“Sophie, wait!”
***
“Where is he?” Sophie muttered to herself, glancing up at the clock over the bar, conscious she was sitting alone. She didn't like the loneliness – even though the room was full. She looked around. Everyone appeared to be here. Gareth was strolling back, to stand dutifully beside Natalie. Simon? Oh no, missing. Had he gone after Adam?
Sophie grabbed her purse and headed towards the gardens. That’s where he’d gone with Gareth. Would Adam rough Simon up? No, no, he knew the score. And he certainly wasn’t going to do anything to ruin the wedding. Maybe they’re talking. Men could be mad at each other one minute, best of mates the next – though unlikely with Adam and Simon. Or maybe Adam was just taking a breather from all this. The two of them had been stuck together since they arrived and the wedding hadn’t even happened yet. Maybe he was finding it claustrophobic.
She’d stepped outside, enjoying the coolness of the air and the prettiness of the sun-set sky, light blue merging with pink. She contemplated searching the gardens, then decided to leave him alone. He’d be back soon. Besides, he could take care of himself.
About to turn, she saw two people together by an arbour. The fading light made it harder to see. She shook her head and edged closer, getting a clear view of Adam and Zoe.
Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach, bruising her internal organs along the way. How could he?
And with all the women he could choose to do it with!
Her eyes immediately started to sting, tears forming. Stay strong, Sophie. That woman will not get the better of you. Let them know you’re there, and you’re mad as hell.
She made her way towards them. Zoe was in Adam’s arms, lips locked to his.
She wanted to scream at Adam, but no words could come out. She knew he’d seen her, knew how angry she was. The path forked and she took it.
You're a fool, Sophie Trewyn.
***
“Forget her, babe.” The woman tried kissing Adam again, one hand brushing his face, the other draped round his neck. Her softness pushed against him felt so wrong. “Why don’t you try me? I’ll be much more fun than –”
“Look,” Adam pulled her arms off him, firmly, and stepped back, trying to concentrate on which way Sophie had gone, “Zara … ”
“It’s Zoe,” she snapped. Adam pushed her away, letting her go.
“Zoe, how do I put this? I have standards, and you don't reach them.”
Zoe gasped, slapping Adam hard across his face. Adam winced, turned on his heel, rubbing his sore cheek.
Shit! Sophie.
He ran after Sophie, seeing her disappear deeper into the gardens, her pace fast.
***
“Sophie! Stop, please!”
She glanced over her shoulder and quickened her pace. Three inch heels weren’t good for running.
“I don’t want to talk about this.” She waved an arm out and shook her head. She felt so stupid. She continued along the path, now lit by little solar lamps. She wanted to escape. The air was cooling and she could hear the sea crashing on the beach below, rhythmic and fierce. The setting sun created an orange glow on the horizon. It was all beautiful but none of it settled her. Her anger felt like the waves, attacking the beach in surges. It kept beating at her chest, tightening her throat.
A part of her hurt, not because of who the woman was, but because whatever Zoe had just experienced with Adam had been real. Adam only pretended with Sophie and maybe now she realised she’d like it to be true. She couldn’t admit that though, not unless she knew Adam felt the same.
Which he didn’t, of course.
Adam grabbed her arm, and swung her around to face him. He swept her hair back off her face and made her look into his eyes, his body unbearably close to hers.
“I swear, she was coming on to me. Seeing you, she launched at me. Literally.” He gripped her firmly as if to take control. She glared at the hands on her arms, and he loosened his grip, but he wouldn’t let her go. She wasn’t going to give in, fall for his bloody charm and his excuses.
Oh, how history repeated itself.
Simon never took the full brunt of her feelings. Adam would, if so insistent to talk about it. She may seem like some shrinking violet but she had toughened up. No way would she let this go unsaid.
“Come with me.” Adam took her hand and made her walk, further from the hotel. They came across a gazebo, covered in jasmine and honeysuckle, and in the night air, it carried the scent of those delicate flowers.
Sophie would not be a delicate flower.
