Restoring Romance (Welcome to Romance 1)

“I still don’t understand why Ash would react like that and run off like she did. Women are strange, sometimes.” Mark rubbed his neatly trimmed beard, looking toward his wife for an explanation.

“Obviously, she thought the two of you were going to start fighting.” Donna pushed her chair back and stood up, slamming her hands onto her hips.

A brick thudded into Adam’s belly. “You honestly believe Ash thought I was going to hit Dad?”

“I certainly do.” She emphasized her words with a sharp nod. “Mark, didn’t you see how she flinched and held up her arms in defense? We used to see that all the time when we were working overseas at the women’s shelter.”

“You’re right.” Mark squinted, as if trying to bring back an old memory. “It’s been so long, I’d forgotten about that.”

Adam’s anger at Ash melted away, replaced with fury at himself. How could he be so insensitive? So caught up in his own frustrations that he frightened a sweet, innocent women? The thought that someone might have abused her made his hands tighten into fists, and he wanted to thrash the man responsible.

“I’ll go talk to her.” Adam almost fell off the bench in his hurry to get up.

“But she’s already scared of you,” Erin said in a small voice. “Maybe I should go instead.”

“I’m not going to frighten her.” Adam ground out the words. When his sister-in-law cringed, he realized he’d have to be more careful when he spoke to Ash. He forced a smile on his face. “See? I can look pleasant.”

“You look like the big bad wolf before he ate Goldilocks.” His twin brother threw his head back, laughing.

Adam stomped to the front door and snatched his coat off the hook, ignoring the hilarity behind him. As he reached for the knob, he felt a hand on his arm.

“Adam, let me talk to you, first.”

Prepared to defend his right to go after Ash, he turned back toward his mother. But her eyes were filled with tears, so he simply nodded, stepping outside for privacy.

“Adam, you’re the most selfless person I know. But...”

“But?”

“But you’re a bit of a perfectionist. And sometimes, you just think too much—you think yourself right out of the opportunity to have a relationship.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” Her eyebrows arched high on her forehead. “When you were a seven-year-old boy in Romania, you convinced yourself that you were the reason no one had adopted the four of you. You were so certain no one could love you—just because of a limp you can barely see—that you told your caretakers to find a home for your three brothers without you. You were going to sacrifice yourself for your brothers.”

He swallowed a thick lump. After all these years, he could still remember feeling responsible for his brothers’ futures.

“I was just a silly kid. Anyway, you and Dad adopted all four of us despite my efforts.”

“Yes, but your brothers accepted our unconditional love easily, while we had to work for years to get you to believe it. You were so certain you didn’t deserve to be loved.”

He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her into a hug. “I’m sorry, Mom. No parents could have been more patient and loving. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m not asking for an apology, you thick-headed man.” She hugged him back before pushing away. “I think you’re still trying to earn our love. Why else did you become the mayor of Romance before you turned thirty years old? Not that everyone wasn’t thrilled when you volunteered, but we usually get some old retired man to fill the spot. It’s not like you get paid anything for it.”

“You and Dad and Grammy and this whole town accepted me and my brothers as if we’d been born here. I owe it to you and everyone else to pay back that debt.”

“No, you don’t. You don’t owe anyone anything. So stop making every single decision in your life based on whether or not you’re being faithful to Romance, Oregon.”

“But Mom... you love Romance—I know you do.

It’s your heritage, so it’s my heritage too. I just want to make you happy.”

“You know what would make me happy? Really happy?”

He’d thought so, but now he had his doubts. He shook his head.

“For you to be happy—nothing makes a mother happier than to see her children happy.”