The Fairy Tale Bride

Adam glanced towards the bar. Was she here? But the place was packed and he couldn’t see her at all.

“How many nicknames can one girl have?”

Dawson’s eyes lit up. “Ah ha. So you do know who we’re talking about. I take it you’ve met her at the hospital?”

He nodded, doing his best not to appear too curious. These guys were ready to pounce. “I met her for the first time last night. I was covering the kids’ ward last night and she was reading fairy tales to some of the kids.” He looked over towards the bar again but still couldn’t spot her. “What’s her story anyway?”

“No story,” said Dawson quickly, glancing at a few of the other guys. “She’s just Lisa. Was engaged a few years ago but he left town. She’s dated, but nothing serious.”

Adam nodded. Why did he get the impression there was more to the story? They finished the hand and Jake shoved a tray towards him. “Your round. Get the beers in.”

Adam grabbed the tray and weaved his way through the crowd to the bar. As he elbowed his way through he found himself positioned next to a tall, leggy blonde in a bright blue top who shuffled off her bar stool as he slid in next to her.

Her eyes flickered over him as she shot a smile at her friend. “Guard my cocktail. This guy looks like one to watch.”

He grinned and shook his head as she disappeared into the crowd. The friend leaned forward and their eyes connected. Lisa.

Her dark hair was loose and her curls spilled over her shoulders. She was dressed in black again, but somehow she didn’t look anything like how she did the last time he saw her.

All he could focus on was the amount of skin he could see. Lisa was wearing a black sequinned strappy top and tight-fitting black trousers that hugged all her natural curves. Her pale blue eyes were highlighted with some black that only emphasized them more. His automatic reaction was to glance around to see if any other guys were staring at her like he was.

If she noticed his reaction she never said anything, just lowered her eyes and stirred the straw in her cocktail. Someone jostled him from behind and he slid onto the vacated bar stool and signalled towards the bartender. “Can I have five bottles of beer and,” he said, waving his hand, “whatever the ladies are having.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Ah…the chocolate stealer is feeling guilty.”

He leaned a little closer. It was noisy in Grey’s. Music was playing in the background and voices were chatting all around them.

He shrugged. “Just a little. But then again, that raspberry truffle was worth it.”

She nodded in agreement. “They definitely are.”

He pointed to her pink drink. “What is it that you’re drinking?”

Her eyelashes were thick and dark, framing her pale blue eyes perfectly. This time when they connected with his gaze he felt…something. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been relaxed at the hospital. It was just that – in this situation – he was more relaxed. He wasn’t the only guy on duty with a page that could go off any second.

Lisa Renee wasn’t just a little attractive. With this much lightly tanned skin showing she was a knockout. There was a thin gold chain around her neck, with an oval locket nestling between her breasts. A pale blue stone the same color as her eyes adorned the front of it.

“It’s a strawberry daiquiri. I save them for special occasions.” She moved a little closer in a conspiratorial whisper. “I count them as one of my five a day.”

“It’s a special occasion?” He expected to see a birthday cake appear from somewhere.

She shrugged. “This is the bad-day-at-work drink. I don’t have them often – but when I do – only a strawberry daiquiri will do.”

He shifted in his seat as the barman presented one pink and one orange cocktail along with five bottles of beer. He pushed the drink over towards Lisa as something clicked in his brain.

“The celebrity wedding?”

She nodded her head solemnly as she focused on her drink. “Oh yeah. The celebrity wedding.” It was obvious she was trying to be discreet but Adam was curious.

“Tough customers?”

Lisa pressed her lips together, as if contemplating what to say. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “The bride – is lovely. A local girl done good who just wants to marry the man she loves.”

So, that was how Lisa played things. It was what she didn’t say that was important.

He took a sip out of his bottle of beer. “But Sage’s chocolates didn’t win around the bridesmaids?”

Lisa gave a shudder and rolled her eyes. “I’m going to have to buy a whole lot more chocolates. I may have to fight you for all the chocolates in the store. Round two is on Tuesday.”

Adam’s tiny self-preservation streak kicked in. He kind of wished the whole wedding would take off to another state. But Lisa looked worried. More than that, she looked exhausted. Most Hollywood stars were notorious for being demanding. She’d probably spent all day running after people who showed no appreciation.

For the first time he actually stopped to think what a wedding like this might mean to the people of Marietta. It wasn’t really so surprising that they’d want to help a local girl celebrate her wedding. And what might this actually mean to small-town store like Lisa’s?

“Are you up for Round Two?” he asked, “or would you rather throw in the towel?”

“What?” She sat up straighter and looked horrified. She waved her hand. “No way.” There was a glint of determination in her eye. “I make a promise to every woman who steps over my door that I’ll find her her dream dress.” She pointed her finger at Adam and pursed her lips. “Even if they don’t know what that is.”

He gave her a cheeky grin and leaned forward, grabbing her straw and taking a suck. “Wow.” The sharpness of the daiquiri struck his taste buds. “Those sound like fighting words.”

She batted his hand away. “Hands off the drink, Dr. Brady. You’ve no idea how much I need this tonight.”

There was something about the way she said the words. As if this wasn’t just about a bad day in the bridal store. The cheeky grin fell from his face as he leaned a little closer. Close enough that it felt like no one else was around. Close enough that when he inhaled he sucked in the spicy aroma of her perfume. Close enough that all the background noise seemed to cancel out.

From here he had a close-up view of her perfect skin. The tiny freckles across her bare shoulders and décolletage playing havoc with other parts of him. Close enough to realize just how tantalizing those pale blue eyes were, or how plump her pink-st

ained lips were.

Their gazes meshed and for a few seconds he thought she was going to say something else. It was almost as if the words were hovering around the edges of her perfectly formed lips. Then, there was a flash of blue in his peripheral vision and a little jolt at his hip.

“You’re in my seat, cowboy,” the beautiful blonde quipped. Her eyes widened as she spotted the fresh cocktail. “Oh, great.” Her eyes ran up and down Adam and then back to her friend. “If he’s buying the cocktails then he’s made the first cut.”

Lisa gave a little smile. “Magdalena, this is Dr. Adam Brady, he started at Marietta Hospital a couple of months ago.”

Mags raised her eyebrows then lifted her glass towards him. “Finally, someone who isn’t a cowboy around here. Thanks for the drink, Dr. Brady.” Her eyes darted between Lisa and Adam. It was clear she’d picked up on something. He just wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

The moment between him and Lisa was gone. Lost in the blink of an eye. But now he was curious. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to find out a little more about the woman in front of him. Had she been about to share something else? There was no chance of that now. It surprised him just how much that piqued his interest.

He picked up the tray of beers. “Enjoy your cocktails, ladies. Lisa,” he said, nodding his head at her, “I guess I’ll see you around the hospital sometime.”

He gave her one final glance before elbowing his way back through the crowd with his tray of beers. A cheer erupted from the poker table. “We thought you’d got lost!” shouted Jake.

“We’re dying of thirst here,” added Dawson. “Got waylaid by a pretty woman?” It was a loaded question and there was no way Adam was going there.

Life was good in Marietta. Life was simple. A woman would only complicate things. And complications were things he didn’t need.