The Family Man (7 page)

S
ARA STARED INTO
her closet an hour before the Helping Hands Ball was set to start, no idea what to wear. Why hadn’t she made the time to go shopping? Maybe because she’d been sure the date wouldn’t really happen. After all, she hadn’t seen or talked to Adam in the week since he’d brought David to the station. Although Lara had told her he’d called David to check on him a couple of times.

She placed her hand against her upset stomach. Would anyone find her if she just stepped into the closet and hid in the corner until the night was over?

“Stop overthinking,” Ruby said from the open doorway.

“Let me guess. Tana called you.”

Ruby held up her thin, baby blue cell phone. “Texted me, actually.”

“Texted?” There was something bone-deep funny about a little white-haired lady using abbreviations and emoticons to communicate.

“Yes. She’s been showing me how to do that. She even set me up on Twitter. My granddaughters think it’s hysterical when they get my updates. You know, I’m ‘baking a pie’ or ‘weeding my flowerbeds.’”

Sara lifted her hand to her mouth to try to muffle a laugh but wasn’t successful. “Okay, it is a little funny.”

Ruby shrugged and slid the phone into her pocket. “Hey, just because I’m a granny doesn’t mean I can’t be hip.”

Sara stifled a snort and the urge to hug Ruby for no apparent reason.

“Now, let’s get you ready for this party.” Ruby wandered into the room, followed by Tana. Lilly ran in and jumped up on the bed. She loved playing dress-up, so of course she was in on the conspiracy, as well.

Old insecurities combined forces with doubts about the wisdom of letting herself get closer to Adam. What if she found herself softening toward him more than she already had? What if she even let herself fall for him? She knew it wouldn’t last and she’d just end up hurt.

“I’m tired. I think I’m going to cancel.” Sara headed for the door to the hallway. Maybe she’d make cookies and watch a movie with the girls.

Ruby grabbed her by the wrist. “Oh, no you don’t. You finally got up the nerve to ask that boy out, and you’re going through with it.”

“Why?” Sara’s voice, against her will, held a note
of pleading. She wanted Ruby to say something that would convince her this was a good idea.

“Because it’ll be fun,” Ruby said.

“How do you know that?”

“I’m old. I know everything.”

Both girls giggled. “Don’t worry,” Tana said. “We’re going to fix you up. You’ll blow Adam away.”

“I seriously doubt that.” But Sara gave up the fight in the face of three opponents. She’d let them do their best and hope she ended up passable. She’d done a lot harder things in her life than fumble her way through an ill-advised date. Like accepting she’d probably never see her own mother again.

She shook off the memories and allowed Ruby to pull clothes from the closet and hold them up to her. This went on, Ruby and Tana making remarks pro or con along the way, for a good five minutes until Ruby found a red, wraparound dress in the darkest corner of the closet.

“Oh, yeah, that’s more like it,” Tana said. “Good V-neck, flowy skirt, pretty.”

“This will look wonderful with your dark coloring,” Ruby added, then proceeded to dig in the floor of the closet. “Please tell me you have some shoes to go with that.”

She hadn’t worn the dress since a three-day cruise she’d taken the year before she’d come to Horizon Beach. Did she still have the shoes? She eyed the interior of the closet and spotted a shoebox under a
duffel bag. “There.” She pointed toward the box, and Ruby retrieved it.

Tana removed the cover and pulled out the red satin slingbacks. Sara could still hear the saleslady’s voice as she’d waxed poetic about the shoe’s “rounded peep toe” and “adorable pleat accent.”

“Oh, pretty,” Lilly said as her eyes grew wider.

While Tana toed the line between cute and trendy and walking anime/goth girl, Lilly was all girly-girl and hadn’t met a bow or frill she didn’t love with all of her little girl heart.

“Sara, I’m seeing a whole new side of you,” Ruby said with a wicked grin.

“Those have been worn exactly once, on a cruise ship.”

“Well, it’s time we put them back into service. These shoes were made for dancing. Among other things.” Ruby said the last part under her breath so only Sara could hear her.

Sara’s mouth dropped open a little at the implication. “Ruby,” she scolded. But she couldn’t help the thrill of possibility that soared through her at the thought that Adam might think the same thing.

