by Pamela Yaye
“What about Veronica and Chloe? Weren’t you in love with them?”
“I thought I was. Veronica was all flash.”
“And Chloe?”
“I’ll never know.”
* * *
The parking lot was nearly empty when Teddy returned from her last appointment. She usually loved it when there was a lot of activity going on, but she was in no mood to deal with overzealous mothers or brides who wanted a wedding the size of a Hollywood star on a budget that wouldn’t support a B-level film. For the past three days, Teddy felt as if she’d been on a merry-go-round. She had rushed from one meeting to another, juggling details, approving orders and trying her best to put Adam out of her mind. The work was nothing compared to thoughts of Adam. The effort resulted in a headache as both sides of her brain warred with each other.
The offices of Wedding by Diana had recently moved from a scenic but cramped building in downtown Princeton to more spacious surroundings on the fringe of the township. They had a large parking lot and easy access to the major thoroughfares. The offices were brighter and much better organized, although Teddy knew that happened because they had moved and put everything in a new and neat place. Maintaining it would be a chore, but Diana was good at that.
Opening the glass double doors, Teddy balanced the bundles in her arms and headed for her office. A peal of laughter had her stopping just inside. The receptionist looked up and smiled. Teddy was used to hearing happy female voices when she returned from afternoon appointments. She wasn’t used to hearing male laughter unless Diana’s husband, Scott, had dropped by. This was a decidedly female domain. More laughter rang out. Her heartbeat quickened as she recognized the low masculine sound. Adam! What was he doing here? Again here he was, unannounced and throwing her emotions out of kilter.
Dropping her portfolio and packages in her office, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and entered Diana’s office.
“Hello,” Teddy said.
All conversation stopped. Adam stood up. His smile brightened when he saw her and for a moment Teddy almost forgot she was angry with him. This was her workplace and she didn’t need him dropping by and confusing her. She had too many details to remember and he was somehow invading her thoughts and making it difficult for her to concentrate.
“You didn’t tell me Adam was a stand-up comic,” Diana said, a smile brightening her face.
Teddy looked from Diana to Adam. His humor with her hadn’t been comedic.
“He’s been regaling me with stories about some of his clients’ questions while he waited for you.”
“Sorry I’m late.” Teddy acted as if she had expected him all along, which she hadn’t.
Adam said goodbye to Diana and followed Teddy to her office. “Did we have an appointment that I don’t know about?” she asked the moment she closed the door. “Because I don’t have you on my calendar and I’m very good at keeping track of the people I’m supposed to meet.”
“I couldn’t wait any longer,” he said.
“For what?” Teddy frowned. Confusion had to show on her face.
He took a moment to look around. Wedding portraits hung on the walls. Fabric books sat in a corner. Samples of netted veils hung from a rack near a conference table.
“To get your answer. I thought this setting might generate a positive response.”
“And that’s what you want?”
“I think it could benefit us both.”
For some reason, Teddy thought he was referring to their kiss.
“And...my mother called,” he finished. “Are you done for the day?”
The question was an abrupt change in subject and just as abruptly her heart lurched. There were a few hundred details that needed her attention, but they could wait until morning. She nodded.
“Why don’t we go somewhere and talk?”
Teddy looked at the pile of bundles she’d brought in with her. Usually she would spend time organizing them. She’d check the notes she’d made during her meetings and put them in the proper files or set up her to-do list for the next day. Yet, when Adam asked about her time, her heartbeat increased. She wanted to go with him.
A moment later they said good-night to Diana, whose face hid a smirk, and left the office. Ten minutes later, they sat at a small table in a local bar where the waitress addressed Adam by name.
“Come here often?” Teddy teased when the woman left to get their drinks.
He smiled and appeared uncomfortable.
“You don’t have to answer that,” she said, teasing still in her voice. “This is a small town.”
“I’m sure there are places where you’re recognized,” he told her.
“Many of them,” she admitted. “My job requires it.”
“Mine, too,” he said. “Really,” he repeated at her skeptical look. “Depending on the market, my hours can be unpredictable. Often this is the only place to get food after midnight.”
“No snack bar at the company you own?”
“By midnight it’s empty and I prefer more than a diet of potato chips and chocolate.”
Teddy didn’t reply. He reminded her of chocolate, the kind that was dark and bittersweet, but with a good measure of milk. For a moment, she wanted to taste him, see if that body had the same feel and texture of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. Teddy had once planned a chocolate wedding. Everything from the cake to the trays that held the multiple sugary concoctions had been made of chocolate: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate. Some with nuts. Others with designs made of dried strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. She imagined Adam fully sculptured in a rich, milky flavor that would make her teeth ache.
“White wine,” the waitress said, setting a glass in front of Teddy and snapping her mental musings. She set a beer glass in front of Adam, poured the honey-colored liquid into the cooled glass and left them with a friendly smile.
Teddy sipped the dry wine.
“What’s it to be?” Adam brought up the subject she’d been dreading.
“You’re sure this will work?” Teddy wavered in her decision. She’d spoken to Diana, but thinking of her mother had set her pulse on edge.
“How can it fail?” Adam asked. “Going on a few harmless dates will play right into their plans.”
“And the girlfriends?” Teddy asked, intentionally using the plural. “Suppose we commit to this and the one woman you want above all others walks into your life? How are you going to explain me to her? Or the change in women to your mother?”
She’d seen the expression on his face change. There was a woman in his past. The proverbial one that got away.
“That’s not likely to happen,” he said.
“What about me? My one and only could show up unexpectedly.”
He tried to cover his surprise, but Teddy saw the eyebrow rise over his left eye before he forced it back in place.
“Is there a chance of that?” He leaned forward, cradling his beer in both hands, and spoke in a low voice.
“It could. I don’t live in a convent.”
He waited a moment as if he was weighing his options. He had no options. “I wouldn’t hold you to the terms. I’m sure your mom would be even more pleased to know her daughter had found the right man.”
Teddy understood the implication. He wasn’t the right man. This wasn’t going the way she expected it would. She felt as if she’d somehow hurt Adam, although she didn’t know how.
“In that case,” Teddy began, “knowing that a true romance with someone else can and would complicate things, we agree to end this pretense early should that happen.” She stared at him. “Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Adam raised his glass and clinked it with hers to seal the deal.
“So, how do we begin?” she asked.
“We�
��ve already begun.”
The kiss they’d shared came to Teddy’s mind. She didn’t know if he was into public displays of affection, but her brides and grooms had no problem letting the world know they’d found that special someone.
“We need to get to know each other, so if our parents quiz us we’ll have similar stories.”
“Similar? Not the same?”
He shook his head. “When my dad tells a story, my mom is always correcting his details.”
“Does that happen in reverse, too?”
“You bet it does and it’s amusing to watch.”
For the next two hours, over a variety of tasty appetizers, Teddy and Adam enjoyed their first date. They exchanged stories about siblings, colleges attended, pros and cons of their jobs, past jobs, foods they liked and disliked, favorite colors, pet peeves. Teddy found him extremely easy to talk to and his humor wasn’t as dry as she’d originally thought it was.
As the waitress replaced Teddy’s third glass of wine with a cup of coffee, Teddy brought up the subject every serious relationship couple should know about—past relationships.
“Why did you and your last girlfriend break up?”
Adam coughed and shifted in his seat. Teddy had asked her question after he finished a sip of coffee. She expected his reaction and was not disappointed. She had to stop herself from laughing at his surprise.
“Why is that relevant?”
“For several reasons,” she said, leaning toward him. “It’ll give me insight to your character if you’re totally honest. And it’ll tell me some of the pitfalls I should avoid. It can also tell me some qualities your parents will compare in me. But we’ll get to parents later. Let’s stick with the girlfriend for now.”
Adam leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He wore an ecru Irish knit sweater that contrasted with the darkness of his skin. “Her name was Veronica and we weren’t compatible.”
“I’m sure there’s more to it than those few words. And your reluctance to discuss her tells me the end of the story is still unfolding.”
“It’s over,” he said. “We didn’t really like each other. She didn’t make an effort to get to know me.” He paused. “She never delved into my likes or dreams the way you have in the past few hours. And you’re doing it on a pretense basis. With her it was supposed to be real.”
“So how did you become a couple?”
“With my hours it’s hard to meet and maintain relationships. Hence, my mother.” He stopped a moment to flash her a grin.
“Your mother introduced you to Veronica?”
“I met Veronica at a party given by a business colleague. She was fun, lots of laughs, beautiful. I ran into her several times randomly. One day we agreed to meet. From then on, we were a couple.”
“And then you found her with another man.”
Adam gasped. “How did you know?”
“I had a few clues. Your hours. The fact that you never said anything about being in love. It was either another man or you didn’t meet the approval of the king. The king being her father. And since you also omitted a king, it had to be a man.” Teddy gazed at him, but he said nothing. “And now you’ve sworn off my entire sex?”
“Something like that,” he admitted.
“Veronica couldn’t have been the first. But you must have felt something for her that she didn’t feel for you. Something deep and fearful.”
Adam cleared his throat. “Can we change the subject? I believe it’s your turn now. Who’s the one who got away in your past?”
“I haven’t met him yet.”
“And how old are you?” he asked with a humorous, skeptical eye.
“Thirty, why?”
“I know there’s been someone special in your life, other than the they’re-all-special types. Which one stood out?”
Teddy hesitated for a long moment. She knew she had to answer. Adam had answered her questions. And she was the one who opened this dialogue. It was only fair that she tell him the truth.
“We called him Chad, but his name was Charles Davis. We were high school sweethearts.” She stopped, gazing at Adam, remaining quiet for a few moments. “We’d known each other since the cradle. In grammar school, when boys and girls discover we aren’t the sorrowful creatures we each thought the other was, Chad and I were a couple.”
Teddy smiled, remembering the good times they had.
“What happened?” Adam asked quietly.
“We stayed together all through high school. He was my date to the junior and senior proms.”
“Then college came,” Adam added.
Teddy nodded. Her smile was gone and the heartache she’d felt all those years ago rushed back. Not as sharp. Not as raw. But still present. Teddy guessed that until someone replaced those feelings in her, she would have this spot that wasn’t filled.
“He went to Northeastern. I went to Stanford.”
“Let me guess. He found someone else in college.”
She shook her head. “Not in college. He did a summer internship for an international bank. He was extremely excited that he was going to spend the summer in Switzerland. That’s where he met her.”
“How long did it take to get over him?”
Teddy lowered her chin and looked up at him. “Is that the question you really want to ask?”
“Perception kicking in again,” he admitted. “Have you ever gotten over him?”
“I think so.”
“But...” he prompted.
“Diana wouldn’t agree with me.” Before he could ask what that meant, Teddy explained. “Diana thinks I don’t date seriously because I never got over Chad.”
Adam leaned in close and his voice was conspiratorially low when he spoke. “Since we’re baring our hearts here, in your heart of hearts, is that the truth?”
Teddy didn’t have to think about it, but she took a moment to let the question gain weight. “At first I did. After a couple of years, I discovered it was up to me to decide if I was going to let my life be determined by that one incident or if I was going to pick up the pieces and build on my abilities.”
“Since college you haven’t been in a serious relationship?”
“Like I said, I just haven’t found the right guy.” She smiled and sipped her coffee again. “And that’s why my mother is on the husband-hunting warpath.” Teddy laughed hoping to lighten the mood. “Was Veronica the catalyst for your mom?”
Adam shook his head. “My mom has been on the marriage path since I was old enough to date. We have a family joke, that we can see the wheels in her head turning every time one of us goes on a second date.”
“I guess she’s not one of those mothers keeping her sons tied to her apron strings.”
Adam shook his head. “She’s the kind running with scissors. Secretly, I believe she’s always wanted a daughter.”
Teddy wondered what his mother had thought of his ex-wife, Chelsea, and Veronica. Had she embraced them, thinking they would be her daughter-in-law? Had she dreamed that one of them would be the daughter she wanted?
Teddy wondered where she would fit in the mix. Could she fulfill those requirements? Would any woman do, or did his mother have specific requirements that she wanted in her son’s wife?
“What’s she going to think of me?”
Adam reached over and took Teddy’s hand. “She’ll be more than thrilled.”
Chapter 4
Cocking her head to the side, Teddy listened. She heard the slamming of car doors. Her parents had arrived. Her mother was already rushing to the door when Teddy opened it. Grabbing Teddy and folding her into a bear hug that could break a normal person’s back, her mother was genuinely happy to see her. Released, Teddy hugged her dad—not quite as exuberantly as her mother’s hug. Still she was hap
py to see her parents.
Out of the blue, her mom called on Monday to say they were coming up midweek. Teddy had to work doubly hard to get everything in order for the weekend wedding she had on her calendar and take a day off to spend with her parents.
“This is a surprise. Did you just decide to drop by for a visit?” Teddy asked. “Not that I’m not glad to see you.” When her mom called, she didn’t give any other information except they were coming up for two days and that she had to rush and finish packing.
“I’m giving a lecture,” her dad said. “Apparently the main speaker for Princeton’s journalism symposium is ill. They asked me to fill in.”
“I’m impressed,” Teddy said with a smile and a hug.
As the owner/editor of a small town newspaper, Kevin Granville found wide distribution due to his various editorials. This wasn’t the first time he’d been asked by universities to speak, but it was the first time he’d be going to Princeton University. And it gave Teddy the opportunity to see her parents other than over holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Come on in. I’ve made lunch,” Teddy told them. “I’ll help you with your luggage.”
“No luggage,” her mom said. “The university put us up in a hotel. We’ve already dropped our bags.”
They entered the house and Teddy went straight to the kitchen.
“I’m not going to eat much,” her mom said. “We have plans for dinner. We’re going to Smithville.”
This was the first time Teddy had heard anything about this. Of course, the university could be taking them out to dinner, but Smithville had to be a hundred miles south of the university town.
Over a lunch of cold salads and broiled salmon, Teddy’s dad outlined his lecture. Teddy asked a lot of questions. She could tell her mother was antsy to discuss Adam, and while Teddy’s interest in her father’s program wasn’t that strong, holding her mom’s crusade at bay was both humorous and tiring.
“Teddy, not to change the conversation, but where is the painting you brought for me?” Her mother finally managed to wedge into the discussion.
