Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
M el smiled and nodded at the appropriate times as she made her way through the food line, but all she could really see was the fact that Adam wasn’t there.
Damn. She’d really hoped he’d come, if only for James.
The air smelled of grilled meat and suntan oil, and classic rock music boomed through the air as people splashed in the backyard pool, beers and cocktails in hand. Tables had been set up on the grassy lawn, covered in cheap plastic tablecloths in various pastel shades, each centered with a large picture of one of the M&M’s characters. Huge jars of each color were set up on a separate buffet table in a do-it-yourself mixing station. Mel had filled an entire bowl with green ones, not that it mattered now.
She was being a horrible party hostess and should probably come up with some excuse, faked an illness, anything really to leave early, even if it was her birthday.
But James wasn’t there yet, and it would look weird if neither of them were in attendance, so she stayed and tried to look happy.
Mel glanced up to find Jag looking at her expectantly and realized he’d asked her something, but she had no idea what. Her face felt way too hot and tight as she smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t hear your question.”
Jag smiled and shook his head. “No worries. You seem a little distracted today.”
“I am.” Mel set her plate down to smooth a hand down the front of her raspberry-pink dress. She’d bought it the day she and Adam had been shopping in Indy and Lilly had thought it would be a good visual reminder to him of their happier times together. The material was a slinky rayon and the skirt hit her at the knees. She still insisted on wearing a lightweight pink cropped cardigan over the tank-style bodice and added her grandmother’s pearls. Lilly had fluffed her hair out into the original style Marguerite had given her, but Mel had pinned the sides back with a pair of pink rhinestone barrettes she’d gotten at her favorite local vintage store.
Going forward, she planned to mix things up, wear her new stuff and her old clothes in different quirky combinations because that’s what suited her best. Comfy, cute, quirky chic.
She hazarded another glance at the entrance, but still no Adam.
Stop it. Stop looking. Stop wishing. Stop hoping for things that will never happen.
He’d moved on. She should, too.
But sometimes, at night, she’d swear she could still hear Adam’s voice in the kitchen, still smell his cologne in the hall, still feel him beside her as she slept. Even Waldo hovered near the front door now, as if waiting for Adam to walk in and give him a good scratch behind the ears.
It was all made her feel so sad and pointless and pathetic.
Her life had gone back to the way it had been before except now she knew what she was missing. Adam. She was missing Adam.
Thankfully, Jag didn’t seem fazed by her melancholy. He just smiled and asked, “Want to have lunch sometime, Mel?”
“Oh, uh…” Nice as his offer was, her heart wasn’t in it. “I’m pretty busy at the library right now.”
“Shot down in flames in less than five minutes,” Hollywood said from a nearby table where the rest of the crew from Victory Vets were sitting. “Ouch, dude. That must be a new record.”
Unperturbed, Jag just laughed and took a seat with his comrades. “Hey, you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”
Mel sighed and tuned them out, picking up her plate and carrying it over to an empty table under a large umbrella in the corner. She wasn’t the best company right now and Lilly hadn’t returned yet either since running home to change. She just started pushing around a mound of potato salad with her fork when a murmur started through the crowd, followed by cheer from the Victory Vets crew.
James had arrived.
He said hello to his friends then made a beeline for Mel, kissing her on the cheek before taking a seat across from her at the table. “Happy birthday, sis. Quarter of a century under your belt now. I’m impressed. ”
“Thanks.” She tried to eat some of her food but had no appetite. “Have you seen Adam?”
“Actually, I have,” he said, perking her right up. “He’s on the porch out front, waiting for you.”
“He is?” She knew she was gaping at him, but her brain was still trying to wrap around the fact that Adam was there, and he wanted to see her.
James grinned, his tawny blond hair glinting gold in the sunshine. He still hadn’t found his someone special since coming out before going into the Army, and she really hoped he did. “Go get him, sis.”
Mel was on her feet and racing around the side of the house before she even realized what she was doing. She barely noticed Gus MacMillan standing there, discussing the finer points of homemade pickles with her dad, or the curious looks both men gave her.
She stopped fast as she rounded the next corner to the front of the house on the covered porch. The afternoon sun cast long shadows, and flies buzzed everywhere. The humidity wasn’t doing her hair any favors, but Mel didn’t care. Not with Adam here, not with another chance to win his heart. He looked tired and so beautiful she couldn’t breathe. He held a small black box in his hands, his fingers shaking slightly, as if he was as nervous to see her again as she was him. Near his feet sat a jar of green M&Ms.
