“I’m kidding!” Adam chuckled. “I was going to suggest the tennis courts – they have those, too, but it looks like you’ll be using the pool.”
“Yes. I can swim.” She chewed her lip.
Okay – so she didn’t look keen on going swimming either. Probably the idea of them going together. She didn’t come across confident in her own skin – but why? He’d give her privacy, if that’s what she wanted.
Changing the subject, Adam filled Sophie in about Ted’s retirement party and the conversation moved on, allowing them to get to know one another better.
He stumbled over an old girlfriend’s name, internally kicking himself as he quickly washed over it. One thing he’d been trying very hard to avoid; past girlfriends – he had a few. He could see it had set off alarm bells inside her head, her eyes widening.
“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” Sophie asked him, hesitantly.
Adam shook his head. “No, don’t worry.”
“For a minute there I thought I’d put you in some awkward predicament.”
“Well, actually James got me into this predicament, because it was his idea.” Then, more seriously, he said, “But if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not that kind of guy, either.”
“Of course not. Sorry.”
Her cheeks flushed pink – the English rose look suited her. What would she look like … ? Adam swallowed, burying his inappropriate thoughts. Where did that come from anyway? He didn’t need to be thinking along those lines. He’d promised James. Besides, she wasn’t even his type.
“I hope you don’t feel bullied into this,” she said, frowning.
“I wasn’t bullied. I can’t be made to do things I don’t want to do. We should have some fun, right?”
He hoped she could have fun. Something had stopped her from wanting to attend this wedding. Now Adam was with her, maybe she could enjoy herself. If that’s what she needed – company? Or would Adam add to her stress? They were strangers after all.
Sophie turned in her seat and Adam kept his eyes on the road. Occasionally he glanced and smiled at her. It was working; she was relaxing.
“I hope you don’t mind me being nosy, but … ” Sophie stopped.
His eyes narrowed. “What?”
“I don’t mean this to sound as bad as it does, but you’re an account manager … and this car … ?”
Adam relaxed. “Not exactly standard issue company car?”
“No.”
“Long story. Might tell you one day. Might not.” He winked and tapped his nose. “It’s a secret.”
“What? You’d have to kill me after?” she said, giggling, then sobered.
Adam noticed her anxious expression, and chuckled. “Sophie, you’re safe. I promise. I wouldn’t hurt you – James would murder me for a start.” He wanted to put her at ease.
He decided to stick with work topics. “Hey, the other week, I was in Bracknell stripping down one of our old QB13’s.”
“Oh, now you are showing your age,” she said, unable to hide a smile. “They’re an old model, way before my time.”
“I was on the shop floor making them.” He narrowed his eyes. “And I’m not that old. I’m thirty-three.”
“Oh, definitely old,” she said, sarcasm lacing her words.
“Experienced.” In many things. Adam liked the fact she was flirting.
Sophie coughed and sobered, her cheeks flushed. “So why were you st-stripping it down?”
He pretended he hadn’t heard her stutter over the word stripping. “Well, it was either that, or they’d have to wait three days for our engineer,” he said. Had Adam taken it too far flirting back, or did he look like he was bragging? Shit, he felt like he was treading on eggshells. He wanted her to loosen up, get to know him, even like him. It felt important.
Of course it was important; they needed to at least get on this weekend to be remotely believable.
“Why?” she asked.
“He was on holiday.” Adam grinned. “And our other engineers were busy with other projects.”
“When things go wrong, they go wrong at once.”
“Exactly. We couldn’t get anyone else there sooner.”
She giggled. “I can’t believe you got your hands dirty.”
“Me neither. But I didn’t want to break our service agreement.”
“Ah, yes, very costly,” she agreed.
“Yes. And I wanted them to purchase the new QB20s. Wasn’t going to be likely if they had to halt their manufacturing line for three days.” Adam chuckled, and Sophie laughed with him. Yeah, and he’d won the contract.
