by Giulia Skye
“He’s still a baby yet,” Evie said, wishing she had personal experience with such things. She took a quiet sip of her wine, glimpsing a shadow of the life she’d always thought she’d be leading by now. “I want children. I’ve always wanted a big family, one of those crazy houses full of toys and muddy shoes, and cursing in the middle of the night because I’ve just stepped on a piece of Lego.”
Krista looked horrified. “But you barely know Adam.”
Evie heard the echo of her own words. They’d fallen out of her mouth before she’d considered how Krista might construe them. She blushed. “I didn’t mean—blimey. I’m not planning kids with Adam! We’ve not even known each other for a month.” But she couldn’t lie to herself—she’d had the daydreams. Daydreams in which Adam had been living with her in this noisy, crazy house full of noisy, crazy children.
Krista was staring at her, like people do when they see a car crash about to happen. “You love him.”
Evie looked to her wine, to the vegetables she’d neatly and expertly chopped.
“You don’t know Adam that well,” Krista said gently.
“But you do. Is there any reason why I can’t fall in love with him?”
“I think you’re the best thing that’s happened to him in a long time.”
Evie had suspected as much too. Last night at the hostel, she’d felt he loved her back, even though he hadn’t yet spoken of it. “I know there’s something he’s not telling me,” she said. “I can feel it. You know his past, was there—”
The baby’s tinny cries came over on the monitor. Krista moved toward the door. “He’ll tell you,” she said quickly. “When he’s ready.”
Evie stared at the empty doorway. “Yes, I know,” she said aloud to herself.
She heard Krista’s voice over the baby monitor, soothing Stefan back to sleep. She placed her wine glass on the counter, not enjoying its crisp, fresh taste as much as she usually did. Poor Adam. She wanted to help him. When would he tell her what was going on so she could start doing that?
Evie stood at the kitchen counter for several minutes, then took a seat at the table. She heard laughter bellowing from Shane’s office, then Krista rushing in to quiet both the men down before the baby woke again. She heard their hushed voices waft down the hall. Krista’s giggling, Shane’s whispering. The sounds reaching Evie to tell her just one thing; we know Adam. You don’t.
Oh, God, what was she doing here? Sitting alone in someone else’s kitchen on the other side of the world, trying to figure out a man she loved but didn’t really know. Sensible Evelyn Blake had fallen in love with a stranger. A funny, caring, kindhearted stranger, but still a stranger—one who kept his life to himself, because that’s exactly what it was. His life.
She suddenly felt very foolish. Perhaps it wasn’t love after all, perhaps it was just the mix of lust and adventure, of great sex and a carefree lifestyle—and yet, the ache in her heart at the thought of losing him told her otherwise.
“There you are.”
Evie looked up. Adam walked through the kitchen toward her, his hand held out. He’d noticed her absence and had come to look for her. She took his hand. His fingers squeezed around hers.
And her silly heart bloomed.
CHAPTER 28
At dinner, the conversation flowed but Krista was understandably tired and bailed out to bed with the promise that she’d have more energy tomorrow. Shane and Adam were clearing the kitchen while Evie checked her emails and caught up with things back home, having logged on to Shane and Krista’s Wi-Fi.
The baby monitor crackled and Stefan’s cries filled the room. Shane groaned. “It might be one of those nights,” he told Adam, flicking soapsuds off his hands before drying them and going to the baby.
Adam threw him a sympathetic look. “Be strong, buddy.”
“You’ll learn what it’s like one day.”
Evie caught Adam’s expression of complete and utter no way and felt a little jab of disappointment. Didn’t Adam want children?
And should she really be thinking such things about him at this stage? Was it wise to imagine him in her future when she barely knew his past? And was it really possible to fall so completely in love with someone so soon?
Evie watched Adam take over from where Shane had left off, dipping his hands in the hot soapy water. He looked so at home in the kitchen. Out in the bush, Evie cooked but Adam always did the washing up.
