Falling Star (19 page)

"I'm glad." He sucked on her earlobe. "I'm going to miss you wrapped around me tonight."

Jade drank in his scent, hoping to get enough to make it through the night without him. How could she be so addicted to him in such a short time? She really didn't want to get in Dean's car, and it was even harder to close the door.

She stared at Adam through the window until the gate closed behind them, and the car accelerated.

"You two are pretty damn disgusting." Dean turned on the radio. "Didn't you get it all out of your system over the weekend?"

"No, I think this weekend was where he just crawled under my skin." Maybe that was why her skin felt itchy and strange when he wasn't with her. Jade sighed.

"Be careful, Jade."

She studied Dean, who switched lanes and sped through a yellow light. He wasn't teasing her now, she recognized the serious tone and the way the little muscle at the corner of his mouth ticked. "I don't want you to get hurt. While you were on that boat I researched him. He's been known to tie one on, and he's been through a shitload of women."

"I can imagine." Leggy blondes.

"He'll spend time on the road," Dean continued. "It would take a lot of trust to make a relationship work with a guy like that. Especially if he gets drunk all the time and does stupid shit. And then there's the publicity."

Jade hooked her left arm through Dean's right, and laid her cheek on his shoulder. "I know. I have a lot to think about."

At that moment, one of Adam's songs came on the radio. Jade wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad one, but she held on to Dean just a little bit tighter, and closed her eyes. Adam's songs now meant more to her, she realized. Now that she could picture him bare-chested and bare-footed singing on the deck of his boat with only her as the audience, even his voice sounded better than before. More personal.

Dean pulled into the driveway. "Just let me have another chance to drive that car before you dump him."

That night, Jade lay restlessly in bed, unable to sleep. Her pillow wasn't as firm as Adam's chest. Her bed didn't sway with the ocean's movement, and her sheets didn't smell like Adam.

What was she going to do? If this wasn't going to work, she needed to end it now. Before she fell for the guy. A twisting pain in her gut told her it might be too late to avoid a broken heart.

She threw herself onto her stomach, and curled the pillow over her head. She could easily be another notch on his bedpost. Another conquest for the tabloids to blow out of proportion. She was a novelty—a woman who wasn't in "The Business". Now that his little secret was out, the newness would wear off, and he'd grow bored and restless.

Jade's heart argued with the memory of the past weekend, but her logical brain was adamant.
Don't get too close to this man, you're asking for pain.

But, couldn't she enjoy it while it lasted? For God's sake, the sex was amazing. Would it hurt to work like hell to get tired of him before he found a new plaything?

Her laugh sounded loud in her dark bedroom. If it didn't work, at least she'd have a good time!

Around three in the morning, Jade pulled out her MP3 player, and with her Adam Nash collection on shuffle, finally fell asleep.

That next day, Adam brought her lunch. They ate fast food burgers and fries in the back room, among empty helium tanks, cases of balloons and floral trimmings.

"Don't forget, you promised me a date on Friday." Adam had brought his stool as close to hers as they possibly could get while eating.

Jade popped a French fry in her mouth. She
had
forgotten her promise. "I'll have to break my date with Keanu Reeves, but I guess that's all right."

"Playing me already?"

Jade stood and walked behind him, laid her hands on his strong shoulders, and kneaded those muscles. She waited until he groaned before speaking. "You don't like how I play with you?"

"Play
with
me all you want, I love it…oh, that feels good…but if you're dating other guys, I want to know."

"Up for a threesome?" She had to tease, or she'd read too much into his words.

"Huh uh. I don't share well." He captured her hand with his, and brought her around to face him. "I know it's too early to ask for a commitment, you barely found out who I am, and you have a lot to lose by walking into anything serious with me." He hugged her hips with his knees, brought both of her hands to his mouth, and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "I just want to have the chance to show you what you'd be walking away from before you make up your mind. I'm a monogamous guy, Jade. No matter what you read in the papers or what you see on the internet."

She pulled her hands away from his so she could hug him. "I don't even like Keanu."

"That's good. Honesty is all I ask, Jade. If you want to date other people, just let me know. I promise to do the same."

"What…are you…is that a commitment?"

"From me. I'm not asking anything of you. Take your time, I'm in no hurry…yet."

Jade had to stop herself from pledging her heart to him right there. To keep her mouth shut, she plastered it onto his.

Damn, he was a good kisser. How many women did it take to get that good? She wondered if she'd seen any of his former girlfriends on television.

"Oh…excuse me." Ella had come in from the back door, directly into the stock room. Adam dropped his hands, but Jade left hers where they were on his shoulders. "I'm sorry—"

"Ella, this is Adam. He brought me lunch."

Adam stood and faced Ella, who dropped her backpack and bike helmet near the door, and crossed the room.

"So you're the guy. She said you were cute." Ella winked at Jade and shook Adam's hand. "You know who you look like? That country singer. What's his name?"

"George Strait?" Adam raised his eyebrow, and Jade giggled.

