Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Jaxon glanced up at the small shop front on Belleview Avenue.
It was cute in a quaint sort of way. Not that he knew anything about bridal salons, but it was blue—just like the name—and it looked homey.
In fact, it looked very much like an old house.
Situated only a block down from the park, he had a feeling most of these businesses had been homes decades ago before commerce came in and swallowed them up.
Mounting the wide concrete steps two at a time, he threw the door open. The bell above the door jangled crazily, and several sets of eyes turned in his direction. He closed the door much more softly than he’d entered the place so the women wouldn’t think he was a complete madman.
Glancing around, he made for the first saleswoman he saw. Dressed in a suit, she appraised him carefully. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Adalyn...” he paused, and the girl tipped her head in silent question. “Um, yeah,” he finished lamely.
Did she still go by her maiden name, or did she use her married name? It was something he probably should have figured out before now. But that letter he’d opened an hour ago had propelled him from the chair without a second thought. He still couldn’t believe it.
According to the letter dated just a couple months ago, they hadn’t signed the necessary papers.
He’d forgotten a signature on one, while she’d missed signing another.
Evidently, the documents had then been misplaced internally by a new paralegal, and the lawyer apologized for the delay, saying that he’d returned one copy to him to sign while the other had been sent to Adalyn.
It was almost completely unheard of, and he marveled once again at the coincidence.
He’d thought of her constantly while overseas. Maybe this had happened for a reason. What were the odds that—despite demanding an annulment—she’d missed signing the document? He didn’t know what his excuse was. In all honesty, he thought it’d been taken care of.
He was sure he’d checked and double-checked, but maybe a small part of him had hoped something like this would happen.
He couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that Adalyn and he were still married.
And he needed to know how she felt about that.
Had she chosen not to sign? The thought made his heart flip over in his chest.
The salesgirl rolled her lips together in thought. “I believe she left for the day. You can check with Amy to be certain.” She lifted a hand and gestured toward a counter along the opposite wall. “The woman in blue.”
“Thank you.” He tipped his chin at her and made a beeline across the room.
He shifted impatiently as the two women in front of him paid for their purchases, gossiping all the while.
Finally, they left in a flurry of colorful fabric, and he stepped forward.
Before he could speak, however, a petite young woman with short brown hair rounded the desk.
She passed a dress to Amy. “When you get a chance, can you please see if we can still get this in periwinkle?”
“Of course. I’ll let you know in just a moment.”
The young woman turned and caught his gaze, freezing like a deer in headlights. His collar suddenly felt a little too tight. He was as out of place in here as a bull in a china shop, and he was ready to find Adalyn and get out of here.
The older woman—Amy—smiled at him in welcome. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“I’m looking for Adalyn.”
Her brows drew together as she peered over the counter at him. “I’m sorry, she’s not available at the moment.”
“Is she at home?” He still had her address somewhere, but he thought for sure she would still be at work.
“I can’t say.”
More like she refused to. Agitation pulled at him. “Where is she?”
The petite woman’s eyes grew wide, and her hand fluttered to her throat. Amy darted a look at her before returning her gaze to him. “If you’d like to speak with her, you’re more than welcome to come back on Monday when she returns.”
Her tone told him he was welcome to take a flying leap off a bridge, too, but there was no way he was waiting all weekend to find her. He leaned forward and leveled her with his most imploring stare. “I need to speak with her right away.”
She sniffed, not at all affected by his plea. “Is this an emergency?”
She had no idea. He snorted. “You could call it that.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I can pass along a message if you’d like.” She picked up a pen, the tip hovering over the pad in front of her. “What’s your name?”
“I,” he bit out, “am her husband.”
Her mouth formed an ‘O’, but no words came out. For a single second, he felt a stab of vindication. Refusing to linger on it, he pressed forward. “I need to speak with her. Please.”
“I… um…” Amy darted a glance at the younger woman, and he searched for a name tag.
“Jenn.” He appealed to her, hoping she would take pity on him. “Please. I need to know where she is. I have to speak with her.”
She bit her lip. “Well, um…”
What was going on? Why was everyone being so secretive? He let out a little growl. “Where is my wife?”
Jenn wrung her hands at her waist and shot a look over at the older woman before meeting his gaze again. “Eros,” she whispered. “She’s on a date.”
Red crept into the edges of his vision, and he managed a curt nod before spinning on his heel. He didn’t have a clue where this Eros place was, but if Adalyn was there, he was going to find it.
He googled the address, then set the GPS to direct him to the restaurant.
He had no idea what he was going to do, but one thing was for certain—Adalyn was still his wife. And no way was some other man going to touch her.
Ever.