Chapter Nine
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Her eyelids flickered open. She was comfortable. She was relaxed. And for the first time, in a long time, she felt sated.
A cool breeze fluttered over her warm skin. She shifted in her bed. That wasn’t quite right.
Her head filled with memories of last night. She slid her hand under the covers and frowned as it brushed against the skin on her thigh. Tacky. What was that?
She lifted up her white duvet and glanced underneath. Oh no. Color flooded her cheeks. There were chocolate smears around her breasts and that tacky feeling on the edge of her thigh was definitely huckleberry jam.
But most importantly there was no one lying next to her in bed.
She sat bolt upright. There was no sign of Adam at all. Her hand ran over the mattress. No warm bump. No evidence he’d been there at all.
The only scattered clothes across the bedroom floor were her own – and she definitely hadn’t opened the bedroom window. She clutched the covers to her chest. “Adam?”
Silence. Her voice echoed around the apartment.
She slid her legs out of the bed, her toes hitting the cool wooden floor. She ignored the discarded clothes and padded through to the living room with her duvet wrapped around her. It would have to go straight in the wash. Heaven knows how many desserts were smeared across it.
The kitchen was a mess. The remnants of their love-making session would take hours to clean. Her stomach twisted. For some tiny reason she’d hoped Adam might be here. That by some miracle he’d be sitting on her sofa, sipping coffee.
A blinking red light caught the corner of her eye. Her answering machine. She hurried towards it, pressing the button quickly.
The machine beeped. “Hi…Lisa. It’s me, Melody.”
She was going to be sick. She was going to be sick right now. Every hair was standing up on end on her body. She was angry at herself. For a second she’d hoped it was a message from Adam. But had she even given him her phone number? Instead, it was the last person she wanted to hear from.
Her sister’s hesitant voice continued. “I have news…I wanted to let you know that…you’re going to be an auntie.”
There was a wobble. Her legs definitely wobbled. She let herself sag down on the floor.
She could hear her sister suck in a breath, almost as if she were gathering her nerve, filling herself with determination. “Joe and I, we’re really happy. We’ve wanted this for the last year.” She paused for a second. “And there’s something else. I’ve had my scan already,” her voice shook, “I’m having a girl.” There was silence for a second as Lisa heard her suck in a deep breath to continue, “I’ve called mom and dad. They’re happy too. At least I think they want to be. This will be their first grandchild, Lisa. They should be able to enjoy it. But this thing between you and me is still hanging between us. Their loyalties are divided. I hate this, Lisa. I hate it. I want my sister back. I want an auntie for my child. Call me. Please.”
The machine buzzed again. Message left at 7.36am. Her head shot around to the clock. It was after nine. Had Adam heard the message? Had he heard the message before he left? Maybe the phone had woken him? It certainly hadn’t woken her.
She buried her head in her hands and breathed.
It was inevitable. She should have expected this. Melody had never made any secret of the fact she wanted to be a mother. She’d just never expected her sister to become a mother with her ex-fiancé. Then again, it seemed as though she wasn’t too good at judging men.
She looked up and pushed her mussed-up hair out of her face. She stood up and picked up the duvet, dropping it in the laundry basket and moving across to her kitchen floor. So much for her desserts. Looked like Adam wouldn’t be back to give them the attention they deserved.
The red gerberas and purple larkspurs were still on the table, pushed to one side. It was almost as if they were mocking her.
Adam was gone. She’d no idea when he’d left. But he hadn’t left a message and it didn’t look like there was any note. Most importantly he hadn’t bothered to wake her and tell her he was going. He’d just disappeared.
Pity. She’d didn’t think he was the type. She was embarrassed by how much she actually liked him. And she was annoyed with herself over how hurt she felt.
She walked back through to the bedroom and grabbed a t-shirt and yoga pants, pulling them on. The red light was still flickering so she bent forward and pressed delete. Melody could wait. She put her hand on her hip and sighed.
This kitchen wouldn’t clean itself.
*
The spring that had been in Adam’s step at 7:30 am this morning was slowly, but surely dying a death.
Nothing was going to plan. His pager had sounded even though he wasn’t officially on-call. One of the other doctors in the ER was having problems and needed assistance – so naturally, Adam had gone.
Lisa had been sleeping so peacefully he couldn’t bear to wake her. And he’d only be an hour tops. He’d pick up some breakfast for them from the diner on the way back. Or so he thought.
That had been six hours ago. After he had inserted a chest tube and a temporary pacing wire the patient had just been transferred to a Level One facility. Thank goodness. Marietta Hospital dealt with emergencies as best it could – but it didn’t have the facilities of a Level One trauma center.
Things had been so fraught when he’d arrived there hadn’t been time to change – meaning his shirt was currently blood splattered and the only clothes available were hospital scrubs. He hardly wanted to walk back along Marietta Main Street in those.
His stomach growled loudly as he headed towards the exit. He would go home first, change, then head to the diner to pick up some food for them.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and his steps slowed. Lisa. He didn’t even have her number. He couldn’t call her to explain. He couldn’t even send her a message.
A message. He’d heard her sister this morning. Lisa hadn’t mentioned Melody much. And even though it sounded as though they might have had a bit of a fallout she’d probably be over the moon to find out she was going to be an aunt.
A little feeling of dread was creeping up on him. What must Lisa have thought when she woke up this morning to an empty bed and no note? He groaned. She wouldn’t know it hadn’t been intentional. She wouldn’t know he’d expected to be back in an hour.
He was hoping against hope that the message from her sister had put her in a good mood today because there was every chance that, after a killer date, he was in the proverbial dog house.
How on earth was he going to get out of this one?
*
It seemed as though Marietta’s population had exploded over night. The diner was packed at the seams and the street had TV vans parked all along it.
Word had got out about the celebrity wedding. No doubt Nancy and Jared had cut a deal with some magazine regarding photographs and interviews.
Lisa pushed her way through the reporters and cameramen. Every booth and table was taken so she grabbed the last stool at the counter.
She signalled to Julia and ordered a diet soda and some scrambled eggs. Last night she hadn’t given a second thought to the wasted cakes and tarts – this morning after cleaning she’d realized there was hardly a bit of food left in the house. It all seemed like such a waste.
Julia, the waitress, was clearly harassed. “No, I don’t know them. I haven’t met them. I’ve no idea where the wedding is – probably The Graff, it’s the only decent hotel for miles.” She gestured towards Lisa. “Why don’t you ask, Lisa. She owns the bridal salon. She’ll probably know a whole lot more than me.”
“Sorry,” Julia mouthed at her as the pack of piranhas turned and swooped around her.
“Have you met Nancy Parsons?”
“Is she getting her bridal dress from your store?
“Can you tell us what it looks like?”
“Who are the bridesmaids and what are they wearing?”
r /> The noise level was incredible and the questions kept coming. They didn’t even wait for answers.
Lisa held up her hands as she saw a familiar face pushing his way through the crowd. Relief swept over her. The tinge of anger could wait.
She took a deep breath. “I’m not free to discuss any of my clients with you. All brides like to keep the details of their wedding secret. I’m sure Nancy Parsons is no different.”
“So she is a client?”
“When did she visit?”