Flawed Perfection (An Eve Sumptor Novel) (24 page)

Billy’s head jerked to Charlie. “Worse?
Worse?
She
hates
me!” He paced, unconcerned about the guns pointed at him. He waved the gun around, talking to himself, mumbling about how it should have been different. “She’s supposed to be with me!”

Eve watched in fascination as the man she has known for years completely lost his mind. She wrapped her arms around Adam’s waist, fully aware that Billy saw the gesture. She saw his eyes move to her hands that were clasped together, holding Adam close. And, when he looked in her eyes, she saw the defeat.

She couldn’t say if she knew what he was going to do in that moment, but it didn’t surprise her when he lifted his hands in surrender. It didn’t shock her when, still watching her, he brought the gun below his chin and pulled the trigger.

Adam leaned against the back of Eve’s Lexus inside the hangar. He had been released from the hospital with a broken nose, cuts around the wrists where he had been bound, a broken rib and other minor injuries that he didn’t think about now. What he thought about now was seeing his baby girl. And, wondering what it’s going to be like seeing Lainey now that there were no doubts about what happened between her and Eve.

Eve paced in front of him, twirling her wedding rings around her finger, and Adam couldn’t hold back the smile. He had never seen her so nervous. If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit he was happy she was so agitated. Maybe it was selfish, but he figured she owed him at least a bit of self-deprecation.

Eve glanced up at Adam and caught him staring at her with a sly grin.

“What?” Holy hell, she was nervous. While at the hospital, she and Adam didn’t have a chance to talk about her affair with Lainey. Then, they were questioned by the police, and Eve found out Laurence’s men had taken out Adam’s security and took him at her warehouse. Most of Adam’s wounds had come from fighting back, and trying to get away. When they got him strapped to the chair, that’s when Laurence came in and started torturing Adam ‘for the fun of it’. Hearing that had pissed Eve off enough to push out of her chair and walk out of Charlie’s office. If she didn’t get air, she would have gone crazy. And, though Adam held her hand on the way to the airport to pick up Bella, he stayed silent. She had wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but was too much of a coward.

“Nothing,” was Adam’s reply, but kept his grin.

Well, he wasn’t glaring at her, so that was a plus. She looked at her wrist, rolled her eyes then went to Adam and checked his watch. They had another fifteen minutes or so before Bella—and Lainey—got here. No time like the present, she thought with a deep breath.

“Talk to me,
amant
.”

His grin faltered. This wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, but he supposed it was inevitable. “What would you like me to say, Eve?”

“I don’t know! What are you thinking? How do you feel?” Her heart hammered painfully in her chest. He had said he forgave her, but she couldn’t be certain that he didn’t just say that because of the situation they were in. Maybe he thought they weren’t going to make it out alive, and wanted her to think everything was okay.

He studied her, and his own feelings, in silence. Adam could see her elevated pulse in the vein on her long, elegant neck. “I’m not sure how to feel,” he answered honestly.

Eve closed her eyes. She couldn’t blame him, really. When she had thought he had been with another woman, she was furious, and he hadn’t done anything wrong. She
slept
with Lainey. She opened her eyes, focusing on Adam again.

“Yell at me. Tell me you hate me. Do
something
!”

When he said nothing, she dragged a frustrated hand through her hair. Eve was about to turn away when Adam grabbed her waist and pulled her crashing into him. He crushed his mouth to hers in a mind-blowing, breath-taking, knee-weakening kiss. She was panting by the time he broke the kiss.

“I don’t want to yell at you,” he said softly. “I don’t hate you. I think I have to wait until I see … Lainey and then assess what I feel.”

She heard the hesitation at Lainey’s name, and sighed. That was not a good sign. The kiss on the other hand, that gave her hope. Eve brushed her hands up his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. Depending on his answer to the question she was about to ask, she may need to hold on. A thrill went through her when he reciprocated by wrapping his arms around her waist, spreading his legs so she fit between them.

“Baby? Do you … would you …” Eve lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut. God, it hurt her so much to have to ask this. When she looked up at Adam again, tears filled her eyes. “Do you want me to stop being Lainey’s friend?”

The words tumbled out of her rapidly, and Adam watched as a tear escaped, sliding down her smooth cheek. It broke his heart.

“That was really hard for you, wasn’t it? Asking me that.”

She nodded, unable to trust her voice, and Adam sighed. He reached up and took a strand of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. “Could you do that?” he asked gently. “
Would
you do that for me?”

Eve’s face was the definition of mourning, and Adam watched as more tears fell. But, she nodded. He pressed his forehead to hers, and asked what he needed to know.

“Why, Eve? Why did you sleep with her? Tell me what she means to you.”

“Adam …”

His arms tightened around her, urging her to continue.

“I felt a connection with Lainey from the moment I met her. I can’t explain it. Believe me, I’ve tried explaining it to myself, but she’s the best friend I’ve ever had,” she said softly. “No one had ever wanted to get to know
me
. No one ever saw past the façade enough to know there was more there.” She saw his eyes lower, and brought a hand to his chin to lift it. “Except you and Lainey.”

