Chapter 25
Melinda had dashed through the shower after spending the morning puttering around the yard getting everything ready for winter. She was a grimy mess and hardly fit to spend time with Adam and make plans for the wedding weekend.
She heard a knock on the front door. “I’ll be right out,” she called through the open bedroom door. She grabbed the tube of mascara and coated her lashes, added a swish of blush and ran lip gloss over her lips. She was ready.
She pulled open the door and discovered Nick standing on her doorstep, holding a bouquet of flowers. Taken aback she said, “Nick.”
“Melinda.” He handed her the brightly colored mix. “I only have a minute. Gretchen is waiting for me in the car.”
Adam’s truck pulled into the driveway. Conversation stalled as he strode purposefully up the walk.
“Hey, Mel.” He looked at the other man.
“Adam.” She gave him a tight smile. “This is Nick.”
Adam stepped around Nick and slipped his arm possessively around her waist. He kissed her cheek. “How can we help you?” Melinda held her smile in check.
“I’m here to thank Melinda. She’s been working with me. I wanted to express my appreciation.” He looked at Melinda and grinned. “Gretchen is amazing.”
She accepted the flowers. “These weren’t necessary, but thank you. They’re lovely.”
“It’s a small token of my, or I should say, our appreciation.”
Gretchen got out of the car and strolled up the walk. She gave Melinda a slow smile. “Thank you, Melinda.” She slipped her arm through Nick’s.
“I’m thrilled for both of you.”
Nick held out his hand and shook hers. “Have a good night.”
The couple walked hand in hand back to his car.
Adam stepped away and smirked. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nice to know you’ve got my back.” They walked inside and she closed the door behind them.
Adam trailed behind Melinda as she walked into the living room. She set the flowers on a side table. “I remember you telling me about one of your clients coming on to you. When I saw Nick, I figured he was the guy and I was hoping he wasn’t putting pressure on you to go out.”
“I’ll have to admit, I had the same thought.” She eased down to the sofa. “Please have a seat.”
Adam sat next to her and said, “You smell nice. Like lily of the valley.”
She hit a key on her laptop and it came to life. “I spent the afternoon in the garden and wanted to get cleaned up before you got here.” She waved her hand from head to toe. “This was as far as I got.”
“You look great.”
“Apparently you need to have your eyes checked.” She smirked and pointed to the screen. “I found three options for a hotel.” She turned it around so Adam could see too. “I like them all, full of old-world charm.”
He studied the screen. “Do you have a favorite?”
“Oh no.” She laughed. “I’m not saying a word until you rank them.”
“I prefer an inn over a chain hotel.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Really?”
He clicked on the Captain’s Inn and scrolled. “What about this one? It’s not far from the mansions and within walking distance to downtown. Maybe we could walk around and have lunch while we’re there.”
“That sounds like fun.” She turned the laptop back around. Clicking keys, she pulled up the reservation link. “We’ll go down on Thursday and back on Saturday?”
“Let’s come home on Sunday. We can make it a long weekend.”
“I’ve never been to Newport, have you?”
Adam said, “No. But there must be a lot of stuff to do there.” He inched closer to her. They were thigh to thigh. “Let’s take a look.” His eyes twinkled. “This will be my first vacation in a long time.”
Melinda gave him a sidelong glance, ignoring the tingling sensation zipping through her blood. “Then we’d better make the most of it.”
With reservations confirmed and a plan for activities, which included a winery tour and a few other mansions after the wedding, Melinda set the laptop aside. “I’ll let Stacey know where we’re going to stay. Maybe they’ll want to stay at the same inn.”
Adam gave her a half hug. “That would be fun.”
She smoothed back her hair and asked, “Do you want to talk about your date with Beth?” Her heart felt like a weight in her chest.
“She’s nice,” he began, “high energy and always seems to be on the go.”
Melinda picked at a thread on the cushion next to her. “I got the distinct impression no grass was going to grow under her feet.”
“There is something to be said for sitting and relaxing. Like walking on the beach, holding hands with a pretty girl.” He smiled, “Or kicking back on the patio. If you’re rushing around all the time, you miss stuff.”
Melinda’s cheeks grew pink. “You do,” she said slowly.
“I love being outside, but I also enjoy movies and concerts. Which are not high on Beth’s list of things to do.”
“Do you think you should go out again, maybe take in a movie or concert? What if she does enjoy them but it’s not her first thought of a fun date night?”
“That’s a good idea. I have enjoyed her company.” Adam flashed Melinda a grin. “I’ll ask if she’d like to go listen to a band.”
