Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (26 page)

“We need
a few minutes with our daughter, Mr. Aquilani.”

“Adam.”

Lily’s
mother smiled at him and nodded. “Okay, Adam. A
nd you
can call me Carla.”

Adam
turned to Lily, looking for the okay that he could leave. She smiled at him. A
faint smile, but one that said she could handle things from here on. He lowered
his head and kissed the corner of her lips.

“Jesus!”
All of the M
usketeers hollered in harmony.

“I’ll be
back around six to pick you up.”

“You’re
not staying here?” For the first time Max spoke, his voice dangerously low.
“You’re sleeping at his house every night, with him?” He threw the words
without looking at Adam.

A
dam dragged a hand through his hair, silently telling
himself to keep his temper in check. He failed. “For Christ’s sake, Liliana is
not a child. Stop acting like she’s ten.”

Blake
was quick by Adam’s side. “Let’s go. We have things to do.”

“Liliana?”
Rafa
el
scoffed. “You call her by her full name?”

Adam
ignored the other man and focused his attention on Lily. “I’ll pick you up at
six.” He nodded at her parents. “I’m going to marry your daughter, with or
without your consent. I’d prefer to receive your appr
oval.
Come have dinner with us Thursday night. I’d like for you to meet my parents.”

“We
don’t get an invite?” Zander muttered.

“Nope,”
Adam responded without looking at them.

“Well,
too bad. We’re a package deal. If you invite our parents, we come too.” R
afa grumbled.

Adam
could have sworn he’d never met anyone angrier than this guy.
Even more so than when Jason went through
his I-don’t-give-a-fuck phase.

“We’ll
be there, Adam.” Lily’s father answered. “We’ll talk more when you pick Lily up
tonight.”

He
shook the older man’s hand, leaned over and placed a kiss
on Lily’s mother’s cheek. A bold move, he knew that, but hell, that was a part
of his culture, Lily’s as well. More importantly, he wanted to send the message
he was here to stay. Like it or not. Ad
am took one
last look at Lily. Her skin was flushed. She looked a little sick. He glanced
over at Jason. They had a full list of things to do. But damn it, he didn’t
want to leave her.

“Go,”
she whispered. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Adam
fought the need to p
ull her in his arms once more.
“If your brothers give you a hard time, call me. I’ll be right over,” he
whispered in her ear.
“You and me,
together.
Got that?”

She
nodded.

Once
Adam stepped out of the room with his friends, the voices of Lily’s brothers
sounded all at once. He stopped and stood in the hallway, ready to go back
inside and beat the shit out of her brothers.
His friends, as expected, stayed by his side.
Then he
heard Lily’s voice.

“Adam’s
right, you know. I’m not ten. Get out! I want to talk to Mom and Dad alone.”

“Over
our dead bodies,” Zander said.

“We came
here to kill him,” Rafa grunted.

“And I
promise we’ll make it quick,” Max said.

Adam
snorted.

“They’d
ha
ve to go through us first,” Jason said in a low
voice. “They’re as big as us, but I can take at least two of them down.”

“Leave
us alone with Lily,” their father ordered. “And stop acting like immature
thugs.”

“What!”
All three echoed. “He’s…”

“
¡Dios!
”
The
ir mother
said,
the frustration in her
voice loud and clear. “I don’t want to hear the F bomb again. Go wrestle each
other and let us talk to Lily.”

After a
lot of moaning and groaning, the room grew silent. The door opened and the
three Serrano brothers c
ame face to face with Adam,
Forrest, Blake, and Jason. They sized each other up.

“We’re
going to kick your ass.” Zander looked fixedly at Adam.

“Unfortunately,
we’re a team here, family,” Jason said calmly. “You’d have to beat up all of
us, and I promise y
ou that ain’t gonna happen.”

“It’s
not you we want,” Zander informed Jason. “We like you.” He shrugged.
“But if you don’t mind getting your
pretty face smashed.”

Jason
laughed. “Try me.”

Rafa
smirked. “Flag, then.”

“What
the fuck is flag?” Adam questioned
between clenched
teeth. All of them purposely keeping their voices low, so not to disturb the
conversation going in the other room.

“Football,
pretty boy,” Max informed.
“Flag
football.”

Adam
chuckled. “You’re calling me pretty? You’re standing here in a p
air of skinny jeans and a pretty designer T-shirt.”

