“You really think surprising her is such a great idea?” John asked skeptically.
“Of course it is,” Adam said. Why wouldn’t it be?
Twenty-Four
“I am so bummed,” Jazmine muttered, sitting in front of the computer after e-mailing her mother.
Shana was disappointed, too, but she tried not to let it show. She’d spent half her day on the Internet, searching for last-minute bargain tickets to Honolulu. Apparently there was no such thing. It didn’t matter what she could or would have been willing to pay. There simply weren’t any seats available for the next few days. The best rates were for the following week.
“Waiting a week won’t be so bad,” Shana assured her niece.
“We should let Uncle Adam know we’re coming.”
That meant Shana would have to pick up the phone and call him, which was something she hadn’t managed to do in more than two weeks. Jazmine was right, though. It probably wasn’t fair just to land on his doorstep and expect everything to fall neatly into place.
The doorbell rang and Jazmine was out of the computer chair and racing to the front door. Shana walked briskly behind her, uncomfortable with the girl flinging open the door without first checking to see who was there.
Her worries were for nothing. Jazmine stood on the tips of her toes, peering through the tiny peephole. She stared for the longest moment, then her shoulders sagged and she backed away. “It’s for you,” she said in a disappointed voice.
Shana moved in front of her niece and opened the door. She was in no mood to deal with a salesman or a nuisance call. When she found Adam Kennedy standing on the other side, she was stunned into speechlessness.
“Adam?” His name was a mere wisp of sound. He looked good, no, better than good. Great. He was a thousand times more compelling than she remembered, and her heart felt in danger of bursting right then and there. If their disagreement had given him a minute’s concern, his face didn’t reveal it. He seemed rested and relaxed.
He smiled, and Shana’s knees started to shake. It shouldn’t be like this, the rational part of her mind inserted. She shouldn’t be this happy to see him or this excited. But she was.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Jazmine was the one who answered. The nine-year-old slipped around Shana and held open the screen door. Judging by the broad smile on the girl’s face, anyone might think she was ushering in Santa Claus.
Shana frowned. “You knew about this?” she asked her niece.
Jazmine shook her head, denying any knowledge. “But I fooled you, didn’t I? You didn’t guess it was Adam.” Then she grinned at the man in question. “We were coming to see you, only we couldn’t get a flight for this weekend. We have tickets for next week.”
“You were flying to Hawaii to see me?” Adam’s eyes probed Shana’s.
She nodded, and found the shock of seeing him in the room with her nearly overwhelming. Placing her hand on her chest, she felt her heart hammer against her palm. Even with the evidence standing right in front of her, she had a hard time taking it in.
Reaching for Adam’s hand, Jazmine led him into the living room. “You can sit if you want.”
Adam chose the sofa.
“You, too, Aunt Shana,” Jazmine said, orchestrating events as though she were moving figures on a chessboard. She took Shana’s hand next and led her to the overstuffed chair.
“Okay,” Jazmine said, standing in the middle of the room between them. “You two need to talk. I can go to my room or I can stay and supervise.”
Shana’s gaze didn’t waver from Adam’s. “Your room,” she murmured, hardly able to catch her breath.
“Your room,” Adam echoed.
“Really?” Jazmine’s frustration echoed in her voice.
“Go.” Shana pointed down the hall, although her eyes were still on Adam. She was afraid that if she glanced away he might disappear.
Jazmine started to walk in the direction of her bedroom. “I’m leaving my door open, and if I hear any yelling, I’m coming right back. Okay?”
Adam’s mouth quivered with the beginnings of a smile. “Okay.”
After Jazmine left, there was a moment of awkward silence—and then they both started to speak at once.
“I’m so sorry....”
“I’m an idiot...” Adam held up his hand and gestured for her to go first.
Shana moved to the edge of the cushion, clasping her hands together. “Oh, Adam, I’m so sorry. I wanted to call you, I really did. I thought about it so many times.”
“I was afraid of losing you.”
“That won’t happen,” she told him. “Don’t you know how I feel about you?”
When he didn’t reply, she said, “I wasn’t planning to fall in love again, but—”
“You love me?” he interrupted.
Shana hadn’t meant to declare her feelings so soon, and certainly not like this. The way she’d envisioned the scene, it would be a romantic moment over dinner and champagne, not in the middle of her small rental house, with her niece standing in the bedroom doorway listening to every word.
“She does,” Jazmine answered for Shana. “She’s been impossible ever since you went to Hawaii.”
“Jazmine,” Shana warned.
“Sorry,” the girl muttered.
“Maybe it’d be best if you closed your door,” Adam suggested.
Jazmine stamped her foot and shouted “Okay,” but when Shana’s gaze shot down the hallway, she noticed that her niece’s bedroom door was only halfway shut.
“You were saying?” Adam said and motioned for her to continue.
“I forget where I was.”
“I believe you’d just declared your undying love for me. I’d like to hear more.”
“I’m sure you would,” she said, smiling despite their interruptions, “but I was thinking it would be good to hear how you feel, too.”
“You will, I promise,” Adam assured her, “but I’d appreciate if you finished your thoughts first. You were saying you hadn’t planned to fall in love...”
