Touch of Love (16 page)

‘She
changed your mind, I gather?’ She had to say something, for God’s sake. Her stunned silence did little to hide her disappointment.

‘
She did.’ He sighed, his hands restless. ‘She… made a very good point about us both being lonely and bored and in need of some distraction. She never quite bought our relationship, Ells. Or if she did, it didn’t bother her one bit. She has never met you and didn’t want to, she said. She wanted us to go out and have a drink, making it very clear that it could lead wherever I wanted afterward…’

‘
Are you really waiting for me to ask you where it led?’ she asked roughly, pulling her hand out of his with one move. ‘Are you getting some kind of sick satisfaction from knowing how much I hate this?’

‘
It led nowhere.’ He took her hand again, ignoring her protest. ‘I mean, I thought at first that I just might play along, to be honest. I didn’t think you cared either way, since you’ve been avoiding me as much as possible.’

‘That’s just precious!’
Finally, she exploded, too furious to remain calm any longer. ‘I don’t want to have sex with you, so it’s perfectly fine for you to go and sleep with whoever offers you cheap entertainment, right?’

He
didn’t appear to be mad at all. ‘Well, it’s about a bit more than just sex,’ He corrected her, his voice patient. ‘The whole package, really. That said, sex, or rather lack of it, definitely can be a distraction. I’m not denying it.’

She took a deep breath
, preparing to tell him exactly what she thought, but he didn’t wait, continuing his confession.

‘I told myself I wasn’t doing anything wrong.’ He smiled at her outraged expression. ‘
That we didn’t really have a relationship and that you wouldn’t mind if I slept with her.’

‘I don’t mind one single bit,’ she hissed, struggling to break free. ‘
You can sleep with the whole town if it makes you happy.’

‘
The problem is, I can’t.’ He held her in place easily. ‘I realized it five minutes into our “date.” Camilla was very sweet and very inviting, but I just couldn’t stop thinking of what I really wanted.’ He waited for her to say something, but she stayed quiet. ‘Don’t you want to ask me what it was?’

S
he mutely shook her head, unable to speak.

‘I wished it was you, Ells. I wished it
were your face looking up at me with a smile and your hand on my arm. I didn’t think it was fair to her to use her while I couldn’t stop thinking about someone else, whether it was crazy or not. I thought that maybe I could try to persuade you to renegotiate our rules.’

‘I don’t want to hear that
.’ She got up in one fluid motion, her sudden movement taking him by surprise. She needed to get away. In her rush to disappear, she tripped over one of the uneven paving stones around the arena. She would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her with one strong hand on her arm.

‘Let me go
!’ She tried to pull free. She didn’t need any of this, any of his damn honesty that was ruining the fragile equilibrium she had managed to build for herself in the last weeks. He wasn’t promising anything besides fleeting pleasure in the two weeks they had before he left. And then she would be the one left with broken pieces that were impossible to put back together into one whole picture.

‘
If you think that this story will make me want to have sex with you for the next fourteen days, think again.’ She was shaking and angry with her own treacherous bod—almost as angry as she was with him.

‘
Is this what you think it’s all about?’ He looked at her incredulously, his eyes jet black in his suddenly pale face. ‘That I am trying to sweet-talk you into sleeping with me?’

She
had finally managed to make him mad, she realized, watching the small vein on his temple pulsate under his skin. ‘What else is it then?’ she demanded, unafraid of his thunderous expression. He was no Brad, after all. No matter how angry or frustrated he was, he would never physically harm her just to gain the upper hand.

‘Are you planning on declaring your undying love for me, Adam? Should we spend the next two weeks in romantic bliss so you can leave with great memories
, then forget me as soon as your plane takes off?’

‘
Saying anything romantic wouldn’t be advisable at the moment.’ He watched her with hooded eyes, his gaze assessing. ‘You’d never believe me, would you?’

