The Fairy Tale Bride Read Free

it. “There’s no family. Just me.” Bramble Lane was probably considered as houses for families. Detached three and four bedroom houses. Probably not single guy material.
    She gave him a curious stare. “You don’t seem to have any accent. Where are you from originally?”
    “Washington, DC. I graduated from University of Washington and worked in a few hospitals in Washington, DC, then Montana.” Was she smiling just a touch again?
    “And you like it here?”
    He almost laughed out loud. Was she going to start asking for references? “Well, I’ve bought a house. So I’m planning on staying a while.”
    He glanced down at her well-worn pile of books. “Fairy tales? Do you always read them to the kids?”
    She nodded and waved her hands. “Nothing better than a bit of make believe. Especially in a place like this.”
    He felt himself bristle a little at her words. The ped department here was one of the warmest, friendliest places he’d experienced. He kind of knew what she was getting at; he just didn’t like someone saying it.
    Her eyes had drifted back to one of the rooms that contained a kid having cancer treatment. “Sometimes make believe is better than reality.” Her fingers brushed over the well-worn books and she gave a little smile. “For adults as well as kids.”
    What did that mean? Her phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. “Excuse me.”
    She started talking lowly. All wedding stuff – it must be a business call.
    Mary came down the corridor towards him and gave a little nod towards Lisa. “Ah, good. You’ve met.” She had that twinkle in her eye. It didn’t take Einstein to figure out where her brain was going.
    Mary was the central hub right now of the Marietta gossip tree in the hospital. If she didn’t know it – it wasn’t worth knowing. She glanced at Adam, even though it was clear she was eavesdropping into Lisa’s conversation.
    “I told Ryan’s parents you would go over the procedure and get them to sign the consent form. They seem relieved to know what’s wrong with him.”
    “Any idea how he ended up inhaling a dime?”
    She grinned. “Oh, yeah. Ryan was balancing the coin on his nose and trying to flip it in the air and catch it with his teeth. Looks like he caught this one in more ways than one.”
    Adam shook his head. Mary was still listening intently to Lisa’s conversation. She sucked in a loud breath. “Nancylynn Pruitt’s getting married here?” Her voice rose and Lisa’s head snapped round and she waved her hand at her to try and silence her.
    “Who is Nancylynn Pruitt? And why is it a big deal?”
    He was still trying to get his head around how a place like Marietta worked. Everyone seemed to know everything about everyone. Most people in the town seemed connected in some way.
    Mary gave him a playful slap on the arm. “Everyone knows Nancylynn. Don’t you watch Sultry Suburbs ? Nancy Parsons?”
    Adam frowned for a second. Of course he’d heard of her. She was right up there with Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. “Nancy Parsons is from Marietta?”
    Lisa was continuing to talk. She was focused. She was professional. She also seemed to be bending over backwards for an extremely difficult customer. “Of course. If that’s what they want. It’s a little unusual, but I think I can manage that. I have other customers to deal with, but I’ll do my best.”
    It started to annoy him. He didn’t know Lisa at all. He’d only met her for the briefest of moments.
    Mary could hardly contain her excitement as Lisa finished the call. “Is Nancy Parsons getting married here, in Marietta?” She clapped her hands together before she even had the answer.
    “Shh…,” said Lisa and glanced around. “I’m not quite sure how public the news is yet. All I know is the date – which is only a few weeks away – and the fact that Nancy has said she wants to use lots of the local businesses.”
    Adam felt himself cringe and he took a step back.