When Adam Met Evie

by Giulia Skye

  “Your father had something to do with this band?”

  Evie grimaced. “Lead singer.”

  “Is that when you found out who your father was?”

  “Oh, no. That’s just it. He walked out on us when I was five—not that he ever really lived with us much before then. He worked away from home a lot, touring with whatever band he could hook up with or singing on cruise ships—that’s where Mum met him in the first place. She used to sing too but gave it up when I was born and trained to be a music teacher instead.

  “When I was very little, I remember he’d turn up occasionally. His visits never lasted very long, and I found out much later that he’d only come to visit when Mum nagged him to see me. But at some point along the way, she gave up. He’d stopped any effort to visit when I was about nine, I think. He told us he was moving to LA. He basically forgot about us after that. He never had an interest in me.”

  “His loss.” Adam pulled her closer, her words falling heavily on him.

  “I wasn’t expecting him to turn up on the telly. I hadn’t seen him in years, and it was so out of context. I used to daydream that he’d come to visit, or that he’d invite me to America when I turned sixteen. I used to believe that he was a poor musician and couldn’t afford the flight back home and that he’d been waiting years to get to know me, just like I wanted to get to know him, but … the day I saw him on that TV show.” She gave a sad little laugh. “It was the first and only time I ever heard my mother swear. I then read or watched every interview my famous father, Noel Barker, had ever given and found out he lived in north London with his wife and two young daughters. The liar.”

  Adam began to feel very uncomfortable. “So what did you do?”

  “I wrote to him via the record company. This hugely sarcastic email asking how the weather was in LA, telling him I was growing up fine without him—thank you very much—and how delighted I was to learn I had two little half-sisters.

  “My mother didn’t know what I’d done. I was so angry—and so stupid. The email got into the wrong hands and the next thing we knew we had reporters on our front step following me to school. My mother and my aunty Jayne shielded me from most of the publicity, but I caught the gist of the headlines. I still hate the term secret love child.”

  Adam slowly kissed the top of her head.

  “My mother hated reporters camping outside our front door. Some even turned up at the school where she worked. She was so embarrassed. Then, somehow, stories were leaked that Noel Barker had stopped paying my mum maintenance despite selling millions of records. It all got nasty.

  “My mother was offered a lot of money by way of a goodwill gesture, but we weren’t sure if this came from him or from his management company. Either way, my mother refused it. What an insult! As if money would make it all better.” Evie shook her head. “Whenever we see him on TV, Mum always thinks he’s on the verge of a big comeback. He’s just the type of person who’d be chomping at the bit to make headlines again and jazz up his career. I keep telling her not to worry. Travesty split up ten years ago, and no one bloody cares if an ageing pop star had a love child. I mean, really. Who would give a shit?”

  Saskia.

  Saskia wouldn’t hesitate to provide that loser with the exposure he’d need to propel himself back into the limelight. And just like she’d made trouble for Ted, she’d make trouble for Evie, dragging her and her family into the scandal, violating their privacy to get back at him.

  Adam stared at the ceiling, his heart beating faster and faster. This was not the right time to tell Evie the truth. So anyhow, your dickless dad isn’t the only one who’s lied to you … And that wife of mine I’ve just told you about? She might wanna make your life hell—aaand your mother’s, too.

  Shit.

  Evie needed more than the truth from him. She needed details, practicalities, reassurances, and telling her he was married to a vindictive woman set on a path of destruction were not the prospects he had in mind to offer her.

  How could he tell Evie the truth now? He’d lose her. He was doomed. Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

  CHAPTER 27

  Famous for its sandy beaches and horse racecourse, Fannie Bay was a suburb of Darwin which, according to the tourist office’s freebie town map Evie now held in her hand, ran the length of the bay it was named after. The beach really did look amazing. “I bet the sunsets here are spectacular,” she said to Adam as he indicated to turn right off the coastal road. “Are you sure your friends don’t mind me staying?”

  Adam reached over and squeezed her knee. “I’m sure. I told you, they’re looking forward to meeting you.”

  Evie still couldn’t believe the past twenty-four hours had actually happened. This time yesterday, he’d been dumping her at the hostel and today, he was taking her to his friends’ house, wanting her by his side, admitting that their relationship was more than just a casual affair. Her stomach flipped at the thought, wild butterflies spreading colorful wings.

  He’d come back for her.

  He wanted to be with her.

  And she loved him for it.

  “So Shane’s Australian and Krista’s Canadian,” she said, ignoring the wild butterflies. Wasn’t it too soon to fall in love? Too quick? She focused on the wide grassy banks on either side of the road. The beautiful whitewashed houses, so different to the red bricks of England. “Did they toss a coin to decide which country they’d live in? She must really love him to move country for him.”

  “They do okay.”

  She could see he was concentrating on the directions Shane had given him so she tried to do the same. “It should be the next right turn.”

  “Got it.”

  She’d been in a spin since the dance floor last night. Her visa expired in three months’ time—and what then? She and Adam would be faced with the same situation as Shane and Krista. For the most part, Evie loved the idea of traveling and seeing different places, but she could never imagine settling anywhere other than England. It was her home. Where her mum and the rest of her family lived, where all her friends were. How could she uproot herself?

