Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (17 page)

“And after that?” she asked in a low
voice,
filled with suspicion.

“We continue as we were.”
And I intend to kidnap you to an island and keep you there
until you become Mrs. Aquilani
. But she didn’t have to know that.

“Continue having sex, you mean.”

He huffed. Shit, he was beginning to
feel like
the one being used. “Yes, continue to have
sex if that’s what you want, but you’ll be pregnant and all.”

“So.”

He stared at her.

She tossed up her hands. “Pregnant women
still have a sex drive, Adam. As a matter of fact, it increases.”

That’s right; he rea
d about that once somewhere. “Like now?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She released a deep
breath. “Thank God I brought Bob.”

Now he was lost. “Who the fuck is Bob?”

With a jutting chin she deliberately
raised her eyebrows. “Battery Operated Boyfriend, also known as
BOB,” she spat out the words.

He frowned, his muscles and veins
straining against his skin. Lily had a dildo. How the hell did he not know
about that? His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances
like underpants in a tumble dryer. “You h
ave a
dildo.”

It was a statement, but she smiled and
gave him a dismissive nod. “You’re not always around. A girl has needs.”

“Okay,
then play with your
dildo. But—
” He stopped and stared at her. “I get to watch.”

She shrugged.
Whatever.
Crossed her arms o
ver her chest, gave him another uneasy look before dropping
her sweet ass on the bed and turned her back to him. From any other woman, he
would have found the act irritating and annoyed the shit out of him.
But not with Lily.
For a minute, he studied
her,
sighed and put both hands on his forehead. He
was torn between the devil and the angel sitting on his shoulders; one wanted
to remind
her a
fucking dildo couldn’t do
the job, not like he could, and the other wanted to take care of her. Finally,
he walked o
ut of the room and didn’t look back until
he was by the door.

“You and I are going on a date
tomorrow,” he announced.

She didn’t answer. Adam swore under his
breath before closing the door behind him. Thoughts of Lily pleasuring herself
in the room burned
his brain. His friends were
idiots, which made him an even bigger idiot for believing he could be around
her and not want sex.

Chapter
Fifteen

“Life begins at the end of
your comfort zone. Take risks.”

Anonymous

The salted sea air was solid in the
village of Menemsha, a small fisherman’s town in Chilmark,
where Adam’s restaurant, The Wharf’s Side, was located on the historic harbor.
As they drove through the light breeze of the early evening, Lily admired the
fishing cottages. Being on the quiet coa
st, the town
felt like a remote oasis, secluded from the bustle of tourists and shoppers
typical of Edgartown and Oak Bluffs.

She had been surprised upon learning
their date was to be at his famous restaurant, the “must” place to dine when on
the island. N
ot only had she never been there, it was
one of those things she learned about Adam in passing. Today, she was entering
his world for a glimpse of all the little things personal to him. In fact, this
was her first time in the town located just fifteen minu
tes away from his house.

Her heart began to race the moment the
car pulled into the reserved parking spot. With anxiety curled in her stomach,
she ran nervous hands over the skirt of her dress. This was it.
Their first date.

He turned to face her, and thos
e gorgeous, breathtaking eyes caught a wink of sunlight. A
perfect blend of molten chocolate marbled with rich flecks of gold, they seemed
full of life as his mouth opened in a broad smile.

“Ready?” he asked.

She breathed in the ocean air, plastered
a smil
e on her lips, and nodded. In return he frowned
and caressed her face with his thumb. The slight touch gave her an electric
jolt.

“You don’t look well,” he observed, his
voice calm, showing no sign of nerves. “Are you feeling sick?”

Her heart was a jackham
mer rattling within her ribcage, but other than that, all
was well. “I’m fine.”

His gaze swept over her once more,
then
he got out of the car. In
a pair of urban slim fitted black chinos with layered blue and heather grey
buttoned down Henley, hugging all
of his muscles, he
looked handsome, daunting, and sexy as hell. He moved swiftly and opened her
door. He extended his hand and she placed trembling fingers in his. Hand in
hand they walked in silence into the restaurant.