God, she’d missed him.
When he looked over and saw her, Adam cleared his throat and held out the black box to her. “Melody Bryant, I searched the whole of the hotel jewelry boutique in Chicago to find you the perfect gift. Perfect, just like you.”
Time seemed to slow as she took it from him, opening it to reveal a gorgeous necklace with a delicate gold heart pendant attached, one tiny diamond sparkling rainbow-bright in the sun. “Adam, I?—”
“Wait.” He stepped forward and took her free hand in his, and tears blurred Mel’s eyes. Here was the man she loved—the man she’d always loved—on her parents’ front porch, at her birthday party, and he’d bought her a necklace and her favorite candy and…
“Mel, I’m sorry about what I said. I was scared and it wasn’t true and I love you. I never thought I’d say those words again, but I do. I know I’m an idiot and I hurt you and I still have a lot of baggage from my past I need to deal with, but if you give me another chance, I promise I won’t walk away again.” He took a deep breath. “Please give me another chance, Mel. Not because I deserve it, but because you are the kindest, most generous person I’ve ever met known. I’d tell you I want to protect you, but you don’t need that. I’d tell you I want to take care of you, but you don’t need that, either. So, how about we protect each other, take care of each other and I promise to keep you in green M&Ms for as long as you let me.”
She sniffled then hugged him tight. “I love you too, Adam. Always have, always will. You’re the best man I know.”
When they finally pulled apart, Adam grinned then took the box from her to put the necklace on her. “Does this mean you’ll help me ruin my playboy reputation by being my girlfriend?”
Mel laughed, full for happiness for the first time in forever. “I will.”
They kissed then, slow and sweet, as Mel traced trembling fingers down his handsome cheek, her heart swelling with so much love she thought it might burst.
Afterward, she leaned her forehead against his and whispered. “I’ve loved you since I was fourteen years old, Adam.” She touched the necklace gingerly, afraid this might all be a dream. “You’ve always had my heart, and you always will.”
Applause and cheers echoed from the crowd of party guests who had gathered on the front lawn without them noticing, including James and her parents and all the guys from Victory Vets.
Adam pulled her closer and chuckled in her ear, making her shiver with pleasure. “Guess we’re officially a couple now, huh?”
“Guess so.” Mel pulled back to beam at him, not caring for once that the entire town knew her business. “And as your girlfriend, I’m telling you right now that your bad boy days are over.”
The crowd cheered again, and Mel buried her face at the base of Adam’s neck, exactly where she always wanted to be.
He kissed the top of her head, saying again, “I love you so much, Mel. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to make you happy. I promise.”
“And I promise,” she cupped his cheeks, meeting his dark gaze, “that you already make me happy. Just the way you are.”
Two months later …
“ War and Peace and Fifty Shades of Grey, ” Adam said, peering over Gus MacMillan’s shoulder as he waited in line to see Mel at the circulation desk. “Both interesting choices.”
“Mind your business, young man,” the old coot said. “Mind your business.”
Fair enough. Adam bit back a grin and resumed his waiting.
Honestly, his business was pretty awesome right now anyway, both at the garage and in his personal life. He’d moved in with Mel about a week after the party, at her insistence and, just this past week, he’d finally put his dad’s old house on the market. It seemed silly to maintain two residences when they spent every spare moment at her place anyway. Plus, it allowed him to shut the door on that part of his past once and for all. Win-win.
And Mel was doing great at the library too. She’d gotten her promotion to regional manager and now oversaw several branches in different towns around the area. One week a month she drove around to all of them for on-site visits, then handled it all online otherwise. Sometimes, if he could get the day off, he’d drive her on his Harley.
He leaned to the side slightly to catch sight of his girl, working with another patron. She looked so good. Truthfully, she’d always looked beautiful to him, but she’d really seemed to have settled into her new style now, blending some of her old things in with the new stuff she’d bought that first day they’d spent in Indy. She was wearing pants today—she did that a lot more now—and they fit her like a second skin.
“Hey, Adam,” Lilly said as she buzzed past him with her camera. “Ogling your girlfriend again?”