  They cruised down a wide palm tree-lined street. “It’s the third white house on the left,” Evie reminded him, and began to feel strangely nervous. “What does Krista do for work?”

  “In Vancouver, she was a sports therapist. I think she still practices.”

  “What about Shane?”

  “He lectures in and does a lot of research into sports psychology.”

  “How long have they been married for?”

  “About three years.”

  “How long have they lived in Darwin?”

  Adam laughed. “You can fire as many questions at them as you like as soon as we get there.”

  “They’ll think I’m nosey.”

  Evie caught his and-your-point-is? look and poked his thigh. He wasn’t taking her nerves seriously, she thought. But then, she couldn’t understand it herself why she was feeling so nervous. The jelly feeling in her stomach every time she thought about last night was unsettling her, but these were his friends. It wasn’t like she was meeting his dad. She noticed the third white house and pointed to where a woman stood on a long driveway, a baby on her hip. “Is that Krista?”

  “Yeah.”

  Adam’s face broke out into a wide grin and Evie realized it was the first time she’d seen that smile directed at someone other than herself. He waved and Krista waved back, the baby clumsily copying her actions. Evie swallowed the bizarre stab of jealousy that it would no longer be just the two of them. That she’d be in the company of people who knew Adam better than she did.

  Did Krista and Shane know about the complications that were hampering Adam’s life in Canada? It was a sobering thought and a stark reminder that she hadn’t got very far with working out what these complications were exactly, other than his p
roblematic relationship with his father and some legal issues with their business. She knew Adam wanted to tell her, but she also knew whatever was going on back home was hard for him to put into words. For now, she had to give him the space he so obviously needed, taking comfort that his problems back home had nothing to do with their relationship. He had come back for her. She meant something to him. And right now, that was enough. Enough for her to respect he had to deal with things in his own time. Enough to trust him for a little bit longer.

  They parked and Krista engulfed Adam in a one-armed hug the moment he stepped out of the truck. “It’s so good to see you.” Her smile was bright and dazzling. She finally let him go and turned her attention to Evie. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  “Thank you for having me.” Evie gave Krista a hug, a simple handshake or hello not seeming enough for someone who’d opened her house to her. “Adam has told me next to nothing about you.”

  Krista laughed. She was slender and toned, despite having had a baby not that long ago, and her hair was styled in a chic little bob, which she kept out of her eyes with tiny pink clips. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  “He’s not much of a talker.”

  “He never was.”

  “It’s good to know he’s being consistent, then. I have to ask him a load of questions to get him into the swing of a conversation, like a warm up before exercise.”

  “He’s always been hopeless with words.”

  Evie laughed. “And people.”

  “And I’m still right here, listening to all my flaws.”

  The two women turned to Adam. “Oh, they’re not all your flaws,” Evie said, and Krista laughed again. Evie turned her attention to the baby. “But he did tell me about this little chappie.” Evie waggled her finger in front of the baby. “Hello, Stefan.”

  “Wanna hold him?”

  “Will he come to me?” Evie held out her hands, the baby looked tempted then shied away, nuzzling his face into his mother’s neck. “Aw,” Evie said, rubbing his back instead. “Maybe next time. I have ways of extracting cuddles from gorgeous babies.”

  “Come on in,” Krista said. “Shane will be home in an hour. He was sorry he couldn’t be here to see you arrive.”

  Fourteen years ago, Shane McDermit had been the man to watch in the swimming world. He’d been coming up in the ranks for several years, the Nearly Man, the contender whose time had finally come. But no one had banked on a virtually unknown Canadian snatching every gold from under McDermit’s nose.

  The Cocky Canadian and the Nearly Man.

  Even back then, the media had got it wrong.

  Adam followed Evie to Shane and Krista’s spacious and airy kitchen. It faced a wide tropical garden, edged by palm trees and flowers in exotic oranges and reds which mingled in-between. Evie and Krista were talking nonstop about the house, which Evie declared she absolutely loved. He could see why. Shane had done really well for himself and his young family. Unlike the Cocky Canadian, the Nearly Man had actually had a plan when he’d retired. Shane had always known what he wanted out of life.

  Adam looked out through the glass doors which opened out to the sundeck. A small inflatable paddling pool lay on it, a fraction of the size of the pool that twinkled in the sunlight beyond at the end of the garden.

  “We’re fencing the pool off next week,” Krista was telling Evie. “We don’t have long before this little man starts crawling.”

  Krista placed Stefan into his highchair, then poured ice-cold water into tall clear glasses. “Here you go, Evie, and here you go … Adam.”

  Adam pulled his gaze away from the garden and took the glass from Krista. He caught her look and knew he’d get crucified as soon as they were alone, continuing the phone conversation he’d had with her and Shane that morning. They agreed to Evie staying over and also keeping up the charade, but he knew they weren’t thrilled to go along with his lies.

  “I just need a couple of days,” he’d said, and told them about his plan. After introducing Evie to his friends and staying a couple of nights to give them all time to bond, he’d drive himself and Evie to Bert’s Waterfall, a remote place two-hours away from Fannie Bay. There was a campground at the trail head, and from there it was an hour walk to the waterfall.

