“I see.” He nodded his head doubtfully. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
She took another bite and waited for it to melt before asking, “Why on earth would anyone ever stop eating? That’s why God made fairs. At fairs, you become immune to everyday problems like stomachaches.”
Adam rolled his eyes and she grinned at him, enjoying his reaction. She was getting to know him very well now and she loved his company. He was gentle, easygoing, chivalrous to a fault and he made her laugh any chance he could find.
They’d seen more sights in the last ten weeks then she’d seen in the twenty-some years she’d lived in Seattle. From garlic festivals during the day, to late evenings of blues and jazz shows around the city. From sailboat rides across Puget Sound, to hikes in the Cascade Mountains, with wondrous views of waterfalls and high, snowy peaks. Adam had even invited her to some high-profile fundraisers that his company supported, including an evening at the opera for which she’d had to rush frantically to rent a dress and have her hair styled.
True to his promise, Adam was treating her exactly as a friend. And that, she thought wryly, probably served her right. Fearing a repeat of her full-fledged panic attack in his house, she held her own desire at bay with an effort. But if Adam was having any trouble leaving her at her doorstep with nothing but a chaste kiss, he wasn’t letting on.
For this September weekend, Micki had suggested a full day at the Western Washington fair. It had been a long time since she’d been to a fair and she was pleased with her choice. Adam made the perfect companion, gasping in awe at the feats of a herding sheep dog and admiring the fair’s fattest pigs. Micki heaved a happy sigh and reached over to mooch more of Adam’s popcorn.
He handed his box over to her, shaking his head. “I’m glad tomorrow’s Monday and I won’t have to listen to you groaning the day away.”
Micki ignored his comment and scanned the afternoon’s schedule. “Let’s go see the dog show,” she suggested. “I love dogs.”
“Good choice,” Adam said agreeably. “Maybe I can talk one of them into licking that pink sheen from your face before I have to kiss it goodnight.”
The fair crowd was constant and thick. Holding hands, they threaded their way through myriad people, when Micki stopped abruptly.
“Wait!” she called out. “The strength hammer. Can you ring the bell? I want to choose the prize.”
“Can I? You doubt?” He raised his shoulders huffily, then grinned and walked over to the line of people waiting to compete.
When his turn came he grabbed the hammer, took one practice swing, then with his eyes steadily on the target, he swung the hammer and rang the bell with a resounding clang. He turned to Micki for approval. “How’s that? What did I win?”
“That’s the good part! You won a hat!” Micki nearly skipped to the attendant’s booth, where she studied the display of gaudy hats. Finally, she chose a tall, floppy one trimmed with oversize velvet checkers and sporting an elaborate pompon. She placed it firmly on his head. “It’s yours. A souvenir of the day.”
Adam reached up and touched the dangling pieces of purple and yellow velvet in awe. “Well. At least if it’s on my head I won’t have to look at it.”
They’d just started back through the crowds when, to Micki’s delight, a roving photographer in a clown costume chose that moment to approach them. He waved his camera. “Picture of the happy couple?” he offered. “I can hold that hat, if the gentleman prefers.”
“Oh yes, a picture please,” Micki said happily. “But definitely with the hat.”
“Oh, no,” Adam groaned, hanging onto his head, but he was smiling when the clown handed him the developed photograph.
She peered over his shoulder and nearly dissolved into laughter. “Not a very flattering photo of you is it? But a stunning likeness all the same.”
Adam kept his dignity firmly intact and handed the photo to Micki. “Here. I believe you should keep this. A memento for you to put into that barren living room of yours.”
She accepted the photograph solemnly, tucking it away in her bag with care.
Adam started walking toward an enormous exhibit hall. “How about the craft barn? It’s on our way.”
“No! Please!” Her face turned to a frown as she pulled urgently at his arm. “Please. I don’t like crafts. Please Adam.” There were too many reminders inside that craft barn, reminders of a life she was trying to forget.
