I jumped up, glaring at him, and he immediately knew I knew what he’d done.
“I….,” he started and I interrupted.
“Don’t care to hear your explanation, Jake. I’m not fine china that needs to be wrapped in cotton and set on a shelf, and never used. I’m freaking Corelle!” I stormed past him, shaking with anger, and not completely certain I’d made any sense.
After several minutes of pacing and throwing some of his stuff around, I calmed down enough to think rationally. I’d known he’d been careful with questions and so had everyone else, but to actually make it a thing? That bothered me the most. It felt like I was a weak link in the group when I’d always been an equal player.
I understood where he came from. I did. Which made it that much harder to stay mad, but at the same time I knew we needed to talk about it. I couldn’t handle being the one they all tip toed around for fear of me having a mental breakdown.
I gave myself a few more minutes to calm down, dragging my hair into a messy knot and smearing sunscreen on my face, before heading back into the kitchen.
Jake approached me instantly, apparently having heeded Wade’s warning to give me time to cool off, but that was over at the first sight of me. I grabbed his hands before he could drag me into his embrace and told him, “We need to talk about it, but not right now.”
He nodded reluctantly, his expression contrite, and knowing Jake it was because he truly felt remorse from keeping it from me and not because he’d been caught.
“Breakfast now,” I offered as I gave him an easy smile. It was difficult to remain angry with him when I understood his emotions so perfectly, and I wasn’t one to broadcast my feelings for everyone else to witness. I’d leave that to Jules.
“Did you sleep well? All by yourself in a lumpy bed by a lake? Hmmm? When you could have been at a luxury resort on Cabo.” I took a deep breath as I heard her hassling Connor and released it slowly. It seemed like all our relationships were having issues right now.
Carly and Wade hovered by the door, their discomfort clear and I pasted on a bright smile to reassure them. I think it was too far gone for Jules to try, but it didn’t need to be anymore awkward.
A low rumble interrupted Connor and Jules’ squabble, and I glanced at the window.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Carly shrieked, and I found myself pinned by her glare. “You invited Danny? What kind of best friend are you?” Her hurt and betrayal washed over me in a wave and I fought through it, knowing she was only reacting. “Don’t even think of denying it. I recognize that guilty look on your face.”
“Carly.” Jake’s voice was commanding and stopped Carly in her tracks. She paled as she realized what she’d done and I attempted to loosen my hold on the back of the chair I’d grabbed as her emotions had engulfed me.
“It’s okay,” I managed to say before she spun around and raced from the room. I made to go after her, but Wade shook his head.
“She’s feeling guilty and extremely confused right now,” he told me. “She’s not nearly as unhappy with Danny’s presence as she is with your perceived betrayal.”
I glanced up at the ceiling, unable to defend myself because she was right. I’d set her up.
“Don’t blame yourself,” he continued and I gave him a look of disbelief. “You didn’t know about Connor and Jules showing up. Yes, you knew about Danny, but there’s no way you would have told him not to come. Carly can deal. She needs to deal with Danny’s presence in your life. Whether she dates him or not.”
Wade headed to the front door after saying his piece and a subdued Jules offered to make breakfast. I nodded and leaned into the solid presence at my side. No matter what happened I could count on Jake to have my back.
Chapter Seven
“Can we take a break already?” Jules whined after a few hours of us hashing out what we knew so far about the case. She kept staring out the window and I couldn’t really blame her. It was a gorgeous day out. I glanced around the room and saw a few nods, one of them Carly, so I relented and nodded in agreement.
“Who woo!” Jules jumped up instantly. “Jake get that boat in the water. Girls, follow me.” Everyone scattered as if I might take back what I said and I laughed as I followed behind Jules. Carly bumped my shoulder and gave me an apologetic glance. I slung my arm around her shoulder in forgiveness.
“I should have told you.” I offered my own apology and she shook her head.
“I know why you didn’t, and that’s my fault. Danny’s a good guy and I need to get over this,” she said, looking unhappy with herself.
