Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series) (14 page)

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” she asked. She stood up, brushing as much mud off her clothes as she could manage. “I’ve got to go. I have to go home and change before I go to school. Are you going to school today?”

Her tone suggested I had a choice. I decided to push my luck right to the limit. “I should, but I’m probably not going to make it. I have third period French. My teacher is a witch.”

She chuckled. “I have heard that. Maybe she’s just misunderstood.” She scooped her ruined shoes up. “Will you promise me something, Charli?”

“Maybe.”

“Resist the urge to follow Adam too soon. At least see out the last few months of school. Alex needs you around a little longer.”

I nodded but didn’t reply. Skipping town and chasing Adam back to New York was a stretch by any imagination, even one as wild as mine.

I watched as she made her way down the hill, stumbling on the uneven ground. I knew an unlikely truce had been forged between us. A desire to make one last iniquitous stand took over.

I scraped together a handful of mud and flung it as hard as I could. To my delight, it hit her square in the back. The rain washed it all the way down her back. She slowly turned around to face me, holding her arms away from her body in a way that made me think she was about to sprint back to me and pounce. I considered running but wasn’t sure I could outrun her now that she’d ditched the heels.

“What was that for?” she shouted.

“For making Alex fall in love with you,” I shouted back.

Gabrielle scooped a lump of earth into her hands, probably too angry to consider the damage it was doing to her perfect manicure. I flinched as she pegged the mud at me with the precision of an Olympic athlete. I felt the black muck ooze down the sleeve of my coat but didn’t look down to survey the damage.

“What was that for?” I asked, failing miserably in my attempt to appear angry.

“For ruining my shoes.”

When the storm began to wane and the rain slowed to drizzle, I found it had taken my dark mood with it. I made my tentative way to my car, slipping on the muddy incline. I was relieved that Gabrielle wasn’t still there to see.

I didn’t consciously make the decision to go to Adam but that was where I ended up.

I expected things to be different between us. I sat in my car on the driveway, forcing the ridiculous memory of the night before to the back of my mind. Thinking about it only added to my vexation.

Eventually, I summoned the courage to knock on the door.

“Charli?” His voice was unexpected, making me jump. The only thing separating us was the screen door, but it might as well have been iron bars.

I couldn’t place the emotion in his voice. For all I knew, I was about to be unceremoniously cut loose. I took comfort in the fact that he’d be painfully polite about it. Polite to the extreme. I stood silent, staring at him through the mesh.

“Are you okay?” he asked finally.

“I just wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me.”

“I always want to see you but I’m not sure I should let you in.” He held the door open with his foot. I shied away. “Only because you look remarkably like a creature from the black lagoon,” he clarified, smiling the one-dimpled smile I loved so much.

I looked down and realised what he meant.

“Is that the only reason?” I asked cautiously.

“What other reason would I have?”

“I just thought...after last night –”

“Last night was nothing to do with us,” he chided.

“I thought you’d be running for the hills by now,” I said, making him smile.

“Why would I leave? I just got here.” I shrugged but didn’t reply. “Maybe we should hose you down,” he teased.

“Is that what you did to Gabrielle?”

He smirked. “No, she had a plan. She called ahead and asked me to put her robe near the door. I think she stripped off in the garage.”

“Did she tell you what happened?”

“Not exactly but she warned me not to let you in the house if you looked like her.”

“She said that? Wow. And all I really wanted to do was roll around on her white couches for a minute.”

He laughed loudly. “I’m definitely not letting you in then.”

“I’ll be good,” I promised.

“I can’t be sure about that. I actually like it when you’re not good so that would make me an unwilling accomplice. I definitely think I should hose you down.”

“No need,” I replied, kicking off my sodden shoes. I dragged off my heavy coat and dropped it to the ground. “Better?”

“Marginally,” he replied, waving his hand to usher me inside.

“You don’t sound too convinced,” I said.

“I make it a habit never to trust a girl caked in mud.”

“Oh, fine,” I huffed in mock annoyance. I started unbuttoning my shirt. Adam grabbed my hands.

“I’d trust you even less if you were naked.” He grinned wickedly at me. “I’ll get you a robe.”

He disappeared inside, returning with an oversized whiter-than-white robe. He winked as he handed it to me before turning his back. I stripped off my shirt and jeans, swapping them for the plush robe.

“Okay. You can turn around now,” I said, waving the sleeves that hung well below the end of my hands.

His lips pressed into a hard line as he fought against smiling. “I did.”

I took an unnecessary step closer to him as he started rolling up my sleeves. “Does it take a lot of work to be so good all of the time?”

“I wasn’t being good, Charlotte.” His voice was velvet. “Far from it, actually. I got a perfect view of you through the mirror over there.”

He pointed to a huge bevel edged mirror hanging on the far wall. I should have been mortified. But I wasn’t.

Grabbing the cord on the robe, he pulled me through the door and into the confines of a strong hug. I buried my head into his shoulder, breathing in his scent.

“Do I have you for the whole day?” he asked, stroking my wet hair.

“When one is truanting, it is usually customary for one to take the whole day,” I said, trying to mimic his formal diction.

“So what are we going to do with this day?” he asked, smirking at me in a way that made me think he had a few ideas.

“Wash my clothes?”

***

A long time passed before I even thought about moving from the couch. I was too comfortable – until the subject of the night before came up. I’d done a complete about-face where Gabrielle was concerned, which confused Adam.

“You were so angry last night. I thought they’d have to work a little harder to get you on side.”

