Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(116)

Sucking in a breath, I dared to whispered, “What do you mean?”

Adam straightened, and his eyes met mine. “What’s next for us, Madeleine?” he replied, pulling me closer. “Where do we go from here?”

“You tell me,” I countered, lowering my gaze.

Time stood still, while I waited for Adam’s response.

Quietly he whispered, “I want you to stay. I don’t want you to leave the island. Stay for the winter at least.”

I nodded, but Adam wasn’t finished. “I never told you what my surprise was going to be the day you ended up down at the lighthouse.” Adam winced, I supposed at the memory, still fresh, of what I’d endured.

Curious to find out what he’d been planning, I said, “So what was the surprise?”

“You know the room next to my study?” Though I’d never been in it, I nodded. “Well I cleared it out a couple of weeks ago, changed some things around. That night I was going to ask you to help me get it ready…” Adam trailed off.

“Ready for what?” I asked, now more curious than ever.

Adam’s eyes, such a clear blue today, met mine. “I wanted you to have a room here all to yourself where you could write. I still do. I know you can write at the cottage, but you should have a spot for when you’re up here.”

I loved the idea, and I was touched he’d thought of it. I told him as much, and asked, “So what are you asking, Adam?”



“I want you to stay here on the island and write your book. Spend the winter here. We can spend it together, and hopefully I can convince you to stay even longer. Will you stay?””

My heart soared. “Of course I’ll stay.”

Adam walked me backward to the bed, where he pushed the suitcase off with one hand. Clothes tumbled out and to the floor, but neither of us gave it much thought. We were too engrossed in one another as we fell onto the downy comforter, quickly tossing our own clothes to join the pile on the floor.

An hour later, as we lay spent in one another’s arms, Adam asked, “What are you thinking about?” His hand toyed with my hair as I lay sprawled across his bare body.

“My next book,” I replied, lifting my head to rest my chin on his chest.

“Hmm,” he mused, eyebrow cocked. “Another mystery, I presume?”

Adam knew I’d decided not to write about the Harbour Falls Mystery, but it appeared he still expected me to pen a mystery of some sort. Crawling up so that my face was inches from his, I ran my hands through the sable locks I loved so much. “No,” I answered, “I’m thinking about writing something a little different this time.”

“Different?” Adam murmured, brushing my hair back from where it lay draped around us. “Different how?”

“I think I’m done with mysteries for a while,” I stated. “I’m going to write a love story instead.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, flipping me easily so I lay beneath him. Above me, he moved his body suggestively against mine. “And what inspired this?”

Breathless, my lips found his, showing him who—not what—had been my inspiration. Within seconds we were one, and as we moved together, I knew that no matter what kind of creative love story I came up with, it was never going to be as amazing as this one right here.





Epilogue



On a snowy afternoon in early December, Adam and I returned from California. We’d stayed longer than expected; hanging out at my house in LA, dinners with Katie and my other friends out there, and just generally sharing with Adam all of my favorite things about Los Angeles. And then we’d traveled up to San Francisco, where we spent Thanksgiving with his parents. Trina and Walker even flew out to meet us, so it turned out to be quite the Ward family holiday.

But now we were back, back on Fade Island. I was too tired to schlep down to the cottage, so I decided to spend the night at Adam’s place. In truth, we’d spent so much time together it felt weird to go our separate ways. But go our separate ways we did, because, despite my opting to stay at his place, Adam ended up getting pulled away by business, as usual. Nate had stopped by to tell him he’d missed a lot, so they’d left together to presumably get Adam up to speed.

This was how I found myself curled up in front of a roaring fire in Adam’s living room, going through a stack of mail Nate had handed to me before he’d left with Adam. Some of it was mine and some belonged to Adam, so I began the task of separating the pieces into two piles. Not surprisingly, my pile was significantly smaller.

Stifling a yawn, I continued to go through the bills, letters, even a few early Christmas cards. Adam Ward. Adam Ward, Adam Ward, the man sure did get a lot of mail. Finally, I reached the final item, a letter, addressed to me. When I noted the return address, despite the heat from the fire, I shivered. It was from Willow Point. And there was only one person I knew who currently resided at Willow Point, Ami.

I fought the urge to toss the envelope into the fire, but curiosity was getting the best of me. Besides, it looked innocuous enough. I couldn’t imagine what reason Ami would have for contacting me, especially since the last time I’d seen her she’d been trying to kill me. So yeah, I was a little wary. But at Willow Point Ami was receiving treatment for her mental issues. Maybe this was part of some recovery process. Offer an apology of some sort to help the person move on, that sort of thing. So without further ado, I tore the letter open.