“Hey, there’s no timeline on healing,” I responded, squeezing her. “I understand why and so does Danny. Getting kidnapped and punched in the face by the guy you like is not an easy thing, especially when you thought he was a bad guy.”
“Yeah, but you’ve clearly accepted him and I know you wouldn’t do that if you didn’t trust him completely.” The words dragged out of her and even her gravity defying curls drooped.
“We had different experiences and I have a unique ability which allows me to know exactly how he felt. You can’t measure yourself against me.”
“But I trust you and that means I should trust Danny,” she argued, trying to convince herself.
“You don’t like me the same way you like Danny.” I paused and grinned at her. “At least I hope not, because if you did then Jake would have to take a backseat to my best friend.” My joke had the desired effect and she laughed, some of the gloom leaving her.
“Come on, you slowpokes.” Jules spun around holding up some string in one hand and a crochet triangle in the other. “Which one?”
My eyes widened as I considered what she meant.
“Are you planning to floss your teeth?”
Carly snickered next to me and Jules gave me her death stare.
“No,” she said with barely concealed ire. “Which one will make Connor regret not getting a passport?”
“Well, since you asked that way…you wearing a nun’s habit would actually make him regret it. Neither of those scraps of fabric will do it.”
Jules stomped her foot, clearly aggravated by my answer, but it was the truth. Her wearing those tiny bikinis was in no way going to punish Connor.
“Grrrrrr, you’re absolutely no help!” Jules considered the two options she held before deciding on the handful of string. I figured there had to be enough material to hide the pertinent bits but not much more.
Carly surprised me by reaching for the other scrap of fabric Jules held, as she asked, “Can I borrow this one?”
Jules handed it to her with no hesitation, concealing her own surprise. Since I had zero intentions of waltzing around in a bikini I went to grab my swimsuit.
A few minutes later we met on the dock, and while they looked disappointed by my swimsuit neither commented. I, however, could not resist.
“You’re going to have the oddest suntan lines,” I mentioned to Jules, noticing how the string bikini wrapped around her.
“A small price to pay for his reaction,” she assured me, peeking over the deck railing to find the guy she was looking to shock.
Carly tugged at her own bikini a little self-consciously, but stopped the second she caught me watching her.
“And what’s your reason?” I asked her, already knowing the answer.
“I don’t have a reason. I just thought I’d try out something different.”
“Uh huh.” I knew her mom would skin her alive if she caught her waltzing around in front of a bunch of guys in the tiny crochet bikini. Carly was tiny and while the bikini covered more of her than it would of Jules, it still left little to the imagination. “I’m sure Danny will be speechless.”
“I could care less about what Danny thinks,” she snapped, tossing her braid over her shoulder. “Besides, Danny is usually speechless.”
I nodded, keeping my comment to myself about how she paid a lot of attention to someone she could care less about. Jules gave me a si
delong glance, lifting her eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
“Damn,” Carly muttered staring toward the lakeshore. A glance over and Jules let out a low whistle while I checked to see if any drool had escaped my mouth.
“I thought the tuxes were hot,” I managed to say, unabashedly staring at the four insanely hot men gathered by the water.
“It’s like our own personal show.” Carly sighed and I tore my eyes away from them long enough to see she was staring at Danny. He was the tannest after Wade, and while Connor and Jake were pale they both displayed their dedication to fitness. All of them were shirtless, board shorts hanging low on their hips to show off that V-cut they worked so hard for.
“It’s awfully warm out here,” Jules murmured and I nodded.
“Hot,” Carly whispered, fanning herself.
Jake caught sight of us on the deck and shouted, “Come on, the water feels great.” All four of them turned toward us so we had no choice but to sashay ourselves on down. Wide grins met us along with a loud wolf whistle as we followed the path to the shore. Jules kept her head up and walked with the confidence of a runway model, and it didn’t hurt she looked like one. Carly was a little slower, but I saw her straighten her back as Danny locked his eyes on her.
