Chapter 24
‘WHERE ARE YOU going?’ Adam asks, his long strides catching up to me in no time. He takes my arm.
I yank free and continue stomping down the path.
‘Sabrina.’
‘You should go back inside,’ I say over my shoulder. ‘They’re all still dancing.’
‘I don’t want to dance.’
‘Could’ve fooled me,’ I mutter and turn right, heading towards the greenhouse and a long line of pear and plum trees.
A fat drop of rain lands on my shoulder, followed by another.
‘Sabrina,’ he says again, falling into step beside me. ‘You’re getting wet.’ His hand pushes gently against my back, guiding me towards the shelter of the trees.
I shake him off and step back into the open air. A few drops of rain won’t hurt me. Plus I don’t need him looking after me in this way—especially when none of my family is around to witness it.
‘Why are you mad at me?’ he says.
I glance up at the sky. The raindrops are increasing. ‘Because I’m always mad at you. That’s our thing, isn’t it?’
‘Our thing?’ He grips my elbow, tugging me back under the trees, and spins me to face him.
‘Yes, our thing. You do something that annoys me, I get mad, you get mad, we both want to kick chairs.’
He slides his hands into his pockets and ducks his head to meet my eyes. ‘And I did something that annoys you?’
I open my mouth to speak but the hard look on his face stops me. We’ve now reached the he gets mad part of the program. If there were any chairs out here they’d be lucky to stay in one piece.
‘Sabrina,’ he starts.
‘Go back inside,’ I say. ‘Just maybe don’t flirt with Natalia in front of everyone. No one’s going to believe you’re my boyfriend if you’re all over her.’
His cheeks redden. ‘I was not all—’
‘I don’t care, Adam, but it’s disrespectful to Tommy.’
‘You sound like you care.’
I cross my arms and step back. My dress whips around my legs in a gust of wind. ‘I don’t care,’ I say.
He raises his brows and crosses his own arms. ‘Then why did you storm off?’
‘Because I didn’t want to dance anymore. We’ve come all this way and I haven’t looked around yet. We’re losing daylight!’ I wave my arms around to emphasise my point.
He glances at the long line of trees. ‘You wanted to look at trees?’
‘No,’ I huff out. ‘Yes. And the greenhouse. And…the cows,’ I say. ‘I like scenery.’
Adam rolls his eyes.
‘I do like scenery.’
‘There’s better scenery out there than cows in a field.’
‘Yes, but this is where Clementine met Alfred.’ Well, technically it was back over by the restaurant, but Adam won’t know that.
‘So now you’re some big Clovedale fan?’
‘I’ve always liked the show,’ I say. ‘I have,’ I add when he doesn’t look convinced. ‘You don’t know me. Maybe it’s my favourite show.’
‘Fine, maybe I was wrong and Clovedale is your favourite show. But you’re wrong when you say I don’t know you.’
‘You don’t.’
‘Sabrina,’ he says, his voice softening and making my stomach do a weird little flip that isn’t helping me stay mad at him. ‘I’ve just spent the past five days with you.’
‘That doesn’t mean you know me.’
He rocks back on his heels, smiling. ‘You take your coffee with half a sugar and a dash of milk. Chardonnay is your wine of choice or, if you feel like red, merlot. You get cold as soon as there’s the slightest breeze in the air and yet you never seem to have a jacket with you.’
I cross my arms tighter so he won’t see the goosebumps I’m sure are all over my arms. Those things don’t mean anything. All they mean is that he spends too much time watching me drink wine and shiver. Maybe instead of observing my suffering, he could offer a jacket.
‘You get along best with your dad. You love your mum, but you don’t like it when she’s being pushy. You want to fit in with Gabi and Tommy, Gabi especially, but you’re scared to speak your mind in front of them so you don’t and instead you let them make you the butt of their jokes.’
Clenching my fists, I turn away from him to inspect the plums on the closest tree.
‘You don’t let it show when they talk about your cafe, but I can see that it upsets you. And you—’
‘You really need to stop spying on me and my family. It’s not normal.’
‘I’m not spying. I’m being observant.’
