Chapter 13
After Abby confessed to feeling self-conscious about walking into the Beachcomber with wet hair and clothes, Adam put his arm around her and kept her engaged in back-and-forth banter about how foolish she’d been to swim alone at night as they cut through the lobby to the stairs.
They’d almost made a clean getaway when he heard his name coming from an all-too-familiar voice.
His arm immediately dropped from Abby’s shoulders.
He turned and let out a gasp of surprise when he saw his parents, dressed up for a night out. They looked at him and then at Abby, seeming shocked to see them together.
“Abby,” Linda said, kissing Abby’s cheek. “I hadn’t heard you were back on the island.”
Adam couldn’t believe his well-connected mother had missed that tidbit.
“Will Cal be joining you?”
Abby ran a hand over her wet hair. “He… I…”
“Abby and Cal have broken off their engagement,” Adam said, trying not to squirm under the heat of his father’s steely stare.
His parents took a moment to absorb that piece of information. He could almost hear their wheels turning as they wondered what he was doing in a questionable embrace with his brother’s ex-girlfriend.
“How’d you get all wet?” Linda asked.
“We went for a walk on the beach and Abby tripped.”
Linda eyed him shrewdly, no doubt picking over his every word and seeing his story for the lie that it was.
“We were about to have a drink in the bar,” Big Mac said. “Join us.”
When was the last time his father had ordered him to do anything? And when was the last time Adam had refused a direct order from his dad? Um, never?
“I need to grab a quick shower,” Abby said, gesturing to her wet hair.
“We’ll save you a seat,” Big Mac said.
Adam smiled encouragingly at Abby, noting the heated flush of her cheeks. She was clearly mortified and probably dying for a moment alone. “Meet you in the bar?”
“Sure,” she said hesitantly. “I’ll be fast.” She scurried up the stairs and disappeared.
Adam followed his parents into the bar, where they found a table in the back where they were almost certain to be undisturbed. Great…
Chelsea waved to them from the bar. “I’ll be right with you.”
“What in the world are you doing with Abby?” Linda asked, cutting right to the chase.
“Hanging out. Having some fun. Nursing our broken hearts.”
“Broken hearts?”
“Her breakup with Cal was messy, and I… I recently ended something that was equally messy. Maybe even more so.”
“Tell her, son,” Big Mac said.
The last thing Adam felt like doing was reliving Sasha’s betrayal again, but he couldn’t exactly refuse to tell his mother what had happened in New York. When he was done, she stared at him agog.
“You never said a word about her. When did you hear about this?” she asked her husband.
“Only last night.”
“You were with her for how long?” Linda said to Adam.
“A couple of years.”
“A couple of years? Why would you keep that from us, Adam?”
“I don’t know. It just seemed easier that way.”
“And she wasn’t at all curious about your family? Your home?”
“She was. We’d talked about coming here together this summer. I’d even thought, fleetingly, about asking her to marry me. But none of that is happening now.”
Chelsea arrived with beers for him and his dad and a glass of white wine for his mom. How comforting was it to be in a place where the bartender knew exactly what they wanted?
“Thanks, sweetheart,” Big Mac said to Chelsea. “You can start us a tab. We’re going to be here awhile.”
Adam bit back a groan when he realized his dad was taking a certain pleasure in watching him squirm.
“Sure thing, Mr. McCarthy. Let me know if you need anything.”
“What about your company?” Linda continued when they were alone. “Surely, you’re not going to let her steal it from you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Is that right?” Big Mac said. “You’ve changed your tune since last night.”
“I did some thinking, talked to my lawyer and made a plan. It’s all in the works as we speak.”
“Good,” Big Mac said. “You’ve saved me from having a big, fat come-to-Jesus conversation with you about that.”
“Thank you, Jesus, for small favors,” Adam said, drawing a grunt of laughter from his dad.
“So let’s have a come-to-Jesus conversation about what you’re doing hanging all over your brother’s ex-girlfriend,” Linda said.
“I told you. We’re hanging out. Having fun. Helping each other through a rough time.”
“Have you given any thought at all to what Grant will think of this? He’s fragile enough right now after the accident—”
“I talked to Grant about it earlier today.”
“You…you talked to him about dating his ex-girlfriend?” Linda said.
“Yes.”
“And?”
“What can he say, exactly, Mother? It’s been over between them for a very long time. He’s engaged to Stephanie now. What’s it to him?”
