She swallowed. Was James suggesting setting them up or was it because now they were all friends?
“That would be lovely,” she said as sincerely as possible. Her idea of embarrassment hell more like. How was she supposed to act around Adam now? She still didn’t know, till she saw him. It wouldn’t be kisses and loving gestures. Would she know how to act normally around him amongst friends?
James leaned over the table, closer to Sophie. “You know, I had hoped you two would hit it off.”
Sophie nearly spat her drink out, but managed to gulp down the liquid quickly, burning her throat and coughed. “What? You were trying to set us up?”
“The man needs a good woman.”
“And you think I’m her?”
“Why not? Sophie, have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re gorgeous, and smart. And you’re a nice, grounded girl. Someone Adam needs – even Kate agrees with me.” Sophie shook her head at James in disbelief, but he continued. “Listen, hear me out. I had my day too. Used to play the field. Not quite to the standards of Adam – haven’t got his looks or his money - but since meeting Kate, I don’t miss it. And I don’t think he would either. He just doesn’t realise it yet.”
It wasn’t instantaneously obvious, like with Adam, but James was good-looking in his own quirky way. Very tall and lanky, he had a wonderful smile, always happy, sharing his positive disposition. His hair had this mad unkempt look. Nothing could tame it. But she didn’t doubt he’d had his day.
“James, really, stick to your day job, because matchmaking is not working for you. He’s not interested.”
“So you are?” He raised inquisitive eyebrows.
“No! I learnt, you know, we talked, about stuff generally, getting to know each other,” Sophie babbled. Dig yourself out of this one. “And he said relationships weren’t his thing. Not long-term ones, anyway.”
“Yeah, that’s what he thinks.” James shrugged and drank some of his pint. “But I’m telling you I used to be the same. I’ll get Kate to organise an evening around ours, after her birthday, so he can get to know you better –”
“No!” Sophie pulled a face. “We got to know each other, James,” she said sternly. “It’s hard not to, going away together for a whole weekend. I won’t come if I think you two are trying to force us together. It won’t work. I swear he’s not interested in me.”
“Okay, okay, sorry.” James nodded, then pointed to the bar. “Ah, speak of the devil, here’s the man himself. I won’t say another word on the matter.” Sophie turned and saw Adam at the bar, ordering some drinks.
Adam – with his arm around another woman. Three-inch heels making her as tall as him, a red dress hugging her slim figure, bouncy blonde hair, and glossy red lips.
Sophie swallowed, her stomach churned and knotted like she’d been kicked. This reaction to seeing him with another woman caught her unaware and it wasn’t pleasant. This felt nothing like seeing him with Zoe. She gulped her wine down, and grabbed her bag as she stood up. This was too much. James and his matchmaking, Adam and his new girlfriend.
I can’t compete.
“I, uh, um, got to go,” she said. James stared in surprise. “I’ve still got some stuff to do at home, and really need an early night.”
“Don’t you want to see Adam?”
“It can wait till Monday. He looks busy.” No way in hell would she apologise to him here now. Do it in the office on safe ground. Or call him.
Coward.
“And what about Kate?” James looked perplexed, still holding his pint half way between meaning to drink it or putting it down.
“Arrange something. Call me. But no meddling!” And with that, Sophie shot out the back door of the pub faster than a catapult could have launched her, preferring to exit via the garden and not bump into Adam heading for the front door.
Coward.
James always walked her home, or Kate would pick them both up and give her a lift, but it was a summer evening, and her flat was within walking distance. There was enough light to walk home. And luckily it had stopped raining, otherwise that really would have brightened her mood – not.
She’d thought about turning back, realising she was being childish. It could be innocent on Adam’s part. But he’d had his arm around the woman’s waist, hadn’t he?
He’d held you around your waist too … maybe it comes naturally to him?
Sophie closed her front door, hanging up her coat and slipping off her shoes. All the time, her hands trembled. She hadn’t anticipated how it would feel to see him, let alone with another woman.
