“You really think surprising her is such a great idea?” John asked skeptically.
“Of course it is,” Adam said. Why wouldn’t it be?
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I am so bummed,” Jazmine muttered, sitting in front of the computer after e-mailing her mother.
Shana was disappointed, too, but she tried not to let it show. She’d spent half her day on the Internet, searching for last-minute bargain tickets to Honolulu. Apparently there was no such thing. It didn’t matter what she could or would have been willing to pay. There simply weren’t any seats available for the next few days. The best rates were for the following week.
“Waiting a week won’t be so bad,” Shana assured her niece.
“We should let Uncle Adam know we’re coming.”
That meant Shana would have to pick up the phone and call him, which was something she hadn’t managed to do in more than two weeks. Jazmine was right, though. It probably wasn’t fair just to land on his doorstep and expect everything to fall neatly into place.
The doorbell rang and Jazmine was out of the computer chair and racing to the front door. Shana walked briskly behind her, uncomfortable with the girl flinging open the door without first checking to see who was there.
Her worries were for nothing. Jazmine stood on the tips of her toes, peering through the tiny peephole. She stared for the longest moment, then her shoulders sagged and she backed away. “It’s for you,” she said in a disappointed voice.
Shana moved in front of her niece and opened the door. She was in no mood to deal with a salesman or a nuisance call. When she found Adam Kennedy standing on the other side, she was stunned into speechlessness.
“Adam?” His name was a mere wisp of sound. He looked good, no, better than good. Great. He was a thousand times more compelling than she remembered, and her heart felt in danger of bursting right then and there. If their disagreement had given him a minute’s concern, his face didn’t reveal it. He seemed rested and relaxed.
He smiled, and Shana’s knees started to shake. It shouldn’t be like this, the rational part of her mind inserted. She shouldn’t be this happy to see him or this excited. But she was.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Jazmine was the one who answered. The nine-year-old slipped around Shana and held open the screen door. Judging by the broad smile on the girl’s face, anyone might think she was ushering in Santa Claus.
Shana frowned. “You knew about this?” she asked her niece.
Jazmine shook her head, denying any knowledge. “But I fooled you, didn’t I? You didn’t guess it was Adam.” Then she grinned at the man in question. “We were coming to see you, only we couldn’t get a flight for this weekend. We have tickets for next week.”
“You were flying to Hawaii to see me?” Adam’s eyes probed Shana’s.
She nodded, and found the shock of seeing him in the room with her nearly overwhelming. Placing her hand on her chest, she felt her heart hammer against her palm. Even with the evidence standing right in front of her, she had a hard time taking it in.
Reaching for Adam’s hand, Jazmine led him into the living room. “You can sit if you want.”
Adam chose the sofa.
“You, too, Aunt Shana,” Jazmine said, orchestrating events as though she were moving figures on a chessboard. She took Shana’s hand next and led her to the overstuffed chair.
“Okay,” Jazmine said, standing in the middle of the room between them. “You two need to talk. I can go to my room or I can stay and supervise.”
Shana’s gaze didn’t waver from Adam’s. “Your room,” she murmured, hardly able to catch her breath.
“Your room,” Adam echoed.
“Really?” Jazmine’s frustration echoed in her voice.
“Go.” Shana pointed down the hall, although her eyes were still on Adam. She was afraid that if she glanced away he might disappear.
Jazmine started to walk in the direction of her bedroom. “I’m leaving my door open, and if I hear any yelling, I’m coming right back. Okay?”
Adam’s mouth quivered with the beginnings of a smile. “Okay.”
After Jazmine left, there was a moment of awkward silence—and then they both started to speak at once.
“I’m so sorry….”
“I’m an idiot…” Adam held up his hand and gestured for her to go first.
Shana moved to the edge of the cushion, clasping her hands together. “Oh, Adam, I’m so sorry. I wanted to call you, I really did. I thought about it so many times.”
“I was afraid of losing you.”
“That won’t happen,” she told him. “Don’t you know how I feel about you?”
When he didn’t reply, she said, “I wasn’t planning to fall in love again, but—”
“You love me?” he interrupted.
Shana hadn’t meant to declare her feelings so soon, and certainly not like this. The way she’d envisioned the scene, it would be a romantic moment over dinner and champagne, not in the middle of her small rental house, with her niece standing in the bedroom doorway listening to every word.
“She does,” Jazmine answered for Shana. “She’s been impossible ever since you went to Hawaii.”
“Jazmine,” Shana warned.
“Sorry,” the girl muttered.
“Maybe it’d be best if you closed your door,” Adam suggested.
Jazmine stamped her foot and shouted “Okay,” but when Shana’s gaze shot down the hallway, she noticed that her niece’s bedroom door was only halfway shut.
“You were saying?” Adam said and motioned for her to continue.