After Tana picked out jewelry she deemed appropriate, she and Ruby ushered Sara into the bathroom and made her sit on the closed toilet lid. For the next half hour, they brushed and curled and applied makeup like they were on a cable makeover show competing for fame and glory.

When they finally stood back and admired their handiwork, their mouths stretched with big, satisfied smiles. That had to be good, right?

Lilly scooted her way in front of them, stopped and stared. “Mommy, you’re bootiful.”

Sara choked up at her darling daughter’s assessment. It had all been worth it even if when she looked in the mirror she looked like Tammy Faye Baker or Marilyn Manson. She kissed Lilly on the cheek then stood and turned toward the mirror.

“Oh.” She couldn’t believe the image staring back at her. She didn’t look scary at all. She turned her face so that her bruised cheek was toward the mirror. She couldn’t even see the discoloration. She bit her lip.

“Don’t you dare cry and mess up our work,” Ruby said.

“You like it?” Tana asked, some of her lovable snarkiness giving way to the need to please.

Sara turned away from her image in the mirror and hugged Tana close. “Yes. I think you two might be miracle workers.”

“It’s just makeup and hair product,” Tana said. “You’re already pretty.”

“And I don’t think we’re going to be the only people to think so,” Ruby said with satisfaction lighting her pale blue eyes.

The nervousness returned full force, and Sara brought her hand to her stomach again. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Ruby spun her around and pushed her toward the bedroom. “No, you’re not. You’re going to go and have a marvelous time.”

W
HEN
S
ARA SPOTTED
Adam outside the hotel ballroom, she thought maybe Ruby was right. Her breath caught at the sight of him dressed in a dark suit and tie. His shoulders looked wider, his eyes greener and more beckoning. He’d been good-looking before, but now he brought drop-dead gorgeous to new levels. And she wasn’t the only person to notice. Other women, even plenty of married ones, watched him a little longer than necessary. She tried not to think about the possibility that he’d been with any of them before. She had to confine her thoughts to having fun this one night and nothing beyond that.

When he saw her, the way his eyes came to life as they widened and he froze in place as though he might trip if he took another step told her that Lilly was right. For tonight, at least, she looked beautiful.

For tonight, she was going to put concerns aside and enjoy herself. As Adam approached her, appreciation in his expression, her heart sped up. She almost licked her lips, but halted the action just in time, before she made it obvious how his appearance affected her.

“Detective Greene, you will cause wrecks in that dress. I’m not sure the public is safe.” His teasing was low and sexy, making her skin tingle.

Heat rushed up her neck to her face. She hoped
the makeup hid the redness as well as it did the evidence of the bar brawl.

“And who knew there was a debonair man beyond the beach-lover,” she teased right back.

“Guess we’re both just full of surprises,” he said as he offered his arm.

She swallowed and prayed that he couldn’t feel how her body vibrated at his closeness. A whiff of some spicy scent—maybe shampoo, maybe aftershave—caused her to take a slow, deep breath. It served the dual purpose of calming her nerves and filling her senses with Adam’s presence.

As he led her through the crowd, she noticed all eyes turning their way. Whether it was because of the man on her arm or the sight of her in a dress and “do me” heels, she had no idea. She tried to ignore the stares, but that proved impossible when she knew nearly everyone and had to say hello to them.

“You come to this every year?” Adam asked as he led her toward the bar at the far end of the ballroom.

“Yeah, it’s kind of an unspoken expectation of the job.”

“I’m guessing you’ve never worn that dress to this soiree before.”

“Perceptive of you,” she said as she spotted Shawn and Keith. Great, after she’d told them that night in the Beach Bum that she didn’t like Adam. Why hadn’t she thought about this eventuality?

“Damn, Greene,” Shawn said when he saw her.
“I will never be able to look at you the same way again.” His blue eyes swept over her body, pausing at her breasts.

“If you don’t look at my face instead of the V-neck, you won’t be able to look at anything past your swollen eyelids.” She glanced around the room. “Where’s Tanya, anyway?” Maybe he’d behave himself if his girlfriend was there to keep his eyeballs in the appropriate place.

“Ladies room.”

“You do look nice, Sara,” said Keith, a decade older and more of a gentleman than his cohort.

“Thanks. Keith Hutchens, Shawn Winters, this is Adam Canfield.”

