She never stopped surprising Adam. And she never kept secrets. All in all, he was pretty much certain he was the luckiest man alive. But he didn't say so aloud. Lucas, he knew, would take exception.
"So what are you and Dorsey doing this weekend?" Lucas asked him.
"Well, Reginald Dorsey invited us to spend it with him and his kids at his little cottage in the country," Adam said.
"The ten-thousand-square-foot cottage?" Lucas asked.
"That's the one."
"Ah. So are you and Dorsey going to go?"
Adam shrugged and stabbed another chunk of green pepper. "I doubt it. Dorsey's coming around where Reggie's concerned, but she's not there yet. She still feels awkward around her half-brother and half-sisters."
"She'll get there," Lucas said. "It wasn't easy for Edie at first, either, but look how well that's turned out."
Adam grunted in agreement, then went back to work. He was just firing up the gas grill, and Lucas had just tossed the last of the croutons into the salad, when feminine laughter erupted in the other room.
"Our womenfolk have returned," Lucas observed unnecessarily.
It was particularly unnecessary in light of the fact that the womenfolk in question were entering the kitchen right about then. Each was armed with two grocery sacks, and they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Adam and Lucas standing amid their dinner preparations.
"You're cooking?" Dorsey asked incredulously.
She looked pretty incredible, too, Adam couldn't help but note, dressed in a sleeveless, pale-yellow jumper—only a little bit limp from the heat—and humongous Birkenstock sandals. Her ruddy curls were piled haphazardly atop her head in deference to the heat, and her cheeks and nose were stained pink with a touch of city sunburn. Edie's face, too, showed signs of a long urban walk, as did the damp T-shirt that topped her flowered skirt.
"Of course we're cooking," Adam told them. "We promised, didn't we?"
"Yeah, but there was nothing here to cook when I left this morning," Dorsey pointed out. "Edie and I stopped for groceries, because you and I have been too busy to get any this week."
"Miraculously, I remembered this," Adam replied, "so Lucas and I picked up a few things on our way home. Dinner will be ready in about a half-hour."
"Don't worry about it, Dorsey," Edie said. "You and Adam can save all this for the weekend."
Dorsey chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "We, uh … I think maybe we might be in the country this weekend, Edie."
Adam smiled. Well, well, well.
"So you and Lucas can take them home tonight, instead," she added.
"Okay," Edie agreed readily. "But I'll stow everything in the fridge for now."
"I'll help you," Lucas offered.
Dorsey opened her mouth to object, but Lucas hefted the bags out of her arms before she had the chance to say a word. Adam took advantage of her momentary disconcertion to take her hand in his and tug her out of the kitchen, with a hastily offered "We'll be right back" to Edie and Lucas on the way out.
She laughed as she followed him, but her chuckles faded off as he pulled her into the bedroom, closed the door behind them, then pressed her back against it and crowded his big body against her. She immediately looped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer still, opening to him willingly when he covered her mouth with his. For long moments they greeted each other wordlessly after their long—almost a whole afternoon—separation, then, reluctantly, Adam pulled back to gaze at her face.
"Lucas and I have been talking about the wedding," he said without preamble.
Dorsey smiled a dreamy little smile. "Still not happy about the pink dresses, is he?"
"Not a bit," Adam told her. "But I promised him last week that when you and I get married, you'll pick blue."
Well, that certainly got her attention—which, of course, had been Adam's intention. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth fell softly open. "When we get married?" she echoed.
He nodded. "What do you say?"
"I … Adam…" She smiled a little nervously. "You've never said anything about us getting married."
"Neither have you."
"I was waiting to see what you'd say," she said softly.
He laughed. "And here I've been waiting to see what you'd say."
She nibbled her lip anxiously. "Actually, I'm not quite sure what to say. I just … I don't know. We've just been so happy the last six months, living the way we do."
"But don't you want security?" he asked her.
She smiled. "I have that without being married to you."
He couldn't believe she was actually trying to talk him out of this, he thought. Then he noted the uncertainty in her eyes. Or was she? "But you're here more often than you're at your place," he pointed out. "I found a pair of your panties in my underwear drawer this morning. It was incredibly erotic."
She chuckled. "I'm here so much because I don't want to cramp Carlotta's style. She and her financial advisor have been pretty tight lately. The fact that he's not married has opened up all kinds of freedom in the relationship that she never realized she could have with a man."
Adam chuckled. "Do I hear wedding bells?"
Dorsey hesitated a moment. "I don't know," she said, "do you?"
He pulled her closer, dipping his forehead to hers. "Well, I don't know about Carlotta, but…"
"But what?"
"I think you and I should go for it. I love you, Dorsey, and I always will."
"I love you, too," she told him. "And I always will."
"Then let's make that clear to the world at large."
She nodded slowly, smiling hugely. "Okay. But I think I want peach dresses, instead of blue."
"Peach?" Adam exclaimed, biting back a gag.
"Or maybe lavender," she amended with a laugh.
He closed his eyes tight. "Fine, dear. Whatever you say, dear. You're the boss, dear."
Dorsey laughed harder. "That'll be the day,"
