Adam, Enough Said (This Can't be Happening) (33 page)

“Hmmm?”

“Mia, Baby, what the fuck,” he snapped and I faced him then.

“
Sorry. There are two of you,” I snapped back and it sounded a lot like an accusation, as if it was Adam’s fault I was ogling his brother, which of course, it was.

His eyes narrowed
and I narrowed mine back.

“Well
, that was fast,” Lex muttered and I turned away from Adam’s angry face to look at her. I also noted that Landyn had walked further into the house, close to Lex. “It took me a while to realize they were brothers, but in my defense, I had a lot going on at the time. Mia, this is Landyn, my husband,” She nodded in his direction.

He shifted the little girl in his arms, but didn’t stick out his hand. Actually, he was looking at me like he didn’t like me very much at all.

“Nice to meet you,” he rumbled, but he didn’t sound like meeting me was nice, and I watched his eyes take in my outfit with disgust. I froze, remembering I was in Adam’s baggy clothes and looked like a slob.

“
Landyn,” Adam growled low in warning, and I didn’t look at him. I was embarrassed and I wanted to disappear into thin air.

“Princess,
why don’t you go to the back room and watch TV for a few minutes while the adults talk in the kitchen?” Lex asked, looking at Layla and Layla agreed with a quick “Yay” as she wiggled her body so Adam would put her down.

“Can Laura come too
?” Layla asked with big sister concern, which I thought was so damn cute.

“
No, Babe, she’ll stay with us for now so you don’t have to watch her, okay?”

“Okay,” Layla shouted so fast she nearly cut Le
x off.

As I watched her run down the hall
, I thought it was a good thing the TV was in the family room at the back of the house, just in case things got heated. Landyn and Adam sort of looked like they were about to throw blows.

“
I can’t believe you were that pissed off at Trish for marrying Tony that you ran out on her wedding so you could come back here to fuck
her
,” Landyn sneered furiously.

I was so taken aback by his words m
y chest tightened and heat pricked my skin. I wasn’t that ugly, but he was still looking at me with disgust. Who the hell did he think he was? And who the hell was Trish? Another one of Adam’s women I was sure.

I st
raightened and hissed, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

He glanced at me like I was nothing, but Adam’s brother or not, I refused to cower.

“Landyn,” Lex hissed in warning, before glancing at me with remorse.

I wanted to
kick his ass!

“
Brother,” Adam said, and the acidity in his tone hinted at violence. “You better watch your goddamn mouth around my
wife
. She called, I jumped. I didn’t give a shit about Trish’s wedding,” Adam finished and I was certain all the air was sucked out of the room.

I felt all eyes hit me
, but I kept my narrowed eyes on Landyn.

The fucker.

“Say that one more time,” Landyn demanded, his voice a bit softer, and Adam didn’t hesitate.

“Mia’s my wife, so
stop looking at her like she’s a whore. You of all people know exactly what one looks like, so you of all people also know that she doesn’t look like one.”

I heard Lex’s gasp, and I closed my eyes and wished myself
somewhere far, far away.

“Maybe I should just go back upstairs while you talk to your family,” I offered.

“Hell no, this is your house. They don’t like what I have to say, they can get the fuck out.”

“Adam, stop it.
They obviously have no idea what you’re talking about,” I hissed. “And you’re the only one who needs to watch his mouth. There’s a little girl in the room.” I took a quick glance at the girl still in Landyn’s arms, but her eyes were the only ones
not
on me.

I met Landyn’s horrified
stare. “You don’t have to look so surprised. I know I’m not half as pretty as most of the women Adam’s been with…or your wife for that matter, but you could at least have the decency to keep your repulsion to yourself.”

If possible,
his eyes widened further and, a moment later, they turned angry.

He turned to
Adam and growled, “Is she fuckin’ kidding me?”

But it was me who answered,
“No, I’m not kidding you. I know I’m not much to look at, but you don’t have to be so blatantly rude about it.”

“Are
you for real?” Lex asked in a whisper. “You’re gorgeous.”

“What she said,” Landyn seconded, still growling.

I stiffened further. “I didn’t say that to fish for false compliments. I’m just tired of you glaring at me like you can’t believe Adam would actually marry someone who looked like me.”

“
Babe, do not put words in my mouth. I’m actually thinking the exact opposite. You’re fuckin’ gorgeous like my wife said, and I’m just trying to figure out how in the hell Adam pulled someone as hot as you. I thought he might have tricked you into marrying his cocky ass, but I’ve just come to the conclusion you’re just as bat-shit crazy as he is.”

My eyes flew to Adam who
was already glaring at me and his expression promised an ass kicking. “We’re talking about this shit later,” he warned.

Oh shit.

“Okay, okay. She’s gorgeous, but explain how she’s your wife? When did you get married? Did you go to Vegas or something and not tell anyone,” Lex rambled.

“
We’re really married,” I answered through a sigh before Adam could open his mouth. “I met him when I was eighteen. I got pregnant and got married at nineteen, he was twenty-three. He cheated on me, I lost the baby at four months and I left him. He refused to divorce me… still does.”

“Damn it, I didn’t cheat on you
, and stop talking about divorce. I hate that word,” Adam growled and I waved his argument away with my hand.

“Semantics.”

“It’s not semantics, it’s a fact, Mia.”

I decided to change the subject.
“Who’s Trish?”

His eyes veered to look at Lex
quickly before they came back to me. “She’s Lex’s best friend. And before you ask, no, I haven’t fucked her or touched her in any way. We’re friends.”

