Seduce Me Sweetly (Heron's Landing Book 1) (19 page)

Fear congealed in his gut. Would she take him back? He couldn’t believe she would, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d read someone wrong. He walked toward Mike’s, and he could hear Joy’s light footsteps behind him.

“Adam! Wait!” She pulled on his arm, steering him to a bench out of earshot. “Let me explain.”

Adam gritted his teeth. “There’s nothing to explain.”

“I know what you’re thinking, that I’m being an idiot for even talking to Jeremy. But he’s here for a reason, and I know him. If I don’t listen to him, he’ll keep at it until he gets what he wants. He’s one of those people who digs his heels in harder if you tell him no at the outset.” Joy shook his shoulder a little, cajoling. “Are you upset?” she finally asked.

He was, and he felt stupid about it. He hated that he was acting like such a hypocrite because he and Joy hadn’t made any commitment to each other. But mostly he hated that Joy felt like she had to pacify this asshole ex of hers at all. He took a deep breath. “Haven’t you figured out by now that this guy is no good?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t react at first, and then she laughed, but it was bitter. “You have a lot of gall to judge me and act miffed that I spoke to another man. Because we’re not anything official, are we? You were the one who wanted to keep things quiet, but now when an ex of mine shows up, you’re acting jealous and, dare I say it, petty.”

Adam whipped his head around, meeting her gaze. Her face was pinched, her cheeks still flushed.

“I’m not being petty,” he growled.

“Yes, you are. I have a right to talk to whoever I want. I made no promise to you, and you can’t keep me to a made-up promise, either. You can’t say you want the milk for free and then bitch and moan when the cow moves onto other pastures!”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You know what I mean! And you know that Jeremy is the last person I’d invite here. Do you think I wanted him to show up like this? Do you think I’m overjoyed he’s here to do God only knows what?”

“I never said you were. But acting like you can talk to him and get somewhere is naïve. He cheated on you with your best friend. Is that all water under the bridge? Will he say he’s sorry and you’ll take him back?” Adam’s voice rose with each word, until he realized he was practically yelling in the street. He saw Joy flinch at his words, and his heart cracked. Why didn’t she realize she deserved better?

Her lashes fluttered, and he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “Do you really think I'm that stupid?” she asked quietly. “I just told you how I felt about him being here, but it doesn’t matter, does it? It’s about how
you
feel about everything. How you want to keep things secret.” She made a sound in her throat and stood up. “Grow up, Adam. Grow up and realize the entire world doesn’t revolve around you and your man-pain.”

She stalked off, wiping her eyes as she went. Adam got up to follow, but then he saw Jeremy come up to her and even worse, give her a hug. Adam clenched his fists and turned away.

If he’s who she wants, so be it. It’s her poor choice.

He walked blindly down Main Street until he reached the end. His car was still parked at Trudy’s, but he had no intention of passing by Joy and her shitty ex again. So he walked the handful of miles back to his house, letting the heat and humidity seep into his very pores and maybe exorcise the demons haunting him.

Slamming his front door behind him, he took the bottle of whiskey down from the shelf and poured himself a finger. The alcohol burned on the way down, filling his belly with heat. He wiped his forehead and made growling noises.

He knew, deep inside, he was being exactly what Joy had described him as—selfish and petty. He knew he was being childish. He knew he should apologize and man up. But right that moment, he wanted to drink until the image of Joy and Jeremy embracing faded from his mind completely.

He knew, too, that his reaction indicated that his feelings for Joy ran deeper than he’d known. He couldn’t bear the thought of her with another man. It twisted him up inside, like gnarled vines in an overgrown garden, thorny and vicious. His hands shook as he raised his second glass of whiskey to his mouth.

God, I’m an ass,
he thought morosely.
A jealous, stupid ass. And an ass who’s in love with Joy.

It wasn’t an epiphany that resulted in clouds parting and sun shining through. Instead, it felt more like clouds gathering, stormy and gray, heavy with raindrops. It felt like a collision, an impact that resounded throughout his body and made his limbs throbs and ache. It was an oncoming hurricane, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was relentless.

He drank another glass, and another, until it all blurred together, and some of the hurt finally softened around the edges.

The week progressed, and Adam felt as though he ran into Joy and Jeremy everywhere. He shouldn’t have been surprised—it was a small town, and he ran into the same ten people regularly—but this felt calculated. Like the universe was laughing at him:
look at the woman you love with the man who betrayed her! Isn’t it hilarious?

Hilarious,
he thought. He gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt when he saw the two of them talking, their faces close. He clenched his fists until his arms hurt when he saw Joy laugh at something Jeremy said. And he banned himself from going to Trudy’s for the rest of the week because seeing them eating together was like being knocked flat on his ass.

It didn’t take long for everyone in Heron’s Landing to know that Joy McGuire’s ex-fiancé had arrived and was making headway to getting her back. It also didn’t take long for everyone to murmur about what had happened between him and Joy—it was the town’s worst kept secret—and some even wondered if Adam and Jeremy would have a battle to fight things out. What kind of battle, they weren’t sure, but maybe some kind of wrestling match. Or even an old-fashioned duel, pistols and all.

At any rate, Joy and Jeremy were the hot topic of the town. Whispers followed wherever they went. The only consolation Adam felt was that Jeremy was staying at the one inn in Heron’s Landing instead of at Joy’s place. He liked to think they weren’t already sleeping together, but it didn’t help him feel much better.

