by Noelle Adams
“Small world, and all that.”
“That’s for sure. Anyway, we all adore Bev and we’re truly excited about the wedding…,” she paused and Grace could tell that Cassie was searching for the right thing to say.
“But it’s still awkward because of Adam, right?” Grace supplied.
“Yes!” Cassie said, relieved that someone understood. “I think things are getting better but sometimes he just…well, you know how he is.”
Grace nodded and smiled. “Yes, I certainly do.” The phone on the desk rang and Grace held up a slender finger indicating Cassie to wait for a moment while she took the call.
“Believe it or not, this call is for you.”
“For me?” Disbelief laced her voice. “Who on earth would call me here?”
“It’s Danielle Chamberlain.”
A smile crept across Cassie’s face as she held out her hand for the phone. Grace swatted it away. “Don’t be ridiculous, you can take it in Adam’s office.”
Not wanting to keep Danielle waiting, Cassie walked into Adam’s massive suite and tossed her purse on to the nearest surface and walked around his desk as she picked up the phone. “Danielle?”
“Oh, Cassie, I’m so glad you were there! I was afraid that I’d have to make a dozen calls before I actually found you.”
“Is everything okay? Are you all right?”
“Everything is beyond all right,” Danielle said, bursting with excitement. “I took your advice and went to see my doctor as soon as we got home from the trip.”
“And?” Cassie prompted, praying that she was going to hear good news.
“We don’t have to try to get pregnant because we already are!” The two women screeched with excitement and Cassie felt a twinge of jealousy toward Danielle. She knew that now wasn’t the right time for her to be pregnant but at the same time, Cassie knew that she was anxious to have a family of her own.
“I wanted you to be one of the first to know. You were so wonderful to me that entire weekend and you really helped me to put things into perspective. I don’t have a lot of friends who understood what I was feeling.”
“I’m so glad I was able to help, Danielle, really, and I’m so excited for you.”
“What about you, Cassie? When are you and Adam going to get married and start a family?”
For a moment, Cassie was too stunned to speak. She had thought that she’d made herself clear on that last day about her and Adam’s relationship. “Um, I don’t think that’s in the cards. Like I told you back at the beach, our relationship isn’t like that.”
Danielle actually laughed. “Then you weren’t seeing what the rest of us were seeing. You’re in love with Adam! You’ve told him that, right?”
“No, I’m not in love with Adam and…”
“You are and wouldn’t you love to have babies with him? Have you told him that?”
“The subject of a baby hasn’t come up and…”
Clearly Danielle was on a roll. “What are you waiting for? You’re both crazy about one another!”
At that point, Cassie zoned out. She knew that her feelings for Adam were deep and they were real and that she was quite possibly already in love with him. But marriage and babies? Could they have that kind of a future together? Thinking back on some of their previous conversations on the whole concept of love and marriage, she couldn’t fathom Adam wanting any part of such a thing.
Danielle was still rambling on about all of her baby plans and Cassie made the appropriate comments when necessary. A quick glance at her watch told her that they were going to be late for dinner with her family if she didn’t get off the phone soon and go and find Adam.
“Listen, Danielle, I hate to cut you short but we’re having dinner with my family tonight and I’ve got to go and find Adam or we’ll be late.” Thank God she didn’t have to lie, she thought.
“I understand. Oh, and Cassie? Please don’t say anything yet to Adam about the baby. Max wants to do it.”
“Believe me,” Cassie started with more than a little relief in her voice, “I will not be telling Adam about the baby.” With a promise to keep in touch, she quickly hung up and walked back around the desk to grab her purse as Adam walked into the office.
“Hey!” she said cheerily, just the sight of him made her smile. “Is your meeting done?”
Adam stood in front of her, merely staring. “Adam?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said gruffly. “Let me just grab my jacket and we can go.”
The walk down to the car was relatively quiet. Cassie figured he was just smoothing out from a tense meeting and was more than willing to sit back and let him unwind before meeting with everyone. She knew these get-togethers were new to him and a little overwhelming so if he needed a few minutes of quiet, then she was fine with that.
With fists tightly gripping the steering wheel, Adam drove toward the restaurant; his mind spinning. Was Cassie pregnant? He could only hear part of her conversation and from what he did hear, that seemed to be the logical conclusion. When his meeting had let out and he’d come back toward his office, Grace had notified him that Cassie was in his office on the phone. Out of consideration for her privacy, he’d waited until she was done. Unfortunately, her voice carried and whoever it was she was speaking to, it was mainly about babies. He would have just passed it off as a friend’s pregnancy until he heard Cassie say that she wasn’t going to tell him about it.
Why the hell would she keep that from him?
Glancing at Cassie, he felt his heart lurch. She was so damn beautiful that she made him ache. There had to be a way for him to find out if she was pregnant and why she was keeping it from him. But how? He could just come out and ask her, but that might put her on the defensive and she’d just deny it. He had to come up with a plan.
