The Fairy Tale Bride(10)

"Lisa?" he said quietly.

She blinked. "Adam." She looked around as if she could barely believe  it. "I'm sorry." She held out her arms. "Things got a bit out of hand  here." Her voice was starting to waver.

His reaction was automatic. He reached up and gently removed the navy  blue dress snagged on the chandelier. "Can we rename that pair the  Terrible Twins?"

"Oh, I can think of a whole lot of other names. None of them that  polite," shot back Lisa. She picked up a hangar, slipping the dress onto  it and putting it on the nearest rail. Her hand ran down the crumpled  fabric and she gave a sigh.

She shook her head. "It's the disrespect," she said slowly. "Some people  spend their whole lives saving to buy their wedding trousseau. A lot of  my stock is expensive. Some of these dresses cost more than a thousand  dollars and they're throwing them around as if they're from the dollar  market."

She picked up a pale yellow strand and fingered a thin strap that had  come away from the seam. "They seem to think it's okay to behave like a  pair of toddlers having a tantrum. That might be okay in Hollywood  –  but  it's not normal in Marietta." She was starting to get mad. The more she  picked her dresses off the floor and inspected them for damage  –  the  angrier she became.                       
       
           



       

"They had the nerve to suggest that people in Marietta weren't as good  as people in Hollywood. At least the people in Marietta know how to  conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. I don't what standards they  live by but – "

"Hey." Adam's hand closed over hers. She looked down. Her fist had  closed around one of the dresses, clenching the delicate grey fabric.

Her eyes met his as he gently released the dress from her grasp and hung it on the rail.

"Who is the bride again?" Maybe he should have paid more attention to all this.

"Nancy Parsons. The star of Sultry Suburbs." She shook her head. "But she wasn't here today."

"And you know her?"

"Well  –  yes. She was a few years below me at school."

"Then call her. Tell her. She's from Marietta, isn't she? She didn't  come back here to be embarrassed. I imagine she came back here to show  people how well she's done."

Lisa stopped for a second and took a few breaths. They could see the  floor now. The bridal store was finally starting to look tidy again.  There were still a few pieces of bridal underwear adorning chairs and  counters but he didn't really feel like retrieving all those.

Lisa nodded slowly. "You're right. I know you're right. I just couldn't  believe it when two grown women started acting like a pair of brats. It  took me a few moments to actually get my head around it." She glanced at  her watch and realization swept her face. "Oh, Adam. I'm sorry. We're  late for dinner."

He smiled and shook his head. "I think we'll be okay. I don't expect the  Long River Cookhouse to be so busy we can't get in." He paused for a  second. "Are you sure you still want to go?"

She looked around. "Of course I still want to go. But this place is  still a mess." She looked down at herself. "And I haven't even got  changed yet."

He stepped forward, close enough to put a hand on her hip. "You're  getting changed?" She was wearing a black skirt and slim-fitting black  shirt. The look was … professional.

She nodded and tipped her head towards him, looking kind of rueful. "I brought a black dress to wear to dinner."

"A black dress?" He couldn't wipe the smile from his face.

"Yep."

He held out his hands around him. "How about you pick something else to  wear?" He took a few steps towards another rail. These dresses weren't  full length. There was a whole variety of colors and style. He lifted up  a strapless knee length red dress. "How about this one? This color  would look gorgeous on you."

Her instant reaction was to pull back a little then she stepped forward  and touched the fabric. Like all her dresses it was gorgeous.

"Adam, are you trying to tell me what to wear?" There was a tiny edge to her voice.

She was standing right next to him. Shoulder to shoulder. He rested his  hand at the bottom of her back. "I want you to wear whatever you feel  comfortable in. If that's the black dress you've got hidden somewhere  then I'm sure you will be gorgeous in it." He gave a little shrug. "I've  just never seen you in anything colorful. How do you feel about  breaking a habit?"

She threw back her head and laughed. "After today? That's not all I  could break." She reached over and grabbed the dress. "You know what?  I'll give this a try. I might hate it. But if I don't try, I'll never  know."

She disappeared behind one of the curtains. Adam walked slowly around  the salon. It was bigger than he'd expected, with a huge amount of  bouffant white and cream dresses. Everywhere he looked there was  sparkle, flounce and lace. On an old-fashioned coat stand in the corner  was a whole host of glittering veils. A shelf on the wall held a  multitude of tiaras and on another, a whole variety of shoes and  sandals. He gave a little smile. This shop was really every guy's  nightmare.

He'd never really bought into the old wedding day fiasco. A few women  he'd dated could have spent his million dollars on a wedding alone. But  Lisa's shop held a little more than wedding products. On a white  noticeboard she had lots of photos of happy brides  –  who he expected,  were all wearing her dresses. He moved closer to take a look. He had to  be fair. There wasn't a bad bride amongst them.

A hand reached up and touched his shoulder. Lisa was right behind him.  She leaned around a little. "That's Sage Carrigan. And that's Bailey  Jenkins, she got married in October, then there's Payton Hollis and  McKenna Douglas." She gave a little laugh. "McKenna decided to change  her dress up a little. But they've all come here for their dresses. I  love having pictures up of brides in dresses I've helped them choose.  Every one of them is beautiful."                       
       
           



       

Adam gave a little nod. It was odd but he could see exactly what she  meant. The brides didn't just look happy. They glowed. Adam gave a  shudder and a little laugh. This wasn't him at all.

He spun around and his breath caught in his throat. Lisa Renee was  beautiful in black. Professional, somber it did suit her. But in red … she  was a knockout. The color enhanced her skin tone, darkened her hair and  made her eyes stand out even more.

"You should wear red every day," he said quietly.

She looked down, obviously still a little unsure. "You think? I don't know. It just seems so … so … ,"

"So what?" He was amused. The color was making her self-conscious  –  even though she didn't need to be.

She smiled again. "So … out there," she finished.

He spun her around towards the free-standing mirror. "Well, I think you  look perfect." He crooked his elbow towards her. "Let's go. Long River  Cookhouse awaits."

*

The two mile journey didn't take long and Adam was a careful driver. She  should have expected that from a doctor really. But she was finding it  difficult to relax and kept tugging at her red dress as it crept up her  thighs while sitting in the car.

The sound of melodic tunes met them as they pulled into the parking lot.  The cookhouse was one of the classiest places around. Plate-glass  windows overlooking Marietta River, a permanent piano player and yellow  roses on every white-covered table. The seating was more relaxed than  traditional restaurants with comfortable upholstered chairs at every  table.

They were shown to their table and the waiter left them menus. Adam  obviously wasn't accustomed to the fare around here, his eyebrows shot  upwards. He peered around the menu at her and smiled. "So, it's ribs  then?"

She laughed. "Or you can have ribs if you prefer." She leaned over and  flicked through the pages. "Ribs are the specialty here and all the  ingredients are locally sourced. There are other food options closer to  the back. Chicken, steak, fish. It's all there." She sat her menu on the  table. "But I'll be having the ribs."

"You make it sound like a challenge."

She glanced down at her red dress. "Oh believe me, it will be." She  wrinkled her nose. "I guess ribs aren't really a first date kind of  food."

"Is that what this is? A first date?"

Heat flooded her cheeks. Oh no. Had she totally misread the situation?  He was staring at her with those brown eyes of his. Totally unreadable.