Kitabı oku: «Risky Moves», sayfa 2
Zack had been her first love, a puppy love, the summer she was sixteen. Adam hadn’t caught her attention in that way then—he was still a scrawny boy, always off poking around in the woods and climbing anything vertical, including the post office flagpole. Zack had been slightly older, a handsome icon of maturity and popularity, working as the lifeguard at the Mirror Lake beach. Everyone had said they belonged together. Soon Julia and Zack believed it, too. And since they were the kind of people who did what was expected of them, they’d lasted longer than they ought to have.
“No heat?” Allie repeated. “C’mon. I remember how you two always looked so right together. High-school sweethearts. Every girl in town envied you.”
“That was years ago. We broke up, remember?”
Allie reached for a beribboned party-favor bag and tore apart the netting with her fingernails. Pastel mints and candied almonds spilled across the tablecloth. She began popping them in her mouth one by one until her lips were puckered. “And it’s just coincidence that you haven’t been serious with anyone since?”
“I’ve dated,” Julia said. “Plenty.” At least by Quimby standards.
“Yeah, stodgy guys with briefcases and beepers.”
“Suits me fine. I have my own briefcase and beeper.” Julia nibbled an almond. After working for one of the nationwide real-estate franchises for a few years, she’d come back to Quimby to open her own agency. It was doing very well, by Quimby standards.
“Which is why you need the opposite, of course!” Cathy Timmerman—Cathy Brody, Julia remembered—swooped on them with the numerous layers of her swagged ivory skirts bunched in her hands. She kicked out a chair with the toe of a dyed-to-match ivory pump and collapsed with a loud exhale. “Gad. Weddings really take it out of you.”
“But the honeymoon puts it back in,” Julia said, giving Cathy’s hand a squeeze. Quite a reach over their voluminous, rustling gowns.
“No, that’s the groom’s job,” Allie said mischievously.
Cathy groaned. “Please, no more bawdy honeymoon jokes. I’ve had enough of those from Zack’s uncle Brady. Brady Brody, if you can believe it. That’s him in the magenta velvet tux. He thinks it’s funny to sneak into every picture our photographer takes.”
“I remember Uncle Brady,” Julia said. “He used to pinch my derriere at family functions. Consider yourself forewarned, Cath.”
“Too late. He got in a good one right there in the receiving line. But with all these layers of tulle and genuine polyester silk, what was the point?”
They laughed.
“Zack didn’t tell me about his relatives,” Cathy continued. “Turns out there are heaps of them.” She tried to frown, but nothing could take away the happiness that wreathed her face as clearly as the floral headpiece framed her sable hair. Despite the over-the-top Bridal Bonanza finery, Julia had never seen a bride who glowed more than Cathy. There was no doubt that Zack had chosen right this time around.
“We booked hotel rooms all over the county, and it still seems as though most of them are bunking in at either Zack’s house or mine. We haven’t managed a moment to ourselves for days and days.”
Then neither would Adam, Julia thought, knowing how much he’d hate that.
“When do you escape?” Allie asked, crunching.
“Very soon now.” Cathy’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as they followed Zack, who was making one last turn around the room, distributing thanks and handshakes. “I can hardly wait.” She looked sidelong at her grinning friends. “Not for that. For the peace and quiet.” She paused, reflecting. “And maybe some of that, too.”
Cathy was a lucky bride, Julia told herself. Her groom was an exceptional man. Julia had known so even before a dozen Quimby busybodies had taken it upon themselves to inform her that she’d let a good one get away. She had no hope of explaining why their chemistry hadn’t worked when she didn’t understand it herself. Put Zack together with Cathy, a relative newcomer to Quimby, and the pair of them smoked. You could practically see the steam rising from their pores.
Maybe it was the comfort and normalcy that had doomed Julia’s relationship with Zack. And that continued to doom her with the few acceptable men she’d encountered since. Briefcases, beepers and boredom—she knew them far too well.
The other two women were discussing the honeymoon plans, six days of autumnal marital bliss at a mountain resort. “By the time we return, I’m hoping all the relatives will have gone,” Cathy confessed in a whisper. “It’s going to be cozy enough as it is, living right next door to Zack’s parents until our new house is built.”
“And Adam, too,” Julia said. “If he stays, that is.”
“Oh, his mother’s working on that. Whereas Zack said we were lucky that his brother agreed to fly in last night instead of putting it off until this morning. I hear Adam’s always been impossible to peg down.”
