Touch of Love (6 page)

Jake made the introductions short. The faces mellowed,
and a few smiles here and there made her feel much more comfortable. But given her rotten luck, Elly was sure it couldn’t last.

From the corner of her eye she thought she
noticed movement outside the chairs arranged in a semicircle around the table. There was one more rattan sofa, half hidden behind a large pot with an impressive banana tree. Elly realized that she had overlooked one person. Tall and dark, he rose to his feet to join them.

Probably the unlucky groom
.
She prepared a friendly smile, making sure it didn’t look pitiful. Pity was the last thing he would want, given the circumstances. At least she knew she felt this way.

She
had worried for nothing, in the end.

The moment their eyes met, pity was the last thing on her mind. Her eyes widened in surprise, she stared at his dark-eyed, tanned face that was breaking into a slow smile of recognition.

‘What are you doing here?’ she blurted out before she could stop herself. As his smile widened, she knew the answer,
and her face grew hot with embarrassment.

‘I live here
from time to time.’ Adam Scott nodded, his voice velvety and intimate. ‘I have always known we were to meet again, you know. After all, you were my saving grace, even though it lasted only but a moment. Kind of a Cinderella story. Too bad I don’t have a glass slipper for you, Elly Marlow.’

‘You know each other?’ Jake seemed just as puzzled as the rest of his family. ‘I had no idea…’ He didn’t seem too upset
, either. ‘Now, that’s destiny, guys.’

‘What kind of saving did it involve?’
A dry voice piped up, drawing all the eyes in the group to an old, shriveled woman wearing enough makeup for three people. She was watching Elly with a mix of mistrust and curiosity, her blue eyes surprisingly clear.

Elly
recalled Stephanie’s warning about Aunt Laura.

‘Oh, the usual kind.’ Adam laughed, unperturbed by
the old woman’s hawkish glare. ‘I woke up in the park, only to see Elly sitting on the bench, just feet from my lair. She was kind enough to let me use her phone. I have to admit that it was a leap of faith on her part. If I’d seen myself that day, I would’ve had serious reservations.’

If he was going to let it go, she decided not to remind him that she had indeed had reservations.
So she smiled, hoping to look just as cool as he did. She definitely couldn’t beat him in the looks department, though. With a clean-shaven face and his dark hair brushed back from his forehead, he looked even better than he had in the park. He was dressed in a white shirt with a mandarin collar and a pair of linen trousers without a wrinkle in sight. She panicked as she noticed he’d caught her staring at his bare feet. The last thing she needed was for him to think she had some kind of foot fetish. His hand lifted to push away a stubborn strand of hair that fell into his eyes, and she caught a sparkle of a simple strand of silver beads tied around his wrist. It should have made him look feminine, but didn’t. The contrast between the beads and his tanned skin sprinkled with dark hair was very becoming.

She hoped Jake would get a tiny bit jealous and save her from
Adam’s presence. He was too good-looking and too aware of it. Plus, he belonged to this period of her life when things were different, and every memory was still a stab into her freshly cut heart. Remembering their meeting only made it worse. She had felt guilty for a good week after meeting him. Adam’s face did pop up in her mind on more than one occasion, and her regret at never seeing him again was totally inappropriate.

Jake didn’t seem
to have been fazed by the revelations, and he remained a great host. Seconds later, he had installed her in one of the comfy rattan armchairs, with a drink and a plate. The large group split into little islands of chatter, leaving her trio on the outskirts of the wider circle. Slowly relaxing, she listened to Jake’s cheerful banter with Adam. Aunt Laura was far enough away that her loud voice only weaved in and out of Elly’s earshot.

Jake’s phone rang unexpectedly.
When he checked the display, his eyebrows snapped together in an expression of surprise. Not a good one, either.

He apologized as he rose to his feet, leaving her alone with Adam.
Please, hurry up,
she pleaded silently as he walked over to the stairs leading to the gardens. Obviously, the conversation was private.