She went into the kitchen and switched on the kettle. She didn’t want any more wine; drowning her sorrows would not be wise. She’d take a long hot bath, and soak, read a good book. Finish the romance she’d started reading – like that would make her feel better. Maybe start a thriller then. Something with gore, guts, and a good bloody murder.
She ran the bath, putting extra bubble bath in for a full foam effect, indulging herself, then went back into the kitchen and made her tea. Re-entering the bathroom, she smelt the scent of the bubble bath, ginseng and jasmine, and it made her relax. Twisting her hair, she clipped it up with a large butterfly clip.
In the bath, she couldn’t focus on the book, her mind travelling back to Adam. She found herself thinking of the dance floor, Van Morrison playing, his kiss. A memory she replayed constantly in her head. It caused a lump in her throat, trying to rise and cause tears every time. She would not cry. She sighed heavily, and closing her eyes, sank into the bath, the bubbles rising around her, fizzing.
The doorbell rang, and Sophie sat up, startled. She’d go mad if it was her bloody neighbour again, locking himself out. He’d want to borrow her phone, because he wouldn’t have his mobile on him.
It rang again.
“All right, all right.” Sophie got out of the bath and wrapped a large bath towel around her, and then grabbed her dressing gown. Her neighbour was not catching her in just a bath towel.
She opened the door in an exasperated tone, “Mark, you really need to stop – oh.” She was staring at Adam, who leaned against the wall, as if to ring the bell again.
“Who’s Mark?”
“My neighbour. He keeps getting locked out.”
“Why’d you leave the pub?” He sounded strangely annoyed.
“I wasn’t feeling too great.”
“That’s not what you told James.”
What had she told James?
“In fact, he said you took one look at me at the bar, gulped your drink down and shot out of there. Said it was weird because you wanted to speak to me.”
Great, she could rely on James to fight her corner - not. She had to remember he was Adam’s friend before he was hers. They stick together. Or was this him meddling again? She thought she’d told him his matchmaking days were over.
“Can I come in … please?” he said, tagging the please on as if remembering his manners, and trying not to be angry with her.
“Sure, come in,” she said, wrapping her dressing gown tightly around her, praying the flat looked tidy. “Did you want a drink?”
He shook his head. “I wanted you to meet Lauren tonight.”
“Why?” She internally winced at how sharp she sounded. But why the hell would she want to meet his new girlfriend? How insensitive was that?
“She works for Jerrisons in Manchester and they want us to design a robot for their manufacturing plant. A modification to the QB20. I said you could do it.”
Now I feel stupid.
He stepped closer; she could smell the alcohol on his breath, mingled with his aftershave and dewy rain.
“I’m sorry. I, uh … ” she shrugged, “I don’t know, I felt I needed to leave.” It was a free country the last time she remembered. If she wanted to go home from a pub early, she could, couldn’t she?
“Come back to the pub now. It’s still early.”
“No.”
Adam glanced at his watch, frowning. “
Were you in bed?”
“No, the bath.”
He stepped forward and fingered a couple of damp strands of hair. She looked him in the eye. Would he kiss her?
She wanted him to kiss her.
Her heart pounded so loudly she was afraid he could hear it.
“Come on, Sophie,” he said, with his persuasive tone. The corners of his mouth twitched, but she was glad he resisted a full on smile. She gently shook her head, not able to find words to fill her mouth. “Okay, well, be prepared to travel with me Monday. We’re going to Jerrisons for a couple of days. Pack an overnight bag.” She opened her mouth to protest but he held his hand up. “You’ve got to come. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“And that’s you telling me as my boss?”
“Yes. I would have come and told you in the office today, but we didn't get back in time – damn accident on the M40. So I thought we’d come over to the pub to discuss it - you could meet Lauren and she wouldn’t need to spend a boring evening in a hotel. I’ll have to entertain her now.” He fixed his eyes on hers. Was he looking for a reaction? What was this? He knew how she felt about him, or must have a good idea. Did he want to make her jealous?
