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

by Jolie, Mika

  Her father touched her shoulder. “Parents want their children to make their own path and find happiness. But our expectations should not drive your happiness.”

  A small silence settled between her and her parents.

  “Is that why you’re going to marry that young man? So you won’t be single and pregnant?” Her father continued.

  “Adam. His name is Adam. And the answer is no.” Even with all trepidation over failing her parents and their expectations, she’d never marry Adam for the sake of their child.

  “You don’t marry because of a child.” Her father continued. He didn’t appear to be convinced by her answer. “Marriage is about love, the heart.” He touched the left side of his chest. “Feeling like you’re home when that person holds you.”

  Moved by her father’s words, Lily once again felt the tears coming. She brushed the corner of her eyes. “I feel that way with Adam. He owns my heart.”

  Her father’s hands cupped her arms. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “And you own his? He never said he’s in love with you. Although he’s determined to marry you.” As he spoke, his voice was calm. It carried Lily away, like it always did.

  “I wouldn’t marry him if I didn’t think he did.”

  “It’s not about what you think, querida,” her mother said, coming to stand next to her. “It’s about what he lets you see and trust. You need to be his hope as he is yours.”

  She nodded, letting her parents words sink in.

  “Why haven’t we heard about him, querida?” her father asked.

  Because until recently our relationship was based only on sex. But she couldn’t tell her parents that. She was their darling. “Adam and I were complicated.”

  “We understand.” Her father studied her face. The love they have for their children clear in his eyes. “We never want you to settle,” he continued. “No matter what the situation is, never settle for anything less than the whole enchilada.”

  By the whole enchilada, he meant love. The love her parents shared. The fact that she’d broken a Serrano rule was now an afterthought. As always, her parents’ main concern was for their children to be happy. Unwed, pregnant and all.

  At that moment, she knew things were going to be okay. “You’ll give him a chance?” she asked just to be sure.

  “If he’s important to you then he’s important to us.”

  Tears immediately began streaming down her face. Relieved, she fell into her parents arms for a long embrace. “Te amo.” Her mother’s gentle laughter reverberated in her ear like the sound of angel wings flapping.

  “He seems like a nice young man,” her mother whispered in her ear. “He’s very protective of you.”

  Lily chuckled. “Just a little.”

  “Well, if this isn’t a Kodak moment.”

  Lily froze at the sound of Rafa’s voice. Well, one hurdle down. Now time to deal with her brothers.

  “Rafa,” her father warned.

  “It’s okay, Dad.” Lily stepped out of her parents arms and eyeballed her brothers. Their faces were a crimson shade, and their eyes seemed to spark with fury. “Why are you so angry with Adam? It takes two, you know.”

  “Thanks,” Zander muttered. Muscles and veins strained against his skin. “We needed that mental image.”

  “He doesn’t love you,” Rafa said.

  Ouch. The words stung, so much so that she gasped. Her mother stepped forward and shot Rafa a stern look.

  “You’ve gone too far, Rafael. I expect you to show Adam respect.”

  All three of her brothers uttered a grunting sound.

  “Your mother is right,” their father spoke. “You need to show some respect.”

  “I called in a favor to a friend to run a background check on him,” Zander said, as if nothing else mattered.

  Lily’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “What?” She glared at them, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Why would you do that?”

  Zander shrugged. “You got burned with Nate. It’s not going to happen again.”

  But she wasn’t thinking about Nate or his cheating ways. She could care less about that chapter of her life. It was her past. Adam was her future. The world circled around her as her thoughts scampered to what Zander had started. A reporter might have not been able to get all the information, but Zander could. Zander would if she didn’t put a stop to it. She had no intention of keeping Adam’s past buried, but one obstacle after another. One day she’d tell them everything, but not today.

  “You need to call your friend and ask that they stop.” The urgency or rather panic in her voice caused her brothers to look at her. Knowing they would be able to see straight through her, Lily looked away.

  “Is he married?” Max asked.

  “My God!” She whipped around and shot them an angry piercing stare. “You guys are idiots. Do you really think I would shack up with someone who is married?”

  “So then what are you hiding?” This time it was Rafa who spoke, his dark eyes narrowed on her. “You’re hiding something about him.”

  “Just stop whatever you started.” Her voice cracked.

  “Lily,” Zander said, approaching her. “What’s going on? Tell us what’s going on and I’ll stop it.”

  But she couldn’t. Adam trusted her, she could never betray him. “Please.” She pleaded, feeling herself drowning in fear. “Just stop whatever you started.” She herself was still learning about Adam’s childhood, the fact that he took his father’s life. She still had no clue what happened after that, she only knew this reporter was going to great lengths to expose him. There had to be a reason, which she intended to find out but at her own pace, not by her brothers’ overbearing ways.

  “Zander,” her mother said, “call your friend and close your background check.” She looked at her daughter. “Lily is a grown woman. We trust her to make the right decision.”

  “He could be a fucking killer!” Rafa said through clenched teeth, sounding disapproving. He threw his arms in the air. “Just because he’s some famous rich boy doesn’t make him greater or bigger than us. You guys…” he looked at his parents, “may have decided to drink the Adam Kool-Aid, but we haven’t. Zander will not stop digging until we find out what Lily is refusing to tell us.”

