Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (19 page)

“That means you’re sad.” That great
observation came from none other than her
BFF Minka.

“What’s eating you, girlfriend?” Claire
asked. “I thought all was well in Adam and Liliana land now.”

She took an appraising look around the
table, and then focused her gaze on Claire. “You grew up with Adam, right?”

“Technically, I grew up wit
h Jason.”

“I don’t mean in the same house. I mean
around them. You are that pain in the ass little sister, right? No offense,”
Lily added.

“None taken.”
Claire shrugged. “That’s
how they all describe me.” She took a sip of wine. “I am close to Adam but
…
”
Her voice lingers. “He spends half his time in Europe.”

Lily sat a little straighter. “What
happened to him?”

Claire blinked. “What do you mean?”

“He…” She caught herself and looked at
Claire, Keely and Minka. Concern filled their faces. They were her friends, but
she didn’t want to betray Adam.
“Never
mind.”
She brought her attention back to her tea.

“Have you ever Googled Adam?” Minka
asked after
a brief silence.

“No, why would I?” Lily asked without
lifting her gaze from her tea.

“You Googled Jason,” Minka continued.

Lily looked up then and smiled at the
memories. “Yeah, but that’s because I was being a concerned friend. And I was
dying to see wha
t he looked like. Total hotness by
the way, but I’ve told you that like a million times.”

Claire feigned choking on her food.
Keely and Minka chuckled.

“And you know,” Lily continued, “Adam
and I were pure sex.”

“So let’s look him up now,” Keely
suggested
and started to reach for her phone.

But Lily’s hand quickly covered Keely’s.
“No. I much rather he tells me.”

“Good thing,” Claire said, “because
what’s on the internet is not the full story. Only Adam can tell you
everything.”

Lily sat back. “So you know
something.”

Claire shrugged. “We all know the minute
details. I thought you did as well.”

Lily took a calming breath and tried to
control the searing pain in her heart. “I don’t know anything.” Her voice
trembled. “I’m in complete darkness.”

Claire squeeze
d
Lily’s hand and smiled at her. “Don’t give up on him. He’s not perfect, but
he’s a good guy.”

“He refuses to have sex with me too,”
she said softly.
“Something about
getting to know each other, blah, blah, blah.”
She rolled her eyes.

Her friends laughed.
Lily broke out in giggles.

“No sex,” Keely said between chuckles.
“That’s a problem.”

“Tell me about it. When I’m not
nauseous, I want to have sex. Hell, even when I’m nauseous, I want sex. I’m
naturally horny and this pregnancy thing just quadruples my h
orniness level.”

“Horniness?”
Minka asked, hazel eyes
twinkling with humor.

“I made that up.” Lily grinned.
“Brilliant, right?”

Another round of laughter touched the
table. “So how long has it been? I thought you guys made up that night you left
after dinn
er?” Minka asked
,
her lips curved into a smile.

Lily sighed. It felt like forever. How
the hell did they use to go weeks without sex? Oh, yeah. They used to have
major phone sex. “Uh…I guess today would make it two days.”

“And you’re complaining.” Claire’s
eyes shot up with disbelief.
“Try months, my friend; well, at least with an actual
person.
Toys don’t count.”

Lily laughed. “You’re lying.”

Claire shook her head. “I wish.”

“But all of your boyfriends,” Minka
said. The tabloids always had Claire dating
someone.

“All lies.
Pure fabrication.
If I smile at someone,
I’m dating him.”

“According to the latest tabloid, you’re
hooking up with your co-star. What’s his name?” Minka asked with a frown.

Claire waved a dismissive hand and Lily
caught a glint of her t
attoo again.

“What’s the story behind the tat? Why do
you hide it?” Lily asked and silence fell over the table. “Okay, what do I need
to know?”

Minka shrugged. She looked just as
clueless, but Keely and Claire exchanged a quick look.

“I fell in love once,”
Claire said, sadness filled her voice. “I was young and
foolish.” Her pretty face grew solemn. “It’s the past, a place of reference.”

Claire’s tone told her this piece of her
history had long been buried and forgotten, no longer a place of residence.
Lily
understood that. Over a year ago, Adam had
helped her let go of Nate and start the next chapter in her life.
 

The front door of the restaurant opened
and Forrest strolled in looking like no doctor Lily had ever known, in
sea-green, broken-in chinos, a wh
ite shirt, fitted
dark grey wool blazer, and black frame hipster glasses. His chestnut hair a bit
tossed by the wind. In typical women’s fashion, they gawked silently. He didn’t
notice them. Good thing because they got to watch him flirt with the pretty ba
rtender.

Lily leaned closer to Claire. “Is
Forrest in the brother zone too?”