S
he had to face Adam on her own. Staring after Jake would make her look like a lost puppy. She glanced at him cautiously, from under her eyelashes.
What are we supposed to talk about, anyway?
Altogether, they had spent maybe twenty minutes together, most of which she’d spent watching him suspiciously, waiting for him to pull a knife in the park.

‘Do you approve?’
His wry question caught her by surprise. ‘Me looking more decent, I mean.’ The amusement in his eyes flustered her even further.

Damn, but
I had forgotten that he was a very straightforward person.

‘I am glad you’re doing better
.’ She nodded, hoping to sound diplomatic.
Where
is
Jake?
She glanced around, her impatience growing. He was still talking on the phone, his hands moving in the air with agitation. ‘I thought your name was Adam, though. Where did this AJ come from?’ Her eyebrows rose questioningly.

‘Adam James
,’ he replied cheerfully, light dancing in his dark eyes. ‘When I was little, I found it a bit of a mouthful, so I renamed myself AJ, and it stuck. My family still likes to call me that, even though I abandoned it a long time ago.’

Fair enough.
To be totally honest, even if Jake had called his stepbrother ‘Adam,’ she never would’ve put two and two together, anyway. What were the odds of the two men being the same person? Or was it fate? Had her halfhearted attempts to erase him from her mind been noticed by some higher power?

‘How is the fiancé?’ Adam’s next question brought her back down to earth.

So far, she had avoided the topic, but her luck seemed to have run out.

‘We broke up,’ she said
shortly.

‘Why?’

Ugh. Does he even realize he’s being rude? Or does he assume our brief conversation justifies his interest?

‘He cheated on me
.’ She hoped her terse tone would be enough to shut him up until Jake came back.

‘Living up his threesome fantasy?’

She was stunned that he even remembered that detail. ‘No, just a simple one-on-one with my colleague.’ She sipped her glass of wine. Or rather, she downed it in three inelegant gulps, probably shocking Jake’s family.
They probably think he’s brought home an alcoholic.
But she didn’t really care at that moment. If anything, it helped her to shake off some of her sadness, turning her misery into sarcasm.

‘On a positive note
, Brad was consistent with his choice.’ She leaned over to Adam, her voice conspiratorial. ‘It was the same girl he offered to include into our sex life.’

What the heck
is wrong with me?
She never behaved like that, talking about her private life with a total stranger, especially with people all around. She turned to look at Jake, who was still on the phone. She was hoping to make eye contact to let him know he needed to come back before she made an utter idiot of herself in front of everyone. He was the only person there she actually knew. However thin the bond was, he was still the closest to her. Plus, he was far easier to talk to than his stepbrother was.

‘That might take a while
.’ Adam’s wry voice made her look back, embarrassed to be caught in the act.

Doesn’t he miss anything?

‘So how exactly did you end up with Jake?’ Elly could have sworn there was some amusement hidden behind his innocent question, as if he knew something he wasn’t sharing. ‘Let me guess, it was a spontaneous decision to forget your flighty fiancé?’

Does he really think I’m that desperate?

‘No, actually Jake asked me to come before that even happened. Insisted on it, really.’ She was stretching the truth a bit, but she figured it was unlikely he would ask Jake for confirmation. And Jake
had
wanted her to come.

‘We were friends in high school
,’ she added for good measure after his devilish smile made her mad. ‘I think he had a crush on me back then, if you have to know…’

‘I stand corrected
.’ Adam nodded. The corners of his mouth twitched, belying his meekness. ‘It’s just that he didn’t mention bringing anyone…’

‘Not everyone needs to advertise themselves on the front page, you know?’
She set her empty wine glass back on the table, her clumsy fingers almost dropping it on the stone-flagged patio. ‘Jake is very private. You must know that. Plus, we’re just friends.’ His opinion of the fairer sex was rather dismal as far as she could tell. Well, his recent experiences did justify it just a bit. But she was offended that he would think she would pursue a new love interest so soon after calling off her wedding.

