Secret Tastes (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 4) (17 page)

She nodded. Brian really was a sweet guy. But she didn't feel anything for him apart from liking him as a good friend and colleague.

"Well, I think they should be gone now," Brian said, glancing at the kitchen.

"They?"

"Bella had her husband with her."

"She did? I thought he wasn't supposed to know about his party."

Brian shrugged. "Maybe he found out."

They walked back into the kitchen, just in time for Sam to catch the backs of their visitors. She hadn't met John before, but she could swear the guy with Bella looked like Adam. There were enough similarities that even with that one-second sighting, her heart had started galloping so fast that she found it hard to breathe. Obviously the two cousins shared very similar genes. Gosh, when will she stop reacting so strongly to anything that had anything to do with Adam?

Adam marched back to his car, followed by Bella. On the exterior, he was calm. But inside, he was bleeding.

It had been his idea to go with Bella to check out the catering for the party. There was still a week and a half before Sam's stipulated timeframe for their temporary break ended, but he'd been dying to see her.

Well, saw her, he did. Now he just wanted to punch something, and Brian's face would be ideal. The only thing that stopped him from going out and confronting them was his sense of professionalism. They were in a work environment where people were busy getting their jobs done. He would have been disruptive.

So Sam had a new boyfriend. How cruel was it that in the one time he was at her place of work, she was out in the garden with Brian tucking her hair behind her ear—even holding a finger against her lips. They looked sweet together.

Sam must have known he was there. Brian must have told her. So did they go out to the garden together on purpose? To show him that things were over between him and Sam?

Damn it. Since Sam dealt him a heart-wrenching blow two weeks ago, he'd been biding his time and giving her what she'd asked for—time apart. At the end of it he was determined to prove to her just how much he missed her, and tell her that he loved her. He had hoped that Sam's cautious mind just needed to catch up with the magic that was happening between them.

Magic his ass. He'd been totally wrong.

The last two weeks proved two things he hadn't expected. Sam didn't want him. She wanted Brian.
 

He got in the car, banging the car door shut. Bella silently got in the passenger side, glancing at him warily.

"I'll take you home now, Bella," he said flatly.

"Okay, good. I need to start getting ready for tonight. I'm really looking forward to the party. What about you?" Bella asked with forced cheer.

He didn't respond. He wasn't in the mood for some fucking chit-chat when what he wanted to do was yell. Or howl.

*******

The buffet table was laden with sumptuous food, but Adam's eyes were glued to the desserts. He knew they were mainly Sam's work. He wasn't hungry, so maybe he'd just have one of her little cakes then leave.

"Hey, man," Trey said from behind him.

"Hey."

"Are you okay?"

"No. But you can go get your food," Adam replied, sweeping his hand toward the delectable arrangement.

"Did you say you're not okay?" Trey asked, peering at him curiously.

"Yes. The roast looks good. You'll like that," he answered with a casual expression.

Trey frowned at him. "Where are you sitting?"

"Where else but at the special table consisting of Sandy and Bella's other friends," he said sarcastically.

"You're not having a fun time, are you?"

He shrugged. "It's not my birthday."

Trey was about to say something else when Kris appeared at his side. "Hello, boys. Have you decided what to try first? They all look yummy."

"Not yet, babe," Trey replied. "Why don't you go ahead? Adam and I need to discuss something urgent."

"Now?" Kris asked in surprise.

"It's not urgent, Trey," Adam said.

"You keep saying that, Adam. It's become urgent now," Trey answered, giving him a knowing look.

Adam gave Kris a conciliatory smile. "You don't mind if your fiancé disappears from your side for a while?"

"Of course not. I've been thinking of ways to get rid of him, but he's stuck to me like glue," Kris said with a mock pout.

Trey slitted his eyes at Kris. "You're going to pay for that, woman. When we get home."

Kris gave Trey a sultry smile and a wink. "Can't wait." Then off she went to get some food.

Trey followed Kris with his eyes, biting his bottom lip that had curved into an anticipatory grin.

Adam sighed deeply, envious of the relationship between the two. Hell, being in a party with all these loved-up couples around him was the last thing he wanted right now. Pleading some sort of illness and going home was proving to be an attractive course of action.