For tonight, he’d just observe her; see how she behaved and how her family acted toward her. The thought of her keeping such a huge secret from him burned. He wanted to trust Cassie and believe that he’d misinterpreted what he’d heard, but Adam knew that trust was not his strong suit. If she thought that she’d keep his child from him and then demand money from him later on, she’d be in for a huge surprise. There would be no payout for having his baby. She could make her money some other way other than bargaining for what was rightfully his!
Hell, even in his own mind he sounded slightly deranged. Cassie had never asked him for anything; how could he possibly believe that she would do something so underhanded? She came from an honest family who worked hard for what they had. Adam was finally starting to see and respect that about them. The whole Jacobs family was career minded, good people. He was glad that his mother was going to be a part of that.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the Italian restaurant, Cassie turned to Adam and smiled. “I’m so glad you were able to join us tonight. I know family dinners aren’t your thing, but tonight is a big night.”
He was just about to ask her why when the valet appeared and opened her door. Adam climbed out and rounded the hood of the car to join Cassie and within minutes they were surrounded by her family with hearty greetings.
Over the next thirty minutes they were seated and enjoying drinks while looking over the menus; the conversation never seemed to stop. He engaged in conversation about his recent trip to South America and saw both Cassie and his mother smile with pride. It all made him feel so good but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up. What had she meant about it being a big night? Would she announce her pregnancy here at the table in front of her whole family?
“So what do you think, Adam?” Cassie’s father was looking at him expectantly across the table with a smile on his face. What had the man been talking about? “You’re a business man, ever dabble in real estate?”
Before he could answer, another wave of conversation started to his left. He heard Lauren talking about trying to find a major company to take her on. She wanted to stay close to home right now, preferably in Raleigh, but t
he thought of soliciting strangers made her uneasy.
To his right he heard Cassie and Katie talking about business expansion; taking on a bigger staff possibly adding a bakery to the business. The words around him became a loud buzzing in his head and the only thing he could hear clearly were Cassie’s words from earlier, “Believe me, I will not be telling Adam about the baby.”
He heard his name several more times, everyone was trying to engage him in one conversation or another and they all seemed to be based upon wanting something from him; Business advice, a job, perhaps money for expansion. Maybe that was her game; see if he would help her family and then tell him about the baby. Hell no, he thought. He was going to put a stop to this right now. Flattening the menu against the table top, he stood abruptly.
“Adam?” Cassie reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “Are you all right?”
Her touch burned and he quickly pulled free of her. “All right?” he sneered. “No, I’m not all right, dammit! Just what the hell is going on here?” His eyes scanned the table and he was met with nothing but confusion from six pairs of eyes.
With her voice no more than a whisper, Cassie reached out to him again. “Why don’t you sit back down?”
“I don’t need to sit down. I think I know what’s going on.” His gaze snapped to his mother’s. “It always ends up like this, doesn’t it? I almost thought that it was going to be different this time; that this family, these people, were going to be different. Clearly I was wrong.” There was an edge to his voice and when he noted the fear in his mother’s eyes, he almost apologized. Almost.
“Adam, please,” Bev said, her voice trembling slightly. “Whatever it is that you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”
“Am I?” he sneered. “You mean that I’m not being propositioned for a job or investments? Again? You’d think you’d have learned after the last time. It always comes down to this – money. Well I’ll tell you what, I’m not interested in investing,” he spat as he looked at Stephen. “Or hiring,” he said to Lauren, “Or whatever it is that you’re cooking up,” he said finally to Cassie. The look of utter devastation gave him pause but then he remembered her words again, “Believe me, I will not be telling Adam about the baby” and knew that she was no different. She couldn’t be trusted. His first assessment of her was the right one and he was a food to think otherwise.
Kicking the chair away from him, he strode from the table, out of the restaurant and out of their lives.
Sixteen
Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks and yet it all had no meaning to Adam. He worked twenty hours a day, seven days a week, doing everything he could to erase the time he’d spent with Cassie and her family from his mind.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t working.
Thanksgiving had come and gone without a word from his mother. That was something that had never happened in his entire life. After all of the debacles with Bev’s previous relationships, she had never forgotten Adam on a holiday – even if was with just a phone call. Running a tired hand over his face, Adam sighed. Instead of being thankful that he was through with the Jacobs family, he had to be honest and admit that he missed them…and Bev. They had never gone for this long without speaking.
A quick glance at the calendar showed that it was a mere three weeks until Christmas. He tended to travel over Christmas, choosing to spend it with strangers overseas than in his own home. This year that held no appeal. Adam contemplated picking up the phone and calling his mother – just to check in and make sure she was okay, but shame kept him from making the call. In that moment he saw the tears in her eyes once again and heard the tremble in her voice and didn’t want to face the possibility of hearing it again on the other end of the phone.
Adam was shot out of his depressing thoughts as Grace walked through the office door with the day’s mail. She tossed it on his desk with a snort of derision that was becoming her trademark these days. Apparently she had heard about what had happened with Cassie and her family and had taken sides. Her displeasure with Adam was evident every time she looked at him. He was just about to comment on how he was getting tired of her childish behavior when she turned and faced him.
