Love on Lavender Island (A Lavender Island Novel Book 2)

by Lauren Christopher

  His dad was giving him this box, his mother’s box—willing it to him, singling it out—because he knew he’d take care of it.

  Adam swiped another tear away, then tunneled to the bottom of the box, where he found twenty or thirty other items of memorabilia from his grandfather’s airport. There was an old logbook, an old leather helmet, a real set of pilot goggles. He sat back on his haunches. “Son of a—” he whispered to Denny again. He could definitely set up a museum with this.

  Over the next half hour, he turned each item over in his hands, then carefully packed them back into the box, along with the key that would open the metal container at the bottom. They were bonds, probably purchased for him as a child, and his mother had kept them there. It wasn’t a fortune, but it would be enough for him and Amanda to start over.

  He packed the key on top and closed the flaps on the box. Then he stood up and stared down at it, realizing he’d almost buried the damned thing.

  Now he looked at the box with a new feeling.

  It was the feeling of freedom.

  And his first feeling of gratitude toward his father.

  When Amanda came home, Adam was sitting at the dining table.

  “Hi,” she said. “Look at these tortillas I made. I’m going to roast some meat tonight for soft tacos just like Rosa’s.” She smiled and headed straight past him to the kitchen to turn on the oven.

  “Amanda, I need to talk to you.”

  She glanced back at him with a concerned frown, then plopped down across from him.

  He didn’t know how to lead into this, so he took a breath and blurted it out. “The ranch sale fell through.”

  He waited for the disappointment to sprawl across her face, but instead she looked blank. He worried that he may not have been clear.

  “We can’t leave,” he clarified. “Not yet. We’ll have to stay awhile. But I’ll come up with another plan. I found some lost money that was mine, and I think I can make it work for us—it’s enough to at least move us to an apartment in Alabama and get you enrolled in your art school.”

  He waited for her disappointment again, but none came. She simply looked blank.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m starting to like it here.”

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  “I like volunteering at the center, and I like some of the people here, and no one is bothering me about my mom, and . . . you . . . you seem to like me now.”

  His chest had been rising with hope, but her last line sent a dagger through it. Is that all she thought he could muster for her? A begrudging “like” after all these months? He realized this was where he needed to set himself apart from his father. He shook his head. “I love you, Amanda.”

  He reached across the table for her hand. Much to his surprise, she didn’t pull away. He let out a sigh of relief and realized how scared he’d been to do that. Had his father been similarly scared? Had his father thought his children would have rejected him? Would they have? Had they? It was entirely possible the lack of affection had gone both ways.

  But he was done with this cycle now. He needed to be brave about this and let his pride go. He needed to show this girl how much she was loved.

  “I know we got off to a rocky start,” he began, “but I think we just scared each other. I didn’t know you existed, and you didn’t know I did. I think we’re both the types who need time to adjust to a new reality.”

  The way she slowly nodded her head reminded him a little of himself, or maybe even Noel. And definitely his mom.

  “Once I adjusted to the idea of you, though, I couldn’t have been happier,” he added.

  She looked up with doubt.

  “I couldn’t have been happier it was you. And all I wanted to do then was make things up to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for the first part of your life, but I promise I’ll be there for the rest. I just want to take care of you. I want to provide for you, and raise you where you’re happy, and be the kind of dad mine was not.”

  “You didn’t have a good dad?”

  Adam sighed and looked at their hands. “He tried. At least I think he did. I was reminded an hour ago of how hard he might have tried. But my mom died when I was young, just like yours did. I know how hard that is. My dad never made the adjustment to her death, and never seemed to know how to take over or treat us with love. He treated us like ranch hands. I think he just didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t have a lot of love himself growing up. But I . . . I don’t want to be like that. I don’t know what I’m doing, either, Amanda, but I’ll try. I promise.”

  “You’re not like that.”

  He looked up.

  “I can tell you’ve been trying really hard,” she said. “And you’re very fair. And you’re nice. I’m glad you’re my dad.”

  Tears clogged the back of his throat. He cleared it and had to glance away.

  “It’s been especially nice since Paige has been around,” she added. “You’ve been different since then.”

  He was finally able to meet her eyes. “Is that right?”

  “She seems to show you how to love.”

  He was surprised a sixteen-year-old could be so insightful. The tears kept threatening in the back of his throat.

  “Yes, Paige is very special.”

  “Is she very special to you?”

  Adam nodded.

  “Maybe you should get married.”

  He smiled. Her wisdom and her naïveté were still entwined. “It’s not that easy. Paige has her own life. She has things she wants to do, and following around after me isn’t one of them.”

  “What about staying here?”

  He blinked back at her. All his old reasons for leaving were gone now. He didn’t hate this place anymore; he could probably pay back his dad’s debts if he sold the seaplane property; the Conservancy seemed desperate that they wouldn’t have a bison wrangler anymore; and the town—Kelly, Antonio, Joseph, and the rest—would be guaranteed to keep their jobs. The only thing left, really, was Amanda herself.

  “What about your art school?”

