“I don’t believe a single word out of your mouth,” Jeannine said calmly, leaning against the table to speak directly to Serenity. “But if I did, don’t you think that’s something you should’ve told me in private? That’s what diminishes everything you just said. If you truly had my back, you would’ve pulled me to the side and told me—without the cameras, without the witnesses. You didn’t do this to have my back. You did this for your own twisted entertainment.”
Adam pushed away from the table and stood. Not bothering to quiet his voice, he held out his hand for me to take and said, “C’mon, Tiff. We’re leaving. I refuse to sit here and listen to any more of this.”
As I slid out of my chair, so did Jeannine, followed by Michael. All four of us glared at Serenity—who remained seated at the table next to her silent date—and headed for the door. On the way, though, Jeannine and I stopped to congratulate and thank Nicole one more time. Then we left, following our “men” outside to our waiting vehicles.
Adam was quiet for a while, staring out of the window and biting his thumbnail. It was a shame I didn’t know more about him to decode what that meant, so I just assumed it was the obvious—anxiety. Honestly, it wasn’t that out of the norm for him to be quiet. It wasn’t like he’d said much on the way to the restaurant, either. But after what’d just happened, I assumed he would’ve had something to say.
Finally, when we were about halfway home, he turned to me and asked, “Is it true?”
I didn’t need to ask him what he meant by that. His onyx eyes were glassy, full of worried emotion, and his normally taut forehead appeared more wrinkled than my laundry after forgetting it in the dryer for days. As much as I wanted to protect him, to deny it and cover for Tiff like I always had, I couldn’t seem to do much of anything other than stare and blink. My mouth opened and closed a few times, yet no words came out.
“She asked me to come here to publicly put an end to that woman’s jealous nonsense. I agreed, because just hearing that someone is saying anything bad about Tiff enrages me. I’d do anything to protect her, to keep her safe. I know not everyone likes her. I get that, and I understand why. Most of the time, their reasons for disliking her are completely valid. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with anyone spreading lies about her.”
I just nodded and bit my tongue, choosing to let him get whatever this was off his chest without my commentary and opinions regarding my sister.
“But now I’m wondering why she’d get me involved at all. I truly didn’t think it was true, because let’s be real, why would she ask me to come here if what that chick was saying was real? It didn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe it’s not true…” I was torn between doing the right thing and not wanting to hurt him. He honestly did seem to be a great guy, and while I, now more than ever, didn’t think she deserved him, I also didn’t think that he deserved that kind of heartache. “You said yourself that those photos could’ve been doctored.”
“I only said that so she didn’t have the satisfaction of knowing that it got to me.” Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, as if fighting off a migraine. “His excuse about Tiff’s car being at his house…I don’t buy that, either.”
“Why not?” I thought it’d been a pretty good explanation.
“You know your sister. She has to have the best of the best, and she has to be the first and only one to have it. She made me exchange her engagement ring because it was too similar to someone else’s, but rather than just swap it out for another one similar in price, she demanded a more expensive one. That way, her ring cost more than any of her friends’.”
I rolled my eyes so hard they felt sore afterward.
“So, do you really think she’d be okay with anyone else driving the same car as her around town? It doesn’t matter if she knows the person or not. If she caught wind that anyone else within a hundred miles owned a Bugatti Chiron, she would’ve sold it.” He took a deep breath and dropped his head back against the leather headrest. “Not to mention, there’s not another one in the same color as hers in the entire world. It was a custom paint job.”
“If you knew she was telling the truth to begin with, why did you keep denying it?”
“Probably due to the same reason as your friend.”
I was confused for a moment, then I asked, “Jeannine? What makes you think she believed her, too?”
“We made eye contact right before she got up from the table. I’m not a mind reader, so I can’t be positive, but there was just something in her eyes that I could relate to. Then there’s the fact that she didn’t take her husband’s hand when we walked out. I’d bet that she believes him about as much as I believe your sister.” Just then, he leaned forward and touched the driver’s shoulder, gaining his attention. “Excuse me, sir, but would you mind pulling over and letting me out?”
“What? No. You can’t do that,” I protested.
But he calmly looked at me and smiled.