Adam laughed at her. “From all I’ve learned about you, you’re probably allergic to needles and thread. But there’s no harm walking through, is there? You know you can’t break out in hives just by looking, don’t you? Besides, you owe me for picking out such a silly looking hat.”
She followed him reluctantly. You’ll never know, she thought, just how familiar I am with a needle and thread.
The crafts display was huge, spread out in a series of three elongated barns, with rows of exhibits under its roofs. It was a popular attraction and the sheer volume of people in front of them was daunting. Micki hung back pulling against his arm.
“Come on,” he urged. “This won’t take long. Maybe something of an artistic bent will rub off on you. Who knows? Maybe tonight you’ll get an irresistible urge to knit a pair of slippers for me.”
Micki successfully steered clear of the hand-braided rugs. Elaborate designs were hanging against the walls and part of her was itching to see their technique. She’d once spent an entire winter braiding rugs for their cabin. She’d been very fond of one rug in particular, the one that had ended up in front of their fireplace. Micki turned her head and walked past.
She also managed to avoid the ceramics. Danny had insisted they make everything possible for their cabin, so she’d taken a course at the local community college and made some semblance of dinnerware for them. Most of what she made were sloppy plates and half round bowls. She’d been embarrassed at the sight of them, but Danny had loved them. As far as she knew they were still there at the cabin, stacked in the cupboards as neatly as their misshapen forms would allow.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t manage to bypass the beadwork. Dragging an unwilling Micki, with his hat still perched ridiculously on his head, Adam led her right through the presentation and she couldn’t help but gasp at the sparkling clothing. Pointing out a beaded robe, she whispered, “Can you imagine how many hours someone spent making that? What a tremendous effort. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”
Adam stared at her. “I’m surprised you identify with the person doing the work. Can you do something like that?”
She shook her head no, while knowing full well that she could. With the help of her mother, she’d beaded her own wedding dress those seven years ago. Nothing nearly as elaborate as this, but a monumental task nonetheless.
Adam had already turned to the exhibit on the opposite wall. “Take a look at the quilts. Incredible, aren’t they?”
She turned to look and her head reeled. The hundreds of hours she’d spent making curtains, embroidering towels. And for what? It had all been a colossal waste of time. Tears welled up in her eyes and she shoved her hands in her pocket, turning away in a hurry before Adam could see. “Let’s get out of here.”
“But there’s lots more to see,” Adam protested. He took her arm to lead her forward. “Even if you’re bored with the crafts, there’s always the canning and pickling exhibits. Surely you don’t want to miss seeing the fair’s biggest cucumber, do you?”
“Let me go,” she insisted, freeing her arm from his grasp and pushing her way through the crowd.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Adam caught up with her and took her arm again. “Claustrophobic?” he asked, laughing at her. “Afraid of getting trapped in crafts-land with no way out but to bead a dress?”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice was husky. “It was rude of me to run out like that, wasn’t it? After you’ve been so good about seeing the fair with me.” She cleared her throat and made a quick swipe over her eyes, trying to eliminate the remains of her tears.
“But I really want to see the dog show.” Her voice still had a rasp to it and she turned to cough, hoping to mask her emotions.
“You’re really upset, aren’t you?” Adam turned to face her. “What happened? Did I miss something back there?”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, tugging at his arm. “I just want to see the dogs.”
Adam looked troubled, staring back at the crafts barn as if he was trying to reconstruct their walk and then turning to her averted face. “Something disturbed you. I wish you’d tell me about it.”
“Adam, it’s nothing.”
Finally he sighed. “Okay. Your call.”
The dogs were a wonderful choice to suppress her miserable memories. Micki stopped and petted several, asking the owners about each breed. One animal in particular, a glistening Golden Retriever, held her attention. He had soft, long hair and leaned against her while she petted him, seeming almost to smile at the attention. When he looked directly at her with his liquid brown eyes, she found it impossible to break away.
“You should have a dog,” Adam whispered in her ear.
“Where would I put one?” she asked practically. “A beauty like this would hardly fit in my apartment.”
“Why don’t you rent a place with a yard? You earn a terrific wage. You don’t have to live the rest of your life in an apartment, you know.”
She reached out and gave the dog one last hug before getting up and dusting off her hands. “No.” She broke eye contact, shaking her head firmly and walking out of the area. “I love pets, but I don’t go for pet ownership myself. It demands too much commitment.”
Behind her, Adam frowned thoughtfully.
A cascade of screams coming from the midway caught their attention. Micki turned to stare, catching only a quick glimpse of a single car as it turned rapidly over the top of an upside down loop. She turned to Adam, excitement chasing the last of the gloom from her face. “That’s the new roller coaster! I love roller coasters. Can we go on some rides?”
“After all that food?” He groaned, holding his hands around his front. “What are you trying to do to me?”
“Don’t be an old fuddy-duddy. We have to go on at least one of the roller coaster rides,” she insisted. “Or else it won’t be like going to a fair at all. My treat.”
At his continued silence, she gave him a challenging look. “You aren’t scared, are you?”
“Of course not.” He put on a false front of unconcern. “Just bored, that’s all.”
“I dare you,” Micki called out. “Adam Laurence, I dare you to ride an upside down loop-de-loop roller coaster. And you know you can’t back away from a dare, don’t you?”
Adam put his hands over his ears. “I can’t hear you.”
At her pleading look he reluctantly took his hands away. “With all the safe, timid, normal women there are in this world, why did I have to get involved with you?” He sighed. “I guess we’d better get it over with because I can tell you right now, it’ll be a cold year in you-know-where before you’ll drag me back to another fair.”
Micki grinned and took his hand as they strolled toward the rides.
Micki couldn’t help but grin in anticipation. She loved roller coasters. Waiting and waiting for the car to click up the tracks and then the wild whoosh in her stomach as it raced down and around and upside down.
She felt Adam moving uncomfortably by her side and she turned to him with a wicked gleam. “Too bad they can’t afford to maintain the tracks anymore,” she said.
What? Adam’s head jolted around and he narrowed her eyes at her. She tried her best to look innocent as she nodded toward the track. “Is that rivet coming loose?”
“Oh.” Realization dawned in his eyes. “Just my luck to be trapped in a line for a life-or-death roller coaster ride with a smart aleck.”
She grinned again. “It’s just part of the fun.”
He rolled his eyes. The car arrived and she found a seat for them as close to the front as she could. The attendant closed the bar and turned a lock. Adam leaned over Micki, checking the lock. She froze at the contact, trying to keep completely still, while his shoulders brushed against her and his arm was against her knee, steadying himself. He lifted his head, close to hers. “Just making sure we’re safe,” he whispered.
She nodded her head, though she felt anything but safe.
The car began moving, clicking slowly up and up to the top of the loop.
Her cares forgotten, Micki laughed in pure enjoyment as the train dropped down a sheer slope and began a dizzying spin. She felt alive. Truly, wonderfully alive. She turned to Adam, anxious for his reaction. To her delight, he was laughing right along with her. Totally involved in sharing the thrill. She froze and stared at him. It was as if a whole new world opened up for her and she nearly cried with joy. He really was a wonderful friend. Her best friend ever.
“Not bad,” she saw him mouth, before the coaster whipped them down and around another curve.
The sunlit sights of the midway in daytime turned into a bright neon extravaganza at night, silhouetted against a black sky. High-pitched noise from families was replaced by pulsating rock music and the older crowd thinned out, with a younger teenage crowd taking their place.
“Just one more ride?” Micki begged. “We don’t have to leave yet, do we? How about the Ferris wheel?”
Adam laughed out loud. “You’re just an old romantic after all, aren’t you?”