Shana lowered her eyes. It was difficult to think clearly when she was looking at Adam. The effect he had on her was that powerful. “I think sometimes love finds you when you least expect it. As you might’ve guessed, my opinion of the opposite sex was somewhere in the basement when I came to Seattle. And then Jazmine arrived. At first I envied the easy relationship you two shared. And my sister couldn’t stop singing your praises.”
“You weren’t in the mood to hear anything positive about a man. Any man.”
“Exactly,” Shana concurred. “But you were so patient with Jazmine and...you were patient with me, too.”
“I was attracted to you from the moment we met.”
“Really?”
“You knocked my socks off.” They both grinned at that. Then his expression grew serious again. “Having this surgery wasn’t a pleasant experience.” He pressed his hand gently to his shoulder. “I was in pain, and my life felt empty, and all of a sudden you were on the scene. I felt as soon as we met that I could love you.”
“You did?” Her voice lifted with joy.
“And I do love you. I recognized that I had to give you time. Coming out of a long-term relationship, you were bound to need an adjustment period. I understood that. But I don’t think you have any idea how badly I wanted to be with you.”
“You love me,” she repeated, hardly hearing anything else he’d said. “You love me!”
“I know you wanted to marry Bernie—”
“It’s Brad, and no...not anymore.”
“Good, because I’m hoping you’ll marry me.”
Jazmine’s bedroom door flew open. “Aunt Shana, say yes. I beg of you, say yes!”
“Jazmine!” Shana and Adam shouted simultaneously.
“Okay, okay,” the nine-year-old moaned and retreated back inside her bedroom.
Adam hesitated only briefly. “Well, what do you think?”
“You mean about us getting married?” Just saying the words produced an inner happiness that radiated from her heart to every single part of her. “Being your wife would make me the happiest woman alive.”
Adam stood and she met him halfway. Seconds later, they were locked in each other’s arms and his mouth was on hers. From the way he kissed her, she knew he’d been telling the truth. He loved her! After several deep kisses, Adam raised his head and framed her face with both hands. His eyes bored intently into hers.
“One question, and if my asking offends you, I apologize in advance. I need to know something.”
“Anything.”
His eyes flickered with uncertainty. “Why was it necessary to talk to Ber—Brad?”
Shana sighed and kissed his jaw. “I wanted to say goodbye to him properly.”
“And you intended to see me next week.”
She nodded, then caught the lobe of his ear between her teeth and gently bit down on the soft flesh. The shiver that went through him encouraged her to further exploration.
“What were you going to say to me?” he asked, his voice a husky whisper.
“Hmm...” she responded, her thoughts clouded with desire. “Hello, and that I’m crazy in love with you.”
“Good answer.” Adam directed his mouth back to hers, and soon they were deeply involved in another kiss.
The sound of a throat being cleared broke into Shana’s consciousness several seconds later.
“Did you two forget something?” Jazmine asked, hands on her hips. “Like me?”
Shana buried her face in Adam’s shoulder.
“Howdy, squirt,” he managed in a voice Shana barely recognized as his.
“This is all very good, but we have a wedding to plan, you know.”
“A wedding?” Shana lifted her head and murmured, “We have plenty of time to work on that.”
“I don’t think so,” Jazmine insisted. “We’ll be in Hawaii next week. We should do it then. Let’s get this show on the road!”
“Next week?” Shana looked questioningly at Adam, not sure that arranging a wedding in such a short time was even possible.
“Would you be willing?” he asked, catching Jazmine’s enthusiasm.
Shana nodded. “Of course, but only if Ali can be there. I want her at our wedding.”
Adam brought her close. “I do, too.”
Jazmine applauded loudly. “I know it isn’t good manners to say I told you so,” she announced with smug satisfaction, “but this time I can’t help it.”
“We’ll let you,” Adam said, his arms around Shana. “Because this time you’re absolutely right.”
Shana leaned against the man who would soon be her husband and sighed with contentment. She’d never known that being wrong could feel so right.
Twenty-Five
“Mom!” Jazmine slammed into the bathroom of Shana’s old house in West Seattle, where Ali was preparing for work. They’d been living there for the last seven weeks, ever since her discharge from the Navy. Her life and that of her sister’s had been a whirlwind for the past half year.
Once Shana and Adam had decided on marriage, their wedding had happened fast, but not quite as fast as originally planned. Fortunately—for the convenience of the guests—it had taken place in Seattle, not Hawaii. No sooner had Ali returned to San Diego in December than she boarded a plane to Washington for the wedding. From everything she heard, in phone calls and e-mails, Shana and Adam were blissfully happy and enjoying life in Honolulu.
At the end of her tour, Alison had left the USS Woodrow Wilson and within a matter of weeks was released from her commitment to the Navy.
Because Shana had signed a lease on the rental house in Seattle, Ali was able to move there. Jazmine was back in the same school now and doing well. Ali liked Seattle and it was as good a place to settle as any.
The retired couple who’d purchased Shana’s ice-cream and pizza parlor had been accommodating and helpful when Ali arrived in Seattle. They loved her daughter and she loved them, too.
