Picture Perfect (The Wilsons) (11 page)

Ted said smoothly, “I’m her fiancé.”

Adam dropped Ted’s hand and stared at Lea in disbelief, his eyes
accusatory and unsmiling.

“
Ex
-fiance,” she corrected quickly, “He’s my ex.”

“But not for too long.” Ted wrapped his arm around Lea’s shoulders and smiled at Adam, before looking back at Lea. “I’m here to win you back, baby, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

Lea glanced at Adam, trying to ignore the fact that he looked like someone had just punched him in the balls.

“Well,” he said, “I guess you’ve got everything figured out then. I should leave you t
wo alone.”

Lea looked him, seeing in his eyes the need to hear it from her. “Well,” she said hesitatingly, “
I was thinking of leaving this bar to have dinner with Ted, but…”

Adam smiled. “
Don’t let me hold you guys back. I’ll just let you lovebirds be.”

He turned and walked out quickly, before Lea could say anything else.

***

Dinner with Ted went surprisingly well, considering that he’d dumped her unceremoniously two years ago, and that he’d tried to mislead Adam about their relationship.

But Ted had groveled sufficiently, and explained that he’d felt threatened by Adam and his roses. Lea brushed that aside, and let Ted continue explaining that he’d regretted leaving her, that he’d been scared of commitment but now he knew for sure that he wanted to settle down with her and couldn’t ever be with anyone else.

In short, he’d tried to make up for all that grief and agony he’d caused her by walking out so long ago – and he’d done a surprisingly good job.

Lea had thought she’d never ever forgive him, let alone give him another chance. But when Ted learnt that Lea was in St Martin’s, he’d cancelled all his appointments and flown down here to be with her. He said that he wanted to spend time away from their nosy friends and family who’d try to get her to reject him without even thinking about it.

Ted said he wanted to marry her and raise a family with her. He certainly did paint a rosy picture.
Of course, compared to
some
people, he might seem boring, but he’d be dependable, predictable. She could have children with him, without having to worry that their father would be gone for years on end and would maybe die in some foreign battlefield.

Thinking of Adam, her heart sank. Not just because she wouldn’t be with him, but also because she worried about him, all alone in some dangerous location.

Ted offered her stability, a future. She was doing the sensible thing by at least considering his offer – maybe she’d say yes, maybe not. She hadn’t decided yet.

But
she was sure she’d noticed an unmistakable hurt in Adam’s eyes, and she felt she owed him an explanation.

So after she’d said goodbye to Ted,
she went back to her room alone. She changed out of her dinner clothes and into a more casual dress, and went to Adam’s room.

She knocked twice, and after a brief pause, Adam opened the door.

His face was as blank as stone and he stared at her impassively. Lea stood on the other side and wondered if he felt betrayed by her, and said, “I’m sorry, I owe you an explanation.”

“No, you don’t. You can do whatever you please.”

She glanced down the hall. There was no-one else there, but she’d rather have this conversation in private. “Can I come in?”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

His voice was polite but firm and in a way, Lea felt thankful. He was always so hard to resist, and she couldn’t trust herself around him.

“Well, anyway,” she started haltingly, and then paused for a second before continuing. “Ted and I were engaged four years ago. He dumped me two years back. Now he wants a second chance.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

Lea thought she caught a hint of sarcasm in Adam’s voice and said, “Ted’s a good man.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“I haven’t decided anything yet, I just feel like I owe him a chance.”

“I’m sure you do.” Adam’s voice was light, and his face was impassive. “He offers you a good life, I’m sure. You might even be happy with him.”

Irritation bubbled up within her. “Yes, I might. At least I can have a shot at it, because he’s dependable and wants a family. Good night.”

She spun around on her heel and left, unwilling to argue with him further. She’d felt like she owed Adam an explanation, and she’d given him one. Too bad he was acting like a boor and being so rude.

In any case, her trading bootcamp would start tomorrow, and she’d have other things on her mind.

For the next ten days, Adam stayed busy with his photography class, and stayed out of Lea’s way.

That wasn’t too difficult, considering that Lea was in her bootcamp all day, and spent all her nights practicing strategies and running simulations.

Adam’s class had turned out to be a lot more fun than he’d predicted. He actually liked teaching, and could see himself doing a lot more of this. The students in his class were all guests of the hotel, and rather powerful people themselves, so this course had opened up some surprising doors from him.

On the day after his course finished, Adam sat in the bar, nursing a scotch. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone – his vacation was almost over, his leg had mostly healed, and he’d be back at work soon.

He’d expected this time to be one of celebration, normally he’d have been thrilled to get back on the field. But instead, he was moping like a child, missing Lea and thinking about her constantly, even though he hadn’t seen her in almost a fortnight.

Every other night, he considered going up to Lea’s room and asking her to leave that loser of an ex-fiance. What kind of man left his fiancée before their wedding, after two years of being engaged? The guy sounded like a jerk.

But on the other hand, Lea deserved the chance to be happy. If this guy was going to make her happy, he probably shouldn’t interfere.

He turned things over in his mind, trying to take a decision. For all he knew, Lea didn’t care about him – but maybe he should try to find out if she did? He was quite shocked when Ted appeared, and pulled up a chair beside him.

“Hey, Adam,” he said, “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Adam jerked his chin in greeting, and stared into his Scotch.

But the man just would not take a hint. “Lea said
you guys met here,” he said, “And that you’re a decent guy.”

“Hmm. That was nice of her to say.”