I bounced along behind them, my faithful bag of snacks over my shoulder along with 100 proof sunblock. My big boobs meant I needed support and my fair skin needed coverage.
“What are you wearing, Addie? It’s a hundred fucking degrees out here.” Connor finally tore his gaze from his wife’s skimpy suit to comment on my practical one.
“It’s a sun shirt,” I replied tartly, popping him on the nose as I walked by. “So I don’t have to apply sunscreen.”
“Clever,” Danny said smiling, his longish black hair tucked behind the sunglasses he had pushed up on his head. I smiled back at him, glad someone could appreciate my practicality.
I studied Wade in his navy board shorts, his café au lait skin contrasting nicely. He caught my stare and his lips curved in amusement.
Jake jostled me, a flare of jealously in his eyes as he broke my gaze. I curled my arm around his and leaned up to give him a kiss. He only looked slightly appeased as he glanced between me and Wade.
“You know the two of you are both looking at me with jealousy. Now Jake I understand, but what’s up with you, Addie?”
Wade’s question make me realize how hard I’d been staring at him.
“You’re the perfect shade of tan,” I muttered, frowning. A bark of laughter met my response and Jake relaxed next to me. “It’s not funny. I’m white, fish belly white, and I turn red in the sun. You’re always perfectly tan.” My envy leached though as they all stared at me. I rolled my eyes and gestured to the boat. “Can we go already? I thought we were tubing.”
“You have the weirdest ideas,” Connor told me, nudging my arm as we stepped on the boat. “Women are supposed to be pale.”
I glanced at him, unsure if he was trolling me, but he gave me an earnest nod and I realized he felt bad.
“Thanks, Con. That makes me feel better.” A happy smile crossed his face at my response and I sat under the cover on the pontoon boat. Jake’s dad had let us borrow it for our trip insisting, “It wasn’t a trip to the lake without a boat.”
For the next few hours we took turns riding the tube as the guys took turns driving the boat. Carly even agreed to ride the tube with Danny at one point to all of our shock.
We all lounged on the deck after tubing, Jules and Carly working on their tans as I spread more sunscreen on my face and legs. Connor’s shoulders were bright red since he’d refused my offer of sunscreen but he’d jumped on the snacks I’d brought.
Danny was gazing at the shore, his forehead wrinkled and I craned my head to see what he was looking at so intently.
“Guys, I think we’re being watched.” His voice was low and drew all of our attention. He jerked his head to the north shore, his sunglasses shielding his eyes. “I keep seeing a flicker of light over there. Almost like the sun glinting off something. Like binoculars,” he ground out, upset by the idea.
“Turn the boat,” Wade called to Jake. “Addie, are we being watched?”
“Yes,” I answered, my skin crawling as I felt the intent behind the watcher. “He’s watching us.” I indicated Jules and Carly and heard the guys growl.
“Oh, is he?” Jules glided to the edge of the boat, an angry glint in her eyes.
“Jules,” Jake warned, glancing back at her.
“It’s fine,” she told him, waving him off. “Point him out to me, Danny.”
Danny pointed to the last place he’d seen the glint and Jules leaned over the edge of the boat, on full display and seconds later the glint appeared again. Jules smiled wide and stared straight at it, waving her arm as elegantly as any princess before she flipped the bird right at them. The glint disappeared and Jules called over her shoulder, “Is he gone, Addie?”
“Oh yeah,” I snorted, laughing at sudden disappearance of out peeping Tom. “You scared him off, Jules.”
“On that note, we’re heading back.” Jake pointed the boat toward our dock and set the boat on a brisk pace.
“It wasn’t harmless was it, Addie?” Connor came to sit next to me, and didn’t miss the goosebumps that suddenly pebbled across my skin. “Son of a bitch, I should go up there and teach him a lesson.”
I rested my hand on his arm, already feeling better for his bristly protectiveness. “No, we don’t need to do that yet.” Seeing where the guy watching had come from gave me an idea of who it might be. “You didn’t meet our friendly neighbor, Joyce, but she indicated that she lived over there.” I gestured to the direction the glint had come from and Connor looked horrified.
