Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (11 page)

“We have to head to Martha’s Way,” Luc
called out to him from the truck.

“You’re not wearing your seatbelt,” Adam
pointed out, knowing that was a constant debate betwe
en
Forrest and his father.

“You sound like my son. We’ll see you
later.” Luc whistled and the dogs jumped inside the truck.

From the backyard, the ocean air was
brisk and he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. His thumb
scrolled to Lily’s num
ber and pressed
TALK
. To his surprise, she answered right
away.

“Adam,” she greeted in a
neutral
tone.

The reception
sent ice through his gut.
“How are you feeling?”

“Better. I was going to text you but…”

“No more texting,” he interjected in a
rougher tone
than he intended. “You’re here on the
Vineyard with me. From now on we talk, face to face. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Her voice ripped through him. Adam
squeezed his eyes shut as an awkward silence fell between them. He opened his
eyes and focused his attention on t
he moving ocean.
“I miss you and I want you. What is the
American expression?
Blue balls?
Well, I think you can officially find
my face right next to the term.”

She laughed softly in his
ear
and he smiled. “I want to believe you’re in as much agony.”

“I am
,” she
confessed. “But…”

“No buts, Liliana.”

She let out a deep sigh. An awkward
silence fell between them.

“Have the rules changed?” he asked,
breaking the stillness.

His question was met by a gaping
silence.

“What is it that you want, Liliana?”

“We have
to
talk,” she acknowledged.

“Come to Vapor tonight. I’ll be there.”
He needed immediate action and get to the bottom of whatever was going on. He’d
suggest now, but he had commitments for the food festival.

“Don’t you have an event there tonight?”

“We can
still
talk.”

He knew her well enough to know she was
shaking her head stubbornly at him. So he pushed.
“I’m going to be busy all week with the
festival, but I asked you to come here a week early to be with me, not to be at
my fucking best friend’s house. S
o we will talk and
you will tell me what you want.”

“What if I don’t want anything? What if
I want to stop sleeping with you?”

There was an uncertainty in her voice.
Every
muscle in Adam’s body tightened.
“Then grow some balls, face me, and tell
me exactly
that and why. You need to tell me why.”

After a short silence, she let out a
deep sigh. “Okay,” she said softly. “I’ll see you tonight.” Her voice shook on
the words.

“See you tonight, Liliana.”

After he disconnected the call, he was
about to head inside the restaurant when Guillermo appeared with two rakes in
hand. Adam grabbed the offered rake and patted the older man on his back.
Guillermo was a handsome man in his early fifties with tanned oli
ve skin similar to Adam’s and jet black hair sprinkled with
a hint of grey. He was a brilliant chef and someone Adam considered a friend.

“Do they always have to cause chaos
whenever they come here?” he asked, referring to Luc and Marjorie’s two
energetic
Labradors.

Guillermo chuckled. “I think they love
watching you squirm.”

“They’re not the only one.”

“Problem in paradise?”

Adam shrugged. His relationship with
Lily wasn’t a secret. Everyone in his circle knew they were sleeping together.
“Does Ella always
tell you what she wants?”

The chef chuckled, clearly amused by the
question. “After twenty years of marriage, I can tell you I still don’t know
what she’s thinking.
The only thing I do know is when she says
everything is
fine,
I’m in really big shit.”

Adam swallowed his laughter, let the
tension flush out of his body and started raking the leaves into a pile.
Guillermo joined him.

“I think I’m in deep shit.”

“Over you being engaged to
my wife, who happens to be your cousin.”
Guillermo waved a
dismissive
hand in the air. “Tell Lily the truth.
Ella is my wife.”

“You’re my cousin.”

Guillermo shrugged.
“Same thing.
Family is family.”

Adam nodded. Good point. “I don’t think this is about
another woman.”

Guillermo stopped and rested his chin on the rake. “Then
you need to beg and accept that you royally screwed things
up.”

“Jesus, what is it about begging and accepting fault?”

“Do you want to have sex again? With Lily, that is.”

Adam let out a deep sigh. “At this point, I just want to
have sex.”

“Then go have s
ex. You have women
tapping their fingers waiting for you to take them home.”

“I don’t want them.”

“You only want Lily.”

Adam curled his lips in disgust and grunted. “It will bring
you great satisfaction to hear me admit to that.”

Guillermo nodded with a sm
ile.

“Fine.
I want to have sex with Liliana, only
her.”

“So beg and accept that you royally screwed up. Now, let’s
talk about today’s menu.”

Adam nodded and switched to Portuguese as the two men
discussed their dinner options for the night; all the while, his mind stayed on
Lily. The need to touch her and the fact he still had about nine hours to go
before they came face to face for round two m
ade him
feel edgy.
This
time, he had no intention of walking away empty-handed.