“You’re an expert,” she said, moving to wrap her arms around his waist. She kissed his back. “I love you.”
He stilled, the words she hadn’t meant to say quite yet hanging between them.
“You love me because of my proven talent for washing up?”
She laughed. “That, and other things.”
He was quiet for a few moments, placing the dish cloth over the tap to dry out. He wiped his hands and turned, linking his arms around her waist. “It could be the heat making you feel such things.”
“The heat makes me sweat. It doesn’t make me fall in love.”
He opened his mouth, but she placed her finger on his lips to stop him from speaking. “You want to persuade me otherwise,” she said. “But my love is my love, Adam. You don’t have a say in who I give it to.”
“And you’re giving it to me?”
She nodded. “I’m going for a shower.”
And she left him by the sink exactly how she wanted to leave him, thinking about her.
The bedroom Shane and Krista had made up for them backed onto one corner of the garden and had its own en suite bathroom, something Krista had said they needed for when her family came to visit from Canada. Evie stepped out of the shower and, thanks to the air con unit humming gently on the ceiling, enjoyed the rarity of being able to fully dry her skin. It made her forget how hot and sticky the night would be outside.
She didn’t know what had made her tell Adam she loved him, but it had felt right. She’d wanted him to know, as if not telling him constituted a lie. She wanted to be open with him.
Adam wasn’t in the bedroom when she came out of the bathroom. Assuming he’d be in the garden, she went to look for him, moving quietly through the kitchen barefoot. The crackle of the baby monitor stopped her. Shane and Krista were both in with Stefan, their soft voices mingling with soothing baby shushes.
“He’s in way over his head,” she heard Krista whisper. Evie wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but whispers often meant secrets, and her ears couldn’t help but prick up, paranoid and curious. Who was in over his head? Was it Adam?
“Talk about bad decisions,” Krista continued.
“Mike knows what he’s doing,” Shane said.
“If you ask me, Mike hasn’t known what he’s been doing since he retired.”
Evie stopped listening. She didn’t know who this old pensioner Mike was, but it wasn’t anything to do with her or Adam. Guilty and ashamed for listening in on a private conversation, she continued to the garden and found Adam sitting in the dark on a deck chair, gazing at the stars.
She slipped into his lap. “I’m going to bed. Are you coming?”
“Now there’s an invitation.” He ran his hand along her body, stopping to cup her breast, the heat from his fingers seeping through the thin cotton of her nightie. He might not have said he loved her back, but she knew he did. She could feel it and for now, that would be enough.
Adam followed Evie back to their bedroom and took a shower.
She said she loved him.
And it scared him. Scared him so much that he didn’t want to think about what it all meant. Not now. Not here. He dried off, wrapped a towel around his hips and stepped back into the bedroom. Evie was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.
“There’s a problem,” she said, and his heart stopped beating. He waited for her to speak first. To tell him what that problem might be. Had she
joined up more dots? Adam forced himself to keep quiet, not wanting to admit to anything before she’d spoken. He’d only make a mess of it otherwise, fumbling through the truth and looking like an even bigger liar. At the waterfall, he had a plan for what he was going to tell her, and in his head, it all flowed smoothly, earnestly. Truthfully.
“A very big problem,” Evie continued, then began to bounce gently on the bed. The slightest movement causing it to creak very, very noisily. “They’ll hear us.”
Adam’s face cracked into a wide grateful smile. He leaned toward her and picked her up, his towel dropping to his feet. “I have a solution.” He pressed her against the wall, kissing her mouth and neck. “Have you ever done it standing up?”
Evie shook her head, but showed her eagerness by wrapping her legs and arms tighter around him. He positioned her against his erection. She was already very wet.
“This could work,” she said, her breath catching.
He set her on her feet and snapped on a condom, then held her in position again, their tongues touching tip to tip as he slowly impaled her against the bedroom wall. He went in deep. A sharp intake of breath escaped her.