  “I might be able to find some classes out here for my senior year, maybe. If not, maybe I’ll work with Rosa at her cantina after school and then apply to a culinary college next year.”

  “Culinary college?”

  “Yes. Culinary art. I was accepted to the Culinary Conservancy at the art school.”

  His mind whirled back to their conversations. Damn. Of course.

  He studied her carefully as a peaceful look came over her face.

  “You’d truly want to stay here?” he asked.

  “Yeah. And that way, you can ask Paige to marry you.”

  He laughed again. “Still not that easy. She has things she wants to do. And she has to be in love with me first.”

  “Aren’t you in love with her?”

  His gaze snapped back up. Was he in love with Paige? He knew he loved her spirit. He knew he loved her spontaneity and her silliness and her fun and her laughter and even her crazy calamities. But even with all that, she also had an iron-hard determination to make things work, even when pieces were falling around her, and he loved that, too. He loved how she loved her family. And how she’d earned Amanda’s trust—it took a special person to do that. But mostly he loved how he was when he was with her: he was a better man. Paige made him better. And he trusted her.

  “Maybe I am,” he said quietly.

  “Then you should work on that,” Amanda said. “Now I’m going to get this dinner started. You go take a shower and then invite Paige over. Wear your blue shirt she likes.”

  Adam was still blinking back his sudden awareness. But finally Amanda’s specific recommendation sunk in. “She likes my blue shirt?”

  “Definitely.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Girls know these things. And invite her for a walk after dinner. And don’t wear your hat when you go outside—it covers your eyes. Plus, she likes your hair.”

&n
bsp; “She likes my hair?”

  “Absolutely. Now go get ready. I’ll make you guys a dessert.”

  An hour later, Adam paced the dining room, inhaling the amazing scents of whatever Amanda had in the oven.

  “Stop!” Amanda said, laughing. “Relax.”

  The doorbell rang, and he lunged for the door.

  When he caught sight of Paige, his heart heaved into an unrecognizable rhythm.

  What the hell was the matter with him? He hadn’t been this nervous since he flew a plane for the first time. He needed to relax. He wasn’t going to ask her to marry him, for God’s sake. He just needed to find out how she felt. And be honest about how he felt.

  He’d never told a woman he’d loved her. In fact, he’d never told anyone that. Except Amanda just now. And maybe his mom, he hoped. But he’d never even told Noel, never told his dad. He’d never told Bob or Gert, even though he loved them both like parents. Those were not words he knew how to say.

  And he wasn’t even sure that’s what he felt with Paige. Was it? Given the way he was sweating and nervous right now, when nothing had changed except his awareness that he might have stronger feelings for her than he knew, he figured something might be up.

  “Apparently Gram had a wine cellar!” Paige said, lifting a bottle. She giggled in that cute way of hers and barreled through to the kitchen. “We’ll celebrate.”

  “What are we celebrating?” he asked, shutting the door behind her whirlwind personality.

  “Dorothy Silver, of course. It’s perfect! I can’t thank you enough, Adam. You’ll have to tell me what happened to change your mind about the orchard. Wow, it smells amazing in here, Amanda.”

  Amanda smiled and looked up from the bowl where she was stirring rice.

  “So what happened with MacGregor?” Paige asked with a little squeal. “And, man, I have to tell you the nice things Dorothy said. I can’t believe . . .”

  Her next phrase stalled as she looked back at the dining table, which Amanda had set with nice china and silverware. A few candles were in the center, already lit. It looked desperately romantic. Adam was instantly embarrassed he’d let Amanda do this.

  “Wow. This is so nice.” Paige looked up at him with a brow raised. “Did Amanda do this, too?”

  Adam nodded.

  Amanda moved toward the table with the bowl of rice. “Who’s ready to eat?”

  “Amanda, this is beautiful,” Paige said. “And the dinner smells delicious. Thank you.”

  “No problem,” Amanda said. “Special occasion.”

  “Special occasion? What’s the special occasion?”

  “I’ll let Adam tell you.”

  Adam rolled his eyes. Thanks, Amanda.

  “What’s the special occasion?” Paige asked him.

  “Let’s eat, and you tell me all about Dorothy, and I’ll tell you about MacGregor, and then we’ll go for a walk and we can talk about special occasions.” He pulled her chair out for her.

  Seeming appeased, she sat and let him and Amanda serve while he shot warning glances at his daughter from across the kitchen.

  Paige’s excitement bubbled over as she chattered on about Dorothy’s perusal of the property, described every member of her entourage, and how Dorothy had been convinced Paige should have the movie role. Paige practically panted the words out. Then she stared at both of them and let out a squeal. Adam felt his salmon going dry in his mouth. She was definitely leaving.

  “What about the yoga studio?” he asked.

  Paige blinked at him. As he watched her, he could almost see the confusion, joy, then a return to confusion play across her face.

  “I need the money,” she whispered. “This will get me there. Stepping-stones. So what happened with MacGregor?”

  “The offer fell through.”

  Paige’s eyes went wide, and she put her fork down. “Adam, no! I’m sorry! What happened?”