“Stop being nervous.”
He squeezed h
er hand. “A date is supposed to be fun, at least that’s
what I’ve heard.”

She steadied her breath and tried to
calm the panic. “You’ve never taken a woman out on a date?” she asked,
distracting herself with the conversation. Not that the thought of Adam sh
aring an intimate meal with a woman was comforting.

He chuckled.
“Of course.
But often I get bored
within thirty minutes.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

He glanced over and smiled at her. “It’s
always an interview. I don’t care for a Q&A session,” he said as h
e opened the door for her.

She could only imagine the
poor women with their
questions.
Do you want to get
married? How many children do you want? How rich are you? Are you as good in
bed as I imagine?

At least she knew the answer to the last
question.

Lily
stepped
through the door and was greeted by an interesting blend of modern design
stainless steel, combined with traditional brick walls and repurposed barn wood
on the floor. The restaurant was surprisingly filled. The atmosphere was cool
with a welcome
feel perpetuated by the friendly
staff. Most waved or nodded an acknowledgment to their boss and smiled warmly
at her. Even some of the patrons waved at Adam. A quick introduction was made
between her and the maître d’ before Adam led them up the stairs to
the second floor.

Unlike the first floor, which had a more
formal and serene atmosphere, the upper level deck was filled with life; a bar,
a small area for a band, two elegant sofas in the corner, and dancing fire
flames from lanterns projecting enough he
at for those
who dared to venture and dine outside.

“I reserved the most romantic table for
us,” Adam said with easy charm, and led her to a table at the far end of the
deck overlooking the harbor.

As he pulled her chair, Lily caught a
few women glancing a
ppreciatively in his direction.
Some lingered a little longer, forgetting their spouse or date sitting across
from them. She understood the pull he had on her gender. Everything about him
exuded sexuality, confidence, and promises if one dared to look deep
er. He seemed oblivious to it all, almost as if he only had
eyes for her.

“We should have time to catch the sunset
after dinner,” he said as he sat across from her, “You haven’t caught a sunset
until you see the one here.”

Who was this man?

She knew he was
meticulous, thoughtful, and detailed. Even during sex he’d pay attention to
every inch of her, pleasing her until she couldn’t think. But there was
something about the way he was making her feel today. It felt intimate. “You’ve
thought of everything.”

“Th
is is our
first date. I’m trying to impress you,” he said, his voice calm and sexy as
hell.

Their eyes met with a flare of heat,
causing her to blush. He leaned in for a kiss, and possessed her inner soul. It
was a gentle kiss, like cotton. The soft caress
melted her heart. When he sat back, she turned her gaze to the stunning view of
the harbor.

People sat on carts along the pier
eating lobsters, drinking beer, and laughing. A sun-beaten man covered in
bright orange overalls with knee-length black
fisherman
boots stood at the end of the pier, slicing his catch of the day. Lily observed
a mother leading her son over to the fisherman. She was too far away to hear
their words but by the gentle gesture of the mother, she guessed the woman was
explaining
the art of fishing to her young son.

A smile formed on her lips as her gaze
traveled to the filled parking lots, the beach-goers as they walked in easy
lazy steps from the sandy shoreline to the nearby shops and the
multi-generational family take-outs. He
r attention
wandered back to the water. Boats lined along the dock rocking gently to the
rhythm of the ocean. Everything and everyone around them seemed happy,
carefree, lost in the moment, but sadness swept over her in waves.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she
said in a flat, monotone voice.

“Then why do you look sad?”

The question forced her to look at him.
“If it wasn’t for the baby, you would have never brought me here.”

“If it wasn’t for the baby, you would
have never been open to coming here with me,” he s
aid
with an expression that gave nothing away. “You were just as emotionally
unavailable as I was.”

She couldn’t deny that. Still, he had
gotten under her armor and captured her heart. “And now you are,” she paused,
not sure if she could say the word.
“Eh…
emotionally available.”