“He missed the rehearsal dinner.” Julia had been all pins and needles, anticipating the sight of him. Instead her first glimpse had come this afternoon, in the church itself, when she’d preceded Cathy down the aisle. The shock of Adam’s magnifying presence and stark, handsome face had put a noticeable stutter in her step. Enough that the busybodies had clucked over it, though none had guessed the true reason. They all thought she was regretting the loss of Zack.
“Does he know that Laurel booked herself onto a convenient Mediterranean cruise ship so she wouldn’t be in town for the wedding?” Allie said, looking from one woman to the other.
“He knows.” Cathy was eyeing Julia with too much sympathy. Now that the mints were gone, Allie was beginning to notice. “Laurel’s not what matters.”
Allie’s lips pursed. “His legs?”
“His legs are fine,” Julia insisted. Too much emphasis.
Allie squinched again, her eyes narrowing to slits, her long nose twitching suspiciously.
“You only have to look at him to see.” Julia couldn’t seem to stop herself. Very unlike her. “He’s every bit as vital as he was when he left.”
“Vital?” Allie echoed. “Like a daily vitamin?” She chortled. “If I were you, I wouldn’t count on Adam sticking around for another dose tomorrow, let alone the long haul.”
Julia winced. “If you were me? I—I’m not counting on anything. Which isn’t the point, anyway. All I meant—” She took a breath, appalled at herself for losing her cool for so little reason. “Nothing. Forget it.”
Cathy stepped in. “Allie, would you gather together the single women? It’s time I threw the bouquet.” As soon as Allie was out of earshot, she turned to the flustered Julia. “Honey—are you okay? I knew it was going to be hard on you, seeing Adam again.”
You don’t know the half of it, Julia thought. She clenched her hands, safely hidden in a lapful of tulle netting. Cathy had guessed about Julia’s feelings for Adam months ago, when Julia had confessed that—contrary to public speculation—she was not heartbroken over Zack. But Cathy didn’t know that there was a lot more to the story.
“Well, sure,” Julia said slowly, “I was a little nervous about what to expect. But it turns out that Adam’s still Adam.”
Cathy laughed. “Is that good or bad? I haven’t known him long enough to tell.”
Julia mulled it over. He was good for a change—her change—but a mighty bad influence on her usual rock-steady equilibrium. “It’s both,” she said. “Adam’s always been…” She gave a wordless gesture, knowing there was no rhyme or reason for her attraction to the man. Adam Brody was just there—a dream in her head, a knot in her stomach, a longing in her heart.
“Impossible to peg down,” Cathy said, nodding. “I like him, though. After hearing all the stories, I thought he’d be one of those careless extreme-sports dudes with the cocky attitudes. But he’s not—he’s quiet and intelligent, with a dry sense of humor. When I think of all he’s been through—” Catching Julia’s misting eyes, she broke off. “Ah, but I don’t need to tell you, do I?”
Julia gave a watery sniff. “At eighteen, he was pretty darn cocky. The Brodys worried like crazy over his daredevil tendencies, and they never even learned about some of the wilder escapades.” She thought sadly of the new hesitation about Adam, the look of worry in his eyes that had aged him beyond twenty-eight. “But I suspect he’s changed some after the car accident.”
“Maybe you’ll get the chance to find out?” Cathy gave her a sisterly little nudge.
“Maybe.”
“Try to persuade him to stay, will you?”
Julia was going to say that Adam had never before paid any attention to her requests, but just then Allie and a swarm of eager guests arrived, buzzing with excitement over the bridal bouquet and the newlyweds’ impending departure. Julia was swept into the celebratory crowd despite her reluctance. She didn’t believe in superstition and sentiment—she believed in drawing up a plan and making things happen.
The wedding guests surged out of the restaurant into the gravel parking lot. Zack’s black Jaguar was decked out in shaving cream, ribbons of crepe paper, tin cans, pinwheels and the traditional Just Married placard. Julia picked Adam out from the crowd, her heart expanding when she saw the genuine smile on his face. The honey-colored glow of the sunset caught in his mossgreen eyes, lighting them up like twin fireflies.
Ten years, she thought, her chest hurting. I’ve been feeling like this for ten years. That’s long enough.
Long enough to make even a sane woman ready to jump out of an airplane.
