by Cindy Kirk
The ground beneath his feet that had started to solidify began to rumble and buzz.
Adrianna pulled a phone from her lab coat and glanced at it for a second before dropping it back into her pocket. “I don’t have long, so I’ll get to the point.”
Tripp shifted in his chair, disturbed by the seriousness of her expression.
“Your mother and I had lunch yesterday.” Adrianna paused. “She believes you’re on the verge of popping the question and she wanted me to know that I have her and your father’s blessing. In fact, they’d like it if we got married as soon as possible. It appears seeing you settled is something that would make your dad very happy.”
He took a moment to let the words sink in. Tripp couldn’t imagine his mother doing something like this. “What did you say?”
“I told her you hadn’t popped the question.”
Tripp raked a hand through his hair. “What kind of response is that?”
“She took me by surprise. I didn’t know what else to say,” Adrianna said indignantly. “I like your mother. I didn’t want her to feel foolish. You’re her son. You should be the one to tell her that I’m only a friend.”
It was the only solution, but Tripp already knew she wouldn’t take the news well. Gayle had been gone only a year when he’d started to receive pressure to jump back into the dating pool. Now, three years after her death, the subtle pressure had turned blatant.
But Adrianna was right. Honesty was the only option. And the clarification needed to come from him.
“I’ll speak with them tonight.” His lips twisted. “I apologize for my mom putting you in such an awkward position.”
“Your mother is a wonderful woman,” Adrianna stressed. “I really enjoyed visiting with her. I feel badly that we deceived her, even if it was inadvertent.”
Tripp was surprised by her passionate defense of his mother. While Gayle and his mom had gotten along, in this case he had no doubt she’d have blamed his mother for putting her in the middle.
Adrianna rose with a graceful elegance. “I need to get to L & D.”
Tripp walked her to his office door. “Thanks for going to the party with me.”
Her lips twitched. “I’d tell you I had fun, too, but you might take it wrong and conclude I’m after your hot bod.”
“How could I?” He hid a grin. “Not after what you told me about my kissing.”
“I like your books,” Adrianna said, not rising to the bait. “You might want to reread the one by Jim Collins.”
Her phone buzzed again. After glancing at the readout, Adrianna took off down the hall without a backward glance.
When Tripp stepped back into his office, he headed straight to the bookshelf to look for the book she’d recommended. It didn’t take him long to find it.
He lifted it from the shelf, read the title and laughed.
Good to Great.
Chapter Seven
It was the day that would never end.
After leaving Tripp’s office, Adrianna spent the rest of the afternoon in labor and delivery. Two of her patients had presented in labor at the same time.
By the time the second baby finally made his appearance, it was close to nine o’clock and not only had Adrianna skipped lunch, but she’d missed dinner as well. She pulled into her driveway with a stomach growling so loudly it drowned out the country song on the radio.
She didn’t notice the truck at the curb until she was at the door of her ground-floor condo and found Tripp sitting on the small iron bench.
“Where have you been?” he said in lieu of a greeting.
“Oh, honey, did I forget to call?” she said in a mocking tone, fatigue wrapping itself around her shoulders like a heavy blanket.
“I’ve been waiting here for...hours.”
She gave him a long, measured glance.
“Okay, maybe closer to twenty minutes.” He stood, looking more like a rancher than a CEO in his chambray shirt, jeans and boots. “But I was worried.”
“Two deliveries.” Adrianna pushed open the door and flipped on the lights.
Tripp followed her into her condo. “Everything go okay?”
“Two healthy baby boys.” Adrianna dropped into the closest chair and kicked off her shoes. “Something tells me you didn’t come all the way over here to ask about my day.”
“I went to speak with my parents tonight.”
Adrianna straightened in the chair. All evening she’d wondered how his conversation with his parents had gone. She hoped he’d been gentle and that he’d stressed to his mother that she’d genuinely enjoyed their conversation. “And?”
“My dad was having a bad day.” Worry turned Tripp’s blue eyes a cloudy gray. “My mom had been up most of the night and was exhausted. I stayed with him while she took a nap.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Adrianna resisted the urge to reach over and touch his hand. “He looked so good at the barbecue.”
“I wish I knew what’s going on.” Tripp closed his eyes for a second. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “He’s seeing the doctor tomorrow.”
“It’s okay if you didn’t get a chance to do any talking.”
“Oh, we talked plenty,” Tripp said with a humorless laugh. “Mostly about you. They’re very impressed.”
“With me?”
“Of course with you.”
“What did they say?” Adrianna asked.
“How wonderful you are, so nice and sweet.” Tripp looked at her with an odd look in his eyes. “What did you and my mother talk about?”
“You mean other than you?”
He nodded. “She must have told me a thousand times what a compassionate person you are.”
Adrianna thought back to their conversation. She’d felt such a connection with Tripp’s mother. “We talked about my parents dying. Stuff like that.”
She could tell Tripp sensed there was more, but he didn’t push.