I rolled my eyes. “
But you tried to get in her pants, I’m sure. And it’s nice that you call all vaginas
friends
. You’re like the puntang master. Really, you should start your own talk show.”

“Mia --”

“I’m so lost…I think I need to sit down. Can we sit down?” Lex asked, looking longingly toward the living room. Landyn looked just as baffled.

“Can’t sit in there,
Babe. Mia cut up the couch, and there might still be glass on the floor,” Adam said in a voice filled with amusement.

I glared at him.

“You cut up the couch?” Lex asked low and breathy. I shrugged with nonchalance.

“I picked that couch out with his mom
. It brought back some bad memories and Adam was being a jerk.”

“But…broken glass?” Lex continued to ask
in confusion.

“I threw a picture frame at his fat head.”

“Oh. My. God,” Lex replied and to my surprise, Landyn grinned.

“I like her,” he said to Adam and Adam
scowled.

“Wouldn’t matter if you didn’t. She
belongs to me.”

That made my tummy flutter, but it was still irritating.
“I really wish you would stop saying that. I don’t
belong
to you. I’m not a toy,” I said.

He moved
so fast I didn’t have time to react. He stalked to me and when he got close enough, he yanked me to his chest, framing my face with his hands when he was done.

“You’re right, you’re not a toy. You’re my wife.” His
greenish-blue eyes gazed into mine as one hand fell away to pick up my left hand. I was breathing hard when he brought it to his lips and placed a kiss to my ring finger, before entwining our fingers. My whole body sighed. It was sweet and I had no response to Adam’s sweet.

Landyn cleared his throat. “Should we leave?”

“No, we’re making breakfast for the girls. We’ll talk more in the kitchen,” Adam answered quickly and let me go.

They’re
making breakfast
?

Twenty-minutes later, after Adam and I finished explaining our past in greater detail, as well as explaining the situation with Max, the room grew quiet. Lex and I sat at the breakfast bar watching the guys - in aprons - as they shuffled around the kitchen preparing breakfast. Laura was sitting in a high chair that Adam kept stored in his pantry and she was coloring. Every once in a while I would hear Layla shouting at the TV.

The whole scene was surreal.

“They’re wearing aprons,” I pointed out, trying to break the ice wall that seemed to have built up, and I felt Lex’s eyes hit my face.

“Yeah, you should see them in the aprons w
hen they’re not wearing shirts. Minus the sanitary issues, it’s pretty damn sexy.”

I smiled before I heard her
resigned exhale.

“I still can’t believe you’re married, Adam. I can’t believe you never told me.
I always knew something was up with you when it came to women, but I never would have guessed you were married… and the miscarriage…I wish you would have told me,” she said with disappointment.

“What would you have done, Lex? Told me to go after her
?” he replied like it would have been a crazy suggestion.

“No, I’d probably have found her
myself and told her the truth; that you needed her. I hated seeing you so…lonely. Lan hated it too.”

Landyn snorted
, “Yeah right,” and Lex glared at him.

I kept my smile to myself.
It was interesting, their nicknames for each other. Only Landyn called Lex, Lexi, and only Lex called Landyn, Lan. I was going to have to get used to that.

“I hurt her bad, Lex. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her again, and I think that’s what always kept me from coming after her. I wanted her to move on with her life, but I also didn’t want to let her go,”
Adam admitted and my heart swelled when the same sincerity in his voice was revealed through the eyes that locked with mine.

In that instant
, I knew.

I loved him.

Just like I always had.

I love him
.

I swallowed hard
and my palms started sweating at the realization.

“Can we go back to
my apartment today?” I asked, intentionally changing the subject because I was trying to take my mind off how pathetic I was.

“I need
my clothes, I need Cat and I need my laptop…oh shit! I forgot about my laptop. I hope it’s okay and wasn’t destroyed. I need it for work. I have like...five trips to book tomorrow… Do I have to go to court tomorrow like you said? And don’t you have to work? You didn’t go yesterday and you haven’t said anything about today.”

I rushed out all my thoughts as they came
to me and Adam stared at me like I was crazy. The hand holding a spatula was frozen mid-air.

“
You have a cat? Why didn’t you tell me, I would have brought it here?” he asked.

I
shook my head. “No, I don’t have a cat. Cat is my car.”

Adam froze.
“Excuse me?”

“
Wait, you named your car Cat?” Landyn cut in with an inquiring expression on his face and when I nodded, he continued. “What kind of car is Cat?”

“A
1968 Chevy Camaro Super Sport. Tuxedo Black with red racing stripes and red interior.” I shrugged. “She’s part of the reason I could never afford to divorce Adam. Actually, she was the only reason. She took all my money…the high maintenance bitch,” I muttered to myself before continuing. “But she was all mine and the only thing I owned after I left Adam,” I finished proudly.

Landyn
beamed at me while Adam stared at me like I was a freak of nature. Landyn turned to Adam. “She drives a black ‘68 Camaro with red racing strips.” He sounded pleased with my car and I smiled, but Adam only looked angrier.

“Why’d you name it Cat?” Lex asked
curiously and I faced her.

“Because she purrs like one
… well, she does now anyway. It was more of a strangled wet cat cry when I first bought her, but I didn’t know any better six years ago,” I finished and to my surprise, everyone chuckled, except Adam. When I looked in his direction, my happiness disappeared and I frowned at him.

“
You still have that car?” Adam asked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

My frown turned into a glare
. “Of course I still have it. I love that car. Why? Are you thinking of having your attorney demand I give you the title again?”