Adored

by Tina Donahue

  She snapped the front clasp on her bra. “Too much of a hassle. Besides, you should get some rest.”

  “Why? I don’t need to get up early to put on makeup.”

  Smiling, she slumped back to the mattress, lifted her legs, and pulled on her panties. “You looked really tired this last week.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re working so hard.” She rolled off the bed and gathered her clothes. “Even on the weekends.” After pulling her oatmeal-colored turtleneck over her head, she eased it down her torso.

  He hated her covering up and hadn’t a clue why she couldn’t go to work one day without makeup. She sure as hell didn’t need it. And so what if she wore the same clothes two days in a row, the world wouldn’t end if she didn’t change.

  She looked at him. “Did it go well?”

  “Did what go well?”

  “Work.” She pulled her hair from beneath the collar. “This weekend. What did you do?”

  His mind went blank. Panic heated his cheeks. He recalled telling her their plans were off because he’d had too much work to plow through. “Just stuff.”

  She didn’t comment.

  He figured he better. “With the new building.”

  “Must be quite the place.” She donned her trousers and heels, grabbed her coat, and returned to the bed.

  He swung his legs over the mattress.

  “No, don’t get up.” She eased him back to the pillows. “I can find my way out.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  She regarded him, not like the first time they met, but as if she were looking for an answer to a question she hadn’t asked. Before he could say anything, she kissed his lips gently. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

  Danni had never known Adam to be more attentive. He called to make certain she’d arrived home safely. He brought her breakfast the following morning—one of those seven-thousand-calorie sandwiches from Burger King. It was only Tuesday, yet he wanted to make plans for their weekend, asking if she’d like to go sailing on Sunday.

  She wanted nothing more, except certainty his thoughtfulness would last and he wouldn’t become distant again without warning or explanation. After these last awful days, his tender lovemaking had her so close to tears she’d lied about a lash stinging her eye.

  He’d wanted her to stay over.

  His invitation didn’t feel right somehow. There was too much going on beneath the surface she needed to address and clear up.

  So she’d asked him how work went this weekend, giving him a reason to open up and share his concerns with her.

  His reaction hurt. He’d seemed stumped, as if he couldn’t recall doing any work, until he remembered the stuff about the new building. It didn’t make sense that such an ordinary purchase would put him into a tailspin. In the few weeks he’d been at the company, he’d handled crisis after crisis without breaking a sweat. She hated her doubts about his feelings for her, but her heart couldn’t take an on-again/off-again relationship. Lust was great. Trust was what she needed.

  She knew she should have asked him why he’d acted so weird. Fear kept her from it.

  What she’d told him the night her mom called was so true. When a man lied to or deceived a woman, it changed her in the worst possible way. Too many bad times with other men left Danni not knowing what to believe or who to trust, especially herself.

  Her first thought was to phone her mom and ask her opinion on the previous days’ events, but she couldn’t. Roaming antique shops and being away from her own problems left her mother carefree and happy. Danni wanted to keep it that way. She’d even had a word with her dad before she left, asking him to be more discreet. Flaunting his indiscretions didn’t make him more virile, macho, or whatever the fuck he was going for. His behavior simply proved how much he feared real intimacy.

  Predictably, his features grew stony. He told her she had a lot of nerve judging him. She couldn’t keep a man for more than a few months.

  “I don’t wonder why those boys left you.” He turned his back to her. “No man could put up with your crap.”

  Even though his words cut, she wouldn’t let them defeat her. He wasn’t going to change, nor would her mom, but she could, and she needed someone to confide in. Someone who would give her a reality check on her feelings when it came to Adam, and who knew what was going on between them.

  Sunny.

  Chapter 14

  The impending launch, plus countless details for the new building, and having to consolidate separate finance and accounting teams didn’t give Adam much free time at the office. He spared scant minutes to alter the pictures he took of Danni on his boat when they’d gone sailing Sunday. Wielding Photoshop and an imagination nearly as active as hers, he placed her head on a belly dancer’s body. For him, he used Arnold Schwarzenegger’s physique from his breakout role in Conan the Barbarian. In a balloon near his mouth, he wrote: See what scrapple does to a guy?