And maybe he was worrying about nothing. They’d become comfortable with one another inside the car, all tension had ebbed away. But what would happen once they set foot on the grounds of the hotel, meeting Sophie’s friends and family? Adam’s stomach churned. Then he’d really have to turn up the charm. A whole different experience awaited them. Would he be believable enough for her? Or would they see through him?
No, he’d be fine. She was pretty, after all – not much pretending required there. But he would be pretending. Sophie didn’t seem like his usual girlfriends. And they worked under the same roof. He needed to tread carefully. Do enough to keep her friends at bay, but not too much to send mixed messages to Sophie.
“So who’s getting married?” Adam couldn’t believe he hadn’t asked this question.
“Oh, a second cousin of mine.”
“Family?” Adam’s eyes widened, he nearly swerved the car. “Are your parents going?”
“No.” She shook her head, and chuckled. “They’ll be on holiday.” Relief waved over Adam and he relaxed.
Adam pulled into the services around eleven o’clock, suggesting an early lunch. They’d been on the road three hours, and his stomach growled, reminding him he’d skipped breakfast.
They stood in silence, waiting to be seated in the small roadside restaurant on the A303. They were shown to a table and their orders taken.
“So what does your father do?” Adam asked.
“Pardon?” Sophie looked at him, frowning.
“What does your father do? And your mother? Where do they live?” Adam asked as the waitress arrived with their meals. Sophie smiled her thanks at the waitress, then met Adam’s gaze. Her dark brown eyes flitting with worry.
“Why do you want to know about my family?” Sophie’s voice was hesitant.
“Well, have I met them or not? We need to decide.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t think of that, either.” Sophie sighed, resting on her elbows.
Neither had James when he’d come up with this harebrained idea – ‘just pretend you’re her boyfriend.’ Adam started making a mental list of the things he was going to ‘thank’ James for when he returned.
He waited, patiently, watching her deep in thought. She frowned, fiddling with a paper napkin.
“Is it easier if you haven’t met them?” she said.
“Probably. Not really a lie then, is it?” Better to keep this fabrication to a minimum. Believable too, if they had only been seeing each other a few weeks.
Sophie agreed.
“But I might need some background about your family,” Adam said. “I mean, it’s not like you wouldn’t have talked to me about them.”
Sophie picked up her fork and sighed. “Okay, I’ll fill you in.”
As they ate, Adam listened to Sophie explain she’d grown up in Cornwall, and her parents were still living there, although currently on holiday. They had booked a once in a lifetime trip before the wedding had been announced.
“They’re probably in Hawaii as we speak,” Sophie said, after sipping her coffee. “Sunday, I think they fly to New Zealand.”
“Nice.”
“They decided to retire last year. They owned a couple of restaurants but sold up last autumn,” Sophie said. “So, what about your parents?”
“They’re in Surrey.” Adam didn’t look at her. Hell, what should he tel
l her? He finished his coffee, aware she was watching him, waiting.
“Um … shall we say I haven’t met your parents either? Being a bit early in the relationship.”
Adam met her gaze and nodded. “Yeah, good idea. I’m not really close to them.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Now what would it look like if she found out the truth?
He sighed heavily. “They’re divorced.” That was true.
She finished her cappuccino. Adam felt relieved she was too polite to ask about the gory details – albeit they’d separated fifteen years ago.
“I’ll get the bill then.” Sophie clutched her purse.
“Wait.” Adam grabbed her arm, stopping her rising from the table. “You’ve got chocolate on your lip.” He reached out and gently rubbed the top of her lip with his thumb, removing the smudge.
Sophie flinched, rising out of her chair. She looked mortified, rubbing the same spot on her lip with her own finger automatically. She sure knew how to blush.
“Uh, thanks.”
Shit, had he done it again? Moved things too quickly? Had he frightened her?
Once she’d paid, they were back in the car and on the road again. They’d stopped for no longer than an hour.
“Nearly there,” Adam said, pointing to the sign on the motorway, ‘Welcome To Cornwall’.