Cathy and Zack stood on the doorstep beneath the deep stone arch of the entrance, looking exactly like the model couple for a wedding cake topper. They hugged Zack’s parents and Cathy’s dad, Admiral Wallace Winston Bell, then ran toward their getaway vehicle in a shower of flower petals. Cathy paused at the open car door, held up her bouquet to a cheer from the crowd and with a graceful flick of her wrist tossed it high in the air.
The single women jostled for position. Julia followed the bouquet’s spinning arc, her hands involuntarily reaching to the sky before she remembered and pulled them in. Gwendolyn Case, a token member of the Heartbroken club even though she’d already been married and divorced twice, made an impressive leap and catch despite the billowing skirts of her size eighteen pumpkin-colored bridesmaid dress and size eleven dyed-to-match pumps. A roar went up from the guests as the admiral swept her up for a big hug and smooch.
As Zack and Cathy drove away in a clatter, Julia met Adam’s eyes over the milling crowd. I don’t want a bridal bouquet. I’m as free and easy and daring as you, she wanted to say, but settled for a little smile of mutual amusement before his extended family of uncles and in-laws and cousins thrice removed descended en masse, blocking him from view.
Poor Adam, she thought, getting an idea.
2
YES, INDEED. Now that she was eighteen and officially legal, making love to Zack was the safe, even expected thing to do. None of their friends would have believed they’d held out this long, considering they’d been going together for two years. Julia wasn’t sure why they had delayed, except that she’d always pulled back at the last moment. Losing her virginity was a momentous occasion, and she was a cautious person.
Too cautious, maybe.
“It’s now or never,” she vowed, but flinched when a knock at the door finally came. How silly. She’d considered the situation very carefully before deciding that Zack was the one. There was no reason to be unsure about letting him in.
It would be okay. Julia put her hand on the knob. Zack was the safe, smart choice. He would take care of her.
“JULIA!” The cries went up.
“Girlfriend! You made it! Come and join the party.”
“Hot damn, another bridesmaid!”
Adam didn’t chime in. Instead he crouched to feed another piece of wood into the bonfire, trying unsuccessfully to keep his eyes off the latest arrival at the impromptu beach party. Julia wore black leggings with low boots and a bulky sweater, her hair pulled straight back from her face. When she turned to accept a beer from Fred, the firelight gilded her profile like the delicate, curved designs on a Chinese vase. She’d always had a way about her—neat, clean, exacting, pedestal pure. Even after he’d ruined it all by touching her.
The flames leaped, devouring the dry wood. He threw on a chunk of punky log. Sparks rose in a glittering curtain. Rocking back on his heels, he watched as they dispersed, finding one glowing fleck that floated high in the dark sky, following a meandering path before finally winking out.
Most of the crowd sat on lawn chairs or beach blankets. Julia passed up a couple of offers, circling the group until she came to Adam. “Have a seat,” he said after an awkward moment, aware of her in his peripheral vision even though his gaze remained on the crackling fire.
“Hi.” She sat on the old felled log he’d been using as a seat. It had been on this beach for as long as he remembered.
“Hi.”
“There’s room for two.”
The fire wasn’t going anywhere. He edged backward until he was perched on the log. Half buried in the sand, it was weathered gray and smooth, all but a few stubborn shreds of bark worn off by countless numbers of beach bums.
“Want a beer?” she said, tilting her bottle.
“I’ve got one, thanks.” He reached for it, tucked out of the way in a fork of the log’s broken branches.
The tension between them seemed unbearable. What had happened to his long resolve to treat her as just another of his brother’s admirers? It had worked for years, keeping them from exchanging more than the average meaningless chitchat. And stopping him from touching her, except for the occasional quick hug hello or a casual brush of the shoulders or hands or hips.
Had Zack’s marriage ripped away the chains?
No. Adam’s limbs wouldn’t feel so heavy and his reactions so slow if that were the case.
The electric shock zinging through his veins he could ignore if he kept trying.
Julia looped her arms around her knees. “I can’t help thinking that Zack should be here,” she said softly, keeping their conversation to themselves among the more raucous back-and-forth of the others.
“I miss him, too.”
“He’s always been the leader of this crowd.” She scanned the circle of good friends, laughing and talking in the warm, radiant glow of the fire. “Even with most of us married or moved away, busy with careers and children, we’ll always be close. That’s what’s so special about small towns.”
“Is that why you chose to live in Quimby permanently?”