"Now where's a quiet place to talk?" Trey mused.

"Let's go to my car," he suggested.

On their way out, Adam caught Trey giving Dylan a signal. Dylan whispered something to Ari and followed them.

*

"What's up?" Dylan asked as they made their way to Adam's car.

"Something wants to spill out of Adam's guts," Trey answered.

"I just want to go home, that's all," Adam said sullenly.

"Why?"

"Sam's got a new boyfriend." He tried to sound as nonchalant as he could but failed miserably.

"What?" the other two said together.

"How do you know?" Trey quizzed.

"I went with Bella to Rowena's Kitchen today to check out the food for tonight—and to see Sam, of course, even though I'm still supposed to stay away from her for another week and a half. I just miss her badly." He exhaled harshly. "I saw her in the garden with her new boyfriend. They were sweet together."

"Sweet as in how?"

"Touching her hair, silencing her with a finger on her lips…" Adam said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Hell, his chest hurt.

"Kinda intimate, wasn't it?" Trey asked, squinting at him.

"Fuck, yeah," he replied, the urge to smash something coming back with a vengeance as the memory of Sam being with another man flooded his mind.

"Did you ask her about it?"

"No. It wasn't the right place and time. Besides, what for? It was obvious enough."

"Where they cuddling or something?" Dylan asked.

"No. But they were at work. In fact, they both should have been working."

"Remember when I thought Kris was with Blake when I saw him wipe something off her lips?" Trey asked quietly.

"Yes," Dylan said, his eyes widening. "If Trey had spoken to Kris then, it would have saved the both of them a lot of heartache."

"This is different," Adam said.

"How?"

Adam paused. Wasn't what he witnessed earlier strong enough proof that Sam was over him? His brain said 'yes'—but his heart was pleading with him not to listen to his anguished mind.

"Sam didn't seem to mind that Brian was being sweet to her," he argued.

"You know, this is all speculation," Trey said. "Speculations aren't necessarily the truth. Why don't you just talk to Sam? If you're right with your assumptions, then it would hurt like hell, but so what? You're hurting now anyway. But if you're wrong…"

Dylan nodded his agreement.

A sliver of hope prodded Adam. "Okay. I think I'll go now and see her."

His buddies patted him on the shoulder in encouragement.

"You know, she must have known I was there and that I'd see her and Brian together," Adam said dejectedly as he opened his car door.

"You think Sam deliberately tried to hurt you?" Trey asked.

Adam frowned. "Looks like it."

"Why?"

Adam shrugged, not having a ready answer for that.

"Maybe because she's still feeling bruised from the Byron Bay thing and wants to hurt you back," Dylan suggested.

"I thought this break was so I could prove to her that I miss her more than I miss Sandy. There isn't even a comparison as I don't miss Sandy at all. While I can understand that she's hurt that I spent one night in the same room with an ex, I didn't think that was reason enough for her to go find herself a new boyfriend. It's not as if anything happened."

"And she's clear you didn't have sex with Sandy, right?" Trey asked.

Adam stopped and pondered. "I don't remember specifically saying the words 'I did not have
sex
with Sandy'. I'm pretty sure I made it clear nothing happened though. Although she did accuse me of lying to her…"

"Let me try something," Trey said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Make sure we have all the facts."

"What are you doing?" Adam asked.

"Shh. I'm calling Kris."

Adam gazed at his buddy quizzically as Trey waited for an answer on the other end of the line.

"Hi, baby," Trey said in a grave voice. "I know you know about Adam and Sandy and Byron Bay."

Adam raised an eyebrow. He had to hand it to Trey. That was such a non-specific statement that was open to any interpretation.

"And I want to know what Sam thinks about it," Trey continued. "…It's a matter of getting the facts straight before two people throw away their chance at happiness because of misconceptions…"

Good one, Trey,
Adam thought.

"…What?!… Who said that?… No! Adam said nothing happened," Trey said emphatically.

"What?!" Adam exclaimed, guessing what Kris was saying.

"Here, he can tell you himself," Trey said, then held the phone out to Adam.