“So how did you escape Cornwall and wind up in Surrey?” he asked, lowering the volume on the radio.
“Oh, I did my degree in Guildford,” she replied. “I came straight out of Surrey University and landed this job at Thomas Robotics.”
“Do you go home much?”
“Sometimes. My parents tend to visit me though. They like to stay in London, see a play, shop in Oxford Street – that’s more my mother rather than Dad.”
“Your dad carries the bags,” he said.
“Yes, and holds the credit card.”
“Of course.” Adam chuckled.
After half an hour of winding through the narrow country lanes of Cornwall, their journey ended as they pulled into the drive of Tinners Bay Hotel. A large, five star contemporary hotel was positioned on the hill of Tinners Bay, like someone had sunk a luxury cruise liner into the hillside. It stood three storeys high, with balconies on the top floors to admire the golden sandy beach below.
Adam took a deep breath and cool, salty, sea air filled his lungs. The wind whipped up Sophie’s hair, so she turned to face the oncoming wind and looked out towards the ocean.
This was it. Now they started pretending.
Lying.
As they approached the entrance, with the glass doors opening and the doorman greeting them, Adam instantly noticed Sophie slow down. Adam held out his hand, gesturing Sophie to go first. They entered the circular atrium, white and fresh, with the contrast of rich orange and blue furnishings. It had a definite seaside resort feel with bold stripes of colour and plenty of natural light.
Adam gently nudged Sophie in the small of her back to get her walking again. He kept his arm around her as they made their way towards the reception desk, following the porter with their luggage. She nervously glanced around, possibly searching for anyone who would recognise her. He gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“Miss Trewyn. Part of the Staplehurst wedding party,” Sophie said to the receptionist.
“I’m sorry, Miss Trewyn. Your room isn’t quite ready yet. Please accept our apologies; we had some problems this morning and housekeeping is catching up,” the receptionist said with a professional smile, looking up from her computer screen. “Why don’t you go through to our lounge and have a complimentary drink? I‘ll arrange for your luggage to be taken to your room once it is ready.” The receptionist had the porter secure their luggage. “If there is anything else you may need, please see our concierge, who will be more than happy to help you.”
Sophie slowly nodded, mumbling a thank you.
Adam frowned. She’d come such a long way in the car, opening up, laughing with him, even flirting. Now she’d turned back into the shy, nervous wreck he’d picked up this morning.
“Thank you,” he said to the receptionist and grasped Sophie’s arm to lead her through to the lounge.
“No, Adam.” Sophie placed her arm across his chest to stop him entering the room. “I can’t do it.”
“Of course you can.”
“No, I can’t. This is ridiculous. No one will believe it,” Sophie replied, her voice low. He could barely hear her. “Let’s drive home.”
Adam’s jaw clenched. There was no way in hell he was driving home. He needed a drink. Strong one, too. He softened his mood, and touching her chin, made her look at him. “I promise, I’ll be convincing. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“Adam, I don’t doubt you can charm the spots off cheetahs.” She nervously fiddled with an earring. “But I don’t think they’ll believe I’m seeing a guy like you.”
Adam chuckled and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist to pull her closer, liking the way she felt against him. Soft. Warm.
“Of course they will.”
“It’s a big lie we are trying to pull off so I can save face,” Sophie whispered. She tried to step away, but he kept her held firm against him, so they looked close – like lovers? That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?
She hesitantly put her arm around his waist. “I can’t believe James talked me into this.”
“Look, at first I wasn’t too sure about this either, but James is right. We can do this. Hey, we might even have fun.” Adam even liked the idea of the challenge.
“But it’s foolish. More on my part than anything. I’m lying to my friends and family.”
“Sophie, I promised James I wouldn’t let you down and I won’t. They will never know.” He held her hand, and tugged gently. “Now let’s get that drink. You may not want one, but I do.”
Sophie took two hesitant steps, stopped, bit her lip, and looked him in the eye. “Adam, I’m still not sure about this.”