“My dad told me how happy he was that I’d found someone. He said he’d been worried about me.” Tripp turned away from her searching gaze, but not before she saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. “He said, he told me, that he could now die happy.”
He jerked to his feet and moved to the window, staring out into the darkness.
“Oh, Tripp.” Adrianna rose and went to him. “I’m so—”
He whirled, his jaw set in a stubborn tilt, his blue eyes flashing. “I told him he’s not going to die. That he’s going to get better. That one day he’s going to dance at my wedding.”
She saw the fear in his eyes and realized that Tripp loved his parents every bit as much as they loved him.
“That could very likely happen,” she said in the soothing tone she usually reserved for women in labor. “I’ve heard good things about the new chemo regimen they have him on.”
“I couldn’t tell them we aren’t together.” His gaze met hers. “I tried, but I just couldn’t do it.”
“I understand.” She offered him a reassuring smile. “It sounds like tonight just wasn’t a good night for that type of conversation.”
“No, I mean I can’t do it. It will break their hearts.”
Adrianna could only stare as his words registered. “You have to tell them, Tripp. They’ll find out sooner or later we’re not together.”
“Why do they have to find out?”
“I’m not following you.”
“We could date.” He spoke fast, the words tumbling out one after the other. “Just for a little while,” he added, apparently seeing the look in her eyes.
“Tripp, I adore your parents—I really do.” Adrianna took a deep breath and chose her words carefully. “But I won’t participate in a charade. I can’t lie to them.”
“I didn’t say lie to them.”
His jaw took on a hard edge. “I said we could date. Are you saying you don’t want to date me?”
“We’ve been down this road before.” Knowing how upset he was, Adrianna gentled her tone. “I don’t interest you and—”
“I never said that,” he countered before she could continue.
“Yes, you did. And that’s okay, because...” Even though she didn’t like to lie, she had to protect herself. How could she face him every day at the hospital if he knew she was carrying this torch for him? The answer was, simply, she couldn’t. “Well, because you don’t interest me.”
She’d lied to him before on this issue, but never had she said it quite so plainly.
He searched her eyes. “Tell me you don’t have any feelings for me. Not even as a friend.”
“Well, as a friend—”
“You’re my friend, too,” he said.
“Tripp, I’m not going to lie to your parents and make believe we have a relationship that doesn’t exist.”
“I’ll pay you,” he said, the desperation blanketing his face matching the tone.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Anna, I’m not asking you to do this for me.” His almost-frantic gaze met hers. “Do it for my mother. For my dad. Give them a little happiness.”
“It isn’t right.”
“What isn’t right is having the ability to give those two people some measure of comfort and not doing it.”
“Spell it out. Tell me exactly what you’re proposing.” The second the words left her lips, she knew she’d lost the battle.
“We start dating. I tell my parents we’re not talking marriage at this time but I enjoy your company. Which I do,” he hurriedly added. “In a month or so, when my dad is better, I tell them we had a falling-out and are no longer together.”
“Why not tell them that now?”
“Because my dad will be better, stronger in a month.”
You hope. I hope.
“We’re talking thirty days,” Adrianna repeated, wanting to make sure they were clear on this point.
“One month,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.
Adrianna considered his proposition for a long moment. Even if she met someone today whom she was drawn to, the odds were he’d still be available in thirty days. She found the thought of spending the next month in Tripp’s company alternately appealing and scary as heck.
Would she be able to keep her feelings hidden? Would she be able to keep herself from falling in love when her feelings for him already ran so deep? It was a lot to consider.
Still, in the end, it was really so little to ask. If she was in his situation, she’d appreciate someone helping her out.
“What about Jim Ferris?” she asked. “You already told him we weren’t together.”
Tripp shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Actually, I didn’t get a chance to speak privately with him the other night.”
“Tri-ipp.”
“Hey, but it’s worked out for the best.” He turned a beseeching gaze on her. “You’ll do it, won’t you, Anna? For my parents. For me.”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “For your parents.”
His blinding smile caused her heart to skip a couple of beats. “Remember, this is just between us. No one can know this is a charade. That includes any of our friends.”
“I can’t do that.” Adrianna shook her head. “I can’t lie to Betsy.”
Tripp’s smile disappeared. “It’s only for a month.”
Adrianna lifted her chin. “She’s my best friend.”
She heard Tripp take a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He searched her eyes and she saw the question reflected in the blue depths.
“She won’t tell anyone,” Adrianna assured him, “if that’s your concern.”
“It is a worry.” Tripp raked a hand through his already-disheveled hair. “Jackson Hole isn’t that big. My parents can’t find out—”
“—that we mean nothing to each other.” Adrianna finished the sentence for him, a knifelike pain lancing her heart.
His gaze went sharply to her. “I hope you don’t believe that. I consider you a good friend.”
The warmth mixed with the worry in his eyes made her feel better. Perhaps this one-month charade would end up being a blessing in disguise.