She glanced at him, then quickly away. “Sure. Partly.”
He didn’t press. He never did—not with Julia. It wouldn’t do him any good to know the answers.
Arm’s length, he thought. A safe distance. Even though he could feel her, sitting beside him so blamelessly, their legs not quite touching. Her cheek was rosy in the firelight, the smooth sweep of her ponytail honey gold threaded with a rich amber brown. He’d never stopped wanting to touch her hair. Her face. Her throat. Her breasts.
“I was surprised that Zack came back,” he said, “after all the trouble with Laurel and the wedding that wasn’t.” His brother was a good subject to keep between them.
“Oh, no. Zack belongs here.”
“Not like me.”
Someone had brought a CD player. Fred jumped up and shook his rump—and his beer gut—in an attempt to get Allie to dance around the fire with him. Jeering, she pelted him with corn chips. Through all the noise, Zack heard Julia’s quick intake of breath.
“How can you say that?” She leaned closer, looking him full in the face with her hand on his knee. “You belong here as much as anyone.”
“I’m no Zack.”
She gave a mystified shake of the head. “So what?”
He shrugged. Put that way, he sounded like an idiot. “All I meant was—Zack is more prominent. The leader, like you said. No one would miss me if I stayed away permanently.”
Julia lifted her hand off his knee. “I guess not.”
Oh.
She took a long drink of the beer, even though he knew she wasn’t crazy about the taste. Dabbed her lips with the edge of her sleeve. To show she was aware that he was watching, she gave him a bland smile, deliberately saying nothing more.
He got the point. One, quit whining. Two, don’t ask for ego reinforcement from the one woman who had particular reason to notice when he was gone. Even though she couldn’t admit it, Julia was as aware of him as he was of her. And that was plenty. Each time he returned home, he scrutinized every detail about her. When they were together, he was continually aware of where she was in proximity to him, who she was talking to, of her every laugh and gesture and smile. He could close his eyes and identify her by smell. Clean and fresh with a hint of sunny lavender. Never cloying.
Better for him to stay away, he thought, feeling desire stirring his gut.
Always the same attraction—and the same conclusion.
“I suppose you’ll be leaving soon,” she said casually.
He’d been in Idaho far too long—a stay enforced by his accident and slow recovery. As much as he enjoyed the state’s rugged outdoor life—the beautiful but treacherous mountains and rivers—he usually craved new experiences before too long. But this past year had been different. Idle and faced with too much time to think, he’d found himself longing not for unseen vistas but for the rolling hills and open farmland of Quimby, his humble hometown.
But that was only because the unknown was out of reach to him now.
Had to be.
“I don’t have anywhere to go,” he confessed.
Julia showed her surprise. “Oh, pfft. Adam Brody always has somewhere to go.”
“No job.” Over the years, he’d worked a variety of jobs, from tree surgeon to river guide to sky dive instructor to construction. All of them physical and beyond his present capabilities. “Gave up my lease.” First time in his life he’d had a lease—an experience he didn’t plan to repeat. “All my meager possessions are packed in the back of my Jeep.”
“A sleeping bag, a tent, a mountain bike and a kayak,” she said. “A pair of hiking boots and enough rock-climbing equipment to scale the Manhattan skyline.”
“That about sums it up.” He tilted his head and drained the beer, thinking of two possessions she’d missed—the cane that Zack had kept replacing each time Adam snapped one in frustration and the worn photo that was always buttoned in one of his shirts or jacket pockets. He kept the first under the car seat for the rare times he needed it. The second was Julia on her eighteenth birthday.
“Then you’re free to stay for a while.” Was that hope in her voice or was he imagining it?
“I wasn’t planning on more than a few days.”
“Long enough to teach me to rock climb?”
He sent her a slanted smile. “Kinda hoped you’d forgotten about that.”
“Nope. I’ve penciled you into my date book, smack dab between an estate-tax seminar and the Holliwells’ open house.”
She was kidding. He was sure she was kidding.
Gwendolyn Case came around, passing out hot dogs. Adam took two and chose a twin-pronged stick to roast them on. “You’re looking really good,” Gwen said, lingering.
“You, too, Gwen.” The buxom bridesmaid had put jeans on under her formal dress and bunched the skirts at her waist, strapping them in with a belt. Snagging the bridal bouquet had made her bolder than ever—despite her interest in the admiral, she’d been making a game of sizing up the available choices over the bonfire. Adam’s response was perfunctory at best. To him, Gwen would always be the brassy, bossy baby-sitter who’d once wrestled him out of a tree and sat on him till he’d promised not to climb it again.