“I’m working on it. Can you do the
same?”

The problem was
,
she was already emotionally involved.
Unable to speak, she wet her lips, nodded and picked up the menu. A young,
handsome waiter with olive complexion and black hair similar
to Adam’s came to the table. Adam rose to his feet and
shook the young man’s hand.

“Lily, this is Claudio. He works here
until we close next week for the winter break. He’ll be our waiter.” Claudio
beamed at Lily. She smiled at him. “Do you mind if I orde
r something for us?”

Just the fact that he asked her first
was enough. “Please do.”

“Let’s go with a plate of the fresh
mozzarella, a bowl of steamed little neck clams and a bottle of the
non-alcoholic Fre Brut,” he said to Claudio without glancing at the
menu.

The gesture touched her. She batted her
eyelashes to hold back the tears that threatened to flow. Damn it. Her hormones
were all out of whack this evening. To her relief, Claudio quickly approached
their table. He poured their wine, waited for Adam’s
taste test before filling her glass. Once they were alone, Adam raised his
glass to her.

“What should we toast to?” he asked, his
voice light and teasing.

There were so many things she could
toast to.
Her family.
Minka and Jason’s upcoming wedding.
Nate c
heating on her; without that, she would have never met
Adam.
Their unborn child.
But as she stared at the
sexiest man she had ever known, she could think of nothing more than to
celebrate the start of their next chapter.

She raised her glass.
“To our first
date.”

“And to the next.”
He winked at her as they
each took a swallow of their wine.

Oh, he really needed to stop being so
charming. In an effort to keep herself from drowning under his spell, she tried
to dispel what they were experiencing. “I’m sure yo
u’ve
been here before with another woman, not that it bothers me,” she added
quickly.

“Actually, when I do eat here, it has
been alone.”

Putting the wine glass on the table,
Lily peered at the few women sitting at the bar. She caught a few staring in
Adam’
s direction. “Do you usually go home alone from
here?”

He sat back and appeared to ruminate
over her question.
“Before you, no,
not always.”

A little bit of pain pulled the strings
of her heart and squeezed around it. Things like that shouldn’t bother her.
He was a handsome, rich bachelor, and she was sure women
flocked to him. She should be appreciative of his honesty. But, most of the
time the truth was often the hardest to digest.

“Liliana.”
He caught her hands. “I
don’t mean to hurt you with my answers, but I won’t ever lie to you.”

Again she wanted to cry. “I appreciate
that.”

He took another sip of his wine. The
waiter appeared with the appetizer they ordered. Adam asked for a little more
time to order. “So tonight I want to know about Liliana
Serrano. What grade do you teach?”

Scanning the selection of elaborate main
courses on the menu, she peered over it and asked, “Is this going to be a
Q&A session?”

He chuckled. Understanding she was u
sing his words on him. “But I’m asking the questions.”

“What’s the difference, it’s still
Q&A.”

“Fair enough.”

“Third grade,” she answered anyway.

He smiled. “Do you enjoy it?”

She nodded and smiled at the thought of
her class. Her last group of students had been an interesting bunch, a bit much
at times but each lovable in their own way.
“Yes, very much.”

“I’d love to see you in the classroom.”

She put the menu back on the table
and looked at him. Adam grinned, mischief twinkling in his
eyes. Lily thought of a typical day teaching, what she often referred to as her
happy chaos. “It’s rather boring.”

He chuckled. “Every man wants to do a
hot teacher. Here, taste this.” He forked a
piece of
fresh mozzarella and placed it in her mouth.

Perfectly seasoned fresh cheese with
basil and a touch of salt and vinegar met her palette. Lily closed her eyes
savoring the flavor. “That’s delicious, and I’m not hot.
At least not when I’m teaching.
”

Releasing her hand, he leaned back in
his chair and watched her, his handsome face fully exposed under the beautiful
evening sky. Claudio approached their table with a plate.