Chapter 30
ADAM CUDDLES ME in his sleep. That almost shocks me more than what transpired last night.
Almost. Cosy with his arm wrapped around my waist, I sink into the memory of his hands on me, his lips exploring every inch of my skin, my pleas for more.
Last night we stopped tiptoeing and hurtled over the cliff of unspoken tension burning between us.
Where do we go from here? What next? A gazillion questions race through my mind. Part of me wants to speak them into existence, but will that break the spell? I want to hold on to everything just the way it is.
The questions can wait.
I trace a faint line down his cheek, loving the roughness of his stubble under my fingers. He’s beautiful. I’d noticed how attractive he is, obviously, but this is more than that. I could watch him sleep forever.
‘That tickles,’ he murmurs, stretching alongside me, his arm tightening around my waist.
‘I was just checking you were real.’
He opens an eye. ‘Well now I need to check you’re real too.’ His hand slides over the curve of my hip. ‘Oh, you’re real.’ He rolls in close to me and I feel him aroused against me.
‘You know,’ I say, moving slowly against him. ‘You still haven’t told me at what point you decided to get condoms.’
He laughs and flips me onto my back. ‘I thought I drove that question from your mind last night.’ His nose nudges gently against mine.
‘I guess I better try again.’ He disappears under the blanket and then his hands are guiding my legs apart and his lips are trailing heavy kisses up my thighs.
I toss the blanket off us as his tongue finds me and I succumb to his mouth, forgetting not only my question, but my name, as he brings me slowly to the most delicious orgasm.
I’m breathless and still gasping with the sheer delight of it as I take him in my mouth until he shudders and groans in ecstasy.
While he showers, I stay where I am, blissfully stunned.
Eventually I roll over to get up and my hand connects with something hard.
His notebook. I feel a desperate need to open it and sneak a peek at what he’s been working on.
I want to know everything about him. See inside his mind.
I drum my nails against the cover, biting down on my lip.
I open it just far enough to get a glimpse at his messy scrawl before I stop myself.
By the end of my relationship with Brent I was snooping through his phone.
I don’t want to start with Adam by doing the same thing. I toss the notebook back onto the bed.
‘Our starry-eyed lovers,’ Mum says, springing from her chair as we enter the dining room. ‘Tommy spent all night editing the video and it’s wonderful.’
‘I spent thirty minutes on it this morning,’ Tommy corrects her.
‘It’s a masterpiece,’ Aunt Carol says. ‘Tommy did such a good job.’
Mum’s practically wringing her hands. ‘Natalia says she’ll make it go viral and we can be social-media people like her.’
‘No social media,’ I say firmly. ‘Tommy,’ I add when he laughs. ‘You promised that it wouldn’t leave this family.’
‘Did I?’ he asks. ‘I don’t remember a promise being made.’ He jerks his head at Mum and Aunt Carol. ‘These two are already talking sequels and costume budgets.’
My stomach plummets. Dear God, there will be sequels. As many as they can force us to make, which translates to however many they want because let’s face it, we don’t stand a chance against them.
‘No run this morning, Adam?’ Mum asks and she thrusts cups of coffee into our hands.
‘Not today, Dianne. I think I’ve earned a rest.’ He squeezes my waist as he guides me to the table, and I duck my head to hide the smile I can’t control.
‘Of course you have,’ Mum agrees quickly. ‘Let me get you both some breakfast. You two were the stars of the Clovedale scene yesterday.’ She bustles off into the kitchen.
Adam drapes his arm over the back of my chair and leans in close. ‘And if it hadn’t been for that scene you probably wouldn’t have thrown yourself at me last night,’ he says.
I press down on his thigh, marvelling at the strong muscles through his jeans. ‘If I remember correctly, you threw yourself at me,’ I say, keeping my voice low.
He lifts a brow. I match it.
‘We can always go back to the cottage and argue about it some more,’ he murmurs.
