“I’m not, but my hearing is excellent.”
“It was a joke. Galen was teasing Teddy. Did you hear her reply?”
Ignoring his question, she said, “All teasing aside, the two of you have been seeing a lot of each other. And from what I saw in there, you both seem to only have eyes for each other. Is this arrangement exclusive?”
“We’ve never discussed that specifically, but I’m not seeing anyone else at the moment. I’m sure Teddy isn’t, either.”
His mom smiled, obviously pleased. Then her face became serious again. “You’ll never guess who I saw yesterday while I was running some last-minute errands.”
Adam moved to the seat next to his mother. He slipped into the chair and looked directly at her. “Let me guess. Veronica Woods.”
She raised her brows in surprise. “You know she’s back?”
“She’s not back. She says she’s here to do a job based in Philly. She was only here visiting.”
“Where did you two meet?”
“I ran into her outside of Varrick’s and before you ask, there is nothing left between us. We’ve been done for some time now.”
“Varrick’s? Varrick’s Jewelry?”
“One and the same,” Adam said. “But I’m sure you already know this. Veronica isn’t one to keep information to herself if she can use it.”
“You were looking at rings.” It was a statement.
“I was out for lunch and looked in the windows. I wasn’t shopping.”
“So you didn’t buy Teddy a ring?” Adam’s mother’s voice went slightly up at the end of the sentence in hope that he’d tell her he had bought a ring.
“Isn’t it true that the woman should always be there to pick out her own ring?”
She nodded. “Are you in the market for a ring?”
“Do you think it’s too soon? We’ve only known each other a few months.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s too soon.” Ann Sullivan slid down from her chair and folded Adam in her outstretched arms.
After a second, Adam pushed her back “You’re not just saying that because you want grandchildren, are you?”
“Of course not.” She feigned hurt. “You know I want grandchildren, but I also want you to be happy. You are in love with Teddy, right?”
There it was, Adam thought. He’d walked right into that question. And it had to be answered. If he were a lawyer, he would never set himself up for a question he didn’t want to answer. But Adam wasn’t a lawyer. And he’d drawn the question.
“Yes,” he said. The word came lowly as if he was talking to himself. He did love Teddy. He only realized it this minute. When had that happened?
“Are you going to ask her to marry you?”
Adam was having difficulty processing this newly discovered information, but his mom’s question penetrated his brain. “Mom, slow down. Let me do this in my way. Teddy may not feel that we’ve known each other long enough. She may not feel the same way about me.”
“From what I saw a few minutes ago, her love is something you should have no doubt of.”
“In any case, I’ll tell her when the time is right,” Adam said.
“Of course. You know I would never interfere.”
Adam picked up the two wineglasses and howled.
* * *
A loud shout punched the air in the family room as the supported NFL team scored a touchdown. Hands slapped in the air. Calls of success, as if they were the actual player, filled the airspace from floor to ceiling. It appeared the Sullivans and the Granvilles had bonded. Teddy’s brother and sisters were in the mix of Adam’s family, comfortable and easy as if they had been friends for years.
Teddy looked over her shoulder for any sign of Adam. He came out of the kitchen first. His mother followed. Teddy watched, hoping to find something in his expression that would tell her what his mom thought of their demonstration before he left to get her wine. Adam’s face was unreadable, but his mom had a smile on hers and a gleam in her eyes.
Teddy got up and met him near the dining room door. “What happened in there?” she asked as soon as his mother passed out of earshot. He set the wineglasses on the table and the two took seats. She had her back to the room. Taking a sip of the wine, she felt she might need fortification.