  Snickering, he worked on the photo he took when she’d snoozed on the berth. He wanted to put a cannon inside the balloon to tease her about snoring. Concerned he might piss her off, he settled for a shot showing them kissing, surrounded by ZZZZs to indicate her dreaming about their wonderful moment.

  With everything set, he texted, telling her to check her personal email.

  She texted back. Y?

  You’ll c.

  Her lusty laughter guided him toward her office, her mood natural and free, unlike how she’d held back since he’d settled the problem concerning her job. He didn’t get it. When he’d been worried about losing her, she’d been open and guileless, the Danni he adored. Now when they should have been happy, she held out on him. Her joy and smiles weren’t as effortless. Far too often, he caught her regarding him. The first time it happened, his heart leaped. He worried she knew Roger had wanted to fire her, though she couldn’t have. The man wasn’t crazy enough to tell her.

  Adam eventually figured she suffered from horrendous PMS that darkened her moods considerably, or her mom’s marital problems had worsened. He reached her office. Jen wasn’t at her desk. He stuck his head inside Danni’s door. “What’s so funny—hey, are you crying?”

  Her hand dropped from her eyes. “No.” She balled the tissue in her fist, trying to hide it.

  He glanced behind himself. The other staff members weren’t looking his way. He slipped inside her office and closed the door. “Did another eyelash attack you?”

  She threw the tissue in her wastebasket. “I was laughing so hard at what you sent, tears came to my eyes. It was really funny.”

  Call him crazy, but she looked unbelievably sad and lost. “Is your mom all right?”

  Bewilderment crossed her face at his change in subject. “Yeah. She’s fine. Is your dad doing okay?”

  He nodded. “Still sober.”

  “Good.”

  He felt as if he were speaking to a stranger and hated it. What in the hell is the matter with her? He tried to recall when she’d had her last period, couldn’t, and wasn’t foolish enough to ask. “So you liked what I did with the pictures?”

  Her mouth trembled, like she might laugh or cry. “Very much, especially the scrapple part.”

  He grinned.

  She didn’t.

  His smile weakened. “I’m sorry I have that dinner tonight with the Bergmann reps. It should be over by ten. If you want, you can come to my place and stay the night. Or I could go to yours.”

  “You have an early flight tomorrow.” She grew distracted and distant. “You should rest. When I get back from the gym I’m going to crash.”

  “You will be here tomorrow before I leave, right?”

  “Yeah.” She glanced away. “I’ll come in early.”

  Not wanting to linger through another uneasy conversation, he opened the door, then closed it and crossed to her. With the blinds open, he couldn’t kiss her as he wanted, though he did touch her hand. From this angle, no one outside could see. Even if they had, the com
fort her warmth afforded made the risk worthwhile. “If something was wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

  Color rose to her cheeks. “You mean with the line?”

  “I mean with you. Are you feeling okay? You seem kind of down. Are you…” He groped for the right words.

  “Pregnant?”

  The room lurched. “What? No, I wasn’t even thinking that. I wondered if you were having a bad bout of PMS or something.”

  “I’m not. Nor am I pregnant.” She pulled her hand from his.

  He figured he better shut the fuck up and leave. He returned to the door.

  “Adam.”

  He looked over. “Uh-huh?”

  “If something was wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

  Sure. As long as it didn’t have to do with her position here. No way could she know. “You mean with Roger?”

  Her face darkened, her mood wary. “What about him?”

  “He’s hard to work for, but I’m not going anywhere. I already told you that, remember?”

  Relief replaced her caution. She nodded.

  Her response told him she didn’t know what had happened in regards to her job. Nor would she ever.

  He relaxed. “Trust me, if something was wrong, I’d definitely tell you.”

