by Shirley Jump
Victoria snorted. "That's a fairy tale."
"I used to think it was. But it isn't. You raised all this money to build an aquarium and you're never going to appreciate it. You know why? Because you've never seen any of these animals up close. I have. I've watched a sperm whale come up to our boat and flick his tail at the camera. I've held a sand crab, swished my hand in a school of minnows, seen the sea light up at night with magical algae. Because of Brad. Because of that 'fish thing' you despise and he loves."
"You should be careful what you say, my dear. Your business could be hurt by a word from me. I travel in the same circles you cater to." Victoria lowered her head, her dog close to her chest. "But if you wanted to help me—"
"Some prices are too high to pay," Parris said. "I wish you well with your aquarium." Then she left, leaving Victoria Catherine Smith openmouthed and speechless.
Brad waited until his mother had recovered her composure, then crossed to her. Her eyes widened with surprise and the knowledge that he had clearly heard everything. He gestured to her to come outside. They walked through the doors and down the lawn.
"What you overheard—"
"Was enough, Mother. I'm not coming into the family business. Ever. I'm happy here. I enjoy my research. My life. I'm doing something good, whether you believe it or not." He took a breath and tamped down his anger. He knew why his mother had done this, why she pushed so hard. "You can't replace Dad with me. It's time to move on, Mother."
"I'm not—" Her head dropped to KayKay, who snuggled against her.
"You are. He's been gone for three years. He'd want you to move on. Sell the business. Don't hang on to it for my sake."
"Sell it?" She gasped.
"Yeah. Have your own life. It's liberating."
His mother shook her head. "Bradford, I only want what's best for you."
He put out his arm and his mother took it, following along as they crossed to the beach, trailing down the path that led to the water's edge. "I know you do, Mother, but your best isn't my best."
"And I've gone about it all wrong, haven't I?"
"You try to force people into things. The more you push, the more they pull away."
She released his arm and crossed to the lapping tide. She was silent for a long time, considering his words. Finally she pivoted toward him, a shimmer in her eyes. "Did I lose you?"
"No, not at all." He took three steps forward and drew her into a hug that included the dog. A long-overdue embrace that made him realize how much he'd missed his mother in the years during their standoff.
His mother held tight for a long time, then drew back. "I probably ruined things for you with Parris, didn't I?"
"We'll work it out. I'm the one who needs to do some romancing."
His mother stroked Kay Kay's head. Then she inhaled and let the air out slowly, as if reaching a decision. "Do you know why I wanted to build this aquarium, Brad? And why on this island?"
"So you could check up on me and push me into the business?"
"No…well, a little. But there was more to it than that. I raised the money for the aquarium instead of a dog shelter or an art museum or anything else because I wanted something that would—" she released KayKay to the ground "—connect me to you."
"Connect us?"
"You and I are very different, it's a wonder we're related," she said softly. "And I thought maybe this would give us something to talk about."
A smile curved on Brad's face. "It will indeed." Then he took his mother's hand and led her closer to the water. "Now, for just a minute, Mother, let me show you my world."
And when she bent down beside him, Brad knew there was hope. Even for them.
Chapter Twelve
Parris had looked for Brad ever since the run-in with his mother, shortly after her return to the island. She stopped by the lab, but Jerry hadn't seen him. Gigi had greeted her like an old friend, giving Parris the same playful nudges she dispensed to everyone else. Apparently Parris was now welcome to ride shotgun on the Zodiac.
By the time the last ferry docked, she'd given up hope. She returned to her room, regret heavy on her shoulders. She should have tried harder to talk to him before running to the hospital. The way it looked—
She didn't want to think about how it looked, because it wasn't good.
"Parris! There you are!"
She spun around. Jackie hurried down the hall toward her, clutching a paper. "This came for you, but they delivered it to my room by accident." She thrust it into her sister's hands.
Parris unfolded the single sheet. "An invitation? To a romantic evening? On the island, by the…" She smiled. "Tide pools." She looked up at her sister.
"Brad."
"Well, I don't think it's the busboy." Jackie winked.
"I—I—I have to go. I have to get ready."
"Why? You look great as you are. That suit is—"
"All wrong." Parris hurried away, the paper tight in her fingers. "It's all wrong, but I can make it right."
Gigi lolled in the corner of the picnic area Brad had set up. She waited much more patiently than her owner, who had reset the champagne glasses and floral arrangement three times, aiming for the perfect tableau on the plaid blanket he'd spread out.
"Hi."
Brad wheeled around. Parris was framed by the palm trees, smiling at him. The simple curve of her lips sent a surge of joy through him.
"You came," he said.
"I'm sorry I left without talking to you. I should have told you where I was going. My father was in the emergency room. I just ran out of there. I didn't think."
"Is your dad okay?"
She nodded. "He had an angina attack. Plus, too much Tabasco gave him a little heartburn. But yes, he'll be okay." She took a step forward, her green eyes never leaving his. "But I'm more worried about us. Are we okay?"
"We? Since when is there a 'we'?"
"Since you pulled me out of the water." She took his hand in hers and raised their clasped palms to her chest.
"And into my heart."
"I did all that. On the first day?"
He chuckled. "Maybe not that first day."
She moved closer, raising her free hand to touch his face. "You look so different without the beard. And with the haircut."
"Better?" His face felt odd. Younger, lighter. More him, in a way.