“It was a woman?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, it was definitely a man, but it might have been her husband or even a son.”
“That’s the same woman that’s been taking care of an empty cabin for twenty years?”
“Yep.”
Connor nodded, muttering, “Yeah, there’s all kinds of weird shit going around here.”
“You’ve got that right,” I replied under my breath.
Later that night, the guys had gathered on the deck while Jules, Carly and I had cleaned up the kitchen. The guys had barbequed for us so we’d decided to clean.
“I think we got the short end of this deal.”
“Did they decide to use every single pan after they found out we were cleaning up?”
I chuckled and said, “No, they really are that messy.”
“Jesus,” Jules muttered, crossing herself after she said it. “Never again will I make that deal.” She threw her rag down with a sigh after she wiped the last of the counters. “I need a long hot bath after this day.”
“That sounds good,” Carly agreed. “But maybe more like a cool shower.” She winced slightly as she touched the bright red skin on her shoulder. “I didn’t realize how much skin I needed to cover with sunscreen.” She gave an envious glance at my perfectly white skin and I shrugged. I knew better.
“Well, I’m going before the guys get in here and take all the hot water,” Jules said, heading for her bedroom. She paused and glanced at me. “I guess you can tell Connor he can sleep with me. With his snoring you’ll kick us out if he’s forced to sleep with anyone else another night.” She acted irritated, but I knew she just didn’t want to admit she’d missed the big oaf.
I saluted and said, “Will do.”
Carly dallied by the door until Jules was gone and I lifted my eyebrows. “You want me to send Danny to you too?”
Her mouth dropped open and then snapped shut and I didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or slap me.
“No! I just wanted to make sure he’s staying with Wade. I don’t want to accidentally stumble across him or anything.”
“Ahh, okay. No accidentally stumbling across a half dressed Danny in the hall or something.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Good.”
“But you will have to share the bathroom. The Jack and Jill bathroom. The one with no locks. I’ll be sure and let him know you’re taking a bath now.”
Her eyes widened and she scurried down the hall. I guessed to hurry and take a bath before he came in, or maybe to be ready for when he came in?
I chuckled to myself and headed for the deck to relay the messages. The sliding glass door was partially open and the sound of their voices wafted in. I paused as I heard Connor say, “Hey, Wade.”
“Yeah?” His deep voice rumbled and out of sight, it was easy to imagine it belonging to a much older, bigger man.
“I…we…” Another longer pause and I was sure a few sidelong glances had him correcting himself. “I was wondering…”
“Your discomfort is amusing,” Wade replied laconically. “But just spit it out.”
“Well, you see, it’s just…You’re really in touch with emotions,” Connor finally blurted out and my forehead furrowed as I wondered what the hell he was trying to say. Jake groaned and I heard the rasp of the lighter Danny always kept on him. He tended to play with it when he was uncomfortable, a habit from when he used to smoke.
“I’m not going to like where this is going,” Wade sighed and I heard the creak of his chair as he settled in.
“Are you gay? Cause it’s cool if you are. We’re all cool with it. Zero judgement, you know? It’s just if you are and, I don’t know, you need a wingman or something….I got you. I’m one hundred percent secure in my manhood.”
A low chuckle rippled through the night air and I shoved my fist in my mouth so I wouldn’t give myself away. This was obviously something Connor hadn’t wanted to mention in front of me, perhaps a ‘guy thing.’ But even without his questions I could have told him there was no way in hell Wade was gay.
“Connor,” Wade started and I heard Danny’s muffled snort. “I can read your utter sincerity which is why I’m not in the least offended by your question. But to answer your first point, yes, I’m in touch with emotions. Mainly because I see them in Technicolor surrounding people. If I wasn’t good at reading them, then I’d be an idiot. That doesn’t make me gay.”
Hidden Secrets (The Hidden Series Book 3) Page 9
