Especially considering how sweet he'd been about her sister last Friday night. When he'd learned that Kerry had a Friday night wedding, he'd offered to do any Friday night bar pickups if she needed them. Fortunately, Colleen had to fill in at work that night, so neither of them had needed to worry about her getting into trouble at a seedy bar.
Kerry and Adam didn't have plans to meet again until the following night, but she couldn't resist calling him with the good news. Could barely even wait to get out of the realty office to dial his number from just outside the building, standing on the sidewalk in sunshine that felt just as warm and happy as she did inside.
"The house is mine! I just finished signing all the papers."
"That's great news. I'm so happy for you." But just from the way he'd said her name, she would have known he felt that way without him needing to say anything more. "Let me steal you away for lunch today."
"I have a meeting in a few minutes, and another couple this afternoon, but I'm pretty sure I could meet you for an hour at noon."
"Meet me at the house."
"The house? The one I just bought?"
He was laughing as he said, "That's the one. See you at noon."
*
As Kerry got out of her car, she was surprised to find Adam sitting with his back against the old oak tree on a big blanket, a picnic basket beside him.
When he caught sight of her, he quickly stood and pulled her into his arms. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." She kissed him then, and it was so natural. So sweet, in fact, that she didn't stop kissing him for a quite a while.
"If I'm going to get a kiss like that every time you buy a house," he said when they finally stopped kissing, "I'm going to ask my Realtor sister to show you a few more."
She laughed, but didn't move out of his arms. "I'm good with this one, thanks. Although the truth is that you're probably the only person on the planet who would congratulate me for buying this house." Not to mention the only one she wanted to celebrate with beneath the big oak tree.
He pulled a champagne bottle from the basket and popped the cork, which went flying off into the mess of the yard that, thankfully, was now all hers to deal with. It wasn't until he began to pour it that she realized it wasn't champagne. It was sparkling apple juice.
"I almost brought champagne," he told her when he caught her surprised expression, "but I thought it would be more fun for our picnic to be more like the ones you had when you were a kid."
"Oh, Adam." Her heart felt so full, almost overwhelmingly so. "Apple juice is perfect."
He held out his glass. "To your new home--and to the two of us bringing it back to its former glory together."
"I can't wait," she said as she clinked her glass against his.
They both sat on the blanket, and even though she hadn't been to a picnic since she was a little girl, it felt perfectly natural to sit beside Adam and look up into the beautiful branches of the tree that was even more majestic now than it had been twenty years ago.
She should have known that Adam wasn't done with his surprises as he began to pull out grilled cheese and PBJ and apple slices, all things she guessed he'd probably had on picnics as a kid. But they didn't look like something a deli would have put together.
"Did you make us these sandwiches?"
"I may not be a great cook, but I've always known my way around a sandwich."
She knew exactly how busy Adam's schedule was. He wasn't just one of the most highly sought-after architects in Seattle--his notoriety was international, with clients from every corner of the world beating down his door to get him to work with them.
And yet, he'd taken the time today to make sandwiches for their impromptu picnic.
Kerry immediately thought about her mother, wishing she could see how wonderful a friend Adam was. Although, surely her mother would read more into this picnic than was actually there, so it was probably for the best that she didn't know about it.
"The sandwiches look delicious," Kerry said, and when she took a bite of one, she realized he hadn't been exaggerating his sandwich-making prowess. "I didn't know peanut butter and jelly could be this good. What's your secret?"
He grinned at her. "Secrets have to be earned."
She grinned back, easily guessing the kind of payment he was looking for as she brought her mouth back to his again. She'd take any excuse to kiss him.
"Time to hand over your secret now."
But he just stared at her lips and said, "Secret?"
Loving being able to scramble his brain with her kisses, she laughed and reminded him, "Your PBJ-making secret."
He finally dragged his gaze--dark and full of desire--from her mouth. "I grind up the nuts myself. And more than just one kind of nut."
"Clearly, your genius isn't only in working with buildings."
He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were worried about inflating my ego."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
The first thing that came into her head was Before you made my world go topsy-turvy. But she said, instead, "Before I realized just how modest you really are."
He shook his head, laughing. "I'm not modest."
This time she was the one raising her eyebrow. "Any other architect of your stature would take every possible chance to remind the people around him of just how important he is and how ridiculously lucky they are to get to work with him. But instead of doing any of that, you're here having a picnic with me in front of a house that isn't grand enough to deserve even an hour of your attention, let alone several months."
"Grand is overrated."
Knowing that she was embarrassing him with her compliments, she turned her gaze to the house. "It's hard to believe it's mine now." She couldn't remember ever feeling this happy before.
"I wish I could have seen the Realtor's face when you said you wanted to buy it," he said with a grin. "Did you tell them you're planning to keep the house, rather than tear it down?"