“Yeah well – I don’t really know anyone here. So I thought I’d ask you…”

Ted paused and looked at Adam expectantly. Finally, Adam gave a polite smile and said, “What did you want to ask?”

Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, Ted produced a small box, and opened it, revealing a magnificent ring, with a large, ostentatious diamond in the center. “The diamond’s ten carats. Flawless. What do you think?”

Adam stared at it. The guy certainly had money. Being a journalist on the road meant he got paid well, and that he saved most of it, but even then, he’d never be able to afford such an expensive engagement ring. He cleared his throat. “I’m not much good with jewelry. Did Lea like it?”

“Lea doesn’t know yet. I’m hoping she’ll say yes.”

Adam nodded. “Well, it’s certainly a massive rock.”

“It is, yeah? Cost me a fortune.”

Adam wondered silently if Ted was trying to overcompensate for something and then grinned to himself. He downed the rest of his scotch in one go, and excused himself.

***

Adam didn’t need to think.

In fact, he could have sworn that his mind was completely blank as he walked down the hall to the elevator, and down another corridor to Lea’s room. As he thought of that 10-carat ring, a cold rage filled his mind. Lea wasn’t that kind of girl, not his Lea – she wouldn’t marry a jerk just because he was offering her a big ring.

He banged loudly on he
r door, and when she opened it a crack, he pushed it open and walked in.

Running one hand through his hair, he paused for a moment, looking around and trying to calm down. Though it was a standard room at the hotel, she had managed to make it her own. There were scented candles, a silver photo frame with a black and white picture of a large family, and her laptop was open on the desk, displaying four different
forex charts at once.

“What’s going on?”
Lea looked more curious than worried, but it was clear she expected Adam to have a good reason for barging in.

He turned to her and realized all over again how beautiful she was. Her hair was damp from a recent shower, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup,
and her skin looked fresh and good to taste.

Adam felt curious about how she was. He hadn’t seen her for so long. “How’s bootcamp, what’re you upto these days?”

She looked puzzled. “Bootcamp’s ok, tomorrow’s the last day.”

“Right. Well.” He walked closer to her, so that he was standing only a
few inches away. “Ted means to propose. He bought you a 10-carat diamond ring, it’s a massive rock.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” She
sounded dismissive but looked pleased in a non-committal way.

“It’s not nice.” Adam’s eyes flashed angrily and he stepped closer to her. “You’re going to tell him no, and you’re going to say that he’s a jerk for leaving you two years ago. He’s got nothing to offer you.”

“Oh? And how would you know?”

“I know because I love you.”

Lea’s eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped.

Adam ran a hand through his hair again, feeling like an idiot, but this had to be done. “I’m sorry, this would’ve been better if I’d brought roses
, and if I wasn’t angry about that jerk. But I do love you.” He looked into her eyes, trying to comprehend what he saw there, but all he saw was surprise. “I’ve loved you since that night at dinner. Or maybe since the first time I saw you and you were this crazy woman who I thought might break my camera. Who knows. Anyway, since I love you, you have to be with me. That is, if you want to.”

Adam wanted to kick himself – this was coming out all wrong. He felt flustered and annoyed at himself, he should’ve rehearsed what he’d tell her like most guys did.

Lea sat down on the sofa and Adam took a seat beside her. “Why are you telling me this now?” she said, sounding slightly annoyed. “We’re both leaving in three days, and I’ll never see you again.”

Adam’s face brightened. “No, that’s it, you see! I’m not leaving, I’m going to New York.”

Lea looked at him incredulously and he explained quickly, “One of the guys in my photography class teaches at NYU and he told me they need a lecturer for their photography department. I loved teaching this class so I applied! I think I’ll get the job, I’ve got a decent resume and stuff, and even if I don’t, I can get a job teaching photography somewhere else.” He gulped and his voice softened. “I’ll cut back on the danger, Lea. We’ll settle down somewhere with good schools and good parks for our kids.”

He glanced at Lea and noticed that her eyes seemed to have welled up with tears. He reached out and clasped her hand and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I guess – I got mad when I saw that ring and maybe… maybe I haven’t, um, explained well enough. I mean, I could never afford a 10-carat ring, but my work pays well enough for us and our kids to live comfortably, and…”

“You
love
me?”

Lea had blinked back her tears and was frowning at him a little.

Adam sighed. “Did you hear nothing of what I’ve been saying so far?”

She laughed, and threw her arms around his neck.

Adam was convinced she had either gone nuts or was about to make fun of him, so he grabbed her head gently and forced her to look up at him. Their faces were inches away from each other, and suddenly his heart seemed to be thumping loudly inside him, and her lips looked delicious… He found himself pressing his lips against hers, and he savored a short, sweet kiss, before pulling away.

He had to know. “Lea Wilson, do you love me? Do you think this could work?”

She leaned back away from him, and laughed softly again. She shook her head, and held his hand lightly. Just when Adam felt his heart sink, and felt sure that she’d explain how she could never be with him, Lea said softly, “I’ve always loved you, Adam. How could I not?”

When she looked up into his eyes again, Adam felt his heart pounding so loudly he was sure she could hear it too. At this rate, he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle being around her more often. Before she could say anything more, he scooted
nearer to her, and held her close for another, deeper kiss. He could do this all day, he thought, pulling away reluctantly. “What were you about to say?”

Lea laughed and shook her head. “I was thinking,
I love you for who you are. You don’t have to give up your work for me, just be a little more careful. You’d have to call every minute to let me know you’re ok, of course, and - ”