Sunday morning arrives in a hurry, the morning sun flooding my room with a brightness that’s impossible to ignore. I don’t want to get up. I’m worn out, my life is a disaster, and Adam’s car disturbed my sleep at three this morning.
I might have been able to drift back to sleep more quickly if he hadn’t brought a friend along. A friend who giggled and made loud moaning sounds as he kissed her outside my window. Well, it probably wasn’t directly outside my window, but it sure felt like it at the time.
Adam’s perceptiveness makes me want to steer clear of him at all costs, but his good looks, intelligence, sense of humor, and fame attracted many who weren’t me. I’d never seen him lack for attention any time we went out with Kristy and Logan.
So, last night is unlikely to be the last time Adam interrupts my sleep with his escapades. Lucky me.
Cursing Adam’s late-night adventures once again, I get up and take a long shower. By the time I’ve dressed and made myself presentable, it’s well past noon. I’m just about to start on lunch when a car horn honks.
Intrigued, I go to the front window. A woman in a seductive black strapless dress is leaving Adam’s house. Adam follows her out, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a gray T-shirt.
His hair is messier than I’ve ever seen it. Total bedhead. He should look ridiculous, but the style—or lack thereof—somehow suits him. Or maybe it’s the satisfied smile he’s wearing that suits him more as he sees the brunette into the waiting taxi.
There’s no goodbye kiss. She’s clearly not his girlfriend.
The taxi backs out of the driveway, and I’m about to step away from the window when Adam looks my way and waves. For someone who can’t stand me, he has a sixth sense when it comes to me.
I want to ignore him, but I did ask him to be civil yesterday. So instead of turning away, I give him a small wave before heading back to the kitchen.
Several hours later, I hear the unmistakable sound of Logan’s engine pulling into the driveway, followed by the honk of his horn. I run out of the house barefoot, my focus solely on throwing myself into the arms of my best friend and hugging her tightly.
Which is why I nearly collide with Adam, who is already standing on our lawn. Having to share this moment with him really sucks. I bet he’s here to observe how I interact with Logan. Yesterday, he said he has the perfect vantage point to watch me with Logan.
Dread gnaws at my insides. It’s not because I’m worried about whether my attraction to Logan has really, truly, one hundred percent faded, because I’m sure it has. But I hate the idea of having every move I make with Logan scrutinized by someone who will likely misinterpret it.
Adam raises an eyebrow at me in greeting. “Well, if it isn’t my very own peeping Tom.”
“Excuse me?”
“You were watching me say goodbye to Hailey. Funny, I didn’t peg you as the voyeuristic type.”
“I’m not. And even if I were, you’d be the last person I’d be interested in watching.”
His expression is amused as he turns to look at me. “I thought we were trying to be civil.”
“I’m civil and truthful.”
Adam chuckles. I don’t think he’s ever chuckled at something I’ve said before, and it makes me feel…uneasy, my stomach dipping as if it’s on a roller coaster ride.
I’m so desperate to get away from him that when Kristy opens her car door, I sigh with relief and run at my friend, nearly knocking her off balance.
She giggles and returns my embrace. As soon as I let her go, I take the time to look her up and down. She’s kept up with her exercise regime—even though she was never, ever as big as she tried to make out—and her newfound self-confidence is evident in the clothes she’s chosen to wear.
The skin-tight jeans and tight knit sweater show off her assets and slim figure. She’s glowing. Her dark hair hangs down her back in waves, and her eyes are sparkling with joy. One guess who’s responsible.
“You look great, K.”
I glance over at my best friend’s guy—the man at least partly responsible for her happy expression. He and Adam are doing the whole man hug thing. Then Logan breaks away from Adam, walks toward me, and wraps his arms around me.
“Welcome home, Jess.”
My heart beats faster as I register the feel of his arms, his clean scent engulfing me. Am I still attracted to him, or am I anxious because Adam is observing us?
Hastily, I pull back so I can study him and get a read on exactly what I’m feeling. Logan looks as well as Kristy does, his blue-gray eyes light and happy, his expression joyful. He’s attractive—gorgeous, really—but I don’t feel desire.
Nor do I feel envious or jealous of Kristy. All I feel is genuine gratitude that Logan and Kristy are so happy together.
“Thanks, Logan. You guys look like you had a good weekend.”
The intimate and knowing look he shoots Kristy makes me smile.
“We had a great weekend,” Kristy says. “But it’s good to be home.”
Logan winks at me. “My girl missed you.”
Kristy slings an arm around me. “I did. I’m so glad you’re back.”
I’m relieved to hear it, but I can’t help remembering her reaction to me dancing with Logan not long before I left. Has Kristy been happier with me gone—with the space to explore her first real relationship in years?
She sounded excited when I told her I was coming back to Melbourne, but how long will that happiness last when she realizes I’m back for good? That I was fired from my job and that my career might be over?
“I’m putting on a roast tonight to celebrate,” Kristy says. “Adam, you have to come. It’s the least I can do since you looked after Cricket for us.”
Great. Dinner with Adam. It’s not enough that we’re neighbors, now we have to eat together, too? I hope this isn’t another attempt by Kristy to force a friendship that will never, ever happen between Adam and me. I look at Adam, hoping he declines the invite.
Instead, Adam nods. “You guys do owe me. I’d say it was a cakewalk, but it wasn’t. Not only did he bark at night, but I took him out yesterday and he tore off when he saw another dog playing fetch with his owner. He’s a pain in the ass.”
Logan and Kristy share a laugh and a lingering glance. Their dog’s habit of chasing after anything and anyone is what initially sparked their connection.
“Cricket,” Kristy calls out.
The dog responds with a bark, and Kristy heads over to the fence. She opens the gate, allowing Cricket to bound into the front yard. He makes his rounds, greeting everyone before leaping onto me.
“Down, Cricket,” Kristy instructs.
Cricket obeys, dropping to all fours. I kneel down to give him a pat.
“Hey, boy. It’s good to see you.”
“So, you’re coming to dinner?” Kristy asks Adam.
“I’ve got work this afternoon, but yeah, I can make it. You know I can’t resist your cooking, Kristy, baby.”
Logan shoots Adam a playful glare. “Are you flirting with my girl again, Granger?”
“Always,” Adam retorts, playfully jabbing Logan in the ribs.
Usually, my attention would be solely on Logan, but today is different. I notice something intriguing about Adam. There’s a hint of guilt in his expression, and the way he’s looking at Kristy? It seems like longing to me.
I quickly reassess every interaction I’ve witnessed between Adam and Kristy. The evidence quickly piles up, supporting my theory. The way Adam’s face lights up whenever he talks about Kristy? That’s not normal.
His overprotectiveness of her and her happiness? It’s excessive. If he has feelings for her, it would also explain why he’s been so hard on me about my interest in Logan. He’s projecting his own guilt and anger onto me.
Four months ago, he stood before me, hurling harsh words that pierced through my defenses and cut me deep. He called me ugly on the inside. But he’s just as ugly as I am. No, he’s even uglier.
He’s despised me from the start for something he’s equally guilty of. I can’t afford to break our truce just yet. I can’t risk getting on his bad side, not until everything that happened in London is revealed.