Suddenly
, he pulled her closer, his lips descending upon hers in a kiss that wasn’t gentle at all. Hard and demanding, he possessed her mouth with mastery that left little room for anything but complete compliance. She kissed him back, desperately and boldly, sensing that it might very well be the last time they were so close. She felt the burning sensation in the corner of her mouth where she’d been hurt earlier, but she ignored it. It didn’t matter, she thought feverishly as she felt his hands roam up her sides to reach her shoulders and anchor her to him as if it were the only place in the whole universe where she truly belonged.

Adam
put an end to the kiss, his mouth stilling against hers, becoming only the briefest of touches as a gossamer whisper against the skin of her ravaged mouth. She felt him linger, his reluctance to let her go filling her with joy.

‘I’m sorry
,’ he whispered, his breath sweet on her heated skin. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking to jump you like that.’ He kissed her again, and the delicate touch of his mouth against her lips was tantalizingly tender. ‘Especially after you got hurt.’ Warm and beguiling, his lips came to rest on the corner of her mouth.

‘I’m fine,’ she sighed, thinking that those words were becoming her mantra as far as he was concerned.

‘Maybe I should have started with something else.’ He reached into his pocket, then pulled out a piece of folded paper. She took it from him cautiously, her fingers brushing his. The touch sent a jolt of electricity up her arm. Only her pride kept her from dropping the sheet.

‘What’s th
is?’ She unfolded the paper, staring in confusion at what she thought was a colorful ad. The large Chinese signs gave her little clue as to its content.

‘
It’s the project we’re going to work on in Singapore,’ he explained, studying the page with ease that let her know he understood every single word. She wasn’t surprised. ‘It’s a merger between our network and one of our South Asian partners. A combination of food, gardening, and adventure.’

‘That’s great
.’ She started to hand it back to him, confused about why he’d decide to show it to her.

‘We need some help in the advertising department, you know?’
He smiled as the understanding slowly dawned upon her still-befuddled brain. ‘I’m allowed to create my own team. Not a large one, just a group of four or five experts that could help us make the transition smoother. I had a few names in mind, Ells.’

‘
You do?’ She was in a serious need of an upgrade to her vocabulary. All those two-word responses wouldn’t do in the long run if she didn’t want him to think she had lost her brain.

He didn’t seem to mind her
less-than-eloquent answers. ‘Yep, and guess who’s first on my list? I checked with your agency, and they said they would be thrilled to lend me your expertise for the next few months.’

‘You talked to Malcolm?’
She stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown two heads. Her grumpy, old-fashioned boss wouldn’t appreciate his proactive approach, even if Adam had been the most influential person in the country. He didn’t like others meddling in his business, he had said on numerous occasions, his small brown eyes stormy.

‘
A charming man, what can I say?’ Adam’s wry remark had her in stitches, and she gasped for air, her whole being as light as if she were floating on a cloud.

‘
He assured me that you were an excellent worker who brings a lot to the table.’ Adam nodded, satisfied with her reaction. ‘Told me all about the campaign you were a part of last spring.’

‘He never praised me or even noticed I was there
.’ She glared at him suspiciously, sensing something behind this sudden change of direction. ‘What did you promise him, Adam?’

He smiled sheepishly, not very
good at playing it cool. In fact, if he were nearly as hopeless in poker, he’d better make sure he never played it. ‘Oh, just the usual. Exposure for his agency, plus some other small benefits.’ His deadpan face didn’t fool Elly for a second. It must have been big if he was willing to let her go at the drop of the hat.

‘
You did all that to get me on your team?’ she asked hesitantly, the truth about what could happen if she wanted to go finally hitting home. She could go to Singapore and work on what could very well turn out to be a stepping-stone for her career. Most importantly, she could see Adam. The rest of the perks faded into the background the moment she imagined the possibilities it carried.

‘I’d negotiate with the devil if I had to
.’ He smiled at her, his eyes warm and vulnerable. ‘I hate the thought of me going away and leaving you here, before we had a real shot at something big…’ He pulled her closer, and this time, she didn’t resist. Instead, she leaned into him, her body eager to be closer.