Max
pulled lightly at his shirt. “My jeans are tapered, and this is a vintage tee.”

Adam
scoffed.
“Still pretty.”

“And you
look like you just stepped out of
GQ
magazine.”

Adam
waved his hand. “All three o
f you can kiss my ass.”
He turned to leave just as the front door opened. Claire stepped inside. She
looked at the three men, clearly appreciating the view. She was officially a
traitor.

“Claire,”
Max said with a note of recognition.

Claire
did a double ta
ke, then smiled and threw herself in
the man’s open arms. This time it was Forrest who snorted.

“Oh, my
God, I never made the connection,” Claire said in awe, “You’re Lily’s brother.”

“What
are you doing here?” Max asked. There was warmth in his voice. Ada
m grunted, so did Rafa.

Claire
finally turned to look at Jason and the others. “Well, I grew up with these
guys. They’re family.” She flashed Adam and the others a smile. “This is Max.”

“We
know,” Adam muttered.

“Max and
I met a long time ago, and he shot my fall cover for
Vogue
.”

“You
were naked,” Forrest pointed out dryly.

The big
lug had been quiet during the whole exchange. Another man recognized Claire and
apparently took naked pictures of his woman and he
was
suddenly alive and ready for some ass kicking. Adam shook his head.

“I
wasn’t naked. I had a sheet over me.”

“It was
pretty obvious you were naked underneath.” Forrest waved a hand toward Max.
“And this is the guy who took that picture.”

Claire
crossed
her arms over her chest. Her almond eyes
shooting fire at Forrest. “Not that you have any say in the matter, but Max
is good at what he does.”

Rafa and
Zander let out a chuckle. Claire turned and gave them the same look. The two
men cleared their throats.

Rafa
stepped forward, took Claire’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You’re famous,
aren’t you?
A singer.
A friend of mine likes
your music.”

Claire
smiled at Rafa. “Thanks.”

“Let me
take you out to dinner tonight,” Rafa continued.

Oh, hell
no. Adam move
d forward to wipe that arrogant smirk
off Rafa’s face, but Forrest beat him to it. He grabbed Claire’s hand and
pulled her against him. For a brief moment, Claire looked like she was going to
check him, but thought better of it and stayed in his arms.

“Sta
y away from Claire,” Forrest warned.

Rafa
shrugged carelessly. “Is she yours?”

“Claire
is busy.”

Rafa
raised an eyebrow. “Doing?”

“Him,”
Adam, Blake, and Jason said together, looking in Forrest’s direction.

Claire
threw her hands up in frustration and step
ped out of
Forrest’s hold. “Hello, I’m right here.” She let out a breath. “What did I walk
into?
The battle of the biggest
balls?”

No one
answered.

She
picked up her black textured Mulberry overnight bag and threw it over her
shoulder. “Well, go on. I’m ou
t.” She stopped and
surveyed each one of them. “Where’s Lily? I haven’t talked to her since the
accident.”

“You
hurt my sister?” Zander asked.

Unable
to continue this conversation any longer, Adam raked a hand through his hair.
“Listen girls, I got shit to
do with my friends. You
want to take your frustration out on me then flag football it is.” He walked up
to Rafa. “I’m going to allow you one good hit tomorrow. And that’s only because
I understand why your panties are in a bunch. After that, you hit me ha
rd, I hit you hard back.” He assessed the other two men.
“You girls can decide who gets that one lucky hit tomorrow.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Without exception, all
epic loves start with a massive dose of lust.”

Anonymous

Panic
clawed inside Lily’s gut
to her throat. Wringing her
hands, she glanced at the large industrial clock on the wall. Barely fifteen
minutes had passed and her parents had not said a word. She glanced at the
door. No Adam. Lily inhaled a deep breath and put on a brave face. “Say som
ething,” she said at last. “I’ve broken one of the Serrano
rules. Tell me how much I’ve disappointed you.”

“Is it
true, bebé?” her mother asked. “Is Rafa telling the truth?”

She
looked at her parents; no disappointment in their eyes, only concern. “I’m sta
rting my eight week.” As if the baby had always been there,
Lily ran a hand over her stomach and smiled. “I was scared when I found out, so
I didn’t tell you.”

“You can
tell us anything,” her father said.