“I’m sure you’ve had plenty of experience in entertaining pretty young women. I doubt you'll find it hard. Why would you want a boring engineer to cramp your style?” She stepped towards her front door, but he grabbed her arm.
“Sophie, I find you far from boring.”
“What do you find me, Adam? I’d like to know.” No you don’t. Live in denial – the best way. Bury your head in the sand and wait for it all to pass.
“Last weekend … it was special. You’re special.” He kept his hand on her arm. “But we’re better off as friends. I’d let you down otherwise. My father is retiring soon –”
“Yes, I know.” He looked at her, scrutinising. “James told me,” she said, feeling the need to confess. She shrugged off his arm, and opened her front door. “If you please, I’d like to get back to my bath.” Adam glanced at her thick dressing gown. “Go! I’ll see you Monday. I’ll come prepared.”
She closed the door behind her – tempted to slam it – then headed back to her bath, topping it up with more hot water.
Her brain was even more frazzled. She couldn’t stand being near him and not being able to touch him or hold him. They had to be ‘friends’ now. She preferred pretend lovers, if she couldn’t have it real.
What did she have to do to find love? Because that’s what she wanted more than anything now. She wanted to love and be loved.
Maybe Kate should set her up with one of her friends. Would Adam get jealous? He didn’t really react to Simon, but it had all been a game. Now he liked her, thought her special. Whatever that meant. How special? Would he go into a burning rage, turn into the green-eyed monster if he caught sight of her with another man? Was that what she had to do?
She shuddered at herself and those thoughts. Not exactly a nice quality. Maybe Adam wasn’t right for her. And she had to accept it. Being friends was better than nothing, right?
But the spark. Her whole body had responded to him when he touched her hair. Like magnets. He was her north, she his south, and her body would have leaned into him, stuck to him, only she fought the force to stay put, keep her distance.
No. She didn’t want any other man.
Chapter Twenty
Adam waited outside the small cottage, rocking on his feet. For some reason his body tingled with anxiety. His mother was going to ask yet again whether he had a girlfriend, or had ‘settled down.’ She always did. And he’d disappoint her.
“Hello, love,” Adam’s mother, Pam, said, opening her front door. “Sorry to keep you waiting; I was in the greenhouse.” She removed her gardening gloves, and gave him a kiss on the cheek then let him into her house.
The house wasn’t huge, but big enough for her. It had been her settlement out of the divorce, plus his father had settled an income to keep her comfortably and not have to work. Maybe it was guilt for being such a lousy husband – and father.
A hectic work schedule with his father meant he hadn’t called in on his mother since before the wedding, two weeks ago. He usually visited his mother’s at least once a week for lunch, or dinner, worried she was lonely. However, nowadays she had a better social life, busy with hobbies and charities, and he actually did wonder if she had a man on the scene – but she hadn’t said anything yet. Pam was in her early fifties and looking good, so James told him. Adam couldn’t see her in any other way than as his mother. She still had a good figure, dressing fashionably, and always looking after her appearance. She wouldn’t be seen without her make-up, or with a hair out of place.
Adam had inherited his blond hair and blue eyes from his mother. She’d been stunning in her day - that’s why his father had fallen for her.
His parents had been divorced fifteen years now, but he still remembered, as a kid, his mother sitting at the solid oak kitchen table, eating alone with him while his father’s dinner dried in the oven, keeping warm.
They walked through into the kitchen and as his mother switched the kettle on, she asked, “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” He took a seat at the same solid oak table – only in a different kitchen.
“So, tell me how the other weekend went, the wedding you attended?”
“Fine.” What had he told her about that weekend?
“Adam, what is it? You don’t seem fine?” She gave a concerned frown and he shrugged his shoulders, then combed a hand through his hair.
