Need You Now (Martha's Way Series Book 2) (8 page)

“You owe me two orgasms,” Adam shouted
from the water.

Lily swam over to him. “You cheated.”

“All is fair in sex and orgasms.”

Facing him
,
she looked into his eyes. “So we’re doing it.” While she was thrilled by the
idea of rolling in the sand with Adam, there was the mental apprehension over
the ramifications of her actions. Empty sex with strangers had never been her
thing.

He nodded. “If
that’s what you want.”

Oh, she wanted. Especially after seeing
all he had to offer. She really wanted. “I want.”

“Me.”

“You.”

When his hand cupped the back of her
neck and pulled her forward, she followed, completely forgetting the place and
the denial of
his attraction she was supposed to be
harboring. His mouth brushed hers, his voice a whisper of feathers touching her
lips. “No regrets.”

Adam’s lips felt hot on her neck, making
her shiver. “No regrets,” she repeated the words just before his teeth sank
into her shoulder.

Chapter Seven

“Your
heart and my heart are very old friends.”

Rumi Quote Art

“Welcome to the Vineyard! Leave your
troubles behind and enjoy your stay on our beautiful island,” the conductor
announced as the ferry docked. This meant they were in Vineyard Haven, one of
the main points of entry to the Vineyard. Lily
breathed
a silent
thank you; her stomach
had felt every ripple of the ocean.

Typically, this announcement shot
excitement through her veins since it meant Adam was waiting for her. Today,
she found herself chewing her nails several times. On each occasion, she’d
forced hers
elf to keep her hand from her mouth. It
didn’t quite work, as she found himself chewing again barely a minute later.

 
Nerves.
She drew a deep breath for strength.
There was no delaying their reunion.

She remained seated by the window as
visitors, lost in t
heir excitement, walked by lazily
down the stairs to the lower level to retrieve their cars or bikes. Reaching
for her overnight bag, she rose to her feet and lined up behind a mother trying
to control three high-energy boys while supporting a baby girl on
her hip. The woman dropped her shoulders in defeat and
walked ahead of the boys, as if she were leaving them behind, which they seemed
to find amusing. The boys giggled and ran after their mother. The scene made
Lily wonder if that was how it had been for
her
parents.

How the hell did she miss the
interaction between parents and children before?

That was birth control in itself.
Pure, total abstinence; the best form of
birth control because its effectiveness didn’t vary based on whether or not one
was on a
ntibiotics.
Well, it was better late
than never because she had officially sworn off sex.
No más
—
no more.

Nauseous and lightheaded from it all,
she made her way into the waiting area and scanned the room, ready to come face
to face with her baby’s daddy. O
nly there was no sign
of Adam. Lily reached through her purse and swiped the phone; no text. A pang
of disappointment shot through her. She quickly reminded herself she was the
one who ended things between them. Still, she hadn’t expected him to throw in t
he towel so easily.

“I convinced him to let me come
instead.”

Lily recognized the soft, feminine voice
right away. Smiling, she turned and fell into the arms of her best friend.
After a long moment of silence, she finally pulled away from Minka and focused
on her friend. “Wow, you look amazing, and so freaking
happy.”

Minka wore a red motif shirtdress with
high brown boots and a denim jacket. Her curls, pulled away from her glowing
face, giving the world full access to the happiness sparkling in her hazel e
yes. One would have never guessed, the woman standing
before her spent most of her life struggling with self-esteem and body image
issues.

“And you look like you just saw a
ghost,” Minka observed, concern now on full display on her pretty face. “Or is
it d
isappointment since it’s me here and not Adam?”

Yes. No
. Lily shook her head.
“Maybe a little,” she admitted. “But I’m so glad to see you.”

Minka took the overnight bag from her.
Which wasn’t necessary, but Lily didn’t argue. “Adam is at Vapor with
Forrest. Jason is in Boston and due back late tonight,” she
said as they walked toward the door. “I was thinking we’d go back to the house,
grab a bite, and you can tell me what’s wrong.”

Lily nodded. “When are Blake and Keely
coming back?” Keely was Minka
’s fraternal twin who
married Jason’s friend Blake last summer. The circle was tight. By default, she
automatically felt welcomed by them.

“They’ll be back later in the week and
Claire will arrive as well, but you know she has a busy schedule. Her visit wi
ll be short.” Claire was Keely’s BFF, and was raised by
Jason’s parents. Jason and Claire grew up like siblings in the same house.

She met Claire last year at Jason’s photography show. They
had immediately sparked a friendship. But other than that initial
meeting, their paths had not crossed. The
African-American/Asian singer and designer
was
always on the road. Their communication
had been primarily through emails and text messages. “Yes, she mentioned she’s
on location shooting her movie.”
   

“South Amer
ica,” Minka chided.
“She’s filming a romantic comedy and having a real romance with her co-star,
according to the tabloids.”

She tried to listen as Minka chatted
about Claire’s possible hot romance, but her mind drifted.
 
South America sounded nice right
about now.
Sunny.
Far away.
She could run there and
raise her baby, but the thought of Adam chasing her down made her shiver.