She scowled, knowing her tears were visible now. “How could you? This whole bloody lie was about making me look happy, falling for someone too good to be true.” She laughed sourly at her own comments. “And it is, isn’t it? Too good to be true. Because you've made me look like a fool.” Anger filled her, from head to toe she trembled.
“Listen to me. I wasn’t, I swear.”
Sophie laughed caustically at him. “And I’m supposed to believe you. I know what your sort are like, Adam – James told me! A pretty girl only need to smile at you, flutter her eyelashes and you, you, you … ” She thumped her fist onto his chest as her eyes filled with tears.
“What? What do I do, Sophie?” Adam raised his voice, pushing her away. “So, I go out with a lot of attractive women. I’m not a cheat. And this weekend I made you a promise, and I take them very seriously.”
“Why her?”
“What?”
“Her?”
“Are you even listening to me? What about her? I don’t even know who the hell she is!” Adam turned away, frustrated and angry, combing his hand through his hair. He glared back. “Do you want to tell me? Or is this something else you've forgotten to let me in on?”
Sophie glared in silence, his coldness shocking her.
“You’ve got a nerve.” Adam’s tone chilled her bones. His fists were clenched, his cheeks hollowed with tension and he paced. Sophie hadn’t seen him so angry; this morning with Simon didn’t come close. “You stood there and let James talk me into coming away with you, knowing full well you were a bridesmaid, I’d be facing an arsehole of an ex-boyfriend and some crazy tart determined to get back at you. What did you do to her?”
“What did I do?” Sophie snapped. “I found her in bed with Simon. That’s what I did!” she shouted. A tear started to run down her cheek. She instantly tried wiping it with the back of her hand, trying to control her emotion. Adam probably didn’t do emotional train wrecks, so she needed to get control and fast. Besides, she shouldn’t give another man the satisfaction of her tears. “And I had no idea she’d be here.”
“Oh, shit … Sophie, I’m sorry.” Adam shook his head, moving closer towards her, but she took a step back, not quite finding the trust in him yet. “That explains something she said.”
“What?” Sophie sniffed, and took a deep breath. Control. Breathe.
“Oh, about you two sharing men.” Adam’s voice calmed, and he placed both hands on her shoulders. She let him.
“She said that? Damn, I want to kill her.”
“Sophie, I swear, she was coming on to me. If you’d given me one more minute, you’d have seen me shove her away.”
Sophie burst into tears, no longer able to keep her emotions in check.
“Hey.” Adam gently pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his neck, all her anger dispersing, finding comfort in him. One of his hands rested behind her neck and stroked gently. “Just let it go. She’s not worth it.”
Adam held her tightly, his hand soothing her, and she could feel his strength. Her arms circled around his lean, solid body. He pressed against her, protecting and supporting her. His scent, now her favourite smell ever, calmed her.
“I’m sorry, I should have trusted you. I reacted the worse way possible.”
“Look at it this way - you reacted as she hoped, but she’s going to be so mad when she sees it hasn't worked.”
She looked up at him, trying to wipe away her tears and embarrassment. “I‘m so sorry,” she whispered.
Adam kissed her forehead. Forgiveness? She closed her eyes, savouring his touch.
“It’s okay. In your shoes, I would have responded the same way.” He wiped a tear off her cheek with his knuckle.
“Am I forgiven for being so crap at telling you about this weekend?”
“Yes,” he said softly, all traces of anger gone. Holding her close, staring down, her heart beat that bit faster again. Would he kiss her? They were on their own. It wasn't needed. Was it? Yet, she wanted him to kiss her, really kiss her. He pulled away, smiling at her. She hid her disappointment by returning a wicked smile.
“Can I rub you right in front of her nose?”
Adam’s eyes widened and Sophie laughed, gently wiping her face and realising what she’d just said. Oh God, she probably looked a mess too.
“Metaphorically speaking, of course,” she said.