Mum reaches over us and drops two plates filled with baked beans, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast on the table. ‘What are you two whispering about?’
‘Adam was just telling me how excited he is for today,’ I say and press down harder on his thigh, fighting a smile as he squirms.
Mum beams at him. ‘It’s going to be a big day. Bill said that a lot of scenes were filmed at the village we’re going to and he’s set up a game to see who can recognise the most places.’
‘That’s not really a fair game considering you and Aunt Carol know this show inside and out,’ Gabi says as she joins us.
‘We’re going to split into two teams,’ Aunt Carol says. ‘Dianne will be one team captain and I’ll be the other.’
Mum takes the seat beside Adam. ‘And there’ll be a prize for the winning team.’
‘It’s probably just another chocolate bar,’ Gabi mutters.
‘Well, if it is then we know who won’t be getting it,’ Mum huffs.
‘I love the idea of a game,’ Reese calls out from the kitchen. She appears a moment later, trailed by a scowling Riley and beaming Amelia. ‘A little competition is good for the soul.’
Gabi glances at Tommy and they trade smirks. ‘There’s competition and then there’s Fogerty competition,’ Gabi says. ‘You should know that by now.’
Reese’s lips thin for a moment before she lets out a low laugh. ‘We’ll let Gabi and Tommy take it to ridiculous levels of competitiveness and the rest of us can just have fun.’
Gabi’s shoulders stiffen but before anyone has a chance to say anything, a chair scrapes loudly and Riley flops onto it, her elbows landing heavily on the table.
‘Riley,’ Mum exclaims and steadies her cup of tea. ‘Careful.’ She clucks her tongue and then cranes her neck, eyes darting to the window. ‘I don’t know where your grandfather is. He said he was going for a quick walk and would be right back. Tommy, love, will you go after him?’
‘Sabrina and I can go,’ Adam offers.
‘You’re such a good boy,’ Mum says with a quick pat of his arm, and he beams at her.
I’m about to grumble about going when Adam’s hand finds mine and our fingers loop together like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
We head out into the morning. Fog is slowly rising above the lawns as we walk out of the manor grounds.
The morning chill lingers in the air. Adam presses close to my side, sharing the heat of his body as we follow the path towards an old church.
Behind the church is a grove of fruit trees and Dad’s taken a liking to wandering its rows.
‘So,’ Adam says softly. ‘Does this count as one of those long walks you and fake me enjoy?’
‘Absolutely not. We’ve barely made it out of the manor grounds.’
‘What distance equates with a long walk then?
I shrug. ‘We never measure the distance of our walks. He’s just so happy to be in my presence that he could walk for hours and never complain.’
‘Is that so?’ He swings our arms between us. ‘This fake Adam of yours. What’s he like?’
‘Hmm, let’s see. He pulls my chair out for me when we go to dinner. If I’m in heels, he’ll slow down so I can keep up with him. And he always holds the elevator for me.’ I squeeze his hand. ‘And he doesn’t trick me into going for a run with him.’
He leans down and holds a kiss to the top of my head. ‘He would if he was desperate to spend some time alone with you.’
I stop walking and gape at him. Great, now I can’t be mad that he subjected me to that because his reason behind it is so freaking sweet.
He tugs on my hand, pulling me after him with a grin. ‘Plus he plays board games, but not Scrabble, and watches old movies with you,’ he says.
‘Yup.’
‘What’s his favourite old movie?’
‘He likes to say it’s The Sting but it’s really Singin’ in the Rain. I tell fake Adam all the time that he shouldn’t be embarrassed that it’s his favourite, but he won’t listen. He’s almost as stubborn as real Adam.’
‘I find that hard to believe. Did he ever lie about hating cake?’
‘Absolutely not. He’s my number one taste-tester.’
‘Great, I’m jealous of a figment of your imagination.’
