LITMIR.BIZ

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she’d brought home the file on one of their new clients to complete her marketing analysis. Then she’d gone on to ready Bennett’s flyers for the morning mail. She’d meant to keep her mind too busy to jump to conclusions about her latest gift.

      The plan had failed miserably.

      Was Adam her secret admirer? Goose bumps prickled up her arms. She eyed the rose-covered corner of the cookbook peering from beneath the avalanche of flyers. With a shake of her head, she slid the book free.

      The phone on the end table rang. Who was calling at this hour? Her heart skipped a beat as she picked up the handset. “Hello?”

      “Hi, sweetie,” Delores Bryant’s voice greeted her.

      “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”

      “Oh, I don’t know. Not much. Just wanted to say hello, see how you were doing.”

      Lauren sighed. Her mother’s voice held a note of strain. “Come on. Claire giving you a hard time about paying the bills again?” Delores had some trouble getting her housemate to cover her share of the costs.

      “No, when she postdated her check for the electric bill then went out and bought a new stereo, I stood up to her like you suggested.”

      “Good for you.”

      “She returned the stereo and wrote me a new check.”

      “Great. So what’s the problem?”

      “We’ve got a new district manager.” She managed a children’s clothing store in a local mall.

      “Oh? What happened to old Bernie?”

      “He got transferred.”

      “So, you don’t like the new guy?”

      “He just rubs me the wrong way. He doesn’t like the way we do anything. So we’ve got to redo everything—the way we place orders, the way we handle customers, the way we count down the drawer.”

      “Don’t you have company policies on all those things?”

      “He’s not changing the policies, just the way we follow each procedure, the nitpicky stuff. He’s got his own procedures within the procedures. He’s making everyone crazy.”

      “Well, at least you don’t have to deal with him on a daily basis, right?”

      “I don’t know. Now that the North Point store is picking up so much business, he’s talking about setting up his office here, letting this be his home base. He thinks we have the most potential and wants to help us ‘come into our own.’”

      “Well, I’m sure you’ll win him over.”

      “I’m not so sure I want to. Anyway, enough about me. Why are you home on a Friday night?”

      “Mom, don’t start. Besides, I could ask you the same question.”

      “Let me guess. You brought work home over the weekend.”

      Lauren drew a deep breath. “It’d be really nice if you, at least, would support my decision to make something of myself.”

      “Honey, I do. I wish Entice Advertising great success. You know that. I just don’t want you forgetting there’s more to life.”

      “Believe me, between you and Adam, I’m not likely to forget.”

      “So, how’s my number-two son?”

      Lauren paused, considering keeping silent about Adam’s new direction in life. “He’s been acting…different lately.”

      “Really? How so?”

      She frowned. “He’s talking about settling down.”

      A short silence hummed across the line, then Delores said excitedly, “Oh, this is wonderful! It’s about time. I was wondering when he’d come around. He’s always kept his word and I knew he wouldn’t let us down this time. What have you two planned?”

      “I don’t know what he was supposed to keep his word on, but the plan is for us to find him a wife, pretty much the same way we found his house and furniture.”

      “What do you mean, find him a wife?”

      “Well, a serious relationship, anyway. He’s prepared to wait awhile before jumping into marriage.”

      “He wants you to help him find a woman?”

      Lauren’s gaze fell to the cookbook. “You know how he values my opinion. He likes consulting with me on most of his major decisions. Even when some of those are spur-of-the-moment.”

      “Yes, dear, that’s why I always thought… Goodness, I can’t believe I’ve been wrong all along. Tell me, has your relationship changed since he decided all this?”

      “Changed?” Lauren closed her eyes and dropped her head back against the sofa. She’d certainly changed. Seemed suddenly she got all hot and bothered whenever Adam was around.

      “Has he indicated in any way that he might like to share this new experience with…well, with you?”

      Lauren opened her mouth to protest, but Adam’s words echoed through her mind. And you think I’ve never thought of you in that way?

      She sat forward. Was it possible Kamira, Elliot, and now her mother were right? “Mom, why do you ask?”

      “You remember shortly before your father died. I had stayed the night at the hospital and Adam brought you and Rusty by that morning. You had that bunch of azalea blossoms and Rusty went with you to put them in water.”

      “The vase I’d brought was leaking, so I had to track down a new one.”

      “That’s right. While you were gone, your dad had one of his lucid moments and grasped Adam’s hand. He really recognized him for the first time in a long time. Dad was so happy about that. He told Adam how he’d always loved him like a son. I think we were all teary at that point. Anyway, that’s when Adam made that promise.”

      The old ache of losing her father thudded dully in Lauren’s chest. “What promise?”

      “He promised to look after you and care for you. He promised you’d never want for anything.”

      Tenderness welled up inside her. Adam had been all of sixteen at the time. She swallowed past a lump in her throat.

      “That’s incredibly sweet,” she said. “I wish I’d known that, but he has looked after me. We’ve always looked after each other. That’s what friends do.”

      “I don’t know. Something about the way he said it…I took it to mean he intended for your relationship to one day grow into something more. Your father thought so, too. One of the last things he said was that he was sorry he’d miss seeing Adam become an official member of the family. You know, Rusty has always looked up to him, too. I think we’ve all felt that way.”

      “Oh, Mom…I know how much you all love Adam. I can’t imagine how my life would have been without him. I just think that maybe you were jumping to conclusions about this.”

      “But you think it may be possible?” Hope colored her mother’s voice.

      It also stirred in Lauren’s heart. Could it be she wanted Adam to want her that way? “I’m not sure. Maybe…”

      “Has he said anything that might insinuate he’s interested? Maybe he isn’t sure how to go about it with you.”

      “It…it’s possible he’s been trying to tell me, but I’ve been afraid to listen.”

      Lauren smoothed her hand across the cookbook. Her throat tightened. Surely, he didn’t mean for her to fill the role of wife and mother? If only he’d accept there was more than one kind of wife.

      “Well, listen up, darling girl! You’ve got to give him a chance. I’ve always hoped

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