  The moment Adam left for his office, Danni pushed from her chair, needing to stop him and apologize for her weird behavior, after which she’d have to explain it. She understood his frustration in trying to guess what she thought or felt and didn’t want to do that to him.

  Once she rounded Jen’s desk, Danni stopped. Jacob and Woody stood just outside Adam’s office, motioning him over. After a brief conversation, Adam gestured them inside and shut the door.

  Damn. A closed meeting meant one thing—a new problem pertaining to the launch. She returned to her office and considered texting or emailing him about her concerns, but couldn’t. It was too cowardly. She’d surprise him at his place tonight. By then, she would have already spoken to Sunny about how he’d been distant, but was back to being tender, and if she should read anything into it, especially if he became withdrawn again. Maybe Sunny knew how to prod a man to full disclosure without freaking him out.

  For the first time in days, Danni looked forward to their gym date this evening.

  Papers rustled on Roger’s end of the call. “You have the Rave materials lined up for Greene tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” Adam approached Danni’s office, smartphone to his ear. “We’ll discuss that and the finance-accounting team consolidations.”

  “Shouldn’t you be at dinner with those reps now?”

  “I’m heading for the restaurant as we speak.” He rapped Danni’s doorjamb.

  Her face jerked up from her computer screen.

  She gave him an unguarded smile, so different than those she’d offered this past week or even a few hours before. He couldn’t fathom what had changed.

  Nor did he care. His heart opened even more. He mouthed, “Bye, see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded.

  Roger’s throat clearing interrupted the magic. “Send me a report on what they say.”

  “On what who says?”

  “The reps, who else?”

  Right. Reluctantly, Adam backed away from Danni’s office and strode to the elevator. “You’ll get my full report tomorrow. I’ll work on it while I’m at the airport.”

  Sunny eyed Danni. “Did you bring them?”

  “Yep.” She pulled four boxes of Silvano’s cherry chocolates from her gym bag and handed them over. “Better you than me.”

  Sunny tore open the first box and stuffed two chocolate globes in her mouth. “Whoa.” She moaned and spoke in between sloppy chews. “I love these. How can you give them away?”

  Danni slipped a piece into her mouth and talked around it. “It’s either that or enter rehab for my addiction. I’ve eaten four boxes in the last few days.”

  “PMS?”

  “That’s coming up.”

  “The line’s driving you nuts again?”

  “It never stopped. Actually, it’s something else. With Adam.” She shook her head. “It’s probably nothing.” God, how she wanted that. All afternoon she’d swung between certainty about him desiring her for more than a temporary indulgence, and worry she’d read something into his feelings that didn’t exist. At the moment, trust in their future won out. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  Sunny’s chews had already slowed. Rather than ask for details, her gaze darted past. “Look at the time. We better hustle or all the StairMasters will be taken.”

  The possibility seemed unlikely to Danni.

  Sunny hurried away and spoke over her shoulder. “I’ll save one for you.”

  It wasn’t necessary. There were only two other patrons for the fifteen available machines. Danni slung her towel over the handle on the one closest to her, placed her water bottle in the holder, and set the equipment on its lowest speed, just as Sunny had on hers.

  Minutes into their exercise, Danni’s worry returned. Sunny should have asked for details about Adam, but hadn’t. Why? In the past, she’d always grilled Danni for particulars. She tried to reason it out and figured Sunny might be tired of discussing him and not her own relationship. “How are things going with you and Roger?”

  She pulled another chocolate from her sweatpants pocket, popped it in her mouth, and chewed. Cherry juice dribbled over her lower lip. “We’re good.”

  Danni waited for more.

  There wasn’t any, nor did Sunny ask about Adam, the polite thing to do. Before Danni’s worry took too many wrong turns, she figured she’d better ease into her concern over his strange behavior. “I forgot to tell you, Adam took me sailing on Sunday.” Between increasingly shortened breaths, she recounted their day, the pictures he took, his Arnold Schwarzenegger bod in the photo and his comment about the scrapple.