What was bothering him? Sophie? Twice now they’d ended on a bad note. She’d been honest about her feelings for him. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t good enough for her – he’d be just like his father once handed his role running the company. Too involved for a relationship.
Pam sighed. “Are you worried about taking over from your father?”
“No, I knew it was coming.”
“Well, your father should have listened to a doctor years ago. He’s never delegated, never trusted people to run, or manage, or whatever they do. He kept things too close to his chest. And that’s made him sick. You’ll do a better job.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in me, Mum. I’m not sure I will.”
“Sweetheart, you are not like your father. You don’t need to let that job eat you up like it did him. Yes, I know it’s a family business; it’s been with the Thomas’ for years. But your grandfather managed the business with far less stress.”
“It’s changed a lot now though. The company has expanded.”
She placed a mug of tea in front of him and a tin of biscuits, before sitting opposite.
“So, have you met a nice girl yet?” Adam looked up suddenly. “What about the girl you went to the wedding with? When am I going to meet a girlfriend?”
“Mum.” Adam gave her a warning look. Here we go again.
“Adam, your father will want to know there is an heir to the throne.” She was right, and he knew it.
“I don’t want to make the same mistake Dad did.” Adam sighed. “I still remember growing up and him never being home, you waiting for him to return. I’m not sure I want to put another woman through the same things you went through.”
Adam’s father hadn’t been very paternal towards him. Even now, their relationship was purely business. Occasionally they’d play a round of golf together, but they would always end up discussing the company and contracts. If they took the business away, and the golf, Adam had nothing in common with his father.
“You listen here.” Pam prodded the table with her finger. “You are not like your father! How many times do I have to tell you? You don’t have to be like him.”
“But he was so busy he couldn’t even come home to the woman he loved.”
His mother coughed, tapping her chest until she’d swallowed her tea and composed herself. “Is that what you think?”
“You two were in love once. I thought you divorced him
because of the way he treated you, never coming home, never being the husband you deserved.”
She sighed. “Look, Adam, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time now, and I suppose at thirty-three you are old enough to know the truth.” Adam frowned at her. “I’d just turned nineteen when I met your father, and within a month I was pregnant. Your father did the honourable thing at the time and married me – quickly. He was like you are now, flitting from one woman to the next, choosing the wrong women.” She scowled. “I was one of those wrong women, attracted to the wealth and the status. He was that bit older, which had an attractive quality about it, too. A good looking man, your father, and at the time we thought we were so in love it didn’t matter.”
“You don’t have to tell me this.”
“Oh, yes I do!” she snapped, meeting Adam’s gaze. “Anyway, you were born, and he was thrilled to have a son – the next heir. But it didn’t take long for the honeymoon period to end and realise we were stuck with one another. I wouldn’t leave your father, not with a son to bring up – I didn’t want to raise you in a broken home. But after a while, the coward found it easier to stay at work, let it take over and consume him. We lived separate lives, only under the same roof. Once you were off to university, I knew I could leave him properly.”
Adam swallowed. All his life, his mother had led him to believe his parents had been happy. He thought all those lonely evenings were part of the deal, in sickness and in health, that she loved his father to stick by him - yet she’d been doing it all only for Adam.
She patted his arm. “Adam, please, I know you usually have a string of girlfriends, but if you’re worried about making the same mistakes as your father, you’re going the right way about it.”
“Mum.” He took his arm away.
“I’m just saying, if you get one of these women pregnant –”
“I won’t.”
“That’s what your father thought!” she said crossly.
“I’m not careless.”
She ignored him, holding up her hand. “If you get one of these girlfriends pregnant, and you feel you have to marry her, you are making the same mistakes. History will repeat itself!” She hugged her mug of tea, as if finding comfort from it and calmed herself. “Please, Adam, find a woman you love, want to be with the rest of your life – as best you can at least. I suppose there never is certainty.” Pam stood up, keeping her eyes fixed on Adam. “But if you carry on with some of those women –”
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