“Mom,” Jazmine repeated. “Do you remember what today is?”
As if anyone needed to remind her. “Yes, sweetheart, I remember.”
“It’s Dad’s birthday—and it’s the day you’re meeting Commander Dillon.” Apparently her daughter felt it was necessary to tell her, anyway. “What time?” she asked urgently.
“One o’clock in Pike Place Market.” Alison had arranged a half day off before she’d been hired at West Seattle Hospital. Her hand shook as she brushed her hair. Frank and Alison talked nearly every day and sent e-mail messages when it wasn’t possible to chat on the phone.
Because of Navy regulations, they’d controlled their growing attraction and their intense feelings for each other while they were aboard the carrier. But now that Alison had been officially discharged, they were free to explore those emotions, and to express them. Circumstances had made that challenging; Alison had moved to Seattle and Frank was stationed in San Diego with the USS Woodrow Wilson.
“He’s going to ask you to marry him.”
“Jazmine!” Overnight her daughter had turned into a romance expert. Given the success of her matchmaking efforts with Shana and Adam, the girl was convinced she had an aptitude for this.
“Mom, Commander Dillon would be a fool not to marry you.”
Frank and Jazmine routinely chatted via the Internet, too. Maybe her daughter knew something she didn’t, but Alison doubted it.
“You’re in love with him,” Jazmine said with all the confidence of one who had insider information, “and he’s crazy about you.”
“Jazmine!”
“Yup, that’s my name.”
Alison put down her brush and inhaled a calming breath. “I’m very fond of Frank.... He’s a wonderful man, but we barely know each other.”
“I like him,” her daughter said.
“I know and I like him, too.”
“Like?” Jazmine scoffed and shook her head. “Who are you kidding? I don’t understand adults. Every time I tell him he should marry you, Commander Dillon—”
“What?” Alison exploded, outraged that her daughter had this sort of conversation with Frank. Her face burned with mortification; she could only imagine what he must think.
“Don’t go ballistic on me, Mom. You know Commander Dillon and I e-mail each other.”
“Yes, but...”
“Okay, okay,” Jazmine asserted, shaking her head as if she were losing her patience. “Here’s the deal. You and Commander Dillon talk, and if you need me to sort anything out for you, just let me know. He’s coming to dinner tonight, isn’t he?”
“I invited him, but—”
“He’ll be here.” She kissed Alison on the cheek and added, “I’ve gotta go or I’ll be late for the bus. Have a great day.” With that, Jazmine headed out of the bathroom. She grabbed her coat and backpack, and adjusted her hood against the January drizzle.
Alison followed her to the door and watched her daughter meet her friends and walk to the bus stop. Jazmine seemed utterly sure that this meeting with Frank would have a fairy-tale ending. Alison wished she shared her daughter’s positive attitude. She was nervous and didn’t mind admitting it.
In an effort to settle her nerves, Alison reached for the phone to call her sister. Remembering the time difference between the West Coast and Hawaii, she replaced it. Eight Seattle time was far too early to phone Shana and even if she reached her, Alison wouldn’t know what to say.
By noon when she left the hospital and drove into downtown Seattle her stomach was in a state of chaos. Jazmine knew her far too well. Alison did love Frank. She had for months, and now they were final
ly meeting at the time and place they’d arranged last summer. Because she was no longer in the Navy, there were no official barriers between them. As for other kinds of obstacles... She didn’t know.
After parking in a waterfront lot, Alison climbed the stairs up to Pike Place Market, coming in the back entrance. They’d agreed to meet at the figure of the bronze pig in front. Her heart pounded hard, but that had little to do with the flight of stairs she’d just climbed. A glance at her watch told her she was fifteen minutes early.
A part of her feared Frank wouldn’t show. Shades of that old movie, An Affair to Remember.
It had started to rain and the sky was dark gray. This was an ominous sign as far as Alison was concerned. The fishmongers were busily arranging seafood on beds of crushed ice as tourists and shoppers crowded the aisles. With extra time on her hands, Alison could do a bit of shopping. But her nerves were stretched so tight she didn’t think she was capable of doing anything more than standing next to the bronze pig.
To her surprise, Frank was already there, looking around anxiously. He seemed uncomfortable and unsure of himself, and almost immediately Ali’s unease left her.
“Did you think I wouldn’t come?” she asked softly, walking over to meet him.
From experience, Alison knew Frank wasn’t a man who smiled often. But when he saw her, his face underwent a transformation and he broke into a wide grin.
Alison wasn’t sure who moved first, but in the next moment, she was in his arms. They clung to each other for a long time. It would be completely out of character for him to kiss her in such a public place, and she accepted that.
“Have you had lunch?” he asked, as she reluctantly stepped out of his embrace.
“No, but there’s a great chowder bar on the waterfront,” she told him. As they held hands, she led him down the same path she’d recently taken from the parking area. She liked the feel of his hand in hers, and the way that simple action connected them.
They ordered fish and chips and ate outside under a large canopy on the wharf, protected from the elements. She felt too tense to be hungry. They talked very little.
Navy Families Page 40