Chapter
Ten

“Once you have tasted
flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for
there you have been, and there you will always long to
return.”

Leonardo
Da Vinci

In Lily’s world there was one universal truth when it came
to her relationship with Adam
,
it was easy for them to take off their clothes and have
sex.
Hell, people did it all
the time. Only a year ago, she had shamelessly
encouraged
Minka to jump in the hay with Jason. But opening up your soul to someone,
letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, future, hopes, dreams, now that
was being naked. Adam and Lily had never been that exposed.

At no time had they shared chil
dhood stories. Whatever intimate details she gathered of
him had been a
fluke.
During a night out with
their circle of friends, she’d learned his father was
Christiano
Aquilani
, a famous retired Italian soccer
player, who could easily rival Paolo Rossi or
Baggio
. Once off
roading
with the group, it was casually
mentioned; his mother was Sophia Kensington, a former Miss America.

Adam
didn’t share anything personal. Not that she blamed him; she was as guarded and
shared very little. Allowing
herself
zero chan
ce to develop any sort of attachment. She even stayed away
whenever his parents were on the island. Something, they did at least four
times a year. Adam always casually announced when they were visiting, and Lily
was smart enough to get the hint and stayed
away. For
all she knew, they didn’t know of her existence, and that suited her just fine.
Well, kind of.

There
was that little pang each time she discovered a bit of personal information
about Adam from his friends. Things that were common knowledge to th
e world, he never felt the need to share with the woman
sharing his bed. A reminder, she was just a fuck-buddy.

She’d hooked up with him on a whim. They
sought each other
out
when it suited them, no questions asked,
no explanations needed. But then
they’d
started to talk and when
they were apart, he’d text.
That was where
the trouble began.
At first she’
d
tried to ignore the
messages. To acknowledge them would cause an expectation. Expectation led to
disappointment.
But
eventually she’
d
caved, and their co
nversations went from a simple
Good morning
text, to a phone call in
the morning, a text or two during the course of the day and a phone call at
night. No matter where Adam was, he called or texted. And although she never
admitted it, she came to anticipat
e their daily
interaction.

And then he
had to go all chivalrous on her.
Taking
care of her when she was sick six weeks ago.
Delaying his trip back to the
island for three days.
Making her laugh.
Making her tea.
Her belly did a flip. Damn his tea.

Why did h
e have to do that?

Belly flips
were definitely not in their rule book.

She had willingly entered a dead-end
relationship with him. And for a while it was exactly what she needed. Only
now, she needed…wanted that crazy-out-of-this-world kind of love that sh
e knew existed.

But not from Adam.

She turned left into the parking lot by
The Shanti, the exact spot she caught sight of Adam strolling down the road
over a year ago. She exhaled. She needed to tell him about her pregnancy. Lily
exhaled a deep breath, dre
ading his reaction. She
already knew what it would be. He’d want marriage. Not because of love but
because Adam took, Adam possessed. The same way he had taken her.

That feeling was wonderful in bed.
Thrilling, stirring, electrifying.

But in real life?
Tha
t would be settling. She never believed on settling,
especially when it came to her heart.

No way. Not gonna happen.

 
Not in her life or her child’s life.
Unable to delay their impending conversation any longer, she stepped out of
Minka’s Audi and crossed
the street from the large
parking area by the pier, down the narrow path to Vapor. The evening was chilly
but gorgeous, clear skies, and cool brisk air.
The
typical summer crowd had since dissipated, but the streets were filled with
life. People young and
old filled the avenue,
crowding the local businesses participating in the Food and Wine festival.

The closer she got to Vapor, the quicker
her heart raced.
Nerves.
She slowed her steps,
drew in a deep breath, pushed open the door with a trembling hand, and
proceeded to the bar. She was met by the booming sound of
excitement, deafening chatter, as one person spoke over the other. It appeared
she had found the party. Not that it surprised her. Vapor was an honored
sanctuary for Vineyard regulars and a familia
r
getaway for the many notables who frequented the island. The cool feel and warm
finish of the brass bar and the Tapas-inspired grazing menu were enough to keep
a loyal crowd. But the real reason people gathered at Vapor was to kick back,
relax, and enjoy
. Even in the winter, when the
population was barely at fifteen-thousand, the bar was the place to be.

She wedged through the crowd, stomach
flip-flopping, and made her way to the bar, where she knew she’d find him. A
few feet away, she came to a halt at t
he sight of
Adam. He stood next to Jason, who looked just as daunting and sexy in blue
jeans and a Henley. But it was Adam who caught her attention. It was always
him, had been since the moment they met.

