Then, he stalks off through the lobby. I have to work my legs to keep up with his long strides.
Then, we’re out of the main hotel building, and I follow him through the gardens and toward the bungalows.
I haven’t been out here yet. I haven’t really had a chance to check out the hotel at all. It’s really pretty out here, and these bungalows must be expensive to rent.
“You live here all the time?” I ask from behind him, knowing that his studio is in Beverly Hills.
I wonder why he hasn’t gotten a house.
“During the week. I’m gone on weekends.”
Okay…I guess that’s all I’m getting.
We reach one of the larger bungalows. He seems to hesitate outside the door, almost as if he’s changed his mind about going inside with me.
Then, he seems to make his decision, and he unlocks the door, swinging it open.
Adam walks inside without a word or a look at me, leaving me standing outside.
All right then.
I take a deep breath and step inside, closing the door behind me.
He’s already taken his jacket off, and he is on the other side of the living space. By the looks of it, he’s pouring himself a drink.
Clasping my hands together, I edge a little farther into the room, not really sure what to do.
He throws back the whiskey he poured and then pours another. “You want one?” he asks.
“No, thank you.”
He turns to me, glass in hand. His index finger goes to his tie, and he loosens it before pulling it off and tossing it on the table. He undoes the top button on his shirt.
Eyes still on me, he takes another sip of his drink.
I move across a little and press my back to the wall, needing the support.
And we just stand here for a long time, saying nothing, with a world of pain seated right between us.
I know, in this moment, the years I’ve spent missing him feel like nothing in comparison to having him here before me yet so far away. I miss him now more than I have in all that time combined, and it hurts. Fuck, it hurts.
I look away, unable to look at him for a second longer, knowing if I do I’m going to break into pieces.
“You look exactly the same as you did.” His low words move across the room, touching my skin. “I hate that.” And those words pierce right in, burrowing deep.
I press a hand to my chest, trying to push the pain away. It doesn’t work.
“Why, Evie?” His words are soft but filled with pain.
I feel every ounce of his pain, and mixed with my own, it’s pure agony.
I part my dry lips, lifting my eyes to his face. But I can’t look him directly in the eyes. Looking at Adam is like staring into the sun.
“I…” I shake my head.
“Don’t say you don’t know because we both know you do.”
I feel like curling in on myself and dying.
I don’t want to have to lie to him. I’ve never been a good liar. And I’m afraid he’ll see through my lies now.
But I have to do this. I have no choice. I can’t tell him the truth. If I tell him that, he’ll hate me forever.
He already does hate you.
Taking a fortifying breath, I force my eyes to his. Shielding the truth behind them, I shut down. “It wasn’t working for me. You and me. I wasn’t happy, so I left.”
“Bullshit!” He slams his glass down on the table so hard that I’m surprised it doesn’t break. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Evie. You owe me the truth. The least you owe me is that.”
The truth is a hard thing. He might think he wants the truth, but honestly, if he has it, I think he’d realize he never wanted it.
The truth can hurt, and this one would hurt him like a motherfucker.
Adam is well aware, more than most, at how low some people will go to get what they want, but this truth would show him an all new depth to that low. And it will also show him what others will do in the face of desperation.
“I’m not lying.” I’m going straight to hell.
I can’t even explain the level of anger I see crossing his face. It’s a rage I didn’t know existed in him.
I know Adam would never hurt me, but the way he’s looking at me right now makes me want to step back. Far back.
“You were happy.” His hard words come out through clenched teeth. “I saw it for myself. You married me, for fuck’s sake! So, don’t stand there and tell me that you weren’t happy. Just tell me the fucking truth!”
He’s not going to accept anything that I tell him, so maybe I have to be a bitch to give him the peace he needs on this.
“Was it Ava? Did she do something to make you leave?”
“No.”
“So what?” he yells, his hand pulling on his hair. “Was there—” He pauses, like a realization has just come to him. “Was there someone else?”
His words slap me across the face. But a second later, I realize they’ve given me the out I need. He’ll hate me for this, but if he thinks I left him for someone else, then he’ll have his reason, and I can go home and cry myself to sleep.
“Yes.”
He moves so quickly that I don’t get a chance to move away. In seconds, he’s in front of me, his hands pressing on the wall on either side of my head.
My heart starts to pound with stress and fear—and yes, desire. Having Adam this close to me after ten years is a lot to take. After spending as long as I have missing him, it’s hard to control my body’s natural reaction to him.