  Adam believed it was a good plan to tell her the truth there—where better than a visually stunning place with no escape? She’d have no choice but to listen to him. He’d download photos and articles about himself onto his phone as proof and explain the truth behind all the embellishments. He’d lay it all out for her. Make her understand everything about him. Make her understand that he didn’t want to lose her. That he wanted to find a way for them to be together.

  But he’d yet to get Krista fully on board with his plans.

  “What if we slip up and call you Mikey in front of her?” Krista had said. “And I’ve got to go around the house and take down all of Shane’s swimming photographs.”

  “We don’t need to lie about Shane’s career,” he’d told her. “You can leave those up.”

  “You’re in some of them holding a gold medal, you idiot. Why can’t you just tell her the truth as soon as you get here?”

  “Because I want her to get to know you first. I need allies, Kris. I need you to back me up, and I want her to be able to turn to you when I do tell her. And I promise you, I will tell her soon. Very soon.”

  Though deep down, he’d much rather soon would never come.

  Shane wasn’t as tall as Adam, but his shoulders were just as broad, his chest just as solid. He’d come home from an appointment at the university not long after they’d arrived, immediately pulling Adam in for one of those big, male backslapping bear hugs.

  “Adam told me you used to work at a gym together,” Evie said sitting out on the deck in their garden. A garden that was bigger than Evie’s local park back home.

  Shane had blond hair and blue eyes, his features soft and round with a constant cheery expression. He took a sip from his stubby, flicking a quick glance at Adam then back to Evie.

  “We trained together for a while,” he said. “I was studying sports psychology at UBC in Vancouver. They were good times. Where’s home for you, Evie?”

  “Kent, not far from London.” She sipped her hot tea. Much to everyone’s amusement, she’d showed herself to be a true and utter Brit preferring a cuppa over a cold beer.

  “And how are you liking Oz?”

  “I’ve loved it. I’ve had a few bouts of homesickness. It’s hard traveling alone, but it’s been a great experience and the scenery—wow—amazing.”

  “What have been your favorite spots?”

  “There are so many!” Evie rattled off a list of all the places she’d seen and loved. “Oh, and Port Douglas was brilliant. I keep telling Adam it’s a shame he missed out.”

  Adam choked on his beer. “One day, eh?”

  Krista joined them, having just put Stefan down for a nap. “What are we all talking about?”

  “Port Douglas,” Evie said. “Have you ever been?”

  Krista looked to Shane and Adam. “Port Douglas?”

  “North of Cairns in Queensland, sweets,” Shane jumped in to clarify. “We’ve not been and neither has Adam.”

  “No. Sadly.” Krista looked to Evie. “Do you eat meat? Shane’s bought enough to feed a pack of wild tigers, but we forgot to ask if you’re vegetarian.”

  “Sounds great, a real-life Aussie barbie.” Evie took another sip of her tea. “Thanks again for having me. Adam and I haven’t known each other very long …” She trailed off awkwardly. They must think she jumped into relationships all the time but bringing up her history with Zac felt wrong, like she was using him as some sort of endorsement that she was capable of the long-term.

  Krista sat next to her. “It’s a pleasure having you. Now tell me all about your travels. I’m sorry to
say I’ve not even scratched the surface of Australia.”

  Evie and Krista chatted about Australia. Across from them Adam and Shane were deep in conversation. Then Krista leaned in. “I didn’t expect to see … Adam so happy and relaxed. It’s nice.”

  It should have struck Evie as an odd thing to say, but she understood what Krista meant and she was glad Adam had friends with whom he’d shared his stressful times, even though he hadn’t yet shared them fully with her. “I get the impression he hasn’t been happy for a while.”

  Evie hoped Krista would take the hint and tell her more about Adam’s life, but the conversation moved on and it didn’t feel right quizzing Adam’s friends for information. Rightly or wrongly, she trusted Adam to tell her himself and she believed it was only a matter of time before he did.

  Later, while Adam and Shane caught up in Shane’s office and Krista was putting Stefan to bed, Evie chopped vegetables and prepared the salad Krista had said they’d have with dinner.

  “You didn’t have to do all this,” Krista said, as she came back from Stefan’s bedroom, checking that the baby monitor on the counter was switched on.

  “I enjoy it,” Evie said, slicing the last of the peppers. “I miss my kitchen and it’s been a while since I’ve cooked in one.” Krista handed her a glass of wine. “Thanks. Is the baby sleeping?”

  “Finally.”

  Krista looked tired and preoccupied.

  “I imagine being a mum is as hard as everyone says it is.”

  “Sometimes.” Krista poured herself some wine. “Nothing really prepares you for it. For the hard work, the relentlessness of it. Or for how much love you have for your child. It sort of smacks you in the head.”

  Evie wanted to know all about it. “Does he sleep all night?”

  “I wish.” Krista turned her back and pulled a bottle of lemonade out of the fridge to top up her own half-filled glass of wine. “He’s a very bad sleeper.”