Once we arrived at the cottage, I jumped out and scampered to the door, but then I realized I hadn’t brought my own keys. And I’d given the one Adam had used back to him. So I had no choice but to move aside as Adam approached the door.
He used the key I pressed into his hand back at his house to unlock the door, and I snapped, “You might as well keep that key, although I’m sure you have plenty more, seeing as you have access to everything on this island.”
Pushing past him—and, boy, did he ever look annoyed—I went into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. “The scene of the crime,” I mumbled, loudly enough for him to hear as he followed me into the room.
“Are you done?” Adam asked.
I ignored him and pulled at the sides of the clinging, muddy T-shirt that was sticking annoyingly to my skin. “I can get you a change of clothes from upstairs,” Adam offered, his demeanor softening as he headed over to the sofa.” You really should get out of those wet clothes.”
He knelt down beside me and gently lifted the hem of my shirt, but as he began to tug it up my torso, I stopped him. “No,” I croaked, clumsily smacking his hand away.
“Maddy,” Adam scolded. “Quit behaving like a petulant child. You’re filthy—”
I pulled my shirt back into place and crossed my arms.
“—You make me feel filthy, Adam!” I cried out, choking back a sob. “What are you planning to do? Clean me up so you can keep on playing me? I’m done with being used. I need more.”
I was upset and angry, and I wanted my words to cut to the quick. I glanced up, and Adam’s eyes, for a moment, were pained. But only briefly.
His expression of hurt rapidly morphed to anger. “Stupid girl,” he growled, yanking my shirt unceremoniously over my head, while snapping my bra off in one swift move. I yelped in surprise, covering my bare chest with my arms as I attempted to scoot away from him.
Pulling the quilt from the sofa and wrapping it around me, he pulled me back to him. “I’m not using you,” Adam soothed, stroking my head and sliding my loosened ponytail holder down until my hair cascaded to my shoulders. “I’d never do that to you.”
The tone of his voice hinted more at exasperation than anger, so I relaxed against him. “But you used Lindsey,” I protested.
“Shhh,” he calmed, fingers gently combing through my tangled locks. “Things are different with you. Everything is different with you. Haven’t you realized that by now?” He traced along my cheek with his fingertip, urging me to meet his gaze.
It was at points such as these that I usually caved. But not tonight. I wasn’t going to let him off so easily. Adam was going to have to give me more than this.
“How is it different?” I pressed, breaking away from his captivating eyes and tightening the quilt around my body.
Adam shook his head resignedly. “You know I’ve shared things with you,” he said quietly, “that nobody knows.”
Shamefully I cast my eyes down to my muddy sweats, and Adam continued, “If you could only comprehend the magnitude of my telling you my secrets, you’d already know the answer to your question.”
In my heart I felt the impact of his words. I thought about it. True, a man as shrewd as Adam Ward would not have done such a thing without thoroughly examining the consequences. And if you loved somebody, surely you’d want to share yourself—good and bad—with that person. Right? Did that mean Adam was just as in love with me as I was with him?
Vastly different from the secret crushes we’d had on one another in high school—and even more intense than the undeniable lust we shared—there was a deeper connection developing. Despite everything, or maybe because of everything, it felt as if we were destined to be together. Did he feel it too?
“Why? Why did you tell me your secrets, Adam?” I whispered, staring at an especially prominent streak of mud that had dried on the right knee of the sweats. “Did you let me find those things in your desk?”
Adam’s lips brushed the top of my head, and I looked up. “In business,” he said, “sometimes you have to take a calculated chance. Sometimes the potential reward outweighs the risk.”
“This isn’t business, Adam,” I reminded him.
Adam chuckled humorlessly. “You’re right, it’s not. It’s life, it’s love. And it’s not going to be perfect, Maddy. If we’re really going to make this work, you have to accept that I’m not going to do all the right things, nor say all the right things.” He paused. “But I do know I want to make you happy.”
“Why?” I whispered.
“Because you make me feel something I thought I’d never feel again. So I’m willing to take this chance with you.” His voice faltered somewhat, and then he added in a quiet voice, “Even if it means my ruin.”
Adam stilled, and I held his fiery gaze, filled with raw emotion. What I saw touched my heart. Though I was the one physically half-unclothed beneath the quilt, it was Adam who was emotionally naked and, surprisingly, vulnerable. Not even in confessing his secrets had he let me in like he was doing at this moment. I knew with every fiber of my being that Adam was allowing me to see a part of his soul. It was a part of him to which no one else was privy, that much I was certain. He was sharing something bigger than his secrets; he was sharing his true self with me. And, in that moment, whatever doubt I’d been harboring, regarding his true intensions, dissipated.
Reaching out and tracing the perfection of his features with my fingertips, I found myself in