"Mmm. Different." She smiled, then tiptoed her fingers along his lapel. "And you wore the tux?"
"Figured I had to go all out to impress you."
Parris shook her head. "You don't have to do that at all. You impressed me from the first minute I met you. With your mind, not your looks." She took in a breath and in the space of that moment, Brad's hope returned. "I've known dozens of great-looking guys who had nothing to offer me underneath the pretty wrapping paper. You, though, are different. You have a passion for what you do. For the people you care about. Everything I fell in love with was in here." She touched his temples.
Brad reached up and grabbed her finger. "Fell in love with?"
"Yep." She grinned. "I was just a little slow to realize it."
"A little?" He matched her smile with one of his own.
"Hey, don't press your luck." She tugged him closer, using the tux for leverage. "I thought you were saving this for the awards meeting."
"Don't need it for that anymore. In fact, I don't need you anymore, either." He shook his head, smiling. The scent of the native island wildflowers drifted off of Parris's skin. Sweet and spicy. "That came out wrong. My brain seems to go dead when you're too close to me."
"Like this?" Parris brought her lips within kissing distance of his. Heat coiled between them, raising his temperature. And everything else.
"Exactly like that." Brad watched her parted, glossy pink lips. He wanted to taste her, to take her in his arms and finish everything that hadn't been completed between them. But he had invited her here to tell her something and he wanted to get the words out before he forgot them entirely.
&nb
sp; "So, you don't need me anymore?" She gave him a flirty pout.
"Oh, I need you. What I meant is I don't need the makeover help."
"You never did. You were perfect without it."
He cupped her face and trailed a thumb along her lip. She opened her mouth, tasting his finger, and he nearly lost his mind. "You're the only woman I've ever known who liked me just the way I was."
"I could have done without the Squids Are Lovable Pets T-shirt, though," she said.
"It's history."
"Good. One more thing." She tugged at the tie he'd worked so hard on. "You need to lose the tux."
"I'd be happy to." His voice was low, full of the promises to come later that night. "But why?"
"Because I liked you better the other way." She tossed the tie onto the blanket and began working on the vest. "A lot better."
"Your wish is my command, my lady," he said, his fingers meeting hers and working the buttons from the bottom up.
She paused on the last one, her fingers halfway through the task of slipping it through the hole. "Wait a minute. Why don't you need the makeover anymore? What happened with the committee?"
"I found another grant. The Kingman Foundation has agreed to support my squid research." He tipped her chin toward his. "And for that, I have you to thank."
"Me? But I didn't do anything but talk about the whale trip."
"You couldn't have been a better salesperson for what I do if you tried. A simple thank-you doesn't seem enough. I need to thank you properly." He lowered his mouth to hers.
By the time they came up for air, Parris had been thanked a hundred times over and shown a little gratitude of her own in return.
"I love you," he whispered, "just the way you are."
Her heart sang with those words. She had no doubts, only assurance that Brad meant every one of them. He was a man who kept his word, who didn't say things he didn't mean. She'd waited long enough to realize that.
"I love you, too," Parris said.
"No matter what I wear?"
"No matter what." She gave him a wide smile, then stepped back. "I have a surprise for you. It seems a little silly now, given what you're wearing." Parris undid the buttons on her simple white knit jacket and slipped it to the ground. Beneath it she wore an I'm A Fish Fan T-shirt and a pair of tattered denim shorts. She'd raced through all the island tourist stores searching for the T-shirt this afternoon after she received his invitation, nearly making her late for their rendezvous, but the .effort was well worth the delight in Brad's eyes.
"Parris Hammond, you do surprise me." He laughed.
"I intend to keep on doing that for a very long time." She smiled. "You've changed me, Brad Smith. For the better." She pressed a hand to her heart. "And maybe a little for the worse," she added with a twinkle in her eye and a flip of the tacky shirt. "And here I got all gussied up for you."
"Underneath it all, you're the same man." He laughed, then in a few nimble movements, had his white dress shirt undone. "More than you know, Parris."
She had a quick glimpse of a Squids Make Great Pets shirt before she surged forward into his arms. There, everything felt perfect. They weren't a princess and a squid hunter anymore. They were just a man and a woman, celebrating the beginning of something new and wonderful while the marine life gifted them with its own soft candlelike romantic glow against the water's edge.
Merry sat back with a sigh and let her heart come back to its normal pace. She closed the cell phone and allowed herself a contented smile. She'd done it again. Her nineteenth happy ending. Two more and she'd have her own happy ending—one that didn't involve support hose and Efferdent. The end of the curse was in sight.
She'd tackled the impossible with Parris Hammond and Brad Smith. The next one, she was sure, would be a cinch.
And if it wasn't, well, she'd be breaking out her whole bag of magic tricks, including the Ouija board and Magic 8-Ball.
IN A FAIRY TALE WORLD…
Six reluctant couples. Five classic love stories.
One matchmaking princess.
And time is running out!
Don't miss the continuation of this magical miniseries.
ENGAGED TO THE SHEIK
by Sue Swift
Silhouette Romance 1750
Available January 2005
NIGHTTIME SWEETHEARTS
by Cara Colter
Silhouette Romance 1754
Available February 2005
TWICE A PRINCESS
by Susan Meier
Silhouette Romance 1758
Available March 2005