"They practically said, Are you sure you really want this place? They didn't even try to negotiate. Clearly, they wanted to take my money and run before I changed my mind." She shook her head. "If only they knew that I had no intention of changing my mind, because this is where I'm meant to be."
"I agree," he said in a serious voice. "I mean, your current place is great, and I should know because I worked on renovating the building. But this house, this property, this neighborhood--it's all really you. Exactly where you're meant to be."
This rambling old house would never be the fancy, glossy, expensive place in the "right" part of town. But somehow this street with kids riding by on their bikes and moms pushing strollers and gray-haired women watering flowers in the front yard was really her in a way that nothing else had ever been.
She took in a deep breath of the air, sweet-smelling from the wallflowers in bloom along the side of the property, then took another bite of her delicious sandwich. She was washing it down with a sip of sparkling juice when he asked, "How were your weddings this weekend?"
"They were all good. All three couples are obviously very much in love, and I think things will last."
"But?"
She shouldn't be surprised anymore by the way he always heard the things she wasn't saying, but it was such a rare gift that she still never expected it. "Well, they were different from Jodi and Paul's wedding."
"How?"
Normally, Kerry wouldn't discuss her clients with anyone. But Adam wasn't just anyone. He was the one person who always seemed to understand her. "Jodi and Paul are best friends in a way that I'm not sure any of the three couples from this weekend are. I just feel like that makes such a difference."
"From what I can see with my siblings and cousins who are married, I think you're right on the money. Same goes for my parents. Mom and Dad always turn to each other first because they aren't just husband and wife, they're also best friends, which I think has made a difference for them over the years. In fact, this weeken
d, when I saw my cousin Ryan and his fiancee, Vicki, at the baseball game, they were more gushy over each other than ever--and they've been best friends since they were in high school."
"Did you have a good time at the game?"
"It was great. You would have had fun with us."
"At a baseball game?" She was surprised that he seemed to mean it. "Do you really think I'd like it?"
"Sure," he said easily. "Granted, the idea of you in tight jeans and a T-shirt with a beer in your hand is one of the sexiest visions I've had in a long time. But," he added while she blushed, "you're also competitive enough to really get behind your team. Which is usually the Mariners, by the way. Only when Ryan's in town do we root for the San Francisco Hawks."
She'd never had any interest in baseball, but she'd learned not to doubt Adam's instincts about things. If he thought she was going to love it, odds were good that she actually would.
"Next game," he told her, "you'll see for yourself when I drag you there with me. And hopefully the whole crew will be there the way they were this weekend. Although when everyone's there, it can get a little crazy."
"Why? Just because there are so many of you?"
"Partly. But mostly because everyone is so damned famous." He laughed. "Ford is a great guy, and he and my sister are perfect together, but it sure isn't always easy going places with a rock star. And then when you throw my billionaire brother and his movie-star wife into the mix..." Laughing again, he said, "It can take a while each time to get used to the bodyguards the stadium insists on sending over."
"Bodyguards?" It suddenly hit her. "Oh, no. I didn't even think of hiring bodyguards for Rafe and Brooke's wedding! How could I have overlooked that?"
He put his hand on hers. "You don't need them. Not for a lake wedding."
But she was still panicking. "Aren't some of your cousins famous, too? In addition to Ryan?"
"Doesn't matter how famous any of them are. No one is going to bother us at the lake. It's the perfect private spot for our whole family to get together. You have to trust me on this, Kerry. No bodyguards."
She made herself take a few deep breaths, but it was looking into his eyes that finally convinced her to stop panicking. "I do trust you." She let another big breath go before saying, "And what I meant to say before I started freaking out about bodyguards, was how great it is that you guys are all so close. It seems like you spend a lot of time together."
"We always have. They're a great group to hang out with. Do you have any cousins?"
"My mother was an only child, and my father's family didn't stick around any longer than he did."
"Regardless of whatever went wrong between your father and your mom, he never should have left his children." Adam looked disgusted. "Something similar happened with my cousins in New York. Their mom walked out one day on the four of them and my uncle."
"Oh, that's horrible." And she should know. "But you just have to move on and try not to let it affect you."
As she lifted her arm to swat away a fly, she caught a flash of her watch face and realized with no small amount of disappointment that it was later than she'd thought. "I wish I didn't have to leave for my meeting." She helped him put away the food and then brushed crumbs off her lap as she stood.
"I'm just glad you were able to squeeze me in," he said as he also stood. "We'll celebrate more tomorrow night, okay?" He lowered his voice and said, "Naked celebrating. And this time I'll be sure to have champagne to drink off your skin."
Tingles ran through her at both the good-bye kiss he gave her and the delicious thought of celebrating in bed with him. "I can't wait."
And she truly couldn't.
*
After Kerry left, Adam spent some time walking around the house and property and taking notes. All the while, he thought about the way Kerry had said she'd done her best to move on from her father's desertion without letting it affect her. But even though he knew how strong, how resilient, she was, he also knew from experience that all the things you tried not to let affect you, still usually did.