Chapter Eleven
Adam let the hotel door shut behind them, placing two snifters of brandy down on the table. He sighed deeply, undoing his tie and removing his cufflinks. This had turned out to be another tough night.
Thank you, James.
Was he making things harder for Sophie? Would she be getting this shit thrown at her if he weren’t here?
Once Sophie had calmed, ready to face the guests back at the bar, Adam had made sure they walked back in looking stronger than ever as a couple. He’d held her close, a protective arm around her waist. And when he couldn’t hold her, he always made sure he had her in sight.
He’d seen Simon and Zoe talking in the bar. Had Simon put her up to it, hoping Sophie would go running to him? Well, whoever had come up with the idea, their aim to put a wedge between him and Sophie hadn't worked. It was never going to work, although they didn't know that. Adam smirked, remembering why he was enjoying this.
Thank you, James.
Sophie had snapped out of her mood quickly, returning to her happier self. Adam admired how she hadn’t sulked, but acted as if nothing had happened. She'd seemed so vulnerable earlier.
Seeing her hurt frustrated him, and he didn’t know what to do about it. He didn’t like failing to protect her. He should have dealt with Zoe quicker; being polite had backfired. His head felt muddled with feelings he couldn’t describe and knew they were best kept to himself. Sophie thought his affection was a pretence, and it was, to a certain extent. He never wanted to see her unhappy; those feelings were genuine. However, after this weekend, he had to walk away from Sophie, for her own good.
They had left the bar early. Natalie had already sloped off, too, so Sophie had a good excuse, insisting tomorrow was the big day. But the truth was Sophie, conscious she'd been crying and that people could tell, didn’t like receiving the attention. Cassie had tried to talk to her and Adam had stepped in, telling her to leave it. He couldn’t blame Cassie – she was being a good friend and showing her concern - but it didn’t help Sophie's emotions. Neither did the alcohol. He should have watched for that, too.
“Adam, I’m sorry about earlier, jumping to conclusions as I did.” Sophie walked out of the bathroom, dressed for bed, her make-up removed. No sign of her previous tears. “I think of that woman and see red.”
Adam nodded but wanted to smile. All thoughts of Zoe fled his mind as he considered Sophie’s pyjamas. They had to be deliberate on her part, not wanting to wear anything unsuitable or revealing. So Sophie, choosing to blend into the background, like she did at work.
Okay, think about it. She’s hardly going to parade around in a silk lingerie. You’d be even worse than you are now.
“So what’s her problem with you? I don’t get it.” Adam scratched his head, trying to remove the image of Sophie in silk out of his head. “I'm not suggesting you would, but considering the circumstances, shouldn't it be you trying to ruin her life?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I thought we were friends. We were in some classes together, studying our A-Levels, and she never said she had a thing for Simon.” Sophie folded her clothes on a stool by the dressing table, not really looking at Adam.
She had her hair loose, strands falling into her face. Adam wanted to sweep her hair back, but resisted, although he’d never tire of touching her hair, feeling it between his fingers …
“But as soon as I started seeing him, she started spreading horrid rumours. Natalie used to say she was jealous of me, knowing what I wanted to do in life, and having her man.” Sophie's tone became bitter. She shrugged her shoulders. “And Simon, well, he was a popular guy in town. When I trotted off to uni, Zoe must have stuck her claws in and become hard to resist.” She laughed sardonically. “My first available weekend, I rushed home to surprise him. But imagine my surprise! I still think she did it to spite me.”
“Why do you say that?”
Sophie let out a sigh, walking towards her side of the bed. “Because as fast as it had started, it was over and Simon pleaded with me to take him back. But once he'd done that, I knew I would never trust him again. However much it hurt, however much I loved him, I wasn't going back to him.”
Adam took off his shirt, but noticing Sophie turn her head and blush, realised he should follow Sophie’s example with her unrevealing pyjamas, and slipped his T-shirt on over his head.
“Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick – and this doesn’t justify how he treated you - but Simon mentioned you getting serious –”
“Serious! He’s the one who was serious. Always talking about marriage, kids, you name it. What’s so funny?”