“Chuck’s looking hungry,” Julia said.
Gwen spun around, lighting up when she saw that Chuck Cheswick, who was as big as a bear and twice as ravenous, had already finished his third hot dog.
“Sneaky,” Adam said when Gwen had gone.
“A woman with a bridal bouquet is a dangerous creature. A few more seconds and you’d have shot to the top of her eligible bachelor list.” Julia smoothed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You owe me now.”
“I can take care of myself,” he said, then stopped, feeling uneasy because he’d learned that the statement wasn’t always true. He positioned the hot dogs over a chunk of burned log that glowed orange with black edges, good for a slow roast.
“No excuse not to express appreciation for my diversion tactic.” Julia’s tone was light and teasing, but he could see that she recognized what he was going through. Since the accident, his self-image had taken a serious beating. He still struggled with the adjustment. Against it, truthfully.
He remembered resenting Zack, especially on the days he needed him most. His brother had an easy charm, a large capacity to love and forgive. He also had good fortune, good looks and two good legs. There had been days Adam hated him.
“Leave me alone,” he’d said again and again. Sometimes with bitterness, sometimes with fear or twisted pride or weakness. He hadn’t wanted anyone, even a brother, to see him that way.
Zack refused. “For once you can’t do the leaving, brother. I’m taking advantage of that for as long as I can.” And he’d stayed, with never a complaint. As if it had been for his own benefit.
“I can handle this on my own,” Adam said when he began physical therapy. Never mind that he was running with sweat, clinging to the bars of a walker as though it tilted on the edge of a precipice.
“Of course you can,” Zack said. “I’m just here for the entertainment value. This is better than your teenage Evel Knievel motorcycle act.”
Adam cursed him out all the way across the hospital room till he stood panting at the open door.
Zack had applauded. And then said, “Dare you to keep going.” He’d known exactly how to treat his prickly brother—with brusque affection and a dare. Adam had never turned down a dare.
“All right, all right,” he said now to Julia. “I appreciate you running interference. Just don’t expect a reward.”
“You’re burning the hot dogs.”
He pulled them from the flames, waving as the breeze turned and stinging smoke billowed into their faces. “I am not teaching you to rock climb.”
She squinted. “Yes, you are.” She folded a bun around one of the charred wieners and slid it off the stick. Then the other. “Ketchup, mustard?” she asked, flicking through the packets of condiments that were being passed around the circle. “Relish?”
He stabbed the stick into the sand, digging into the cool grains with his knuckles. “Why should I?”
Carefully she squeezed ketchup over the hot dog balanced on her kneecaps. “Because…” She licked her thumb, looking at Adam from the corners of her eyes. Other noises seemed to recede until he heard only the sound of the lake lapping at the shore, the gentle swish of evergreen branches brushing against each other.
“Because I have something you need.” Julia’s voice was soft, seductive—and as much a part of him as the infinite sky and the flow of water and the silken sand that ran through his fingers faster than before.
Life is short, he’d learned.
Grab her while you can.
THEY ATE HOT DOGS, they talked briefly about Zack and Cathy—whom he really didn’t know at all except that he liked her for not fussing at him for coming late to her wedding—and they joined in a dozen conversations except their own. Adam began to feel easier about being home now that he was past the humps of gossip and open speculation.
“You haven’t changed at all,” one of the women said resentfully when he’d repeated his plan to depart as soon as possible. They were all suddenly interested in knowing what he was doing next. He was operating under the assumption that saying it out loud would make it so, even if he didn’t know where to go or what to do.
Julia smiled a little at that. Secretively. As if she had plans for him. He waited for a spurt of annoyance, but it never came. A prickle of anticipation did.
Eventually one of the guys brought out a guitar, and the music lulled the group into a lazy mood. They sang a few folk songs. Hokey stuff, but he liked it. Julia’s eyes were luminescent, giving him a pleasant jolt each time he intercepted her gaze. He resisted the urge to put his arm around her.