“Stephen Jacobs is here to see you.” It was if she’d thrown down the gauntlet. One eyebrow arched and she folded her arms across her middle as her expression dared Adam to refuse to see him.
Swallowing hard, he simply stared back and said, “Show him in.” He watched as Grace strode from the office as his mind raced with the thought of what Stephen Jacobs could possibly have to say to him. Why now? After almost six weeks, why show up now? He didn’t have to wait long because Stephen was a man with a purpose as he walked into Adam’s office and directly up to his desk where he tossed an oversized envelope down.
“Your mother doesn’t know that I’m here,” he bluntly stated. “I’m not going to pretend to understand or excuse your behavior at our last meeting but your mother and I are going to be married on Christmas Eve and I know that it would mean a lot if you were there.” With that, Stephen turned and headed back out of the office.
Adam jumped up from his chair. “Stephen, wait!” he called after him.
Stephen turned slowly and faced Adam, his expression guarded. “What do you want, Adam?”
Walking around his desk, Adam felt a sense of desperation. “Is she okay? Is there anything I can do for the wedding?”
A small smile played across Stephen’s face as he let out a pent up breath. “Bev’s fine; she misses you and she’s embarrassed by what happened but other than that I think all of the wedding planning has kept her busy.” He placed his hands in his trouser pockets and continued to stare at Adam. “We decided to just have it at the house; nothing fancy, just the family. All you need to do is show up.”
While Adam knew that Stephen was trying to do the right thing, he had his doubts that he’d be welcomed by anyone at the event. “I don’t think it would be such a good idea for me to come. I don’t want to ruin your big day.”
Stephen shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? Family forgives one another. You’re Bev’s son and that makes you my family. Having you there would mean the world to her and I want to do everything possible to make your mother happy. This isn’t about you, Adam, this is about Bev.”
“I know, I know,” Adam said, raking a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. Things got…awkward there at the end and…well, I just want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves and I don’t think my being there is going to make that possible.”
“Nonsense,” Stephen said and he stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Like I said, family forgives and this isn’t about you. We’re just getting together for a small wedding and some dinner.”
Though the statement was meant to be reassuring, Adam recalled that he had made a debacle of every dinner he’d attended with the Jacobs family. Then Adam remembered how excited his mother and Cassie had been when they talked about having the wedding at Adam’s house on the beach. He cringed at the memory of how he’d killed their excitement with his selfishness and distrust. He didn’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness. “Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll talk about this?” he suggested.
The smile that spread across Stephen’s face told Adam everything he needed to hear.
****
“And you’re sure he’s not coming?” Cassie asked for the tenth time, as she put the finishing touches on the large, festive centerpiece on the dining room table.
“Oh, my God,” Lauren mumbled. “Please do not ask that question again.” Placing the last of the groceries in the refrigerator, she turned to Cassie. “We’ve been over this a million times. Dad invited Adam to the wedding, he declined. Instead, he offered this house as a gift to dad and Bev since he knew that Bev had expressed and interest in having the wedding here way back when.”
“Still…don’t you think it’s odd that…”
“NO!” both Katie and Laur
en snapped.
With a sigh, Cassie took a look around, pleased with the progress that they’d made. It was two days before Christmas and apparently Adam had even sprung for a decorator because when they had arrived earlier in the day, there were several elaborately decorated Christmas trees set up around the house and twinkly lights donning the exterior. There wasn’t much else for them to do preparation-wise, so she tried to focus on the menu for the rest of their stay.
Lost in her own thoughts, she missed the look her two sisters exchanged. Soon Bev and Stephen arrived, followed by Matt.
“I think everyone is arriving today,” Bev said, excitement in her voice. What was originally supposed to be just the family had grown. Besides Cassie, her siblings and the bride and groom, Bev’s sister and brother in law were flying in, then Stephen’s brother Mark was driving down for the festivities. Because the guest list was growing a bit and Cassie wanted to be able to relax, she had two of her server’s who were going to be alone for the holidays drive down to stay with them. The extra hands were going to be a blessing on the day of the wedding.
With nine bedrooms, there was plenty of room for everyone without having to use the master suite. For some reason, Stephen and Bev had refused to use it as had everyone else. Cassie had chosen one of the smaller bedrooms for herself, not even allowing herself to go up to the top floor. The memories were still too strong and hurt too much. Would she ever be over Adam? Would there come a day when she didn’t think about him? Long for him? Ache for him?
Probably not going to happen while she was staying in his house, she thought miserably to herself. Dammit.
“We have one more surprise,” Stephen said as he got everyone’s attention. When all eyes were on his, he continued. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was completely sure but it looks like my sister Rose and her husband will be joining us for all of the festivities, too!” He hadn’t seen his siblings in over five years so the fact that they were coming for his wedding was great news for everyone.