She was working on a new project for the mayor, something called the Point Beacon Improvement Project. He’d heard James on the phone the other day too with someone from the town council about it and the Autumn Festival. As long as he didn’t rope Adam into helping with whatever he was doing, Adam was fine with it.
The line moved forward, and Adam got a better view of Mel’s top half now. She’d worn a form-fitting, low-cut white shirt and a short black cardigan with little red embroidered hearts. And, of course, her heart necklace. Adam’s chest squeezed hard with sweetness.
Finally, old Gus stepped up to the desk with his books and Mel scanned them out for him then handed him his slip. “Happy reading, Mr. MacMillan.”
The older man grunted and tucked the books under his arm, then headed for the automatic doors at the exit just as Lilly walked up to the desk and cut in front of Adam. “Hey, girl,” she said to Mel. “Where’s the planning meeting going to be?”
“The main conference room,” Mel said, pointing toward a doorway just past the brightly colored children’s section. “James is in there already, I think.”
“Cool.” Lilly swiveled back to look at Adam then back to Mel. “You two have fun.”
“Always,” Adam said, his gaze never leaving Mel as Lilly left and he stepped up to the counter at last. “Hi.”
Mel gave him a quick peck for discretion’s sake, then smiled. “What are you doing here? I thought your schedule was full today at the garage.”
He gave a nonchalant shrug. “It is, but a guy still needs a break. ”
“Hmm.” Mel eyed him suspiciously. “A break, huh?”
There was no one waiting behind him and no one around to see them, so he took advantage and came around the desk and slid his arms around Mel’s waist, holding her just like he’d wanted to since they’d parted that morning. Seemed once he’d opened up to her and let his emotions free, there was no stopping them. He leaned in closer, and kissed her nose just because he could.
A couple kids who were arriving for the daily reading sessions giggled as the passed by, pointing and whispering at Adam and Mel, and damn if he couldn’t stop grinning now. “I want one of those someday.”
Mel gaped at him. “You do? You never mentioned it before.”
He shrugged and looked back at her. “I didn’t know until now. After what I went through, I wasn’t sure, but yeah. I want a kid someday. With you. What do you think?”
She blinked at him, looking stunned, then elated. “Yes, I want kids too. Three to be exact, though we’ve never discussed it.”
“Okay,” Adam said. “What about marriage?”
“Uh,” Mel stammered, apparently at a loss for words. “Are you proposing?”
“Do you want me to?” He nuzzled her ear and kissed her neck. He hadn’t been entirely honest with her when he’d said he came here on a break. In reality, he’d come here with a very specific purpose in mind. Adam kissed along her jaw to her mouth, then pressed his lips to hers for a long moment. When he finally pulled back, they were both breathless. “Look, Mel. I know we said we wouldn’t rush into anything, but I’ve waited so long to feel this way about someone and when it’s right, it’s right. So…” He kissed her again, then got down on one knee, pulling a small black velvet box from the pocket of his jeans, then opening it to reveal the sparkling diamond solitaire ring inside. “I love you, Melody Bryant, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife?”
Tears glistened in her lovely eyes now as she covered her mouth with shaky fingers. “Oh, Adam. I love you, too. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Whoops and whistles and applause went up from the crowd that had gathered around them. Just like at the party, Adam hadn’t even noticed. Whenever he was around Mel, his world narrowed to just her.
After slipping the ring on her finger, Adam stood and kissed Mel once more. “Love you.”
Mel smiled through her happy tears. “Love you, too, my bad boy.”
Ready for more small-town romance goodness? Check out WORTH THE WAIT :
Some renovations take forever... When down-on-her-luck actress Mandy Reynolds is bequeathed property, she returns to her small hometown for a life reset. She plans to sell fast and use the money to move to LA, at least until she discovers her windfall comes with a co-inheritor: her stubborn, gorgeous ex-stepbrother, Alex Noonan. Last time grumpy, injured architect Alex saw Mandy, she was an awkward teenaged theatre-geek. Now, she’s back, all grown up and still as frustratingly “sunshine” as she is beautiful, but he just wants to be alone to heal. The will stipulates these two opposites must live together for thirty days before taking ownership. Only time will tell if this fixer-upper ends their long-simmering attraction for good or flips them both into the unexpected romance of their dreams.