He withdrew immediately. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, no.” She sighed. “You feel good. Too good.”
Adam’s grin was slow and wicked. He held Evie tight and slowly entered her again, finding their rhythm. He thrust hard, muffling her moans with hot, greedy kisses and a heart-aching passion that made his legs shake. They came quickly, simultaneously, in each other’s arms.
“I’m sorry I rushed you,” he whispered.
“You didn’t.” Evie kissed his shoulder. “How many women have you had like this?”
Adam tried to lock eyes with her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. She was burrowing into his past again, he thought, and it was only a matter of time before she’d see how paper-thin Adam’s life really was. “You’re the first. Believe me, I’ve done things with you that I never thought possible.” He set her down and placed a hand against the wall either side of her head, encasing her. “Did you enjoy it?”
She nodded, but her post-sex glow turned serious. This was serious. He tilted her chin up toward him. “This love thing you’ve got going for me, is it real?”
“Yes,” she said, moving away from him. “I’m afraid it is.”
Adam lay awake for a long time after Evie had fallen asleep. He’d been too afraid before to think about what her love meant but now, as she breathed gently by his side, he found the courage. He’d never experienced giving or receiving such love, but the cliché that you knew the real thing when it hit between the eyes was true. He knew Evie loved him, just as he knew he loved her. He could dissect and analyze it for a hundred days—a hundred years—but he knew in his heart he loved her.
But would she still love him when he told her the truth?
And what would happen if she didn’t?
A nasty taste of uncertainty filled his mouth. He tried to swallow it down, but he simply didn’t know which way it would go. Slowly, he realized it wasn’t so much her love that scared him, but his love for her. What if it all went wrong? There was a high chance she’d never want to see him again. A chance she’d hate him. His stomach tightened. That was the worst of it, he thought. He wasn’t ready for her hate.
Not when he was enjoying her love so much that he wondered how he would exist without it.
The coffee smelled good the next morning.
But Krista wasn’t letting Adam drink it in peace, not when she had a few things to get off her chest.
“What a mess to get into, Mikey.”
They were alone. Shane and Evie were out in the garden with Stefan and Krista was angry. Adam had been expecting it.
“She’s in love with you!” she hissed. “How do you think she’s going to feel when she finds out?”
“Jesus, Krista, give me a break. Don’t you think I know all this?” He was already having a hard time processing everything from last night, his brain not equipped for such intensity, such uncertainty. “It’s just … She’s …” He let his hands fall helplessly to his sides. “All I know is that for the first time in forever, I’ve met someone real.” He sank down on a chair and bent his head. “I’ve never met anyone like her before, Kris. I don’t know where it’s all going—probably nowhere—but I’m happy. Until I’d met Evie, I’d forgotten what it was like.”
But when he looked up, he could tell by the expression on Krista’s face that she wasn’t convinced a declaration like this would be enough to sort out the huge fucking mess he’d created.
Krista frowned. “Is continuing to lie to her some kind of test?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I hadn’t planned it to be a test.” But had Krista hit a nerve? Had he been waiting to tell Evie the truth until he knew she loved him enough to stay?
“Just be careful, Mikey.” Krista placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “What if she’s so pissed off at you, she runs to the nearest newspaper? Or starts another Twitter war? What if she’s like—”
“Saskia?” Adam shook his head. “Evie’s nothing like Saskia. They’re totally opposite.”
“But what if she sees her chance to get rich?”
“She’s not like that.”
Adam told Krista about Evie’s father. After reading the internet articles he’d found on Noel Barker, Adam was certain a man like him wouldn’t hesitate to use his daughter’s connection to the Adams-Williams scandal to resurrect his fading career—especially as Saskia would be so willing to help with publicity.