“How did she find time to design your
dress?” Claire had also designed Keely’s dress.
Which made sense, since the ladies were BFFs
.
And from meeting her last year, it was
obvious the woman had a heart of gold.

Minka pointed to her parked black Audi;
side by side they walked over to the car. “She finds a way.”

“Please tell me she finished your
dress.”

Minka smiled.
“All done.
She’s bringing it this week
for a final fitting.”

Lily grinned with happiness. “Wonderful!
I can’t wait.”

As they slid into the sleek car, Minka’s
face reflected all the happiness Lily knew her friend had found by falling in
love with Jason and coming to
terms with who she was.

“I’m excited,” Minka announced with a
huge grin.

Lily smiled, feeling her friend’s
excitement. In two days, this was the first time she was able to stop dwelling
on her impending motherhood and not worry for one full minute. “You’re
going to be the most beautiful bride ever.”

Minka slipped her arm in the crook of
Lily’s. “I asked Adam to give us a few hours. I literally had to beg.”

The thought of Minka begging Adam for a
bit of time to get to the bottom of things warmed her.

“But he
’s
coming tonight to pick you up.”

“I’m pregnant.” The words left her mouth
and made the whole situation real. Well, more real than ever. She watched the
shock registered on her friend’s face and let out a nervous laugh.
“Yup.
Knocked up.
A bun in the oven
.
I’m having a baby.” She
choked on the words.

Minka slammed on her brakes and slid the
car into a parking spot. Thank God the summer rush on the island had long
dwindled; otherwise, they would have taken at least three lives. After a long
pause, her frien
d turned and faced her. Lily smiled
weakly.

“You and Adam are having a baby, not
just you.”

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear.

“Does he know?”

She shook her head.

“You will have to tell him, Lily. He’ll
do the right thing.”

It was the
right
thing
that caused the muscles in her stomach to close in like tightening
coils. “I don’t intend on keeping him away. I just don’t want to sleep with him
anymore.”

“If you weren’t pregnant, would you
still be sleeping with him?”

She didn’t need to think about it
.
The answer
was
hell-to-the-fucking-yes.
“You know I would. He’s…”
She paused, searching her brain for the right word.

“Non-committal,” Minka finished for her.

“Yes.”

“Fun and dangerously sexy.”

Lily couldn’t help but chuckle. Only a
year ago, she had
spoken similar words to her friend.
Now the role was reversed. “There’s an irony here,” she said with a smile.

Minka released her hand and chuckled,
understanding the reference to her own situation with Jason only a year ago.
She sat back and started the e
ngine and started
driving. “Do you want a commitment from Adam?”

“No,” she answered just a bit too
quickly. “I don’t.” She tried to sound a little more convincing this time.

“Why?”

“That’s not what our relationship is
based on.”

“Jason and I started as fuc
k buddies.”

Good point. But Lily was more pleased
that Minka was now comfortable saying
fuck
. “You said fuck.”

The blush on her friend’s cheek told her
Minka was still adjusting. “Jason likes when I say it,” she admitted in a low
tone.

And that made Lily laugh a little louder
than she intended. She didn’t care. She was relaxed with Minka and felt like
herself again.
Like coming home.
She leaned back and
adjusted her seat belt. Minka pulled out her phone and with quick fingers sent
a text
to someone. Adam.

“What did you tell him?”

“That I am stealing you for the night.
And I’ll bring you to him tomorrow.”

Lily’s heart squeezed. “Thank you.”

Minka dismissed the words with a wave of
her hand. “Tonight, we drink seltzer water and talk about b
abies.”

“I’d rather talk about your wedding
day.”

“We can talk about my wedding day and
your little bun in the oven,” she said wrinkling her nose. “By the way, weren’t
you on the pill?”

“Did you know antibiotics weaken the
effect of the pill?”

Minka nodded
.
Well, damn; apparently everyone had gotten the memo but her.

“What if Adam wants more than just a
role in the child’s life?”

Lily’s heart kicked. Only one thing
would make her consider permanence and that was the big L-O-V-E word, which was
not part of t
he game she’d been playing with Adam.
They had an agreement, and that word wasn’t part of the equation. Nothing
serious were the words they both used to describe their relationship.

“What do you mean?” she asked her
friend.

“What if he wants a relationship
with you?”

“Adam doesn’t do relationships,
remember?”

“He’s been with you for a year.”

“Just for sex, Minka.”

Minka glanced briefly at her. “What
about you, is it just the sex for you too?”

The whole thing stopped being sex for
her a long time ago. She ju
st never chose to dwell on
it. Instead, she carried on and pretended she was not emotionally available,
didn’t trust men. Lily brushed away non-existent lint from her jeans and turned
her attention to the road.

“Do I need to answer that?”

Really she didn’t
have to. Her friend knew her well enough. But to admit, say the words
would make everything she felt more tangible.

“No.”

With only remnants of the heavy summer
traffic, the car slid onto Main Street with ease. Having visited the island on
various occasio
ns during the year, she knew after the
wine festival, the island would become a ghost town with only the locals
staying behind. Even some of the inns would close for the winter or open for a
wedding here and there.