Chapter Fifty-One
Brian
I woke up Sunday morning and reached for Jade, only to realize I was in my bed—in my room, not the cottage or in her house—and she wasn’t there.
Our streak had been broken, and frankly, it sucked. Still, I wouldn’t trade the six perfect days and nights we’d had together for anything.
I got out of bed with renewed determination to clear her name. I hated that I’d dragged her into this mess. The least I could do was find a way to get her out of it.
~~~~
With my coffee in my black traveler’s mug, I made my way next door.
I was hoping Lainey and Adam would take pity on me and feed me—I really needed to get my ass to the store.
Plus, it gave me the perfect chance to get their opinion about my bullshit story before I tried selling it to the rest of the town.
Adam opened the door before I could knock, like he’d been expecting me. “You look like hell.”
“Appreciate that,” I muttered, brushing past him. The smell of bacon hit me, and I knew I’d chosen the right time.
Lainey was at the stove, spatula in hand. She glanced over her shoulder and gave me a bright smile that reminded me of her sister’s.
“I like getting to see you so often, now. How are you feeling?”
“Hungry,” I answered honestly.
“Well, perfect timing, then. Have a seat.”
I did, and she slid a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of me, over Adam’s protests as he sat down at the table. “Hey! Where’s mine?”
“You’re worse than Conor.” She dropped a kiss on his lips with a smirk while he wrapped an arm around her waist and looked up at her like a lovesick fool. “Yours is coming. We need to feed our guest first.”
“Why?” he whined as he reluctantly let her go so she could return to the stove.
“Because my mother raised me right. If I hadn’t already met your brother, I might think you were raised by wolves.”
“Speaking of… my parents want to come to Haven Springs next week when my brother does.” He glanced over at me. “They’ll fly, but Alan’s still planning on bringing your truck.”
“Yeah, it’s been kind of rough not having a set of wheels.”
“Makes going across town a little more difficult, ‘eh?” Adam quipped with a smirk.
“You can use my car,” Lainey offered as she plated Adam’s food. “The keys are hanging on the hook by the back door. Feel free anytime you need it.”
“Thanks, Lain. I’ll probably take you up on that.”
“That’s why I offered.”
She set Adam’s breakfast down and gave me a familiar smile that made me lose the eggs off my fork.
Fuck, I missed Jade, already.
“You’re always welcome to ride to work with me, too,” Adam chimed in as he took a bite of bacon—although I noticed he didn’t volunteer to let me drive his Bronco.
“I still have to talk to Angus about when I can come back.”
“Annnnyway,” Lainey interrupted while she returned to make herself a plate. “Back to your parents coming to visit! They’re going to stay here, right?”
“I don’t know, baby. Between them and Alan, I think this place might get a little crowded.”
“Alan can stay with me,” I offered before taking another swig of coffee. “I mean, it only seems fair. I did just stay at his cottage for a week.”
Lainey exclaimed, “Oh, that’d be perfect!”
Adam looked at her. “Are you sure? We could probably find them a bed and breakfast nearby.”
“Adam Callahan, don’t you dare even think about putting your parents in a bed and breakfast!”
“Awfully big talk, considering you haven’t met them and think I was raised by wolves.”
She messed up his hair as she walked by to take a seat. “You know I was just teasing. I’m sure they’re lovely people—they shaped you to be the man you are, didn’t they?”
“Well, I think the Marines played a part in that, too.”
“Yeah, but I think the Marines could only do so much if they didn’t have a good foundation to work with. I can’t wait to meet them!”
“They’re excited to meet you, too, baby. And Conor.”
“Speaking of my godson, where is he?”
“Oh, he’s still sleeping.” Adam glanced at his watch. “We’ve probably got another thirty minutes before he gets up.”
I loved that Adam knew that.
Okay, time to see if my bullshit would fly. “Look… about me and Jade.”
Lainey froze with her fork in midair, while Adam leaned back in his chair with his coffee, waiting for me to continue.
“What do you think about this: We both make sure to tell people things are not what they look like. We just gave Rachel something to gossip about at the bank, and it obviously took on a life of its own. So, when we noticed people following us around at the Cape, we decided to just keep the ruse up. That’s all. We are not dating.”
For a beat, neither of them spoke. Then Lainey slowly nodded. “I mean, it could work—if you both stick to the story and you manage to not get caught coming out of her house at dawn again.”
Adam just shrugged. “I don’t know the town well enough yet. But if you both think it’ll fly, I guess it’s worth a shot.”
I nursed my coffee while I thought through the next step.
“I just need to plant a few strategic seeds, and the story’ll be all over town in no time.”
Lainey agreed. “Probably before dinnertime.”
Adam’s expression told me he wasn’t as convinced. “You sure that’s the way you want to handle this?”
“She’s worked too hard to have her professionalism questioned because of me.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t seem to mind…”
“I think until this thing blows over, it’s the best course of action.”
As we finished eating, my breakfast felt like a lead ball in my stomach. Yeah, pretending what Jade and I had was all for show was going to protect her, but I hated even suggesting there hadn’t been something real between us.