The guitarist played several popular Fleetwood Mac songs and then “Landslide.” A number of the circle sang along until gradually their voices dropped away and only Julia was left. Her voice was smooth and clear as she sang about seasons and changes and reflections in the snow-covered hills. Adam looked at her until the ache in his throat was too much and then he closed his eyes and swallowed hard, unable to stop wanting this to go on forever—Julia’s sweet voice, the strumming guitar, the riveting contrast of cool night and hot flame. And, for once, no restlessness rankling inside him.
Eventually the song ended with a smattering of applause, signaling the end of the evening. The group began to break up. Julia blinked and tucked the stray strand behind her ear again, hesitating for a moment before hopping to her feet. She stuck out her hand to Adam. “Come with me. I have something to show you. And if you’re very good, I’ll even let you have it.”
HE’D INSISTED on taking her in his Jeep. The practical side of her kept pointing out that it would have made more sense for her to lead in her own car, but when did Adam Brody ever listen to sense? To his senses, sure, all the time. But to sense—common sense? Average people didn’t throw themselves off cliffs and out of airplanes in their spare time.
His mother used to say, wringing her hands over his most recent white-water or skydiving adventure, “That boy spent all his common cents years ago.” Whereas Julia had always counted her piggy-bank savings down to the exact penny, knowing in advance exactly where and on what she would spend them, practical soul that she was.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Adam said, following her directions to veer off the highway onto a newly paved road that led to the other side of Mirror Lake.
She laughed at the coincidence. “I was thinking that I probably shouldn’t bring you here. Your mom won’t like it. She wants you home to stay.”
“I’m never home to stay.”
“True.” Julia clutched the door handle, her stomach flip-flopping. Adam wouldn’t stay, no matter what. All she could hope was to prolong his visit by making it slightly more comfortable. “I hear your house is overrun with relatives.”
“Don’t remind me.” Adam whipped the Jeep around a tight turn. The road curved sharply through the thick forest before the vista opened to a cleared section overlooking the eastern end of the lake. He slowed the vehicle drastically at the sight of raw land. “What happened here?”
“It’s a new development.” She indicated the large, flagged sign that announced the project. Evergreen Point, Coming Soon.
She hadn’t counted on the look of devastation on Adam’s face. “I used to camp in these woods,” he said. The Jeep crawled along one of the new roads that wound past rows of homes under construction. Other areas were marked with surveyor’s stakes. “Jeez.”
“I thought you might need a place away from the Brody crowds.”
He looked askance. “You’re trying to sell me a house?”
“No! Of course not. But I am the listing agent for this development. I have keys to the model home.” A bad idea, she thought. He’d sooner pitch a tent in a mall parking lot. “If you wanted to use it,” she said haltingly. “Just to, you know, get away….”
Julia stopped and took a breath. What was wrong with her? She was unflappable; everyone said so.
Adam touched the brakes and turned to look at her. “What are you saying?”
“I’m offering you the use of the model home. At night. You’d have to clear out during working hours. There’s lots of construction going on, and I have clients to show through the house.”
“Sneaky,” he said, raising his brows. “This isn’t like the Goldie I remember. She always followed the rules.”
Heat crawled up Julia’s throat. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”
“Guess not. Skydiving, rock climbing, housebreaking. What’s next?”
“This is a straight-up swap. I give you a place to stay, you give me rock-climbing lessons.” She unsnapped her seat belt, eager to get away from his open curiosity. “Are you interested? Shall we take a look?”
“Why not?”
“You might even like it.” He followed her through the most advanced section of the development. Even so, it was like a ghost town—gaping windows, bare bones of new walls, utter silence.
Beyond the lots, the lake glistened, black onyx dappled with silver moonlight. She might have been wrong about the house, but Julia was certain that the desolation would appeal to Adam.
The model home was one of several that were finished, the only one furnished and decorated. It was a large house with a two-story entry and living room. The vast proportions should appeal, as well—Adam could never live in a box.
She took the keys from her purse as they followed the newly laid herringbone brick walk to the front door. “Solid construction,” she said, letting them inside. “Good design. Built to stock plans, but the builders hired Zack to modify the blueprints so each house will be unique.”
“No need to sell me.” Adam’s glance skated across the plush furnishings and went straight to the clerestory windows. Tiny stars dotted the strip of visible sky.
“Sorry. Automatic response.” Regret gripped her. Suddenly it was clear-cut. This wasn’t Adam’s kind of place. “You hate it, don’t you?”
He eyed the pristine decor, the sparkling whiteness of the walls. “It’s straight from the pages of a glossy magazine. I’d be afraid of messing things up.”
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