‘I know we started the whole thing from the wrong end
.’ His words reverberated in her head, each cell of her body welcoming them like parched earth welcomes rain after a long draught. ‘I wish we could do it again, Ells. All the right moves, in the right order. Dates with candlelight dinners and chocolate boxes, flowers, and kisses in the rain. We didn’t meet in the best of circumstances, right? But I really believe fate brought us together. That it wanted to give me a second shot at happiness, putting you in my way, quite literally.’

‘Are you sure that’s all?’
Laughing had become easy after the invisible hand of fate wiped away the misery of the last few hours.
He wants us to stay together,
was all she could think, going to all the trouble of making it possible. ‘Just flowers and kisses?’

‘
You’re a witch, and you know it.’ He groaned as she looked at him from under her eyelashes, her gaze pure seduction. She wasn’t disappointed. He kissed her then, saving the rest of his speech for much later.

It
was getting slowly darker around them, the lamps around the park turning on one by one. Milky-white spheres of light glowed in the fast-approaching night, and both Adam and Elly were oblivious of anything but each other, their kiss spiraling into something dangerously sensuous.

They would
give a proper relationship a try, this time doing it all in the right order,
she thought as she let her hands travel behind his neck to bring him even closer. They would see where the path would take them. The crazy happiness she felt each time they were together gave her hope that it would be a road home. A road they would walk together, now and always…

Six months later

‘We’ll be late for the ceremony, Ells.’ Adam knocked on the bathroom door. Inside, she sat on the edge of the bathtub, still too stunned to do anything but stare at the little stick as two blue lines screamed the truth at her.

‘Just a sec, all right?’
She had to keep it to herself, at least for the time being. This was Jake’s day, and she would be damned if she monopolized it with her own happy news.

She got up, sending one last checking glance over her reflection. She looked good, better than ever before. Her skin had
a golden sun-kissed tan from the beaches in Thailand, where she and Adam had stayed to celebrate the end of the project. Even her dark-brown hair had gained some natural highlights in the new, layered cut that flattered her face. In her turquoise dress, she looked all right, she thought happily. The large Larimar pendant nestled in the valley of her breasts finished off the simple yet elegant outfit. She would never be as beautiful as Bianca or any of those gorgeous socialite women she’d met in Singapore and Thailand. She knew it but didn’t mind it in the least. The only man who mattered to her seemed to like her the way she was. His dark eyes lit up each time she woke up in his arms, morning after morning.

She disposed of the telltale stick and walked out to meet him, her heart doing
a little happy leap that somehow didn’t want to go away, even after half a year together. Their relationship had deepened, evolving into something that filled her with such happiness that she couldn’t even imagine ever hesitating to take the leap of faith.

‘You look absolutely stunnin
g.’ In his white linen pants and mandarin-collar shirt, he looked good enough to eat, and she cursed their need to rush to arrive on time for Jake and David’s ceremony.

‘
Is everything okay?’ She was silly to think he wouldn’t notice anything. Adam didn’t just look; he observed. She felt her resolve waver. The desire to share with him her precious secret was hard to bear. They had talked about children, mostly in recent weeks. Watching the children play on the white-sand beaches. Small, tanned, and utterly sweet, they made her wonder what it would be like to have one of her own. Adam seemed to think along similar lines.

‘
Fine.’ She resisted the temptation, reaching for her clutch and looking at him expectantly. ‘I’m ready.’

He didn’t move.
In fact, he looked extremely nervous. She knew him better than anyone, and the tiniest micro-expression of his handsome face was easy to interpret. And she could tell he was uncomfortable. Something was bothering him enough to stall their departure.

‘
What is it?’ she asked anxiously. She vaguely recalled his talk about the network and some kind of technical difficulties. She hoped it wasn’t something serious that would spoil the joyous day.