  Sunny laughed herself into a wheeze and had to leave her equipment. “I bet it cracked you up.”

  “Yep. Made me cry too.”

  She looked over. “What—why?”

  Doubt and tears threatened again. Crap, she couldn’t be a bigger mess. She stopped her machine.

  “Oh baby.” Sunny leaned against the handle and rubbed Danni’s back. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m losing my mind. I don’t know what to believe anymore or what to trust.” A sob caught in her throat. “Oh hell.”

  She waved her hands as if to erase her last words and tried to get a grip. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” Her hands fell. “But what if it is?”

  “Here.” Sunny gave her a cherry chocolate.

  Giggling at the absurdity of eating candy in a gym, Danni sank to the last step on her StairMaster and rested her forearms on her knees.

  Sunny sat cross-legged at her side. “Want another one? I have ten more in my pockets.”

  She laughed through her tears. “You’re going to get us banned.”

  “Good. I hate this place. Come on, have another.”

  “No, I want to talk. Please. I don’t know what’s going on, he’s being super nice.”

  “Isn’t that good?”

  “If it lasts. He’s nice now, but a few weeks ago he was so distant and preoccupied I thought we were history. He canceled our weekend plans. He didn’t call. He didn’t even come in to work one morning. God, I thought he was dying from the flu or something. But then he suddenly shows up and everything’s okay. The crisis had passed. It pissed me off. I was so worried, and now things are back to normal? How? Why? And for how long? I don’t know where I stand, and I don’t like the feeling.”

  Sunny rubbed Danni’s calf. “Did you ask him what’s going on?”

  “Aw God, I tried. When he canceled our plans, he said he had to work, so when we were back together, I asked him what he’d been working on. He went blank, like he couldn’t remember or didn’t want to say. Today when I asked if he’d tell me if something was bothering him, he said he would, but hasn’t. He’s keeping something from me and it
’s driving me nuts. I can’t go through this again. Matt and Bryan were enough. Damn, I just want an honest relationship.” She buried her face in her hands. “Please, you have to tell me—am I reading too much into this? Am I overreacting?”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about Adam. He really likes you. And I do mean really.”

  She dropped her hands. “Because he stares at me in the office?”

  Sunny chewed her lip, uneasiness on her face. “Just trust what he says. He won’t hurt you.”

  “How do you know? Has he talked to you?”

  “Me? No.” She shivered as if she couldn’t imagine such a thing. “He doesn’t even know you and I are tight, unless you told him.”

  “I haven’t. So how do you know he won’t hurt me? Women’s intuition?”

  Sunny popped another candy in her mouth and handed Danni the next. “Mine’s not that good.”

  “What?”

  She sighed. “I so hate keeping secrets.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “What weekend did he cancel your plans?”

  Suddenly, Danni didn’t want to say. She sensed an awful truth coming. “The one before last. Why?”

  “Promise you won’t get mad?”

  Her stomach turned over. “At him?”

  “Me.”

  Her apprehension went into overdrive.

  “Oh hey.” Sunny held up her hands. Chocolate coated her fingertips. “Don’t even go there. I wouldn’t cheat on Roger. And Adam doesn’t know I’m alive.”

  Danni’s breathing should have eased, but didn’t. “Okay. You don’t want to seduce him and haven’t tried. I get it. So why would I be mad at you?”

  Sunni wiggled to adjust her butt on the floor. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this.”

  Jesus. “So do I. But do. Don’t keep me fucking waiting. Why would I be mad at—”

  “I didn’t tell you what I heard the weekend Adam canceled on you, okay?”

  Not even close. Danni wanted to run but couldn’t manage a breath much less a sprint. “What did you hear? Wait. Is it really bad? Wait. I don’t want to know. Crap, I should.” Her stomach clenched. She inhaled deeply against the pain and steeled herself. “Tell me. Don’t stop even if I ask you to.”