Perhaps at the end of four weeks, Tripp would find it impossible to let her go. Perhaps he’d realize that he’d found what he’d been looking for, right under his nose. Perhaps—
Yeah, and perhaps pigs could really fly.
Adrianna resisted the urge to snort at the girlish dream. In one month she would walk away. And then she’d begin her search for Mr. Right in earnest.
* * *
Adrianna was grateful that her monthly book club met on Tuesday night. Because she and Tripp had just come up with their plan yesterday, she wouldn’t have to deal with any questions.
As she walked up the steps of Cole and Margaret Lassiter’s mountain home, her fingers tightened around the plate of hummus-stuffed celery sticks topped with capers.
Although all these women were friends, she’d only recently started attending the book club. Betsy—who’d never met a stranger—had told her the discussions were superfun and had begged her to join.
Finally, several months ago, Adrianna had agreed to give it a try. Although she found the meetings enjoyable, she still felt a bit like an outsider. Because of Betsy just having her baby, tonight would be the first time she’d attended without her close friend by her side.
It will be okay, she told herself as she balanced the plate in one hand and rang the bell. At least she was prepared for a book discussion.
Of course, that was assuming no one wanted to discuss The Garden of Forking Paths and instead opted for a general discussion on what everyone was currently reading.
She was debating whether to ring the bell again when the door swung open.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Margaret smiled with a warmth that melted away Adrianna’s unease. “Charlie was entertaining everyone with a magic trick he’s recently mastered.”
Charlie was Margaret and Cole’s eight-year-old son. They’d adopted him several years earlier when their mutual friends had been killed in a horrific car crash just outside of Jackson. Margaret had opened a physical therapy clinic in town last year and with Cole busy running his Hill of Beans coffee empire, many wondered if they’d delay having more children.
Margaret’s rapidly growing midsection answered that question.
“How are you feeling?” Adrianna asked the woman everyone referred to as Meg.
“Fabulous.” Meg slipped her arm through Adrianna’s. “Cole and Charlie spoil me terribly. I’m loving every minute of it.”
“Well, you look wonderful,” Adrianna said sincerely.
Over the years the red hair that Meg had eschewed as a young girl had deepened to a rich auburn, the vibrant color a perfect foil for her creamy complexion. She was tall and slender, the hunter-green stretch-fabric maternity dress showing her only extra weight was in her belly.
“So do you.”
The admiration in Meg’s eyes when she looked at Adrianna’s color-blocked shirtdress in taupe and orange was too real to be faked.
Before Adrianna could respond, Meg squeezed her arm. “I’m glad you decided to dress up a bit.”
“With five children, I’m lucky to be dressed,” Mary Karen Fisher called out as Adrianna and Meg entered the great room where they were meeting. “Forget stylish.”
With blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and dressed in jeans and a floral top, Meg’s sister-in-law looked more like a college girl than a mother of five little ones. With a sunny personality and an infectious laugh, everyone liked Mary Karen, including
Adrianna.
“I’m all about stylish.” Lexi Delacourt straightened from where she’d been bent over the refrigerator. Her tailored navy suit did little to enhance her curves. “But I got off late and had to come straight from work.”
“Does that mean no pasta rustica tonight?” Adrianna tried to hide her disappointment.
In addition to being a well-respected social worker, Lexi was a gourmet cook who usually made the entrée for the book-club dinner meetings. She’d mentioned last time that she planned to make pasta rustica with chicken sausage and three cheeses this month. The dish was one of Adrianna’s favorites.
Lexi smiled. “I had a feeling my day might be a long one, so I dropped the casserole off on my way to work. Meg just put it in the oven to warm.”
“Wine?” Meg asked, holding up a glass and a bottle.
Adrianna demurred. “I’m on call tonight, so iced tea or water is fine.”
Meg smiled. “Coming right up.”
“I know Betsy isn’t coming.” Mary Karen took a sip of wine. “And July has a sick kiddo. Who else is skipping?”
“Kate and Joel are out of town,” Lexi said.
“Michelle won’t be here,” Adrianna informed the others. “She went home early because she wasn’t feeling well.”
“We can still have a good discussion with four of us.” Meg glanced around the table. “Would you mind if Charlie ate with us? Cole should be home shortly.”
After everyone reassured her that they’d be upset if the boy didn’t join them, Meg set an extra place at the table and called in the child, who still wore a magician’s cape and hat.
When his mother replaced the capers with raisins and deemed Adrianna’s dish “ants on a log,” Charlie ate the appetizer with great enthusiasm.
Over dinner, the four women talked about everything from movies to their favorite phone apps. But when the talk shifted to the benefits of cloth diapers over disposables, Adrianna felt out of step.
She hoped that someday diapers would be a part of her world. There was plenty of time yet. She wasn’t even thirty. She had several patients in their early forties pregnant with their first baby.
Adrianna took sympathy on Charlie, who seemed equally bored by the conversation about pocket diapers versus all-in-ones or all-in-twos. “Tell me about your magic tricks.”