He stood there completely unaware of her
watching hi
m. Tall, well over six feet with hard
muscles, casually dressed in a white button-down oxford shirt with sleeves
rolled to his elbows. Tonight he was sporting one of those
I-decided-to-tuck-in-the-front-of-my-shirt-at-the-last-minute partial tucked
into mo
ss colored straight-fit cargo pants, with one
of those skater, surfer belts. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of
GQ
magazine and could take on anything
that came his way, including her.

He smiled over something a blonde woman said to him at the
bar and tugged Jason playfully by his side. The two men
laughed,
nothing flirtatious. Being friendly to their clients was
part of their job. Still, a pang of an avoidable loss lingered inside her.
She missed his smile, his laughter, the way his eyes
crinkled. She missed his kiss. She missed Adam. She wanted him more than her
next breath.

At that instant, she knew as much as
she’d like to deny it,
pretend
it wasn’t so,
she
was head over heels in love
. His world moved too fast and burned too bright. Still,
she fell. The realization wasn’t earth shattering, almost expected really. What
was not to love? But she didn’t know how to feel about her feelings.

He poured a shot, pushed a drink across
the counte
r. Something in his casual movements and
easy smile made her feel like she couldn’t live without him. Only she knew
better.

Adam was not about commitment. She knew
he was trouble the minute she’d spotted him walking down the pier over a year
ago with a wom
an on each arm.
So shame on her.
Once again, she had
fallen for the wrong guy and found love in a hopeless place.

Had they not been interrupted by Jason
yesterday, she would have freely given herself to him with no regrets. It was
simple, he consumed her.
She couldn’t help it. He was
just too damn…hot. A beautiful raging storm filled with total hotness. And the
minute she let the cat out of the bag, he’d come in like a tornado and Lily,
like a tree with many branches, but weak roots, would be thrown to the
ground.

In love or not, she needed to be strong;
if not for her, for their growing baby. She couldn’t help falling in love, but
she still had a choice on how to go forward. Adam was impulsive, he didn’t do
commitment. He belonged in two worlds but not real
ly
rooted in either one of them.
She
needed–wanted–a
foundation and stability. The baby wasn’t responsible for this epiphany, it was
who she was.
Her relationship with Adam, the casual,
non-committed, no promises teeter-totter they rode wasn’t her. She’d p
retended long enough.

Adam suddenly looked up and their gazes
clashed. Her feet moved at their will and headed to the bar.

“What’s your poison?” Jason asked in his
usual calm, cool, and collected manner.

“Tonic water,” she answered.

Jason’s eyes narrowed.
He paused.

Yikes! Did she just let the cat out of
the bag?

Her heart was pounding, her legs
suddenly restless, and her palms slippery with nerves. But she gave him a cool
smile. To her relief, he poured her the tonic water with a twist of lime and
went abo
ut his business.

“Jay, can you handle this for a bit?”
Adam called over his shoulder.

To alleviate the sudden dryness in her
mouth, she took a sip of her drink.

“Yeah, I got it.” Jason answered, shot
glass in hand.

Heart in her throat, she watched Adam
put
away the bottle of liquor and walk to the edge of
the bar where she stood. He took her hands in his and smiled. Lily could have
died that instant and she wouldn’t have cared. Instead, her lips parted with an
overwhelming need to be kissed by him.

He
didn’t kiss
her.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,”
he said in a low voice.

“I said I would.” Okay, her voice shook
just a bit, but overall she had to give herself brownie points for sounding
relatively calm.

“Let’s go talk.” He placed a hand on her
back and guided her past the shuffle board to the
stairs that led to the lounge.

As usual the lounge was quieter, less
crowded, with a smaller bar. With a nod, Adam acknowledged the pretty bartender
she knew as Maxie. He led her to the opposite end of the
room, away from everyone to an empty table.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked once
they were sitting and facing each other.

She blinked. Loneliness, fear, the fact
that she was about to walk away from the man she loved, all plagued her mind.
He reached and g
rasped her hand, automatically their
fingers entwined.

“You said things have changed.” His
voice was low and raw.

She nodded.

A painful silence settled between them.

“What do you want from me?
From us?”

She met his gaze briefly and then looked
away. “You r
ace cars.” The words were spoken so
softly, so out of the blue. She turned her attention to Adam. He sat, watching
her, waiting. “It scares me.” She gave him a small smile, as surprised by this
revelation as his expression said he was. “It’s dangerous.”

In
the dimly
lit room, she saw something flicker in his eyes.
Annoyance.
Anger.
She wasn’t sure.