“From the Beach Bum, right?” Shawn asked, a hint of mischief in his question.

Sara narrowed her eyes at him. Shawn noted her look and tried to wipe the smile off his face.

“Had any more trouble?” Keith asked, perhaps fearing Sara was going to use one of her satin-covered stilettos to do Shawn bodily injury.

“Nah. Zac’s home, so thankfully I’m back on the customer side of the bar now.”

“Pretty good place to pick up the hotties,” Shawn said.

Adam glanced at Sara and smiled. “A few have wandered through now and then.”

This time, her entire body warmed, not just her neck and face. Something about the timbre of his
voice, the way he looked at her, had her thinking of wrapping herself around him.

“Well, we’ll see you guys later,” she said. “I want to check out the silent auction items.” She guided Adam away from her coworkers and tried to pretend no questioning gazes were turned in their direction.

As if he wanted to add to the gossip fire, Adam slid his hand around hers as they perused the items included in the silent auction. It felt so nice, so warm, so encompassing that she didn’t pull away. It was just for tonight, she kept telling herself. If she only had to commit to one night, she wanted to soak up every pleasurable experience she could. Tomorrow, she’d deal with the fact that he’d probably be on to the next beautiful woman to cross his path.

Why did that make her sad?

Adam lifted a piece of stiff card stock that sat in front of a kangaroo figurine.

“What is it?” she asked, wondering if it was a valuable one-of-a-kind carving.

“Trip to Australia. Looks like it includes pretty much the entire continent, too.” He offered her the card, and she read down the itinerary.

“Wow, this sounds fabulous. I’ve always been fascinated by Australia.”

“Was it
Crocodile Dundee
or
The Thorn Birds
that did it for you?” Adam asked with a teasing grin.

“Actually, it was
Life in a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson.”

He lifted his eyebrows like he didn’t quite believe her. Something about his knowing expression made her confess all.

“Okay, so maybe
The Man from Snowy River
had something to do with it. And, uh, Hugh Jackman didn’t hurt.”

Adam laughed and lightly tugged her toward the next item on display, a small painting in the modern style.

“Please tell me some kid in kindergarten painted this,” Adam said, a little too loudly.

“Shh,” she said and swatted him on the upper arm. Just that brief contact raised her awareness of how well formed the arms hiding under that suit jacket were.

He laughed again, and the sound made an unexpected happiness swell inside her. Adam might not be Mr. Perfect Forever, but he was doing a pretty good job of being Mr. Perfect for Tonight. Embarrassing her notwithstanding. Despite the suit, his carefree beach attitude still cloaked him, and it tempted her to adopt it for herself, if only for a little while. His running commentary on all the items on display made her smile grow wider and wider. She wondered what it was like to live a life so free from worry or responsibility.

“Do you always have this much fun?”

“I certainly try.” He winked at her, which caused an odd, fluttery sensation to race across her skin.

Good thing he was only a “tonight” guy. He had a way of getting past her defenses and common
sense, tempting her to think that things like responsibility and stability maybe didn’t matter so much. The suspicion that it was dangerous to spend too much time with him curled its way through her and took root.

“I hear you’ve been calling David,” she said as they perused more items.

“Yeah. Figured the kid might be having a tough time adjusting to the new situation.”

“That’s kind of you.”

He shrugged off her compliment and moved on to the next item, a deep-sea fishing trip.

“How did your conversation with his old man go?”

“Let’s just say that he was not happy. I do think I learned a few new curse words.”

Adam’s jaw clenched, and she got the oddest sensation that he’d now like to punch the guy for saying ugly things to her. He watched her for several seconds before speaking. “You shouldn’t have to listen to that.”

“It’s okay. Job hazard.”

When he looked away, she could have kicked herself. Way to go, reminding him that he had a hang-up about women cops.

“Excuse me, son, do you see my earring?” Grace Pierce’s voice drew their attention. The chief’s mom had her weathered hand on Adam’s arm while she scanned the carpeted floor. The distress on her face
tugged at Sara’s heart. “My Bill gave me those earrings, and I’ve lost one.”

The chief’s dad had died of pancreatic cancer two years before. His parents had been married more than fifty years. She still remembered their golden anniversary party the first year she’d been in Horizon Beach.