“Totally,” Claire answered without a
beat, but her gaze lingered on him a little too long. He turned abruptly in
their direction and their eyes locked. After a second, she looked
away.

Brother zone. That was total bullshit.
Seeing through her new-found friend, Lily waved at Forrest and signaled for him
to join them. As he approached their table, he removed his glasses and slipped
them into the pocket of his blazer. Too bad, she lik
ed
the look.

“Why don’t you join us?” Lily suggested.
“We’re having lunch.”

He glanced at their faces, but his grey
eyes lingered on Claire. “I don’t want to interrupt.”

Lily chuckled and waved away his
concern.
“Nonsense.”
She scooted her chair to
make ro
om between her and Claire. “Grab a chair.
Besides, we can’t let you flirt with the pretty bartender when there are four
of us here.”

He smiled. “You’re all taken.”

Right.
She forgot about that.
“Not all of us.”

Minka kicked her from under the table.
Keely
glared at her. And Claire looked like she
wanted to die. Forrest wasn’t fooled either. He smiled, totally on to her
scheme. But he pulled a chair and settled between her and Claire.

“I’ll join you for a little, but I’m
meeting someone here.”

Shit. He had a
date. The realization dawned on Lily too late. A tall, pretty redhead dressed
in skinny jeans and what Adam would call “fuck-me” boots walked into the
restaurant. She glanced at the bar, checked her watch and bit her lower lip
seductively. Yikes. Forrest
was going to be someone’s
lunch.

“Thanks for the invite, ladies, but I
have to go. My date is here.” He pushed his chair back, then stopped and looked
down at Claire. “When do you leave, Claire?”

“After tomorrow,” Claire answered
without a glance at him.

“
Let’s all
meet tomorrow at the farm for dinner then. I’ll even cook something.” He
smiled.
“Any special requests?”
He asked the table, but
clearly the question was directed at Claire.

“Umm, whatever,” Keely answered. Minka
and Lily nodded in agreement.

Cla
ire
shrugged, but she lifted her head and met his gaze. “You know what I like.
Surprise me.”

Their eyes stayed on each other for a
beat.
“As you wish.”

Oh, damn. He was quoting Westley from
The Princess Bride
.
Totally swoon-worthy.
“Sorry.” Lily fanned her
face. “Pregnant hormones are making me a little warm.”

Forrest’s hand rested on Claire’s back
for a moment then he smiled and walked into the hungry redhead’s arms.

By the time Lily pulled Adam’s
sleek
 
Porsche
GTS Cabriolet
into his driveway,
darkness ha
d fallen. After lunch, Minka convinced her
to head back to Martha’s Way and help her with seating arrangements while Keely
and Claire worked on the finishing touches of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Between
work and lots of laughter, they had lost track of tim
e.

She spotted the black Maserati and
glanced at the house. Once again, the light from the family room was on. Ready
to make amends, she walked inside the house and headed down the hall.

Adam sat on the sofa, casually dressed
in a T-shirt and worn jeans,
nothing fancy. Yet his
mere presence affected her, and her heart did that little dance only reserved
for him. He was jotting down notes as he glanced back and forth to the large
television screen of his last race. Even from the door, she could detect he wa
s focused.

“I went back to Martha’s Way with Minka
and we lost track of time,” she said, announcing her presence.

“No problem,” he muttered, picked up the
remote and froze the screen to the part where he was knocked out of the lead.
“My parents are on the
island,” he said over his
shoulder.

She froze in place.
 
“What?”

With his back still facing her, he
nodded. “You will meet them tomorrow at the farm.”

The morning’s tension still hung thick
in the air. Feeling a sense of heady anticipation, Lily let out a
nervous chuckle. “You knew they were coming?”

She waited. He didn’t answer.

“Adam.”

He placed the remote on the sofa, stood
up and closed the space between them. Flat black eyes with a lifeless look to
them greeted her. Her immediate reaction was to hold h
is
hands, kiss away whatever he was struggling with. But she held back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It didn’t
seem important then.”

Translation—
they weren’t important, at
least not until the baby. Lily swallowed back the pain. Too late for her ego to
be
bruised, she already agreed to date him and
explore the possibilities of them becoming more. “Let’s go to bed,” she
suggested in a choked voice.

His lips brushed hers. “Go ahead. I’ll
come in a few.”

She hesitated, but Adam was already on
the sofa, his att
ention back to the television
screen. The walls were back up, shutting her out once again.

Well into the night, Lily stared blankly
into the darkness of the bedroom. A terrible weight fell onto her shoulders as
she lay still on the bed. She waited, hoped, Adam would join her. But
eventually, her eyes felt heavy. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Alon
e.

Chapter
Seventeen

“Is this love or a deception of
feelings?”