“This just gets better and better.” Krista folded her arms and sighed. “And what if Evie—”
“—Lashes out at me like she did to her dad all those years ago?” Adam rubbed his eyes until they hurt. Evie was a grown woman now. Strong and independent, and she had enough on him to get a lot more than Saskia’s bounty. She could even—
No.
He knew Evie. He loved her and she loved him.
“She might dump my sorry ass, but she won’t sell me out. And, I’ll tell her everything tomorrow. I swear.”
“Well, you’d better, Mikey.” The phone in the other room started to ring and Krista turned to go. “She deserves to know what she’ll be dealing with, whether you like it or not. It’s just not fair. She’s not part of the game.”
“I know.”
While Krista took her call, Adam stared out of the window watching Evie splash in the pool with Stefan.
Shane came in from the garden, peeling off a wet T-shirt. “I can’t tell who’s having more fun, Evie or Stefan.” He came to stand next to Adam and they both watched as Evie made the baby squeal with delight. “She’s nice, mate.”
Adam nodded. She was gorgeous and fun, caring and kind. The hottest thing ever in bed. “Yeah.”
Shane studied him. “Krista’s had a go at you.”
“You think?”
“You look like I feel after she’s had a go at me.”
Adam watched Evie throw a ball in the air. “Your scary wife’s got a point,” he said. “And I’m sorry for putting you in a position where you’ve had to lie.”
“Other than pretending your watch is actually my dad’s and pretending he’s dead, and calling you a different name and, you know, making out we had your bank cards arrive in our post, we’ve not had to lie much at all.”
Adam sighed, remembering all the stupid lies he’d told Evie since they’d first started traveling together. He felt like such a fool. “It’s just … damn, I don’t know what it is.”
“It’s you not having a crystal ball. You can’t see where this is all going to end so you’ve got no finish line in sight.” Shane turned to him. “I know why you brought her here.”
Adam winced. “I wanted back up.” Like Shane, he’d already figured out the pathetic truth himself. “I wa
nted your approval.”
“Sure, mate. I get it. You love her and you want some spectator support.” Shane slapped a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Now, do you want me to approve your prom dress too or are you gonna grow a pair and tell her how you feel?”
CHAPTER 29
Rain fell hard and mud splattered the windscreen as Adam and Evie bumped along the narrow track that led to Bert’s Waterfall Campground. Rain showers in November weren’t rare here, but based on what he’d learned about the climate in this area, Adam had been surprised that one could last this long.
He parked at the campground. It was empty, of course, the rain driving everyone away, but he chose a secluded spot anyway. “As soon as the rain eases off, I’ll pitch the tent.”
He had half a mind to tell Evie the whole truth now because he couldn’t stomach his nerves any longer. Except she looked so happy.
She sprang out of the truck and faced the watering sky. “The rain’s so soft and warm,” she said, licking the droplets that trickled near her mouth. He joined her out in the rain and kissed her. This was the happiest he’d ever been in his life. Was it wrong to hang on to this feeling for another half a day? He’d hang on until morning before he told her, savoring the last of the innocence and peace before he stepped into the unknown.
They spent the night making love—the hot, steamy, I’m-so-hard-she’s-so-wet kind of love, the sound of their love making drowned out by the drumming rain that hadn’t ceased to fall.
Afterward, Adam pulled Evie close. The night was very humid, her cheek stuck to his chest, and wisps of her hair caught in his stubble. He smoothed it away.
“We may not get to do the walk tomorrow,” Evie said. “Not if it continues to rain like this.”
“We’ll just get wet,” he said, keeping her close. Again, he thought about telling her right now, but she was dozing and would soon fall asleep, peacefully cradled against his body.
Despite the sticky heat, they stayed that way for a long time. He thought how Evie had forgiven Zac for lying to her. There was hope that she’d forgive Adam too, but he knew it wasn’t just about forgiveness, it wasn’t just about him lying to her. Would she want to face Saskia and her media machine? He had no choice but to lay it all out for her. Give her the option to stay or walk away.