“Everything seems to make so much sense now. The whole time I thought he had a mad crush on her, he was torturing himself by lying about it.”

“He chose to lie about it, Charli. They both did.”

“I’m not sure they meant to, not for so long anyway. Sometimes Alex gets weird, like he wants to tell me something but then chickens out. Now I know why.”

He frowned. “Gabi could have told me.”

“No, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to put you in the position of having to lie to me.”

His hold on me tightened as he pulled me in closer. “I wouldn’t have lied to you. I would have told you everything I know.”

I laughed. “That’s why lying is sometimes the best option.”

“So your mud fight with Gabrielle was a bonding experience?” he asked, lacing my fingers through his.

The oversized robe slipped off my shoulder and he ran his finger along the strap of my bra.

“Yeah, in part,” I mumbled, pulling the robe back.

“Anything you want to share?” he asked, murmuring the words against my neck. He wasn’t playing fair. His touch acted as a truth machine and I’m sure he knew it.

Gabrielle’s words still rang in my ear. I wanted to tell him that thoughts of following him to New York were trickling into my head. I just couldn’t explain it to him in a way that didn’t make me sound crazy.

“Another time,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his.

I heard the clothes dryer beeping, signalling the end of our imprisonment. And prised myself free of his arms.

“Where are you going?”

“To get dressed. Then we can get out of here.” My jeans were scorching hot on my skin as I dragged them on. The metal button burnt my stomach, making me wince.

Adam appeared in the doorway. Looking far from sympathetic, he watched me jump around, trying to keep the button clear of my skin. “What’s the hurry? You’re not even prepared to wait for your pants to cool?”

“The day’s nearly gone. The rain’s stopped. We need to find something to do,” I replied, rushing through my sentences.

“You’re so pretty when you’re trying to avoid third degree burns,” he said.

“Thank you. Now let’s go,” I replied, reaching for his hand and dragging him out of the room.

The mad rush seemed pointless ten minutes later when we were still sitting in Adam’s car, trying to decide where to go.

“Are we hiding today or are we going public?”

It was a fair question. I was more than happy to keep him all to myself. The fact that I wasn’t at school would set tongues wagging anyway. Hiding was just delaying the inevitable, but I wasn’t ready to throw us under the bus just yet.

“We’re definitely hiding.”

“Okay then. How about you take me to the hardware store? It’s supposed to be on the main street. I’ve driven up and down a hundred times but haven’t managed to find it.”

The Pipers Cove shopping precinct consisted of a handful of shops along main road. Window-shopping was hardly an all-day event. Even the most serious shopper could browse all the shops in less than an hour, which made missing the hardware store frustrating for him.

“You should have asked Gabrielle for directions,” I suggested, trying to keep a straight face.

“I did. She told me it was on the main street and then laughed,” he griped.

Unable to keep a straight face any longer, I giggled. Adam glanced across at me, mumbling something in French.

“I’ll take you there,” I promised.

11. Sparkly Things

Following my directions, Adam pulled into an angled parking bay in front of the shops on the main road.

“Are you sure this is a hardware store?” he asked.

It took great effort to keep my tone serious. “Would I lie to you?”

“I apologise,” he said insincerely. “The sign on the roof confused me.” He ducked his head to look up through the windscreen at the huge sign mounted on the roof. “Floss Davis. Master Jeweller.”

Everyone in town knew where Norm Davis’s hardware shop was located, which was fortunate because the only hint of what he sold was the wheelbarrow out the front, filled with a mass of pansies. His wife Floss’s jewellery business was extremely well represented by a massive sign that nearly buckled the roof.

I dragged Adam inside.

“Did I hear voices?” boomed Floss from down the back of the shop. She appeared a few seconds later and Adam flinched. Floss’s wild curly hair was a very unnatural shade of red, and she wore a brightly coloured striped smock – free flowing and loose but doing very little to hide her size. She pulled me in close, shaking me like a rag doll as she hugged me.

“It’s been so long,” she crooned. “I’ll make us some tea. I want to hear all your news.” She was speaking to me but looking at Adam – who obviously was the news.

“Floss, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Adam Décarie.”

Floss shook Adam’s hand so enthusiastically I feared his arm might fall off. “Well, now. It’s always nice to meet a friend of Charli’s.”

She looked Adam up and down and I silently dared her to find fault. I knew she wouldn’t. Floss Davis was a good soul.

“Adam is restoring an old boat. We came to get supplies,” I explained.

“Fabulous. I’ll get Norm,” she said, just before turning around and screaming out his name.

The beaded curtain separating the store from the back office rattled violently and Norm came running down the aisle. Unlike Floss, Norman Davis was fairly nondescript. Much slighter than his wife, he wore a flannelette shirt and moleskin pants. It was token attire for any country shopkeeper – except Alex, who wouldn’t be caught dead in flannelette.

He announced his arrival by clapping his hands together. “What can I get you kids today? Two for the price of one on shovels, in case you’re interested.”

“Ah, no,” I said, thrusting Adam forward. “I’ll let Adam explain.”

Norm placed a firm hand on his shoulder and marched him down the aisle, repeating the two-for-one offer on shovels.

Norm was either extremely knowledgeable or a great salesman. I sat drinking tea with Floss at the tiny jewellery counter at the front of the store, watching Adam through the window as he walked to the car laden with enough supplies to build a boat from scratch.

“He’s easy on the eyes, isn’t he?” whispered Floss, leaning across the counter.

My head dropped, embarrassed that I’d been caught staring at him.