Take him, for instance. When he'd been a teenager and his father had lost his job, they'd nearly lost everything. Home--and doing whatever he could to help save it--had never been more important to Adam. To all of them. Adam had been too young back then to actually support the family financially, the way his oldest brother, Ian, had, but he'd still gone out of his way to mow as many lawns as he could. He'd hauled and stacked wood and cleaned swimming pools--anything someone in the neighborhood would hire him for. And going into all those people's houses had shown him, even more, just how important homes were for families.
Based on what had happened to his family, Adam knew it was no accident that he was fascinated with architecture, specifically reviving old buildings. Second chances were hugely important to him, too, which was why he very rarely built new.
And if he looked at what had happened to Kerry's family, it was no accident that she was in love with happy-ever-afters and was willing to do whatever she could to help people have the best possible start to their perfect forever.
Adam was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly tripped over a spindle from the railing lying in the middle of the porch. Bending down, he picked it up and was surprised once again by the level of craftsmanship that the original owners had put into this house. They hadn't cut any corners, not in the design or in the crafting of the house. The only reason it was on the verge of falling down was because of the neglect of some distant grand-nieces and -nephews. Thank God someone like Kerry, someone who loved the house so much, had taken it over.
And, he thought with a grin that he knew bordered on egotistical, thank God she had him on her team. The two of them were damned effective solo--together they were going to be unstoppable.
As he took the spindle with him to his car, along with the picnic basket and blanket, he knew Kerry was right about the pull this place had. Something slightly magical. It wasn't hard for him to imagine living in this house, on this street, in this neighborhood. Not hard at all, actually, especially if Kerry was there with him.
And as he reluctantly started his car's engine to head back to work, his father's words from the day they'd looked over the property suddenly came to him: "It's always hard to walk away from something beautiful, isn't it? Especially when you can sense that giving her your full attention will make both of you happy."
And it was true that, since the moment he'd met Kerry, she'd completely stolen his attention. There had rarely been a day, rarely been an hour, that he wasn't thinking of her. That he wasn't wishing he could see her. Or that he wasn't longing to hold her in his arms.
And yet, he'd still tried to hold back. Still tried to stick to their arrangement. Still tried to keep from crossing over into what had always been a relationship no-fly zone, thinking that was the only way to be happy. Still believed he couldn't ever let one little four-letter word catch him in its grip without regretting it.
But what if his father was right?
What if giving Kerry--and their relationship--his full attention made both of them even happier than they had ever been without each other?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
When Adam was a kid, his father's wood shop was where he always could go when there was something he needed to talk about. Fortunately, things hadn't changed much after they'd grown up, and odds were pretty good on any given afternoon that Max Sullivan would be back there refinishing an old end table or sanding a length of crown molding. Which was why Adam had decided to take a detour to his parents' house instead of heading straight back to the office.
Of course, his mother would kill him if he didn't check in with her first. He found her at her writing table by a window in the living room.
"Adam, honey, what a nice surprise this is! I didn't think we were going to see you until dinner on Friday night."
He gave her a kiss on her cheek. "How's your writing coming along?"
She glanced down at the notebook in front of her and frow
ned. "Why didn't anyone tell me writing a book was so hard?"
"I'm sure it's great. Do you want me to read what you've come up with so far?"
She looked horrified. "No!" She laughed at herself. "Not yet, anyway, though it's a lovely offer." She noticed the spindle in his hand. "I'm assuming you want to see your father about whatever it is you're holding?"
Nodding, he asked, "Is he out back?"
"He is, and I know he'll be thrilled to see you. Especially since I'm pretty sure I heard cursing coming from that direction earlier."
Adam grinned as he headed into the backyard. His father had tackled some pretty difficult projects over the years, such as the armoire he'd built entirely from scratch. According to what his mother had just said, it sounded like a new project was in the works.
At the threshold of the wood shop, Adam poked his head in to make sure his father wasn't using power tools or anything that could cut off a finger, before he knocked on the door.
"Adam, it's good to see you." His mother was right--his father looked immensely relieved by the interruption as he moved away from his lathe. "I could use a beer. Do you want one?"
Opting not to point out that it was only early afternoon, Adam said, "Sure."
"What have you got there?" His father handed him the beer from the mini-fridge and took the spindle.
"It's from the big old house that you and I were looking at last week."
"I keep thinking about that place," his father said. "You don't see craftsmanship like this much anymore."
"How hard do you think it would be to find someone to do this kind of work that wouldn't break the bank? And is there even anyone out there who can handle doing it for an entire house?"
"I don't know for sure, but I can ask some guys who are much deeper into this kind of finish work than I am and get back to you." His father handed back the spindle. "Have you decided to buy the place, then?"
"Actually, a friend of mine bought the house."
"Is he thinking of keeping it?"
"She wouldn't dream of tearing it down."