20

[C]

It was the morning after, but it was a far cry from that terrible morning all those years ago when I'd found dead crows strewn all over my front yard. And while Adam wasn't here, at least my sister and I had sort of mended fences.

My head ached from too much wine and not enough sleep, so I smiled at the smell of fresh coffee as I descended the back stairs. Sam waved from behind her comics section and pointed at a plate of freshly baked muffins. "Help yourself. Good for what ails you."

There were so many ways I could take that, but I accepted it at face value. "Thanks." I stuffed one of her delectable blueberry muffins in my mouth as I poured coffee.

Sam lowered the paper. "So how are you holding up?"

I shrugged, joining her at the table and shielding my face from the bright morning sun. "Can't complain."

Sam wasn't buying my uncharacteristically chill attitude. "C'mon, Cassie, how are you really feeling?"

I offered another shrug. "I'm alive. Let's start with that."

"And you're reconciled with Diana. That's huge."

"Maybe so." I flashed a smile I didn't feel. Last night was about blowing off steam rather than bonding, and Diana might turn against me on a dime. It had happened so often that I expected it, sort of like when you flinch around abusive people at the slightest twitch of their hands. Nobody would ever accuse me of being an optimist, so when Adam showed up at my kitchen door, I almost dropped my coffee.

He raised his brows, much as he had on that night Heather had died. Sam caught sight of him and waved as I trudged over to let him in. "Hey," he said, looking and sounding like the old Adam, except now he was brimming with confidence.

"Join us," Sam invited, and Adam quickly scooped up two muffins and plopped down next to me.

"So," he said softly. "Are you OK? I got worried when you didn't text me back."

I hadn't looked at my phone in days. Flashing a sheepish smile, I turned my phone on and saw half a dozen texts from Adam. "Will you look at that?"

Adam flashed me a sweet smile. "Maybe I should have flown over...on my broomstick."

That heady feeling rushed through me as I remembered tossing him the broomstick as I cleaned up Heather's mess. Judging from the tender way he was watching me, he remembered too. "How about we tour the garden? It's a lovely morning."

Any thoughts of romance flew right out the window when my favorite little neighbor ran at me full force and hugged me fiercely. "You came back."

Faye was hovering nearby and she looked disgusted. I returned his hug. "I did, and we'll make that pie for sure."

Bailey clapped his hands with delight. "Can we do it now?"

Jake appeared behind Faye and smiled at his youngest son's enthusiasm. "Maybe later, Bailey."

I hated the disappointed look on Bailey's face, so I said, "Come by after lunch and we'll pick some fruit. How does that sound?"

Faye rolled her eyes but said nothing as Bailey jumped up and down. "Can Adam help us?"

I glanced at Adam, who merely smiled mysteriously. "I'll see if I can get away."

Hoping he couldn't see my disappointment, I patted Bailey's head. "You can count on me."

My tiny dig got Adam's attention. "Meaning what?"

I let my hair curtain my face as I stepped toward Grandma's roses. With my handy shears, I started dead-heading and let him stew a bit before saying, "Meaning, you're obviously planning a hasty exit."

His gentle hand turned me to face him. "I do have to work..."

Tendrils of heat radiated from his fingers and when I met his cobalt gaze, I knew he felt it too. "Yeah, I get it," I said coolly.

Adam picked right up on that. "Don't shut me out."

I sighed. "Adam, it's been 15 years. We can't just take up where we left off."

This time he grabbed both my hands. "Why not? Things were great at the wedding."

We'd had a moment right before Brendan had invaded our turf. "Which part?"

His frustration with me was palpable. "Why are you making this so difficult?"

"Because," I said, slipping my hands from his and resuming my pruning, "It's never simple with us."

Adam stopped my cutting hand and this time I met his gaze, and I instantly felt myself melting into a puddle of goo. "It can be," he said with a husky note in his voice.

"And what about the life I have somewhere else?" I said, countering his sultriness with some old-fashioned common sense.

"You can make a new life here...with me."

Had he really said it? Was I dreaming, was this some cosmic idea of a joke? Because written in the stars was never meant to be. Even Sibyl had told me that, and I'd started to believe her. "Can I?"

Diana chose that moment to step outside and wave at us both. Adam brushed my cheek with his lips and said, "This isn't over, Cassie. We will finish this conversation...soon."