Adam, trying to keep a lid on his impatience, caught someone heading towards them out the corner of his eye and pulled Sophie even closer. His hand pushed back her hair, his thumb brushed her neck, as he whispered into her ear, “Too late.”
He breathed, taking in the scent of her hair – coconut, reminding him of Caribbean beaches and the sun. Before he could register the sensation it provoked Sophie had released from his hold, allowing an older woman in her sixties to hug her.
“Sophie! Sweetheart, so glad you could make it,” the woman said loudly, her voice echoing through the bar. She kissed Sophie’s cheek. “How was the drive down? Not too much traffic I hope.”
“Aunt Veronica, lovely to see you.” Sophie’s smile stiffened. Adam swallowed. “This is my boyfriend, Adam.”
Chapter Three
“I’m so sorry about Aunt Veronica.” Sophie sighed as Adam opened the door to their room.
“Oh, she was fun.” Adam followed her in, surprising Sophie with his relaxed tone.
Veronica had been their first encounter with family, and Sophie was amazed at how well Adam had fallen into his role. She’d felt terrible about the lack of warning, but what could she do? If she’d hesitated, it would have made her look a fool. She’d jumped straight in with both feet – either sink or swim.
Adam had swum. He’d kept his arm around her, giving her a gentle squeeze without a flinch. She’d become as stiff as a board in his arms and tried to relax, focussing on the scent of his aftershave, the warmth of his body close to hers. Considering she’d only known him a day, it felt natural to lean into him. Sophie started to feel safe, protected. She didn’t want him to let her go. With Adam beside her, she could do this – face her demons. He would be her pillar of strength for this wedding.
And, oh my, was Veronica impressed with him – and who wouldn’t be? – beaming away, occasionally cupping his cheek.
How embarrassing!
But it had worked. Veronica certainly believed Adam was her boyfriend.<
br />
Did Adam even encounter his girlfriends’ families? Was he used to it? She doubted it. He’d sounded nervous in the car when she’d mentioned the ‘family’ word and confessed he wasn’t close to his own.
Sophie was grateful she didn’t have to lie to her parents, face to face, about Adam. It was bad enough she’d have to answer some questions over the phone, as they knew she wasn’t seeing anyone. And Aunt Veronica liked to chat so it wouldn’t take long for the family gossip to reach them.
“Can you afford this, Sophie?” Adam said, breaking Sophie’s thoughts. Sophie had been staring out the balcony window, watching the beach below, never tiring to see the ocean. He walked around the luxurious room, admiring its rich blue colours and lavish décor. The luggage had been delivered, as promised by the receptionist.
“It’s paid for by the bride’s parents – Natalie’s parents. Her father owns the hotel.” Then added quickly, “That’s why I insist on paying for the fuel.”
Adam narrowed his eyes, with mischief across his face. “You didn’t tell me your family were rich,” he said, raising an eyebrow. He acquainted himself with every detail in the large room.
“Not really. The bride’s father is a rich man, yes. But I won't be inheriting any of his money. Natalie and I are only second cousins.”
“Drink?” He pulled a small bottle of white wine from the mini-bar and offered it to Sophie, who shook her head. He put the bottle back. “Shame about Natalie’s father.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”
“Hoped he’d own a factory and need robotics.” He grinned.
“Okay, now I’m seeing the real Adam Reid. Mr Workaholic.” She placed her hands on her hips, mockingly.
Adam shrugged. “Worth a try. Thought I could have picked up a sale while I was here … nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Sophie clicked her tongue. “You said you needed a break. Forget about work. Besides, I’m sure the M.D. of Thomas Robotics wouldn’t thank you for the extra effort.”
Adam opened his mouth, as if to say something, but nodded instead. “You’re right, I do need a holiday.”
Sophie removed her jacket and stared at the bed. It was huge - a super king, dominating the room, a dark blue quilt covering it. Oh, hell, she hadn't thought about sleeping arrangements.
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