Page 109 of Tangled Up In You

Would she really drop everything and just go to Paris because her mom wanted to do that?

He had a terrible feeling the answer might be yes.

"I don't know, Mom. I need to think, and I need to use the restroom," Molly said, getting to her feet. "I'll be back."

Diana gave him an optimistic smile when they were left alone at the table. "Molly always needs a minute when I throw things at her, but then she jumps right in. She's as adventurous as I am."

"She's mentioned that." He was disappointed that Molly even needed one minute to think about her mom's offer.

"You're unhappy that I'm asking her to leave Whisper Lake."

"It's her decision, her life. She should do what she wants to do."

"But you want her to stay."

He hesitated, then said, "Yes, I want her to stay."

Diana let out a little sigh. "You seem like a very nice man, and I can tell Molly likes you, Adam, but I don’t want to see her get trapped in this small town. I want her to live up to her potential. I want her to see the world. I want her to have experiences she'll remember her entire life."

"Like I said, it's her call, but Whisper Lake has a lot to offer."

"It's not Paris."

"No, it's not. But it's a great town with wonderful people, and Molly has her own business, something she seems to love."

"And does she love you?"

He sucked in a breath at her direct question. "You'll have to ask her that."

"Love is a risk," Diana said. "It took me down a bad path a long time ago. I stayed away from it after that."

He'd stayed away from it for a long time, too. But he didn't want to do that anymore. He didn't want to be safe. He wanted to risk it all.But was he going to risk it all on a woman who might wake up tomorrow and decide to go to Paris?

Molly returned to the table at the same time as their desserts and she immediately changed the subject, asking about some of her mother's friends, which sent her mom into another humorous tale.

He could barely listen to the stories now. His stomach was churning. He'd known all along that Molly was impulsive and liked change, but he wouldn't have thought this kind of decision would be happening this soon. Maybe she wouldn't go. Maybe he should tell her not to go.

But how could he tell her that?

He was relieved when the meal ended. But as he drove Molly and her mom back to the apartment, he worried that the way her mother talked, Molly might be gone by the morning. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could say except goodnight.

He just wished Molly had something more to say, but she simply gave him a distracted smile and said she'd talk to him tomorrow. He hoped that conversation would go the way he wanted it to go, but he wasn't at all certain of that.

ChapterTwenty-Six

"So, what do you think?"her mother asked as they sat on the couch late Wednesday night.

"You're completely crazy."

Her mom laughed. "What else is new? You've always thought that. But we've had a lot of incredible experiences, haven't we?"

"Yes."

"Paris was always our dream."

She couldn't deny that. She'd always wanted to go to Paris, but she didn't know that she wanted to go now, or that she wanted to go for a year. "I have a lot going on here, Mom. I'm running the store, and I can't just turn it over to someone else before it really gets going."

"But it's Paris, Molly."

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