Late one evening, Adam entered Mike’s for a few things, and he almost turned around and left sans milk when he spotted Joy and Jeremy in one of the aisles. Joy’s purple hair stood out in the beige confines of the store, and Adam’s heart twisted. He’d missed her. Watching them, he saw Jeremy point at something and then Joy rolled her eyes. She didn’t seem particularly happy to be with him, her face pinched and her forehead creased, which bolstered Adam’s mood enough to allow him to enter the store to get what he needed.

“Joy,” he said as he passed them. The store was so small that there was no way they could avoid each other. “Jeremy,” he added as an afterthought.

“Hi, Adam,” Joy replied. She glanced at Jeremy, but he only nodded tightly and looked away.

“Do you want me to leave?” Adam overheard Jeremy asking, and his ears pricked up. Looking at the milk selection, he suddenly needed to look at each brand and kind carefully. Did he want 1% or 2% or maybe even whole milk?

“I never said that,” Joy replied.

“You implied it.”

“Look, I didn’t invite you here. You know that. And I already told you no.” Her voice was a low whisper, almost a hiss in the confines of Mike’s.

Adam stared harder at the jugs of milk.

“I know you didn’t, but I’m here. Can’t we work something out?” Jeremy’s voice was pleading, and Adam sneered at the sound. Was he really begging Joy to take his cheating ass back? He hoped she kicked him to the curb and left him to cry.

“No, we can’t. And I don’t want to talk about this here.”

Adam stiffened, feeling Joy’s gaze on his back. He plucked a carton of milk from the fridge and then snagged a bag of chips on his way to the register, where Mrs. Ferry was buying her own snacks for the evening.

“Fine. I’m going back to the hotel.”

Adam turned his head slightly to watch Jeremy stalk out of the store, and he couldn’t stop from snorting out loud. Would the man throw a temper tantrum, too?

As he was paying, he watched Joy out of the corner of his eye. Her shoulders were slumped, and she looked exhausted. He wanted to take her into his arms and make all of her worries disappear. Could he really be petty enough to ignore her when she clearly didn’t want her shitty ex here in the first place?

He was about to approach her when Jeremy appeared again. “You're still here?” he said with a sneer when he saw Adam. “Come on,” he said to Joy, “let’s get out of here.”

“Do you not want anything?”

“No. We’ll get it later. When we’re not being watched.”

Jeremy tried to take hold of Joy’s wrist, but she wouldn’t let him. She looked at Adam for a brief moment. Her eyes were sad, and tired, and maybe a little hopeless.

Adam hated that.

***

The following Friday dawned bright and muggy. It was now officially August, and the grapes had begun to ripen until they’d be ready in October. They would know for certain what the harvest would look like come the fall. Adam awoke that morning, grim-faced and hoping that he’d been wrong about how bad the crop was. Maybe once they harvested it, it would look better than expected.

But getting to River’s Bend that morning, he saw the look on Chris’s face, and he knew things weren’t good. He followed his manager out into the fields, and they looked at the vines. The number of green grapes beginning to turn into purple ones was disheartening. It was still early days, though, and all they could do was wait and see what the crop yielded in October.

Today, though, Adam could only see River’s Bend falling apart into the river below, and all of his grandfather and father’s hard work being done for naught. He knew the weather hadn’t been his fault, but it wasn’t much of a consolation.

“We’ll figure it out,” Chris said quietly, a hand to his forehead as he looked out onto the vineyard.

“Yeah, we will,” Adam replied, unconvinced.

He still had the upcoming wedding to plan. It was scheduled for the middle of November, after the harvest. Returning to his office, Adam passed Jaime, who slapped him on the shoulder and nodded. He appreciated that his friend never tried to give him false hope, but instead just indicated he was there for him. He hoped Jaime knew that he could count on Adam as well.

Adam made calls and talked with Sadie about her wedding, confirming a few random details. He then made financial projections for next year, which were so depressing that he almost banged his forehead against his desk in frustration.

He wished Joy were here. She’d make this situation better. Even if she just smiled and kissed him, everything would seem hopeful.

Adam rolled his eyes at himself. He was being both pathetic and lovesick. He needed to focus on his damn business, but thoughts of Joy popped into his mind periodically throughout the day no matter what he did. It was a sickness, really, and one he honestly didn’t want a cure for.

At the end of the day, he shut off his computer and wondered if his parents would be too mad if he skipped out on family dinner that night. But all thoughts of dinner and his parents fled when Jaime came into his office, shut the door, and looked so grim he wondered if someone had died.

“What happened?”

Jaime clenched his jaw. He didn’t say anything, like he was trying to figure out how to say it, and it only made everything worse.

Adam went around the desk and saw that Jaime had his phone clutched in his right hand. “What the fuck is it? Is someone hurt? Dead?” He thought of when the cop had come and told him Carolyn had hit that tree, and the blood drained from his face.

“Oh Christ, no. No one is hurt or dead. I’m sorry.” Jaime let out a breath. “But I saw this and, well, I thought you needed to see it for yourself.” He handed him his phone, which was open to some website.

“Are you showing me your dating profile?” Adam tried to joke. “I guess I could see why you’d looked like you were going to throw up…” When he saw the words at the top of the page, though, and then kept scrolling, all jokes fled. His head buzzed. And he kept reading the words, over and over again, because they just wouldn’t compute.

CAROLYN DANVERS: WIFE, PHILANTHROPIST…AND NOT HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER?