“He died a few days before I got there.”
This sounded suspicious, especially given what he’d just learned about Mimi. “The next time you get another of those calls, try to get him talking and then we’ll go investigate.” He grinned, and Alice tilted her face up to see him. “It’d be one wicked date, that’s for sure.”
Alice laughed–really laughed–and wiped her face with the handkerchief she was still clutching. “You’re so romantic.”
“I’m not, actually,” Adam said lightly, taking her hand and winding her fingers through his as they walked back toward the main area of the carnival. It felt good to know that he now had a right to hold her hand. “My mother swears my romantic gene has been buried for years. But since I’ve met you, it’s come out in full force.”
She blushed, but tightened her grip around his hand. “That’s good to know.”
Adam spent the rest of the event watching Alice interact with the people she knew from the mall and resisted the urge to kiss her senseless right there in front of everyone. But he’d told her that he was a burgeoning romantic, and it was not romantic at all to have your first kiss in the middle of a festival surrounded by people who were already whispering about your dating habits. And, who were most likely campaigning to be next in line when he came to his senses and was ready to fall in love with someone else.
And of course, he’d told her he wouldn’t instigate any kissing action. He was starting to think that was the stupidest thing he’d ever said.
To get his mind off Alice and kissing, he tried to focus on the upcoming week. He had his lunch meeting with Alice on Monday, plans to set for a serious bout of wooing, and a meeting he now had to schedule with his lawyer. All he had to do in between all that was to think of a way to get rid of Mimi without ending up in a jail cell. He had to figure out why old and probably lecherous men were calling the shoe store, and convince Alice to take the first step to kiss him.
He glanced down into her sparkling eyes and couldn’t keep the grin off of his face. Right now he felt like he could tackle anything. Storming the castle had never looked like so much fun.
Chapter Twelve
Lewis was waiting for Alice on the steps of The Glass Slipper when she drove in the parking lot Saturday morning.
He did not look pleased. He didn’t even look up when she slammed her car door shut, focusing all his attention on the orange that he was systematically shredding to bits. Fat drops of juice fell on the ground, forcing Alice to step around them so she could sit on the step next to Lewis.
“I’d ask what you’re doing here so early, but I’m pretty sure I know.”
Lewis grunted in response. He still wouldn’t look up at her.
Alice sighed and shifted uncomfortably. She hated it when Lewis was angry with her. It hardly ever happened, thank goodness, but when it did, she always felt like her world was misaligned. “I take it Adam talked to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice wasn’t accusing. Just quiet, and that made her feel even worse than if he’d yelled at her.
“You were a little busy,” she whispered, looking down at her feet. “You have your own business, and you were chasing Whitney like your shoes were on fire, and… I didn’t want my problems to get in your way. You’ve already done too much as it is.”
“You told Wentworth.”
Alice cringed. She’d somehow known it would get to this. “Well, technically, Mimi told him,” she said slowly. “I got stuck pretending to be a fortune teller for Mimi and Brittany and they couldn’t keep their mouths shut. Then Adam and I got into a yelling match and–”
“Fancy that,” Lewis said drily. He wasn’t as intent as he had been on mangling his orange–or what was left of it. “You and Wentworth in a shouting match. It’s a wonder you ever agreed to go out with him in the first place.”
That was truer than he knew, Alice thought, but the idea of Adam made the corners of her mouth curl up into a half-smile. Lewis finally glanced over at her and shook his head. “Ah, Alice, I’m not really mad at you. Disappointed, maybe, but not mad.”
“So I’m forgiven?”
He placed a sticky hand around her shoulders and squeezed tight. “There was never anything to forgive. But if you ever keep something like this from me again, so help me, Alice, I will personally tee pee your house so bad you’ll have a hard time telling what color it is.”
Alice shuddered. Lewis’s tee peeing skills were legendary in high school. She nodded. “I love you, Lewis.”
He squeezed harder before ruffling her hair with his other hand. “I know, Alice. Back at you.” He paused then, and when he spoke again his words had a teasing quality to them that Alice recognized all too well. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you want to tell me?”