“But, it was her that helped you. Not me.”

“That’s not true,
amant
. You had already begun getting in here.” Eve placed a hand over her heart before returning it around the back of his neck. “But, she made me feel … safe.”

“I don’t?”

“Oh, baby, that’s not … I didn’t … that’s not how I meant it. Of course you make me feel safe. What I meant to say was she was safe for me. I feared nothing with her.”

“Because she’s a woman?”

“Because she’s Lainey,” Eve responded quietly. “Maybe the fact that she was a woman played into it, thinking about what happened to me.” She tilted her head and studied him. “You haven’t asked the one question I thought you would ask.”

A small smile played at his lips. “You think I should be asking if you’re a lesbian? Or, at the least, bisexual?”

“It would be normal for you to ask, I guess.”

Adam chuckled. “One thing I do know about you, beautiful, is you’re not a lesbian. You wouldn’t be able to make love to me the way that you do if you were.” His brows furrowed as he analyzed her. “I don’t think you …” he cleared his throat and tried again. “I don’t think it had anything to do with gender. It was just how you felt.”

Eve gave him a small smile. He understood her. Always had. And, she rewarded that by hurting him. “You’re being extremely understanding about this,” she said warily.

“Like I said, beautiful, I can’t be sure how I’m going to feel when the plane gets here. But, I’m trying to understand your side of it. I can’t tell you it doesn’t hurt like fuck knowing you slept with someone else.” He saw her flinch, and tightened his grip. “Can I get back to you on your question?”

Eve knew he was talking about her question about her friendship with Lainey, and felt sick to her stomach. She had no idea if she could survive without Lainey, but whatever Adam decided she would honor. So, she nodded.

“And, if I ask you to stop being her friend?”

Eve sucked in a shaky breath, that literally hurt her heart. “I would be devastated if I lost Lainey,” she answered honestly. “But, I couldn’t live without you.”

Adam stared at her, taking in the enormity of her words. Before he could answer, they heard the engine of the plane as it taxied to the hangar. He felt Eve stiffen in his arms, saw the fear and nervousness in her eyes, and he kissed her gently on the lips before letting her go.

Eve turned to watch the approach of the private jet, fighting against the anxiety that threatened to take over. How would she act around Lainey? What could she say or do that wouldn’t upset Adam—or Lainey? The answer was nothing, she thought miserably. Bella is home. Focus on that, Eve.

Lainey stepped out on the stairs with Bella in her arms, and Eve’s eyes lit up seeing her baby girl. She focused squarely on Bella, waiting a bit impatiently for them to get to her. Finally, they closed the distance and Eve couldn’t hold back any longer.

Eve plucked Bella out of Lainey’s arms, barely sparing her a glance, and Lainey felt that in her soul.

“There’s momma’s baby girl.” Eve hugged Bella tightly to her chest, fighting back tears. She kissed her baby’s face, not wanting to let go ever again. She felt Adam come up behind her and Eve finally relented, handing Bella over to her daddy. Slowly, she turned to Lainey. The pain was so intense, Eve didn’t know how she was able to stay standing.

“
Thank you
,” she whispered to Lainey giving her a quick one arm hug. Eve gave Jack a quick kiss on the cheek, thanking him, and then turned her attention to Kevin and Darren. “That wasn’t a very long vacation, was it?” She hoped her voice sounded light, and she forced a smile to her face.

“Nope, but Cap’n Steve let us each fly!” Darren gave Eve a toothy grin, full of enthusiasm that only a child oblivious to the drama around him can have.

“That sounds fun.” Eve caught Kevin’s intense stare jumping between her and Adam. She remembered that Adam had bruises and a bandage across his nose, and thought about how confusing and upsetting that could be for the boys. She kissed Darren on the cheek, then bent to hug Kevin. “
Everything is okay
.” She took his face in her hands, holding his gaze. When he nodded slightly, she let go.

Adam watched the exchange between Eve and the entire Stanton family. It wasn’t just Lainey she loved. Would he be able to take her away from all of them? He noticed Lainey’s attention on him, and ordered his body to move to her.

“Thank you for taking care of Bella,” he told her quietly, offering her a quick—and somewhat uncomfortable—kiss on the cheek. He turned to Jack giving him a hearty handshake and a nod. Adam gave both of the boys a grin and a fist bump before going back to Eve, and wrapping a protective—and perhaps possessive—arm around her.

“Eve and I would like to invite you over for dinner to thank you properly for what you did for us.”

Eve barely stopped the surprise from showing on her face. He hadn’t mentioned this to her, and honestly, she didn’t think he would want Lainey to be around.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just relax together?” Lainey asked tentatively. Something was definitely wrong, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was. Maybe it was just the stress of everything they went through. She was hoping Eve would tell her everything, but Eve wouldn’t even look at her.

“We have the rest of our lives to relax together, Lainey.” Damn it all if he couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Right now, we would like you to come over.” He looked pointedly over at Jack for back up.

“We would be honored,” Jack answered before Lainey could say anything more.