Adam stopped smiling. “He said you were the one talking about marriage.”
“Did he now?” Sophie screwed her face up with frustration. “Don’t get me wrong - I wanted those things, but later. I do want those things.” Her voice softened and she looked at the floor.
I’m definitely not right for her.
She glared, looking him in the eye. “I wasn’t even nineteen. We’d been seeing each other a few months. I wanted my education, career first. I wasn’t giving that up. And after Simon had slept with Zoe, I threw myself into it even more. I studied hard. It’s what I wanted. I've never looked back.”
“Maybe she did you a favour then.”
“Do you think I should thank her?” She scowled, then sighed, her tone calming. “Look, she didn't change anything, other than Simon wasn’t waiting patiently for me while I studied. Originally, he’d made promises that he’d visit weekends, I’d come home for the holidays. We’d make the relationship work. So that hurt like hell. He hadn’t even lasted a month.” Her voice quavered. Sophie placed the back of her hand to her mouth, taking a deep breath. He stepped closer, but she held her hand up to stop him. “I went back to uni feeling rather lonely and upset. And even the large amounts of alcohol I consumed – as students do – didn’t ease it.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sophie laughed ruefully and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were shining, but she didn’t cry. “Adam, I apologise. You don't really want to hear all this.”
“You're fine.” Adam fetched both snifters and handed one to Sophie.
“Thanks,” she said, sitting on the bed, sipping her brandy.
“Sounds like you need to get it off your chest.” Adam sat on the edge, admiring her delicate fingers holding the brandy glass, with French manicured long fingernails,. Nails that could scratch and tease his skin …
Stop thinking about her like this.
It’s been two days. Two days! James’ words rattled inside his head. ‘You two might even hit it off.’ Had that been his plan?
“You know, Gareth said Simon's been this way since splitting up with me.” She played with her glass, making the liquid swirl inside.
“He’s been an arse that long?”
Sophie giggled, then coughed, as the brandy caught in her throat. “He’d always been a flirt; that’s how he caught me. But sleeping with most of the girls in town, from the locals
to tourists, wasn't exactly going to make me change my mind about him.”
Adam swallowed his brandy. He hated to think it, but maybe Simon and he were similar in some ways. His way to stay detached was to hop from one woman's bed to another, playing the field. He never stayed long enough to get close.
Was Simon punishing himself for letting Sophie go?
“But you're right. Maybe I should thank her. She made me see what Simon was truly made of.” Sophie leaned forward, clinking her glass against Adam's before emptying her glass. He gave her a nervous smile. “Because he could have said no, like you.”
Sophie put her empty glass down on the bedside cabinet and pulled the bed sheets back. “You know an awful lot about me,” she said, getting into bed. She puffed her pillows. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Adam walked around to his side of the bed.
“Aren’t you bored of me talking about my miserable teenage years?”
“No.” Nothing about Sophie bored him.
“What about you?” she continued. “Why’d you join Thomas Robotics? You’ve been there a while now, haven’t you? Will you leave? I see you as the ambitious sort.”
He laughed, making himself comfortable in the bed.
“What’s so funny?” Sophie laughed.
He could trust her, right? But what if she changed towards him after finding out who he was? The amount of money he was worth?
He chided himself. Sophie wasn’t like that, and he hated keeping secrets from her. She seemed a good person, warm, loving. The past two days she’d constantly insisted on paying for anything and everything. He’d argued a few times, but he’d decided it better to save the argument and work out a different way to make sure she was repaid. She certainly wasn’t materialistic, or vain – not in those pyjamas, and the trouser suits she wore to work. Plus, he saw her without her make-up on. How many women had he dated who let that happen?
He should tell her who he really was, before she found out through another source. The hotel might try to contact him. Not knowing how good the reception would be for his mobile, he had left the hotel number with his father, in case he needed to talk about work. And what if Harry turned up tomorrow and he’d done his research? They’d already had enough misunderstandings; he didn’t want any more.
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