  Feeling light-headed and a bit disoriented, Lily grabbed her purse to find her phone. She scrolled to Adam’s name and pressed the TALK option just as Zander extended his hand to her.

  “Liliana?” Adam’s voice was filled with questions, concern. And the muscles of her heart tightened with an incredible force.

  “Give me the phone,” Zander said. “Let me speak to him.”

  She looked at her brother. The arrogance now replaced by uneasiness.

  “I’ll be there in ten,” Adam said.

  Zander took the phone from her. “She’s fine. She’ll see you later.” He disconnected the call and handed Lily the phone. “I’ll call the investigation off.”

  Rafa released a guttural roar. “Are you kidding me?”

  Zander turned to his brother. “Relax, bro. Lily’s our sister.” His eyes searched hers. “But if he’s in trouble, know that you can trust us.”

  Thanks, she mouthed.

  Zander nodded and threw an arm over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s catch up.”

  Lily hesitated, not trusting her brother. He pulled his phone from his pocket, went through his contact list and typed.

  Drop it.

  For confirmation he showed the text to her and pressed SEND.

  “We would never hurt you Lily. We are just concerned.”

  “We’re still kicking his ass in football tomorrow,” Rafa muttered, his displeasure in full display.

  Sometime during the course of the day, Lily began to relax around her family. Rafa’s nostrils were still flaring, but for the most part his rage seemed to have gotten under control. Especially when Keely and Minka arrived with their parents and the wedding became the main topic of discussion.

  They
were all gathered in the garden; even Claire had joined them, when Adam and the others pulled up and headed in their direction. Jason and Blake greeted their in-laws. Their women like magnets went into their arms. Claire was engaged in a conversation with Max; she glanced over at Forrest. Tension thickened the air between them until Claire broke their connection and turned her attention back to Max.

  Adam had either gone swimming with his friends or freshly showered. His hair was wet and looked like he ran his fingers through for some sort of manageability at the last minute. He had changed into a fitted heather grey sweater, clinging to every muscle on his chest and emphasizing his broad shoulders; cuffed, dark denim jeans accenting brown, rugged boots; and a rustic cashmere scarf thrown around his neck, adding a great layer to his outfit. He embodied the fall weather.

  His eyes stayed on her as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the group. He looked alert, tough, and in complete protective mode. Lily could only stare, heat churning in her belly.

  After a short, polite conversation with everyone, he took her hand in his. “Hey.” His mouth smiled, but his eyes searched hers, silently asking if all was well. She smiled at him and his shoulders relaxed a bit. “Let’s go home.” He glanced at her brothers and Lily held her breath. “Shave your legs for tomorrow. See you at three.”

  “What’s that about?” she asked Adam once they were in his car.

  He chuckled. “Your brothers challenged us in flag football.”

  “Oh, Rafa said something about beating your ass tomorrow.”

  His laughter deepened, as if no way in hell any of her brothers could touch one hair on his skin. She believed it. He backed out of the driveway onto the main road. “I promised them I’ll give free aim to at least one good hit.”

  “Have you ever played?”

  “I’ve played football. Same thing.”

  The concept was the same but there was one major difference, no physical contact. The main rule of flag football was instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag from the ball carrier to end a down. Something told her all of them had no intention to follow the rules. “You’re just as bad, you know.”

  He glanced at her, an innocent who me? look on his face.

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Jason is playing too?”

  He nodded.

  “He’s getting married in a couple of days. He can’t get bruised.”

  Adam shrugged, not seeing her point. “What does bruising have to do with getting married?”

  She huffed. Men. Some things they just didn’t get. “Because,” she said slowly, very slowly. “Minka will not be happy to have her husband photographed with a black eye, or any other mark that she didn’t personally put on his skin.”

  “I promise you Jason won’t be sporting a black eye. It’s me they want, you know.” He reached for her hand. “How come they never went after your ex?”

  “They tried.” She groaned, thinking of the many times her brothers tried to accidentally meet up with Nate.

  “You stopped them from rearranging his face?”

  “What’s the point? He means nothing to me.”

  “If you were my sister, I’d beat him up.”

  Lily threw her head back and laughed, all anxiety from earlier leaving her body.

  He brought her hand to his lips and turned the car to the street leading to his house. “I have a surprise for you.”

  She glanced at his profile. His features were relaxed; there was even a slight smile on the corner of his lips. And her heart did that little dance again.

  Adam parked the car and was quickly by her side. He took her hand in his. “Let’s go to the beach.”

  Puzzled, she looked at the direction of the water. The mellow autumn sunset lingered over the ocean, sending a cool breeze in the evening sky. She was wearing a light jacket and automatically began to pull up the zipper. Adam quickly removed his scarf and placed it around her neck. “I’ll keep you warm.”

  His voice was low and incredibly sexy. Lily moved closer to him. Not because she needed the heat; his mere presence would warm her even if they were stranded in Antarctica. But as always his emotional pull was strong.

  In silence Adam led her to the private beach. Lily paused when she spotted the blanket and picnic basket on the sand. “What’s this?”

