“Why not? It’s only three little words.”
“And it’s not like I haven’t said them before,” Adam said.
Quinn frowned. “There’s no reason to think Teddy will be anything like Veronica or Chloe.”
“No indication, but there is one problem.”
“What’s that?” Quinn asked.
“She’s not in love with me. She wouldn’t even tell me what happened the night of Stephen’s party. She said good-night, got out of the car, and I haven’t talked to her since.”
“You’re sure about this? Because from what I saw of the two of you, there was no one else in the room when you were there. I could say the entire planet was inhabited by only the two of you.”
Adam knew that was how he felt. When he was with her there was no other world except the one that enclosed them.
“You already bought the ring,” Quinn reminded him. “Mom saw it. Even though she was angry, beyond angry—her words—she didn’t miss a detail.”
“I could talk to her if she isn’t at a wedding. She had four of them this month,” Adam said.
“And Christmas is coming. And the clocks will stop. And the world will end. Don’t put obstacles in your way. It’s not like you.”
Adam questioned what he was like. Since meeting Teddy, much about him had changed. He supposed falling in love did that to a person. Could Quinn be right? Had Teddy fallen in love with him?
There was only one way to find out.
* * *
Adam practiced his speech in front of his bathroom mirror. He repeated it while he dressed in a suit and tie. In the living room, he went over it again while looking for the keys to his car. During the drive to her office, he had committed it to memory and was sure of what he wanted to say. Pulling into the parking lot, panic set in. He hadn’t accounted for her replies. He should have a plan for what her responses could be.
But he was too late. Teddy appeared at the door and walked toward him. She smiled broadly and as Quinn had predicted, the world around them disappeared. He couldn’t see her curves because of the coat she wore, but Adam knew them intimately, and as she walked into his arms, he encircled her waist and she kissed him on the cheek. He held her a moment longer than necessary, inhaling her perfume and wanting to press her to him until the world tilted back in place.
“Don’t you look like a member of the wedding.” She stepped back and looked him over.
He knew she was talking about the suit, but the comment affected him as if she’d gone straight for the heart.
“I was surprised to hear from you.” He opened the car door and she got in. “But I needed to get out of the office for a while.”
“The weddings?” he asked.
“It seems all the brides want to change something at the last minute.” She glanced at him as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. “But I don’t want to talk about weddings. How have you been?”
“I miss our dates,” he said honestly. Adam couldn’t look at her long enough to gauge the expression on her face.
“They were fun.” She laughed. Sobering, she asked, “How are things with your mom?”
“We’re talking.”
He pulled into the parking lot of his condo.
“We’re having lunch here?” Teddy asked in surprise.
“I want to talk to you and I don’t want a lot of people around.”
Silently they walked up the few steps to the condo’s entry. Inside, he took her coat and led her to the dining room.
“Wow!” Teddy said.
The table was set for two with candles lit and the food hot and ready. A flower arrangement made of pine branches, Christmas holly and mistletoe sat in the center, replacing the silver bells that she’d set there. The napkins were folded into shapes that looked like white doves. Christmas music played softly in the background. Everything was as he’d ordered it.
“How did you do this?” She smiled, obviously pleased. She touched the silverware and bent to smell the pine in the centerpiece.
Adam smiled, too. Involuntarily, a lightning bolt went through him. Forcing himself to stand his ground, he remembered his speech, but it wasn’t time yet. He wasn’t comfortable. This was unchartered ground and he found it hard to relax. “I had it catered. Quinn was here to supervise. He ducked out the moment we pulled in the lot.”