‘Whatever you say, Mr Observant,’ I say mockingly, turning back to face him. ‘Do you think you’re some mysterious puzzle I can’t work out?’
He raises his brows, waiting.
‘You’re…’ my voice trails off as I search for the words. My mind is such a puddle that I can’t pull together one coherent thought. ‘You’re annoying,’ I finally say.
He steps towards me. ‘I’m annoying?’ His voice is low. Deep. Sexy as hell. ‘That’s what you’ve learned about me after five days?’
I breathe in, inhaling the smell of him and then instantly regretting it when my legs weaken. ‘No, I’ve always known you were annoying.’
He steps forward again. His pinkie finger sweeps over mine, sending a jolt of electricity through me.
He does it again, the touch lingering. His finger moves up and down the length of mine and I’ll be damned if it’s not the hottest thing on the planet.
And confusing. But mainly hot. And making me lose all grip on common sense.
Blinking rapidly, I step away. My foot hasn’t even touched the ground when he pulls me back to him. His fingers trail over the raindrops on my shoulder.
‘I wasn’t flirting with Natalia,’ he says.
‘You were,’ I whisper, staring at his chin because I can’t bear to find his eyes. My resolve is hanging by a thread. ‘You were,’ I say again, more for my benefit than his because right now I’m forgetting the giant red flag I saw inside.
‘Sabrina,’ he says, his breath a soft caress on my cheek. ‘I’d never flirt with Natalia when you’re—’
‘Around?’ I cut in. The thought like a bucket of icy water being tipped over me.
‘Thanks, I’d appreciate you waiting until I’ve left the room before you flirt with her next time.
’ I force as much sarcasm into my voice as I can muster.
‘Well, now’s your chance. Go. I’m fine out here exploring the trees. ’
He shakes his head, eyes downcast as he releases me. His shoulder grazes mine as he walks back to where my family is laughing and dancing and living their best lives.
I stay outside, images of Adam and Natalia running through my mind.
I know I’m being ridiculous. Adam is single and I have zero claims to him.
Plus Natalia is with Tommy and he’s not bothered by their interactions so I’m probably reading more into it than is actually there.
But I can’t help it. Especially with a fair amount of wine pumping through my veins.
I walk along the treeline and my anger is steadily replaced by embarrassment. I end up under the shelter of a wooden pergola overlooking the kitchen garden. Riley is sitting hunched over a table. She shoves a notebook into her bag as I approach.
‘Is that the one Adam gave you?’ I ask, forcing a note of nonchalance into my tone.
Riley shrugs.
‘It’s nice here, isn’t it? Much quieter than in there.’ I nod towards the restaurant. ‘You were smart to avoid the dancing.’
Riley picks at the splintery wood with her dark-blue-painted nails.
I swallow a sigh and then instantly feel bad.
I can’t be annoyed at her when I was exactly the same at her age.
Maybe even worse. And nothing pissed me off more than people trying to skirt around an issue.
Mum may be too blunt sometimes but she never dances on the edges of anything.
It’s time to channel some Dianne Fogerty.
‘What’s wrong, Riley?’ I ask.
‘Nothing,’ she mumbles.
Normally, that would be enough for me to walk away and fetch one of her parents. But that’s not what Dianne Fogerty would do.
‘I don’t believe you,’ I say and slide along the bench until our shoulders touch. ‘You can talk to me, Riles. About anything.’
She stops picking at the wood. ‘It’s—’ she starts, her voice shaky.
Gabi appears, jogging up to us. ‘I’ve been looking for you, Riley,’ she says. ‘Grandma wants to dance with you. Come on,’ she adds with a nudge when Riley doesn’t move. ‘For Grandma.’
Riley throws a dirty look at Gabi as she rises from the bench and heads back to the others.
‘Teenagers,’ Gabi says.
‘It’s more than that,’ I say. ‘Something is really bothering her and I think she was about to tell me.’
Gabi smooths the front of her linen pants with a tight smile. ‘She’s fine, Sabrina.’
‘But—’
‘She’s fine.’ Gabi spins on her shiny beige loafers and marches off, ending the conversation before it had a chance to start.