She tore her gaze away from his orange juice-covered hand that was suspiciously close to her hair, and looked up into his face. “Um… no?”
“Are you sure? There isn’t some juicy gossip about you and your housemate?”
Alice finally realized he was referring to Adam, but wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of pulling information out of her too easily. “Oh, that,” she said airily. “Whitney and I have decided to sell everything and move to Tooele, Utah. Wanna come?”
Lewis’s mouth hung open for several long seconds before he snapped it shut. “Stop kidding around,” he scolded her. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Well, if you already know, then maybe you should fill me in.” Alice rested her chin on her hand and peered up at him.
Making a disgusted noise, Lewis grabbed the remains of his breakfast and started to eat. “Rumor has it that a certain Adam Wentworth is off the market.”
Alice could feel her cheeks flushing, and Lewis smirked at her knowingly. “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really. My sources tell me that Mr. Wentworth was seen at the festival walking hand-in-hand with a certain Alice Riverton. Are you sure there isn’t anything else you haven’t told your best, most devoted, and finest-looking friend?”
“Whitney already knows. She predicted it a long time ago.”
“Very funny. You’re dating Adam. And you like it.”
Alice could feel herself blushing–again–and Lewis leaned back in triumph. “You’re in love with him!” he cried, grinning wildly. “You are!”
“I am,” she said quietly moments before Lewis threw his arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. “But please don’t tell him. At least, not until I’ve kissed him.”
Lewis pulled away from her in shock. “You can’t mean–that is, I was so sure he’d… no way.” He started to laugh uncontrollably. “You must have that poor man whipped, Alice. I can’t believe that the famous Adam Wentworth, dater extraordinaire, hasn’t kissed the girl of his dreams. What did you do to him in that fortune-teller’s tent, anyway? Cast a spell on his masculinity?”
“I didn’t do anything,” she retorted, and rose to her feet. “Believe me, his masculinity is just fine the way it is. He just… told me he’d wait for me to make the first move, that’s all.”
From the look on his face, Lewis had a number of very pointed things to say about this, but the only words out of his mouth were, “He’s just scared to mess up the real deal, that’s all.” He glanced at his watch and followed her into her store. “I’d tell you to just plant one on him, but I think he’s earned a little pain and frustration. Hold out as long as you like and then wait an extra day or two for me.”
Alice winked at him and stowed her bag under the cash register, knocking Mimi’s list to the floor. Lewis scooped it up and jammed it in his pocket. He winked back at her, unlocked the front gate, and whistled, “Heigh-Ho,” as he walked to his own store.
Adam walked into the shop at exactly twelve o’clock Monday, as promised. He had a sack lunch in one hand and a bundle of envelopes in the other.
“Are you going through a midlife crisis?” Alice asked, eyeing his letters. “I didn’t peg you as a mailma
n.”
He dropped everything on the counter and tossed an envelope next to the cash register. “That one’s for Mimi and Brittany,” he said with a dismissive tone. “Here is yours.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at him but slit the envelope open. She stared at its contents, trying to make sense of it. “A baseball game in three weeks,” she said slowly, as if saying the words out loud would make more sense than just reading them. “Between the Tigers and the Cubs. You Wentworths sure know how to throw an original party. What’s next? Canoeing?”
“None of this was my idea,” he said tiredly. “And as much as I’d like to go canoeing, I’m afraid the last event is a ball.” He sounded like he’d just eaten a lemon. He stopped talking and pulled his collar away from his neck.
He froze when Alice absently grasped his wrist and held it loosely in her hand. “Stop doing that,” she said, still reading the invitation. “You’ll stretch out all your handsome shirts.”
“I’d tell you that you sound like… my mother, but I never wanted to kiss her when she held my hand.” His grin was wicked as he laced his fingers through hers.
Alice rolled her eyes but didn’t pull away. “I’m sure she’s very disappointed. All mothers love it when their sons kiss them.”
“That’s not what I–”
“I didn’t know you were into baseball.”
“Are you trying to change the subject?” Adam chuckled. “Okay, I’ll let you win this time. You can thank me for the festival, my dad for the baseball game, and my mom for the ball.” He made another disgruntled face. “We should probably get going.”
“Right.” Alice was having a hard time concentrating on what he was saying. Maybe she should have thought twice before she grabbed his hand. “Let me get my lunch.”
When they were on their way toward the food court, Adam took her hand again, seemingly unaware of the stares and whispers that followed in their wake. He simply remained silent until they were past Lewis’s dress shop. He lifted his free hand like his was going to stick a finger in his collar again, his lunch bumping gently against his chest with a sound that suggested carrot sticks. Or maybe a chocolate bar.
“Adam,” Alice chided quietly. “Do you have a personal relationship with a tailor?”
“What?”
“You’re maiming your very fine Oxford. Again.”
Adam’s hand dropped back to his side. “I only do that when I’m nervous,” he told her irritably. “It’s all your fault if I spend all my money on new clothes.”
“Why is that my fault? I’m just a shoe saleslady.”
“If only that were true,” Adam muttered under his breath, “my life would be a lot easier.” He cleared his throat twice and said, louder this time, “Will you come? To the game, with me?”
“As in, a date?”
Adam unconsciously tightened his grip on Alice’s hand. “Yes, exactly. A date.”
Alice looked over at him in surprise. “Of course. Aren’t we dating?”
He exhaled in relief and grinned down at her. “We are. I just didn’t know if you were into baseball or not.”
“Oh, I’ve seen a game or two,” Alice said wryly. “Will I get to meet your dad? He’s coming, isn’t he?”
“Believe me, if you knew my father you wouldn’t be asking that. He’s been spouting about inter-league play for months. If the choice was to either come to the game or acquire the Mall of America, I can guarantee you he wouldn’t be in Minnesota.”
Alice laughed. “I can’t wait.”
They found a seat, and Adam watched as Alice opened her water bottle. “That was quite the list Mimi gave you,” he said. “How many of these things did you actually do?”
Alice flushed and emptied her bag out on the table. “Enough to keep her from selling to that putrid woman,” she answered. “Is Lewis going to give it back to me?”
He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You didn’t really expect him to, did you?” Before she could answer, someone called Adam’s name. He frowned when he spotted Lewis waving frantically from across the crowded room.
“You can go if you need to,” Alice told him, taking her bologna sandwich out of its bag. “I’ll be just fine until you get back.”
Adam looked like he might argue, but he let out a heavy sigh when Lewis called him again. “Don’t go anywhere,” he told her. “This is the best lunch I’ve had in weeks, and I don’t want to miss any more of it than I have to.”
She watched as he walked away, smiling to herself when he didn’t seem to notice all the girls who were doing the same thing as she was.
He’d only been gone a few minutes when his lunch bag began to sing what sounded like, “Who Let the Dogs Out.” She eyed it warily for a second before reaching in and pulling out a cell phone. She turned it over in her hand, wondering why Adam had stashed his phone with his lunch, when the singing abruptly stopped. Alice stared at it, wide-eyed, before deciding the only decent thing to do would be to pretend to be his personal secretary and take a message, but when she raised it to her ear, a woman was already talking. Or maybe it was scolding. It was hard to tell.
“Adam? What are you doing? I’ve been trying to reach you all morning.”
Alice blinked a few times. “Hello, this is Alice. I accidentally answered Adam’s phone. May I take a message?”
There was a long pause. “Alice? As in, Alice Riverton?”
“That’s me,” Alice replied slowly. “Do I know you?”
“Oh, Alice! This is Jillian, Adam’s mother. I’ve wanted to talk to you for simply ages.”
Alice’s brain stalled momentarily. Had she been worrying about meeting Adam’s mother subconsciously and was imagining this whole conversation? She hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately…
“Alice? Are you still there?”
Alice jumped. Evidently she wasn’t hallucinating. She couldn’t decide if she was relieved or not. “Yeah, I’m still here,” she said faintly.
“Oh, good. Is Adam around?”
“No, he’s actually talking to Lewis. I can tell him you–”
“Oh, I’m so glad. Now we won’t be interrupted. I have so many questions–tell me all about yourself!”
Alice swallowed convulsively and scanned the crowd for Adam. His back was to her, and she sighed in resignation. “Well, I was born and raised in Michigan, and I work at a shop that sells high-end shoes.”
Jillian made a noise that sounded like she was going into paroxysms of delight. “Shoes? Really? I’d marry you myself if I didn’t think Adam would hate me for eternity. Tell me more.”
There wasn’t a whole lot ‘more’ to tell, Alice thought in a panic. “My best friend, Lewis, owns a dress shop next to mine. He and Adam seem to have hit it off…”
Jillian made the same strangled noise again. “How serious are you two?”
“Me and Lewis? Um, we’re best friends–”
“No, I meant you and Adam, of course. Has he started to hint about marriage yet?”
Marriage? Was she kidding? Alice buried her face in her free hand so the entire food court wouldn’t see her flaming cheeks. “We’ve only been dating for three days,” Alice said firmly in an attempt to kill this line of questioning. “It seems a little early for that, don’t you think?”
“Of course not!” Jillian cried. “Joseph and I were married three months after we were formally introduced and look how happy we are!”
There didn’t seem to be a good response to that, so Alice settled on, “That’s lovely,” and hoped Adam would save her soon.
“How do you feel about children? Do you want a large family?”
“Children?” The hand that was holding her head up slipped, and she rested her head against the table. “Children?”
The next thing she knew the phone had been snatched away from her and an extremely irate Adam was barking into it. “Mother! What do you think you’re doing?” He listened impatiently for a few seconds and then said, “I don’t care what you were trying
to do!” Then he slammed the phone on the table so hard the battery cover flew off, skidded across the table and landed on the floor with a soft clatter.
He fell into the chair across from her and groaned. “I’m so sorry. Please tell me she didn’t say anything embarrassing.”
A sliver of hilarity tried to make its way up Alice’s throat, but she held it off long enough to gasp, “She wanted to know if we’d talked about marriage yet,” before erupting into full-scale, side-holding laughter.
Adam watched her in silence for a minute before cracking a smile. “I’m glad you’re taking this so well. Most girls would be running for the Canadian border by this point.”
It took Alice another minute to calm down, and after she dried her tears with her napkin, she grinned at Adam and picked her sandwich off the table. “I can’t say I blame her,” she said around a mouthful of mayonnaise and bologna. “If I had a son as good-looking as you are, I’d have started to plan his wedding the day he entered kindergarten. She was very funny,” she added when Adam just grinned stupidly at her.
“You would, huh?” He continued to grin even as he dumped the contents of his own bag on the table and looked at his lunch. It did, Alice noted, contain a chocolate bar. “I’m getting sick of peanut butter,” he sighed. “Maybe I should start eating out again.” His eyes flickered to the long line of the food-court fare and his shoulders drooped. “Then again, maybe peanut butter isn’t that bad.”
Adam’s day had been… well, it’d been a little frustrating.
It all started when he called his lawyer friend to see what could be done for Alice’s work situation, only to find out that Chad had gone on a very sudden vacation and wouldn’t be back for several weeks.
He didn’t even have the decency to go somewhere exotic. What was so exciting about Wilkes Barre, PA? It didn’t help that Chad was an old classmate from Princeton and should know better than to blow off friends who needed legal advice. It was probably a girl. That ticked Adam off.
And when he left for work later that morning, he’d been so bothered by lawyers and their unwarranted vacation plans that he’d forgotten to pack anything to eat during his lunch date with Alice and had had to turn around. Chad should feel lucky, he thought, that he’d caught Whitney in the hallway and she’d told him Mimi would be out of town for the next two weeks. After that, he wasn’t so irritated with lawyers. At least, not as much.
Alice in Glass Slippers Page 25