Lily
smiled weakly. “I know, but I’m single and
pregnant.
Not exactly an ideal situation for me.” She tried to sound brave, calm. Instead
her voice cracked, on the verge of tears.

Her
father touched her shoulder. “Parents want their children to make their own
path and find happiness. But our expectation
s should
not drive your happiness.”

A small
silence settled between her and her parents.

“Is that
why you’re going to marry that young man? So you won’t be single and pregnant?”
Her father continued.

“Adam.
His name is Adam. And the answer is no.” Even wi
th
all trepidation over failing her parents and their expectations, she’d never
marry Adam for the sake of their child.

“You
don’t marry because of a child.” Her father continued. He didn’t appear to be
convinced by her answer. “Marriage is about love, the
heart.” He touched the left side of his chest. “Feeling like you’re home when
that person holds you.”

Moved by
her father’s words, Lily once again felt the tears coming. She brushed the
corner of her eyes. “I feel that way with Adam. He owns my heart.”

He
r father’s hands cupped her arms. He leaned in and kissed
her forehead. “And you own his? He never said he’s in love with you.
Although he’s determined to marry you.”
As he spoke, his voice
was calm. It carried Lily away, like it always did.

“I
wouldn’t ma
rry him if I didn’t think he did.”

“It’s
not about what you think
,
querida
,” her mother said, coming
to stand next to her. “It’s about what he lets you see and trust. You need to
be his hope as he is yours.”

She
nodded, letting her parents words sink in.

“Why
haven’t we heard about him,
querida
?” her father asked.

Because until recently our relationship was based only on
sex
.
But she couldn’t tell her parents that.
She was their darling. “Adam and I were complicated.”

“We
understand.” Her father studied he
r face. The love
they have for their children clear in his eyes. “We never want you to settle,”
he continued. “No matter what the situation is, never settle for anything less
than the whole enchilada.”

By the
whole enchilada, he meant love. The love her pa
rents
shared. The fact that she’d broken a Serrano rule was now an afterthought. As
always, her parents’ main concern was for their children to be happy.
Unwed, pregnant and all.

At that
moment, she knew things were going to be okay. “You’ll give him a cha
nce?” she asked just to be sure.

“If he’s
important to you then he’s important to us.”

Tears
immediately began streaming down her face. Relieved, she fell into her parents
arms for a long embrace.
“
Te amo.
”
Her mother’s gentle
laughter reverberated in her
ear like the sound of
angel wings flapping.

“He
seems like a nice young man,” her mother whispered in her ear. “He’s very
protective of you.”

Lily
chuckled.
“Just a little.”

“Well,
if this isn’t a Kodak moment.”

Lily
froze at the sound of Rafa’s voice. Wel
l, one hurdle
down. Now time to deal with her brothers.

“Rafa,”
her father warned.

“
It’s
okay, Dad.” Lily stepped
out of her parents arms and eyeballed her brothers. Their faces were a crimson
shade, and their eyes seemed to spark with fury. “Why are you so angry with
Adam? It takes two, you know.”

“Thanks,”
Zander muttered. Muscles and veins
strained against
his skin. “We needed that mental image.”

“He
doesn’t love you,” Rafa said.

Ouch
. The words stung, so much
so that she gasped. Her mother stepped forward and shot Rafa a stern look.

“You’ve
gone too far, Rafael. I expect you to show Adam r
espect.”

All
three of her brothers uttered a grunting sound.

“Your
mother is right,” their father spoke. “You need to show some respect.”

“I
called in a favor to a friend to run a background check on him,” Zander said,
as if nothing else mattered.

Lily’s e
yebrows shot up in shock. “What?” She glared at them,
unable to believe what she was hearing. “Why would you do that?”

Zander
shrugged. “You got burned with Nate. It’s not going to happen again.”

But she wasn’t thinking
about Nate or his cheating ways. She
could care less
about that chapter of her life. It was her past. Adam was her future. The world
circled around her as her thoughts scampered to what Zander had started. A
reporter might have not been able to get all the information, but Zander could.
Zand
er would if she didn’t put a stop to it. She had
no intention of keeping Adam’s past buried, but one obstacle after another. One
day she’d tell them everything, but not today.

“You
need to call your friend and ask that they stop.” The urgency or rather pan
ic in her voice caused her brothers to look at her. Knowing
they would be able to see straight through her, Lily looked away.