Adam snatched the phone from Trey, eager to set the record straight. "Kris?"

"Adam," Kris said in a low voice, obviously trying not to be overheard by the other guests. "Don't you dare lie. You slept with Sandy when you were at Byron Bay, didn't you?"

"No! I swear to God I didn't. We stayed in the same room because our accommodation was stuffed up and there was no availability anywhere else. But
nothing happened.
I told Sam that," he said adamantly.

"How can that be?" Kris asked, sounding confused.

Adam raked his hair. This was as bad as trying to convince his mother about the same thing.

"Okay, I'm going back in there and we'll talk to Sandy and she'll confirm this," Adam said, starting to walk back to the function room.

"Just be absolutely certain you want to do that here, Adam. Before you get egg on your face," Kris warned.

"Why would I get egg on my face? Just because we stayed in one room didn't mean we had sex!" He was almost shouting but he couldn't help it. He was getting mighty frustrated. Did people think he had an uncontrollable dick?

"What about the proof, Adam?"

"Proof? What proof?"

"I didn't see it, but Sam did."

He stopped in his tracks. "What did she see?"

"The photo."

"What photo?"

"Damn it, Adam. Where the fuck are you?" Kris asked, sounding as frustrated as he was.

"At the parking area."

"I'm coming out there. We're clearing this up."

Adam gave Trey back his phone. "She's coming out here. She was talking about a photo. I don't know what the hell she was talking about."

*******

Adam stared at Kris in shock. "Are you sure?"

"That's what Sam said she saw. Your hand was way up on Sandy's thigh under her nightwear and you were kissing her shoulder. How can that be faked, Adam? Why are you even attempting to lie about it? Sam was hurt so badly," Kris said angrily.

"Babe," Trey murmured, putting an arm around Kris's shoulders.

"Your best friend seems to want to pull the wool over my cousin's eyes," Kris said to Trey, her eyes flashing.

"He's not. You haven't heard the whole story yet," Trey said soothingly.

Adam could see how mad Kris was—and Ari, too, who was squinting her eyes at him as she stood silently, watching with arms folded across her chest.

"Why didn't Sam tell me about this supposed photo?" he asked. "We could have sorted this out then."

"I still don't understand how you could say that picture was fake, Adam," Kris said.

Adam shook his head in frustration. Nothing he could say would be good enough to make them believe him. He could understand that. If he were in their shoes, he'd react the same way, too. Hell, if he saw a picture of Sam being fondled by an ex—or Brian…

He rubbed his face hard, trying to delete the image that flashed in his brain. God, if he was only imagining it and it already drove him crazy, he could only imagine what Sam must have felt. His heart constricted at the thought.

A stop must be put to this whole thing. This story must be straightened out.
Now.

"Guys," he said quietly to Trey and Dylan, "could you do me a favour and get Sandy out here? If you could drag Bella too, please do. Make sure they have their phones with them."

The two guys left, leaving their girls and him in an uneasy silence.

"I didn't cheat on Sam. I would never do that to her," he said softly.

"Then how—?" Kris started. "Never mind. We'll wait for when Sandy and Bella are here, and then you can explain."

He nodded. "Is Sam seeing Brian?" he asked.

Kris and Ari glanced at each other guiltily.

Ah, shit. Sam
was
seeing Brian. He walked over to a nearby tree and leaned on it, suddenly exhausted. His heart was damned heavy in his chest… and he wanted to cry.

"Adam—" Ari said.

"Here they come," Kris said as Trey and Dylan approached with Sandy and Bella.

"The party's back there guys," Sandy said cheerily. "What are we all doing here?"

"Bella," Adam said in a deceptively calm voice. "Could you show me that photo that you showed Sam?"

Bella and Sandy gasped as one.

"What photo?" Bella asked nervously.

"You know what I'm talking about. That picture Sandy took of us in bed at Byron Bay."

Bella's mortified gaze flickered to Sandy, who looked equally horrified.

"Please." Adam said softly.

Reluctantly, Bella called up something on her phone and handed it to him.

He flinched when he saw it. It was as the girls described, but seeing it with his own eyes made it doubly worse.