“An excellent idea.”
Melinda moved to get up from the couch when Adam decided to ask, “I might be beating a dead horse, but what about you? Have you thought about dipping your toe into the dating world?”
“No.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I was flattered when Nick flirted with me, but he wasn’t my type.”
“I wasn’t necessarily referring to him.” He regarded her carefully before asking his next question. “Don’t get mad but I want to ask you again, do you think John would have wanted you to spend the rest of your life alone?”
He saw her grief flash across her face. “I don’t think that is a fair question. It wasn’t like John and I had a reason to discuss his death.”
“Mel, of course you didn’t. I’m sure the last thing either of you thought about was what would happen if one of you died. But you must have had some type of conversation about what if. After all, he was a cop in a city. He had to face danger every day.”
She thrust out her chin. “He was a good police officer.”
He could see the challenge in her eyes and said quietly, “I have no doubt, but there is an inherent risk as a cop.”
“We did talk about the future once. We set up life insurance policies and wrote our wills.”
“That sounds like you made plans.” He noticed her eyes filled with sadness. A depth he had never seen in them before.
Her voice quavered. “Can we change the subject?”
“So how about those Sox?”
She gave him a quizzical look. “What socks?”
Adam chuckled. “The baseball team? You know, out of Boston?”
“Oh, right.”
“You’re not a fan?”
“I wasn’t prepared for you to switch our conversation to baseball.” She gave him a smile. “Have you ever been to Fenway?”
“No. It’s on my list.”
“Your list? You have to go. All that history, the Big Green Monster. It is something to experience.”
“You’ve been?”
“Heck yeah. I love baseball.” She leaned forward. “Tell me more about your list.”
Adam’s interest was piqued. He wondered why he hadn’t known this about Mel. They could have gone to a game. “One of my life goals is to visit all thirty stadiums.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Now that’s an interesting goal! How many have you been to?”
“So far, nine, including the one in Toronto.”
“That leaves twenty-two. What’s your plan for hitting them all?”
“I need a plan?” He gave a snort.
Completely serious, she opened the laptop. “Let’s make one.”
“I was kind of hoping to have someone to go with me.”
“I’ll go with you.” Even before the words were out, she wondered how that must sound. She decided to overlook her stupid comment. She tilted her head up and looked at him in dismay. “Why didn’t you mention this when we were filling out your questionnaire?”
“I didn’t think of it?”
Melinda leaned back against the cushions and gave an exasperated sigh. “Adam, really. The more information you give me, the easier it is to match you with the right woman. Is there anything else you’ve neglected to tell me?”
He waited for a moment and then said, “I can’t tell if you’re teasing or serious.”
“This is my business and I take it very serious.” She gave him a smile to soften her words.
Adam said, “I’m sorry. It just seems things that I think aren’t that big of a deal are relevant to this whole dating thing.”
“Hold on a minute.” Melinda rose from the sofa and crossed the front hall into her office. He saw a light glow after he heard a click.
Curiosity got the better of him. Adam followed her. “What’s going on?”
She held up a manila folder. “I wanted to look at your file.”
With a snort he asked, “Why?”
She held up a finger. “Patience.” She scanned the first couple of pages and nodded. “Just as I thought, Beth can’t stand baseball or football or basketball either.”
He leaned against the doorjamb. “That puts a wrinkle in dating her. I’d like my lady to want to go to an occasional game with me.”
Were they now thinking of excuses for Adam to not date Beth?
“We need to go over your questionnaire again. I have an idea that there are some key pieces of information missing.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe I’m a lost cause.”
“No one is.” She dropped the file on the desk.
“I’m glad one of us thinks so.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve circled back to my original question.”
Her brow wrinkled. “I don’t know what you mean?”
“No one is a lost cause so maybe you should make your magic work on you.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “I happen to think you’re amazing. You’re beautiful. You should be enjoying life and have someone to share it with. You should be looking at some of those questionnaires for yourself.” He couldn’t believe he had strung so many words together.
Melinda flicked off the light and said, “First of all, that would be unethical, and you forget, I have a date for Molly and Tim’s wedding. I believe that counts for something.”
“Now I’m confused.” Was she about to say they had a real date, not just each other’s plus one?
“You.” She grinned and poked him playfully in the chest. “You’re my date for the wedding.”
Adam felt his heart thud deep in his chest. If only. “That is not the same thing and you know it.”
“But I speak the truth.” Melinda flashed him a flirtatious smile. “And we’re going to have a great time.”