‘Well,’ I say. ‘You only have yourself to blame for that. But now that I know the truth, I will shower you with cakes and muffins and donuts.’
He stops walking and tugs me to him, his lips finding mine in a slow, spine-tingling kiss that would send me falling to the ground were it not for his strong hold on me.
He pulls back and tucks my hair behind my ears, his fingers settling it over my shoulders.
‘Is fake Adam what you want in a boyfriend?’
‘Of course, that’s why I created him.’
His lips twitch. ‘And I inspired him.’
‘Your name inspired him.’
Adam laughs and it thrills me that I bring that out of him. An Adam laugh is a prize to be cherished. They’re extremely rare. The way his face lights up, his eyes dance—it’s captivating.
My arms wrap around his waist and again I can only marvel at how natural this all feels.
These small touches are what I’ve been craving.
‘If I’m being honest, all that stuff doesn’t really matter.
Except for being my number one taste-tester.
That’s non-negotiable. I once had a boyfriend who refused to eat anything with sugar in. ’
‘That explains your immediate dislike of me.’
‘No, that would be because you refused to hold the elevator for me. Your pretend dislike of cake just made you even more infuriating.’
He grins. ‘Okay, so he needs to love baked goods. What else?’
‘He has to get along with my family. And he needs to be honest with me.’
While my list of what I want in a boyfriend is not long, it has proved an impossible ideal. I’m almost at the point where I believe this man does not exist outside the pages of a romance novel.
‘And he needs to be committed to you so you meet that clause in your contract.’
‘How—?’ I start, but then it dawns on me. ‘Mum.’
‘She might’ve let it slip that she’s very happy that the boyfriend clause has been met.’
‘Are you mad that I used you to fulfil the terms of a contract?’
‘Mad? Sabrina,’ he says. ‘That clause brought you to my door. I’m more than okay with the boyfriend clause.
’ He presses a kiss to my cheek and we start walking again.
The church comes into view through the trees.
A bird sits on a branch chirping, and a sweetness fills the air, a mix of flowers and morning fog.
It’s the scent of promise. Hope. I take a slow, deep breath and exhale with a sigh. This is happiness.
‘Now that I’ve told you all about my ideal boyfriend,’ I say, ‘what’s your perfect girlfriend like?’
He remains silent, a pensive look on his face. Unlike me, who clearly thinks about my perfect partner way too much, he has to mull it over.
After what feels like an eternity, he answers. ‘Someone who challenges me.’
‘Like to an arm wrestle?’
He laughs again. It’s quickly becoming my favourite sound.
‘I’m not opposed to an arm wrestle, but no. I need someone who doesn’t let me sit in my comfort zone because, as you know, I can be stubborn. And set in how I do things. So having someone who challenges that is important to me.’
‘Right.’
‘And she’d be supportive of my career and understand that a lot of my time goes into it, which means she needs to be secure in herself and in us. I’m not the easiest person to be in a relationship with. I might be able to write a novel but sometimes I struggle to express myself.’
‘I’m shocked!’ I say, deadpan.
Adam shakes his head, a rueful smile tugging at his lips. ‘But most importantly, she’s someone I like spending time with. And if she can make a killer coffee, well that’s a bonus.’
My heart literally melts and a river of emotion courses through me, both thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. Like a magical spell has fallen over us and carried us to a land of happily ever afters.
‘Sabrina? Adam?’ Dad’s voice booms through the trees.
‘What are you doing here?’ he says and then chuckles.
‘Your mum sent you, didn’t she?’ He steps out from behind a thick, grey tree trunk, his hair dotted with tiny purple petals.
‘This place has such fascinating arboreal heritage. I don’t want to leave.
What about you two? Are you enjoying your time here? ’
I glance at Adam, meeting his smiling eyes. ‘More than I thought I would,’ I say.
Adam’s palm is warm against mine, the memory of his kiss, intoxicating. It’s all here. He’s here. We’re here. I don’t want to leave either.