‘Look, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I can
’t do it like that.’ He ran a hand through his dark hair. ‘Your parents will be at the party, as well, for starters.’

‘
Really?’

Adam and her parents
got along pretty well, all things considered. Even without all the details about Brad’s last inglorious appearance, they seemed to have finally accepted that she was moving on. Adam helped by being absolutely charming. But they didn’t really know Jake well enough to want to come to his party. Except for the few pleasantries they’d exchanged here or there, they had nothing in common.

‘I asked them to
come.’ Adam’s voice sounded suspiciously strangled, and he cleared his throat. She needed to get to the bottom of it quickly. Otherwise, they would definitely be late.

‘Why?’
Her encouraging smile did wonders, and before she knew it, he was grinning. He reached into his pocket and produced a little velvet-clad box. He offered it to her gently, his fingers shaking ever so slightly.

‘I know it’s not the best moment
, and I should be more romantic, but I can’t wait any longer. I would be the happiest man alive if we could go to the party as a proper couple, with a wedding date set.’ She opened it with a gasp at the beautiful cluster of tiny rubies glowing red against her palm.

‘
It’s so beautiful,’ she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. ‘The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Adam.’

‘
Does it mean yes?’ He was watching her carefully, the vulnerability in his face melting her heart into a puddle of absolute happiness.

‘
It sure does.’ She laughed through her tears, then gasped as he swept her off her feet and twirled her around, his exuberance matching hers.

She watched him put the ring on her finger, the satisfaction in his
expression bringing a smile to her lips. She liked the feel of the thin golden band as she flexed her fingers, catching sparks of sunlight in the red stones.

‘We can talk about all the details later on
.’ He looked at her apologetically. ‘I just didn’t want to wait any longer to claim the woman I love. Because I love you very much, Ells. But, of course, you know that…’

She laughed and stood on her ti
ptoes to kiss him, his words painting her whole world in golden sunshine that had nothing to do with weather.

‘Ditto,’ she whispered as she managed to finally detangle herself from his embrace
because his reluctant arms were slow to release her. His mouth was smeared with her lipstick, and she giggled as he disappeared into the bathroom for a quick cleanup.

A minute later
, she started to wonder what was taking him so long. A quick wipe with a wet paper towel should have sufficed. The silence behind the white door began to feel oppressive. She was just about to knock on the door, her patience tested to its limits, when it swung open. He emerged, a stunned expression on his face. He was gingerly holding the little stick with a white screen, where the two blue lines were still visible.

‘
Is this what I think it is?’

S
he swallowed hard before nodding. Reactions to such news were always hard to predict. She didn’t have to wait long to find out exactly what he thought. Suddenly, she was back in his arms, her face covered with his ardent kisses.

‘
See? I was just on time,’ he murmured against her skin before kissing her again. ‘This time, we’re going to do it all in the right order. The engagement, the wedding, and then our baby. We will be on a tight schedule, though…’

‘I believe in you
.’ She laughed softly, her lips on the warm skin of his throat. ‘After all, you’re the best multitasker I know. I should know, after working together the last half year.’

‘I
had better not disappoint you then.’ He shivered under the ministration of her soft mouth. His voice grew rougher. ‘Starting now…’ The kiss that followed made her forget everything.

We have
all the time in the world,
she thought hazily as he reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. Then she heard it quietly swoosh open.

‘We
’ll tell them we had to refuel,’ he whispered against the skin of her breasts, already swelling under his touch. ‘There was a line, and we had to wait a really long time…’

And
so they did. If anyone ever doubted their story, they kept it to themselves.

********

If you enjoyed ‘Touch of Love’ you might also like other books by Ellen:

‘Italian Charade’

‘Working Arrangements’

‘Net of Lies’

‘Under Cover of Love’

‘The Next Step’

‘A Second Chance’

‘Tomorrow Will Be Too Late’

‘Shadow of Love’

‘Close Your Eyes’

‘Desperate Measures’

‘Deception of the Heart’

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