‘If you need to know, he worries about you
.’ The saying
in vino veritas
hit the nail on the head. The glass of ruby red Bordeaux had definitely made her braver. ‘I’m here as a shield, to deflect some of the unwanted attention you might otherwise get. Jake’s idea, not mine.’

‘So it’s all for me?’

She realized she should have formulated her thought better. He obviously wasn’t happy to find out that his stepbrother was trying to protect him.
Brotherly rivalry or something more?

‘
Your appearance on my famous brother’s arm will be enough to get me safely through the weekend? He is even more generous than I thought.’

‘
Call it what you want.’ She shrugged, relieved to see Jake finally finish the conversation on the phone. ‘Still, don’t give him a hard time about it, please. He meant it well, and it’s just my stupid blabbering that makes it sound so awkward.’

‘You really do care about him, don’t you?’
He watched her with a mix of interest and sympathy that was uncomfortably close to pity. She hated pity.

‘Of course
.’ Her answer came brusquer than she’d intended. ‘Why shouldn’t I? He is sweet, good-looking, and fun to be with. I’m back on the market, remember?’

He had no right to look at her with
the expression she usually associated with people watching puppies or kittens in the window of the pet store.

‘I will remember it.’

Why did it sound like a warning?
She had the uneasy feeling that he somehow disapproved of her friendship with Jake.
Why?

‘You look very lovely in
that dress,’ he added after a moment of awkward silence. ‘Not that you didn’t look lovely the last time I saw you.’

Am I
supposed to answer that?
She didn’t think so. He was being polite, nothing else.

‘Hey
, guys. Sorry that took so long,’ Jake put an end to her divagations, his voice soothing her frazzled nerves like a security blanket.

‘Everything all right
, bro?’

Surprised, she looked up at Adam
. For a guy who was so obviously annoyed with Jake only seconds ago, he sounded genuinely concerned.

‘
Yeah, all is good.’ Jake took the seat next to her, the light scent of his aftershave reaching her sensitive nostrils. She sniffed appreciatively at the blend of sea, fresh air, and pine needles. For a second, she wondered what Adam smelled like but banished the thought instantly.
Who cares about anything Adam Scott does, or how he smells, anyway?

‘How about a grand tour of the house?’ Jake turned to her, his blue eyes inviting. ‘
It’s bigger than it looks like from the outside.’

He’s got to be kidding.
The house looked humongous when she’d first seen it from the car. Plus, their short climb to her guest room had only reinforced her first impression. But he was serious, apparently.
Different strokes for different folks,
she decided as they rose from the chairs, Adam in tow. She didn’t remember Jake inviting him on the trip. He likely just wanted to escape the drilling of his relatives, and any excuse to leave the gathering was a good one. Jake didn’t seem to mind one bit, though. To think of it, he seemed rather preoccupied. His polite chatter didn’t fool her for a second. His thoughts were a million miles away, probably somewhere unpleasant. She wondered who had been on the phone a moment ago. There was no polite way to find out, so she would have to suck it up. She nodded politely as Jake explained to her the history of the house. They spent the next fifteen minutes walking around until they ended up in the large state-of-the-art kitchen, where Jake’s energy finally burned out.

‘
Adam, I need to ask you for a favor.’ His impeccable façade cracked, and she glimpsed the picture he’d been so artfully hiding ever since the phone call. A different, much more serious Jake emerged. His eyes burned with a resolve she couldn’t quite understand. ‘I just need to make a very short trip downtown. I hate leaving Elly alone here with the rest of the family, so if you could keep her company, I’d really appreciate it.’

‘No problem
. Take your time.’ She watched them in disbelief. Adam’s matter-of-fact nod infuriated her even more than Jake’s assumption that she couldn’t be left alone. It was time to set things straight. But, somehow, she couldn’t do that to Jake. His apologetic explanation instantly took the wind out of her sails. Whatever made him rush downtown must have been important enough to make him abandon his cool and leave them standing there, letting the uncomfortable silence stretch between them. Jake was gone, his last promise to be back as soon as possible still hanging in the air.