Warlock

Simple things tended to become complicated when one
expected too much. Twiddling her thumbs, Lily glanced over at Adam, his mop of
unruly dark curls blowing against the autumn b
reeze.
With his vision hidden behind a pair of black onyx sunglasses, she couldn’t
quite make out his expression. But everything about his composure screamed he
was in complete control and was once again back to his sexy cool, laid-back
self.
Unlike her.

In silence, he maneuvered his little baby of a car on their
way to Herring Creek, his thumbs thumping to the tune of
Transliterator
by
Devotchka
. They had not spoken much today. By the
time she woke up, Adam had already left for his restaurant and spent th
e whole day there preparing to shut down for the winter
season.

There had been no mention of why he had not come to bed.
But Lily already knew the answer. Fear of showing any vulnerability. The
possibility of
having another dream and exposing
whatever monster oppressed him during sleep would indicate
a sign of letting his guard down a bit, and expose his internal wounds. She
caught a glimpse of them during his nightmare. He was now guarded.

In either case, that conversation had to wait. Right
now, more pressing things occupied her mind. Like the fact
she was about to come face to face with the two people who molded him into what
he was today. Her stomach had been tied up in bunches since Adam dropped the
news his parents were on the island.

Yep
. She blamed her tossing and
turning all night on them and that gorgeous man sitting inches away from her.

“You’re nervous again,” he noted without a glance in her
direction.

She squirmed in her seat. “I’m not,” she said, then bit the
corner of her mouth.

He smiled. “You’re fidgeting.”

Okay. Maybe she was. But it was his fault. She clasped her
hands together. A little warning would have been nice. And she didn’t mean the
“Oh, by the way, my parents are here,” type of announcement. Nope. Lily needed
…
she sear
ched her mind for a
decent prep time. Two weeks would have been fair.
Just like he had for her family.

The car turned smoothly onto a dirt road leading through
acres of land. Brightly painted farm buildings stood near rows of glowing
green, ripe red and pu
re purple crops. Bold red
letters mark
ed
a sign nailed to an oak tree,
Herring Creek Organic Farm. The early evening sun, full
and bright, combined with the earthy scent of compost made the farm smell like
a secluded forest. She took in the beauty of the l
and.
It was an agricultural paradise.

“How long are your parents here for?” she asked, ignoring
his comment.

“They’re here for the wedding.”

Yeah, he had told her that. Actually he texted her that bit
of information earlier today. The Maserati drove past a
rusty metal plough standing opposite a bundle of hay.

“The wedding is over a week away.”

He shrugged. “My mother is from Boston. She spent a lot of
time on the island before moving to Italy. And they still come back. You know
that.”

Yes. She did. But she
had never
been around. And they usually stayed with him. More importantly, she usually
stayed away.

“They volunteered to stay here,” he informed her.

“Why?”

“They know you are staying with me. I don’t know.” He
shrugged again. “Dad said something about not
wanting
to intrude.”

“Do they know?” Her hands automatically folded over her
flat stomach.

Adam glanced at her, caught hold of one of her hand and
brought it to his lips. “Yes.”

She sighed heavily.

The Maserati made a sharp left behind a red barn and came
to a halt among many parked trailers and trucks.

“Look at me, Liliana.”

Reluctantly, she turned to face him as he pulled his
sunglasses off. Once again, she found herself drowning in the intensity of his
eyes.

“My parents came yesterday. I would have told
you but we didn’t talk much during the day.” A smile
touched his lips. “They’ve known about you for a while now. Naturally, they are
excited to meet you. And that was even before I told them about the baby.”

Wait. What? Had the pregnancy affected her hear
ing as well? What did he mean they’ve known about her? That
implied she’d always existed in his world. Too bad she couldn’t say the same.

“They’ve known about me?”

He nodded. “We discussed you a few times. Does it bother
you?”

Oh, to have had been a fly on
the
wall during those discussions.
“Um…no.
I just didn’t think they knew I
existed.”

Adam brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “Like your
parents don’t know I exist.”

Guilty.
Her chin dropped and her gaze darted
downward, with one finger he lifted her face back to his.

“I don’t know why I told them about you,” he said in a
gentle tone. His gaze bore into hers. “But I understand why you never told your
parents about me. It does
n’t bother me. So stop
thinking and let’s go have fun. Everyone is here tonight.”

“Everyone?”

He smiled. “Jason’s father and Claire’s mother are here as
well. What started as us getting together turned into a
party.
”

“I see,” she answered, fighting back th
e sour taste in her mouth.

“The island is small,”
“ he
continued. “We all grew up together and our parents are
good friends. Everyone knew they were coming for the wedding.”

She nodded tightly. Once again, she was the last to know.
“One big, happy family.”