“Is he
married?” Max asked.

“My God!”
She whipped around and shot them an
angry piercing stare. “You guys are idiots. Do you really think I would shack
up with someone who is married?”

“So then
what are you hiding?” This time it was Rafa who spoke, his dark eyes narrowed
on her. “You’re hidin
g something about him.”

“Just
stop whatever you started.” Her voice cracked.

“Lily,”
Zander said, approaching her. “What’s going on? Tell us what’s going on and
I’ll stop it.”

But she
couldn’t. Adam trusted her, she could never betray him. “Please.” She pl
eaded, feeling herself drowning in fear. “Just stop
whatever you started.” She herself was still learning about Adam’s childhood,
the fact that he took his father’s life. She still had no clue what happened
after that, she only knew this reporter was going
to
great lengths to expose him. There had to be a reason, which she intended to
find out but at her own pace, not by her brothers’ overbearing ways.

“Zander,”
her mother said, “call your friend and close your background check.” She looked
at her daughter.
“Lily is a grown woman. We trust her
to make the right decision.”

“He
could be a fucking killer!” Rafa said through clenched teeth, sounding
disapproving. He threw his arms in the air. “Just because he’s some famous rich
boy doesn’t make him greater or bi
gger than us. You
guys
…
” he looked at his parents, “may have decided to drink the
Adam Kool-Aid, but we haven’t. Zander will not stop digging until we find out
what Lily is refusing to tell us.”

Feeling
light-headed and a bit disoriented, Lily grabbed her
purse
to find her phone. She scrolled to Adam’s name and pressed the
TALK
option just as Zander extended his hand
to her.

“Liliana?”
Adam’s voice was filled with questions,
concern. And the muscles of her heart tightened with an incredible force.

“Give me
the phone,” Zander said. “Let me speak to him.”

She
looked at her brother. The arrogance now replaced by uneasiness.

“I’ll be
there in ten,” Adam said.

Zander
took the phone from her. “She’s fine. She’ll see you later.” He disconnected
the call and handed
Lily the phone. “I’ll call the
investigation off.”

Rafa
released a guttural roar. “Are you kidding me?”

Zander
turned to his brother. “Relax
,
bro. Lily’s our sister.” His eyes
searched hers. “But if he’s in trouble, know that you can trust us.”

Thanks
, she
mouthed.

Zander
nodded and threw an arm over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s catch up.”

Lily
hesitated, not trusting her brother. He pulled his phone from his pocket, went
through his contact list and t
yped.

Drop it.

For
confirmation he
showed
 
the
text
to her and pressed
SEND
.

“We
would never hurt you Lily. We are just concerned.”

“We’re
still kicking his ass in football tomorrow,” Rafa muttered, his displeasure in
full display.

Sometime
during the course of the day, Lily began to relax around her
family. Rafa’s nostrils were still flaring, but for the
most part his rage seemed to have gotten under control. Especially when Keely
and Minka arrived with their parents and the wedding became the main topic of
discussion.

They
were all gathered in the ga
rden; even Claire had
joined them, when Adam and the others pulled up and headed in their direction.
Jason and Blake greeted their in-laws. Their women like magnets went into their
arms. Claire was engaged in a conversation with Max; she glanced over at Fo
rrest. Tension thickened the air between them until Claire
broke their connection and turned her attention back to Max.

Adam had
either gone swimming with his friends or freshly showered. His hair was wet and
looked like he ran his fingers through for some
sort
of manageability at the last minute. He had changed into a fitted heather grey
sweater, clinging to every muscle on his chest and emphasizing his broad
shoulders; cuffed, dark denim jeans accenting brown, rugged boots; and a rustic
cashmere scarf thr
own around his neck, adding a great
layer to his outfit. He embodied the fall weather.

His eyes
stayed on her as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the group. He looked
alert, tough, and in complete protective mode. Lily could only stare, heat
churning
in her belly.

After a
short, polite conversation with everyone, he took her hand in his. “Hey.” His
mouth smiled, but his eyes searched hers, silently asking if all was well. She
smiled at him and his shoulders relaxed a bit. “Let’s go home.” He glanced at
her brothers and Lily held her breath. “Shave your legs
for tomorrow. See you at three.”