  He couldn’t tell her that it was because Paige and her mom wouldn’t give up their land to him, too, so he just shrugged. “Didn’t work out.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Sell the seaplane property.”

  “No! You love the seaplane property!”

  “It’ll be fine.” He didn’t want to worry Amanda, so he gave her a reassuring smile across the table. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  They talked more about Dorothy and moviemaking, and Paige regaled Amanda with tales of what the Hollywood Film Library was like, and the famous people who came in for research.

  When dinner was over, Amanda shoved them toward the door for their walk, saying she’d have dessert baked for them by the time they got back. She all but winked as she closed the door.

  “Wow, she really wanted us to go on this walk, didn’t she?” Paige asked. “Where are we going?”

  “Amanda wanted us to go to the Top of the World, but we don’t have to go that far.”

  “Oooh, are we going to make out there?” Paige shot him a cute glance.

  Adam chuckled. “I’m always up for that.”

  “With Dorothy so happy, and my mom pleasantly surprised, I think my mom isn’t even going to mind so much that we’re spending time together.” She reached for his hand.

  Adam let her take it and marveled at how sweet it felt. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d held hands with a woman—probably high school. His more recent encounters were good for getting laid, but nothing that ever led to the sweet, pure gesture of holding the hand of someone you knew and trusted. He stared at their entwined fingers for a second and realized this was what was missing in his life—a friend, a companion, a lover, a confidante. Someone you wanted to share everything with. Someone you told your seaplane-property secrets to and who trusted you with hers. Someone you wanted to help with her dreams. Someone who believed in you. Someone you loved. He was missing a Paige.

  “So what’s the special occasion?” she asked.

  “Amanda and I made a big decision today.”

  Her face lit up, and she turned toward him, walking backward. “What?”

  “We’re going to stay.”

  Paige stopped abruptly, and he almost tripped into her. “What?”

  “We’re staying.”

  He could almost see the wheels whirling through her head. But her smile was fading fast, and he didn’t imagine the wheels were turning his way.

  “How are you going to make that work?”

  “It won’t be easy. I’ll need a lot of Bob’s help to get things revved back up. The seaplane property should pay off the debts, and then everything else will go to me and Noel. As long as I can figure out how to make things profitable again, I’ll be okay. The Conservancy offered me more money if I stayed—seems they don’t have a lot of bison wranglers lined up. And I figure it’ll be a five-year struggle—it’ll be like starting my own business again—but then I’ll be back on my feet.”

  “What about Amanda?”

  “She wanted to stay.” He shrugged.

  “What about art school?”

  “I guess it was culinary arts, and she thought she could find some classes here or work with Rosa and then apply to a culinary college. She said she was starting to like it here. Bob and Gert are already becoming like grandparents to her, and the townspeople are making her feel welcome. I think she’s finding a sense of community here she never had in Alabama.”

  Paige nodded. “That’s great, Adam. I mean it . . . that’s really great. Maybe I can visit you.”

  He stalled. “Visit” was not what he wanted. He’d love for her to live with them. He’d love to have her in his bed every night and every morning, and kiss her forehead awake, and ride with her every week, and skinny-dip with her until they got caught, and sit out on the porch with her and Denny as the sun set behind them. But he couldn’t bring himself to say any of that. It sounded selfish. Paige needed to get on with her own life and pursue her own dreams. She hadn’t gone into FRED thinking things were going to suddenly change on her
at the end.

  “I’d love that,” he said.

  She glanced up, looked as if she was going to say something else, then stopped.

  “Hey, we don’t have to go to Top of the World,” he said. “Amanda’s probably got our dessert already baked. Let’s go back and see what she has.”

  Paige paused, as though she didn’t want to give up the walk just yet, but she finally nodded and followed him back.

  He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to get out of the cozy night that was reminding him of what he might have had if he’d been bold enough, and smart enough, to see what he had right before him. If he’d forgiven Ginger a long time ago. If he’d forgiven his dad. If he’d looked past his own problems and had seen the gift he’d been given.

  Now it was just too late.

  CHAPTER 25

  Three days before the wedding—Paige couldn’t believe it had crept up so quickly—everything was in place. She’d been running around like a possessed person for the last week to make sure of it. Her mother was down in Carmelita in one of the swanky hotels. Dorothy and Richard and their dual entourages would be flying in the next day. The workers would arrive in two days. The coordinators would show up in three.

  She’d even arranged for a private charter to take her back to LA right after the two p.m. wedding. She needed to be there by eight p.m. for a specially arranged dinner with Dirk and the director to discuss the movie part. She was pretty sure she already had it, based on Dorothy’s winks and encouragement, but she needed to be there anyway. Dirk was overjoyed.

  Most of the other pieces for the wedding had come together smoothly. She and her mom truly were a good team.

  The gazebo was the pièce de résistance, but Paige had spent a lot of time cleaning up the orchard, too. They’d established plans for where the white satin bows would go and where they would do a cute scene for the documentary, re-creating the moment Dorothy and Richard fell in love. The film crew had set up their lights, cables, and dollies and had strung miles of electrical wires.