His eyes searched hers. “You’re part of our family now.
Might as well get to know everyone.”

Lily drew in a deep breath. It didn’t matter that he owned
her heart, or that in a sea of people her eyes would always search for him. She
wasn’t part of the famil
y. They were still in the
discovering phase. Baby or in love, she had to keep afloat. Of all people, she
knew love was fleeting, merely a madness. It erupted like a volcano and then
subsided.

But the little voice that knew she was on the brink of
losing al
l sense of rationality reminded her she lost
that power a long time ago.

“Stop thinking.”
Adam leaned into her; his focus was
intense and unnerving.

His mouth swooped down to capture hers. And like every
other time everything in her surrendered to him. Pas
sion
and desire exploded throughout her body, between them, like the twists of a
rope, mutually mixing one with the other, and twined inextricably around her
heart.

“Come on, my parents are watching us,” he whispered against
her lips.

What! Her head whippe
d around to
follow his gaze and landed on a couple hugging and smiling in their direction.
Lily groaned miserably and Adam chuckled as he stepped out of the car. He came
by her side, slipped his hand in hers and led her to his parents.

Lily surveyed them w
ith each
closing step. They were a beautiful couple and something about them generated
warmth and tranquility. She guessed they were in their mid-fifties. His mother,
a former Miss America, looked beautiful in a silk poppy dress and knee-length
cowboy boot
s. She was tall, with a fair complexion,
lustrous blonde hair, and smiling blue eyes. Physically, the two men didn’t
look that different from each other, and could easily pass for father and son.
They were similar in height, same bronze complexion and dark
hair. Only difference, his father’s hair was sprinkled
with a hint of grey. But as she got closer, she realized, although the man was
handsome, the two bore no resemblance.

His mother pulled Adam in her arms and planted a kiss on
each of his cheeks. The t
wo men shared a warm hug.
She smiled at the obvious love Adam shared with his parents. After he pulled
back from their embrace, he reached for her hands and introduced her. “This is
Liliana.” He nodded at the couple.

Curiosity sparked in their eyes as they
appraised her appearance. Smiling, she extended a hand to
them, but she was pulled into four arms. Hugs and kisses soon followed. The
warm embrace left her rather speechless and a little nervous. But she liked
their warmth; it reminded her of her parents.

“What a pleasure to finally meet you, Liliana,” his mother
said, still assessing her and smiling. “Congratulations on the upcoming
wedding.”

A little disoriented by what she heard, Lily chuckled.
Surely, there was some confusion. “Oh, we’re not getting ma
rried. Jason and Minka are.”

His parents
frowned,
their eyes darted between her and Adam.

So that’s what a deer felt like when caught in headlights.

After an awkward silence, his father spoke in a slight
Italian accent. “Yes, of course. Their wedding is ne
xt
weekend, but yours is soon after, no?”

* * * *

Lily’s blood boiled in rage. Anger couldn’t cover all that
she felt. Hurt.
Betrayed.
Lost.
 
She waited for
Adam to set the record straight. When he didn’t, she glanced at him, and his
jaws clenched. “We a
re not getting married. Not
anytime soon.” she said in a flat tone, and then smiled weakly at his parents.
“Please excuse me.”

Grievously troubled in mind and vexed in soul, she unlaced
her fingers from Adam’s and slipped away from his touch. He made no at
tempt to hold her back, and her heart dissolved to her
toes.

He just let her go.

With autumn leaves crunching under her feet, she nearly ran
toward the converted barn house where Forrest’s parents held most of their
social functions. Numerous windows and a trim of translucent siding kept the
indoor illuminated with natural light. Wood
clad
walls with local arts in bright bold colors proudly displayed gave the place a
warm environment. She scanned the room and the familiar faces. Cheerful chatter
surrounded her as Maxwell’s
Urban Hang Suite
played from the built in surround sound
system.
The singer’s
sensual,
Neo-Soul voice filled the room as he
cataloged the stages of adult romance through his songs.

Jason had one arm draped over Minka’s shoulder as they
engaged in a conversation with his father. Whatever was said between the three
of them caused Minka to touch her cheek and beam. The couple looked relaxed, in
love, and their apparent happiness pulled
at Lily’s
heartstrings. Claire’s mother was laughing with Forrest’s mom, Keely and Blake.
Distance away, she spotted Forrest talking to his father. Claire was nowhere in
sight. With the exception of Adam’s parents, she met them all around the same
time las
t year at Jason’s art show, honoring his
mother’s photography.

Yes.
One big,
happy family.
Adam’s family.
Not that anyone had ever made her feel
less than welcome. If anything, she was greeted with a warm reception from day
one. But it wasn’t about everyon
e in the room. Her
problem was with the man she loved.