  He smiled. “I made you dinner.”

  “A picnic?”

  “I’m trying to be romantic.”

  She laughed, tip-toed and pressed her lips to his. She released his hand and almost sprinted to the grey blanket with the Martha’s Vineyard emblem in its center. She sat and crossed her legs. Chuckling, Adam followed and joined her. He leaned in, planted his hands by her legs, and kissed her neck, nibbling on her skin. Arousal surged through her body and she tugged at his sweater, pulling him closer.

  “Can anyone see us?” The beach was private, but he had neighbors, not many or too close, but they had access to the beach as well.

  “Still too early,” he whispered between kisses that were now going up and down her neck, melting her bones away. “But I intend to make you come right here tonight.”

  “Promise.”

  He let out a short whisper of a breath as he exhaled. “It’s a matter of life or death for me.”

  For her too. She needed to feel every inch of him inside her. Lily removed the scarf around her neck, slid her arms around his and lowered herself on the blanket, bringing his big body along. His lips grazed her collarbone, her jaw toward her mouth. He paused, brought his face to hers, his intense dark eyes holding hers prisoner. And the emotion she read in them rocked her axis. Adam ran the pad of his thumb over her parted lips.

  “I’ve missed this.” His voice was gruff, filled with need.

  Then his lips crushed against hers with urgency, his tongue dipping in, kissing her deep and hard. She knotted her fingers in his hair, electricity pulsing through her veins. “Now, Adam,” she panted and kept kissing him. “Let’s go inside.” She tilted her hips and rocked right into his erection.

  She heard him groan and slowly peeled himself away from her. “Not yet.” Arms by his side, his head tipped back, he drew out a deep breath into the cool air. “In my head this goes a certain way.”

  She sat up. “What happened to being spontaneous?”

  Dark, heavy-lidded eyes turned to her. “I don’t mean sex.”

  Okay, he was confusing the hell out of her. “Speak English.”

  “Stay with me, Liliana.”

  “I’m trying.” She really was, but there was that space between her legs that wanted, needed him right there.

  Adam hoisted himself up. “I made you dinner.”

  She peered at the picnic basket then smiled at him. “It’s very sweet.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. “I never want to be sweet.”

  “Okay then, you’re not sweet. Let’s go inside and I can show you how unsweet you are.”

  He grunted.

  Lily rose to her feet and walked into his arms. “I’m trying to stay with you, but you’re confusing the hell out of me.”

  He tangled his fingers in her hair, slanted his head and kissed her once more. “I told your parents I was going to marry you,” he said against her lips.

  “Okay.”

  He smiled. “The other night, you told me to ask you again. I spent all of yesterday shopping for a ring.”

  Lily blinked. Things were slowly starting to make sense. The sudden trip to Boston with Jason. The picnic. The beach. They first made love on the sand to the sound of the ocean in Chappaquiddick on Jason’s private beach. But a beach was a beach. Adam was being romantic. She smiled, tiptoed and wrapped her arms around his neck and shouted, “Yes!”

  His arm circled her waist and brought her against his chest. “I haven’t asked.”

  “Ask me, then.”

  His dark eyes grew serious. He brushed his lips against hers one more time then released her. Lily watched as Adam lowered h
imself to one knee and took her hand in his. Her eyes clouded. Shit. No tears. Not now.

  “Liliana, in your arms I’m rooted. Will you marry me?”

  She fell to her knees beside him. The tears were now flowing down her cheek but she didn’t care. She cupped his face in her hands and let out a shaky laugh between her tears.

  He kissed the palm of her hand. “Does that mean yes?”

  Through stream of tears, she chuckled. “Yes.” She could have sworn he looked a little relieved. Like she would ever say no.

  Adam pulled her into him with such force that it knocked them both off their balance. His back hit the sand and she landed on his chest. “I’m going to make love to you all night and maybe all day tomorrow.”

  She laughed. “You have the football game.”

  “Football break to kick your brothers’ asses, then more of you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Intimacy is the act of connecting with someone so deeply, you feel like you can see their soul.”

  Anonymous

  After another deep, wet kiss, Lily gave Adam a gentle shove and pulled up to her feet. She slipped off her jacket, yanked her sweater over her head, tossed it somewhere on the ground, and stood in a body-hugging black tank. Still lying on the cool soil, he watched her, eyes twinkling with amusement.

  “What are you doing?”

  Instead of answering, Lily kicked off her boots, pulled off the tank. In bra and a fitted pair of jeans, she threaded her fingers to the waistband of her pants. Adam braced himself to his elbows. Dark brown eyes heated to a whiskey color, no longer amused. She threw the jeans to the side and stood bravely in matching black panties and bra, sending a clear message of her intent.

  He rose to his feet, removed his shoes then stood still for a beat. His thick hair tousled from the light breeze with strands blowing in his perfectly carved face. He was intoxicating. Lily watched him take two easy strides to close the space between them. She stood there, with their bodies oh, so close, goose bumps on her skin, not from the coolness in the air, but with desire, and the heat he generated.

  “Our neighbors are going to think you’re crazy,” he said in a low, gruff voice that only increased her arousal.