The line at the Ferris wheel was pleasantly short and they were ushered into their car almost immediately. As the ride lifted them high over the neon lights and swung them into the darkness, Adam leaned over to whisper, “Micki darling, thank you. I’ve never had such a wonderful time.”
She smiled. “At a fair? Or ever?”
“Never before. Not at a fair. Not on an upside down loop-de-loop. Never.” He lifted her hand and pressed it against his lips. “You’ve given me the best summer ever.”
“You’re welcome,” she said lightly. Looking into his eyes, Micki felt a small shudder of loneliness. Her contract job was up in less than two months and she’d be moving on. Away from Seattle and away from Adam. She reached out to caress his cheek. “I’m having a wonderful time with you too, Adam.”
Another weekend was nearly over. By her account, they had exactly seven more weekends together before her contract expired. For once, she wasn’t looking forward to her next move.
Later, outside her apartment, when Adam leaned to give her his usual peck goodnight, she wrapped her arms around him and clung tightly. His face wavered for a moment, then he deepened his kiss. His mouth sank into hers, his lips moist and firm, demanding a response. Off balance, she stepped back against the door and he followed, his mouth never leaving hers. He moved briefly to rain kisses along her cheek and, when she moaned, he turned his head to kiss her shoulder with open abandon, his restless hands caressing her breasts through the light cotton of her shirt.
He looked up, his breathing ragged. “Oh, Micki. This is so hard for me.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, although she knew very well what he meant.
“Keeping my hands off of you,” he groaned. “Pretending I don’t care when we kiss goodbye after every date. There’s only so much of this I can stand.” He pressed forward, pulling her roughly against his body so she could feel the strength of his desire. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”
Longing spread through her like a wind-driven wildfire, starting in her chest and growing down her body. Remember what happened last time, she warned herself urgently. You know you can’t make love to Adam. She swayed slightly in his arms, then dropped her hands away from his sides, pushing him slightly away.
“You promised,” she whispered. She was having difficulty saying no and her voice was high and thin. “Just friends.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He took a deep gulp of air and dropped his arms, standing back. “Don’t you want me too, Micki? Surely you’re not willing to just be friends forever?
Don’t you wonder about the magic the two of us could make together?”
Of course she had. She wondered every night when she turned the lights off. But she had to stay in control. “Just friends. Please.”
“Okay. I promised. But, Micki Vaughn, if it wasn’t for your ex-boyfriend, I’d not be taking no for an answer.” He turned down the walkway to his car, then paused and looked back. “You know, maybe I need to work out a different plan for you.”
“What does that mean?” Micki called out, but he didn’t answer. She leaned against the closed door and shivered, watching Adam return to the Jaguar and start the engine. What would Danny think of Adam? Would he approve? The unwelcome question came to her from out of the blue and she locked it away in her heart.
In the night, Micki unwrapped herself from the bedding to sit up and stare sightlessly out the window. “Help me Adam,” she whispered to him desperately. “I’m leaving town in seven weeks. Make me stay. Don’t let me leave you.”
Snap out of it, she insisted. Maybe it’ll be hard to leave Adam, but you know this won’t last. It never lasts. Far better to leave while I can and stay in control of my life, than to have it all crumble down around me again.
She lowered her head against her pillow, placing it carefully so her tears could roll freely.
Chapter Eleven
Micki leaned back against the kitchen counter and allowed herself the luxury of studying Adam. She never grew tired of watching him. Normally, he had a fluid, graceful way of moving. Today his actions were awkward, almost comic, as he fumbled his way around his own kitchen.
Adam was concentrating, his eyes focused, his hands filled with floury biscuit mix. He formed slightly off shape blobs of dough and placed them carefully on a baking pan. Sliding a dozen of the biscuits into the oven, he caught her eye and flashed a heart-stopping grin.
“Admiring the chef?” he asked.
She nodded with an answering smile. “I love a man who knows how to cook. It’s just so wonderfully practical.”
Game of Love Page 11