“Adam… My goodness! I’ve always thought of you as positively brilliant, but can’t you see the potential for real trouble with your brother over this?”
“No, I can’t. He’s happy with Stephanie. Things between him and Abby were over years ago because he treated her like a piece of furniture in his life. He’d tell you that himself. I like her. She likes me. We make each other laugh. How is that wrong?”
“One of the things I’m most proud of,” Big Mac said, “is how close the five of you are to each other. I’m going to tell you right now that I won’t stand for you doing anything to risk a falling-out with your brother.
Especially now when things with him are so unsettled.
You’ll find me right smack in the middle of that. ”
“So I’m supposed to put my life on hold while he works out his shit? He won’t tell anyone what’s bothering him. How are we supposed to help him if we don’t know what’s wrong?”
“We wait and we remain patient and we don’t do anything to make it worse,” Big Mac said.
“There’re a lot of single women on this island,” Linda said. “Take Chelsea, for example. You’ve always been friends. And then there’s our friend Jenny, the lighthouse keeper. She lived in New York for years. You two probably have a lot in common. And then—”
“Mom! Stop. Don’t even think about playing matchmaker for me.
I’m enjoying the time I’m spending with Abby.
Being with her makes me feel better after what happened with Sasha.
I’m not giving that up just because it might give Grant a few minutes of disquiet.
He had his chance with her, and he totally blew it. He’s said as much himself.”
“Is this where you were last night when you didn’t come home? With her?”
“We were talking and fell asleep. Nothing to get wound up about.”
“You’re playing with fire, son,” Big Mac said, his expression grave.
“I’m thirty-five years old, Dad. You know I love you both, and I love Grant, too.
But this really has nothing at all to do with him—or with you.
I’m sorry if that sounds disrespectful, because I don’t mean it that way.
I’m asking you not to make it into something it isn’t.
We’re hanging out together. That’s all it is so far.
She’s not looking for anything serious, and neither am I. ”
“If that’s the case, you’d be a fool to let it come between you and your brother,” Linda said. “I can see risking your relationship with him if it were serious between the two of you, but to just ‘hang out,’ it doesn’t seem worth the risk.”
“Let me decide that. I’m asking you to stay out of it and let me figure this out for myself. And please, give me a little credit where Grant is concerned. I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt him, and I’d never let anything come between us. Ever.”
A flash of red caught his eye, and Adam turned to see Abby come into the bar in a formfitting red dress with a neckline that left very little to the imagination.
Her dark hair was shiny under the lights, her lips glossy and red, her smile wide as she recognized one of the men she’d flirted with the night before and accepted a hug from him.
Adam gripped the back of his chair tighter to keep from getting up and making another scene that she wouldn’t appreciate. He knew a tiny bit of relief when she pointed at the table where he sat with his parents and disentangled from the octopus.
“I still can’t believe you’ve got six kids,” the guy said in a booming voice that could be heard throughout the crowded bar. “You’re one smoking-hot mama!”
On that, he and Adam agreed.
Only when she started toward their corner table was Adam able to tear his gaze off her and close his mouth, which had fallen open when she made her entrance. He glanced over to find his parents watching him very closely.
“Just hanging out, my ass,” his dad muttered the second before Abby arrived at their table.
The dress was way too much for drinks with the McCarthys.
Abby had come to this conclusion about halfway down the stairs to the lobby.
She’d known a moment of hesitation when she put it on, but after the time she’d spent with Tiffany today, she was determined to be a newer, better version of her old self.
Even though the dress was too much, Adam’s reaction to it had been absolutely perfect and worth every cent she’d spent at Naughty & Nice.
“Self-confidence is the key,” Tiffany had said. “If you feel confident, you’ll project that to others.”
The red dress made Abby feel confident about walking into that bar to meet Adam and his parents, who must be wondering what they were doing together. Would they disapprove? And if they did? Would she care? Would he?
Stop it. That’s not helping your confidence.
What did wonders for her self-confidence was the greeting she received from Les—or was it Len?—one of the guys she’d met the night before who made a big deal out of her when she walked into the bar. He greeted her with a hug and a suggestive smile.
“You look amazing, baby. Are you sure you’re married?”
“Afraid so,” Abby said, relieved to rely on the cover story Adam had concocted for her. “My husband is right over there with his parents, and he’s the jealous sort.”
“If I had a wife who looked like you, I’d be the jealous sort, too.”