arrived.
When she picked Roman up from Gabby’s she checked out Coretta’s house, but there was still no sign of her. The car that had been parked in her short driveway was also missing. Roman was chatty and full of energy while he skipped along the sidewalk with Doofus dragging along behind him. Lizzie told him about Yvonne coming over, which cheered him up even more because he knew she’d bring him sweet treats.
After feeding Roman and settling him down with his Legos, Lizzie took a quick shower, leaving the doors open so that she could still hear her son talking away to himself. She put on her only set of matching underwear, her best jeans, and a floaty, flowery, off-one-shoulder top her mother had bought her for Christmas last year, and that she’d never worn.
Her heart was jumping around like a wild horse and she didn’t dare attempt to put on makeup. She’d probably take her eye out with the mascara wand or end up with clown mouth.