"No, the young blond guy. He was on Letterman." Ella's face screwed up in thought, and her jaw worked furiously on a wad of gum.

"Adam Nash?" Jade smiled proudly up at Adam.

"Yeah, that's it…oh
shut up!
" Ella looked from Adam to Jade. "You're shitting me!"

"I know. Hard to believe, right?" Jade stepped back into Adam's arms. "Adam Nash eats fast food and buys lilies."

"
Shut up!
I just bought
Karina
, and I never do that, I usually just download shit for my iPod, but I actually bought the hard copy. Will you sign it for me sometime?"

Adam smoothed his hand up and down Jade's back while giving Ella his attention. "Sure. I should be hanging out here a little bit, or give it to Jade."

"That's cool. So, God…Paul McCartney was on
The Late Show
with you, did you get to talk to him?" Ella sat down on the stool where Jade had eaten lunch.

"Ella? Maybe you should get clocked in." Jade had a vision of the blonde who now sported Adam Nash's autograph on her big-ass boobs. Her possessiveness was uncalled for, especially knowing Ella the way she did. One more thing Jade had to work on if she wanted this thing with Adam to work.

"Oh, I see. Yeah I should. I'm sure I can find something around the register to do." She winked at Jade, snapped her gum and hopped off the stool. "Really cool to meet you, Mr. Nash. Love your shit."

She grabbed her apron from the hook by the door, and left them alone.

"I love your shit too." Jade trailed two fingers down his body and teased the fly of his jeans.

"Your shit isn't bad either." Adam sat back down, and she resumed her position in the notch of his thighs. "Are you working Thursday?"

"No, I took it off." She'd given Dean today and Tuesday, but she insisted on taking Thursday off before her Saturday alone.

"The band is coming over tonight to hear "Always". We'll get started on the layers on Thursday, and I'd like you to meet them."

She really couldn't deny him anything when he looked so deeply into her eyes. She pushed down her reluctance to meet more celebrities. "Okay," she whispered.

He smiled. "They're great guys. You'll like them. Why don't you just drive over after work on Wednesday? I'll get you a key so you can let yourself in." He stroked her cheek with two fingers.

She barely had time to assimilate his first comment when he continued.

"I missed you last night."

Now, how was she supposed to keep objective, when he said stuff like that? Without thinking, she responded honestly, "I missed you too."

"I kept thinking about you in the hallway, and I couldn't stop thinking about all the other things I want to do with you." His voice dropped to that smooth level, the one that reminded her of those late nights on his boat.

She closed her eyes, and held him against her until Ella called for her help. "Jade, the register is making that funky noise again. I swear she's gonna blow."

Jade groaned. "Someday I'm going to have to break down and buy a new register. I'm worried the old thing isn't going to make it much longer."

"Sounds like some day might be today." They could hear the whirring from the sales floor.

"I'll have to see what's in the budget."

"Wait long enough, and you'll have to work out of a tool box," he teased, yanking on one curl before tucking it behind her ear in that tender way that made her knees weak. "But I should get going." Adam left a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I'll call as soon as I can kick the boys out."

She didn't want to let him go. "Thank you for bringing lunch."

He kissed her. His mouth mated with hers in the timeless ritual, and Jade couldn't get enough. She stroked his lips with her fingers even as hers were suctioned to them.

"Um…" Ella poked her head back through the doorway, "should I just pry open the drawer and count back change the old-fashioned way?" Those words finally gave her the strength to back out of his arms and wave like a little girl as he left through the back door.

She unplugged the register, knocked it in the sweet spot on the right side, plugged it back in, and it hummed back to life. The rest of the day passed without incident. When she wasn't busy with customers, she was fending off Ella's questions about Adam.

"Why didn't you tell me who you were sneaking around with?"

"I didn't even know until the other day." Jade bit her tongue, but it was too late.

"You didn't recognize him? Oh God, Jade, I would have just died from embarrassment. That's so funny."

Ella unfurled one braid, only to rewind it. This was a process that was repeated several times over the course of her shift. At times Jade thought Ella might have some sort of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Jade went through the emotions that went through her that night. Embarrassment wasn't one of them.

Until now.

"I wasn't embarrassed; I was pissed." She pulled off some wilting leaves from an African violet.

"Hmm, pissed at Adam Nash. Interesting." She blew another bubble. "So have you seen his house?"

Jade gave up on discretion, and helped Ella with the monthly maintenance on the rose cooler while she described Adam's house as well as she could. "And you should see the yard. Dean and I could spend hours in there."

"I'm so jealous. See if he has any single band members or something."

She usually sent Ella home before closing, just to save some payroll, but tonight, she asked her to stay and help her close. Jade didn't know if she just wanted to keep talking about Adam to a captive audience, or if she was afraid that if she was alone she'd think too much about him. Either way, they got out of the shop in record time.

Just as she walked in the front door of her house, she received a text message from Adam.
I've got your panties.

She laughed, and typed a response.
I have your shirt
.

Dean came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. "Be impressed. I made dinner."

Jade was impressed; the house smelled like garlic and tomatoes. "Spaghetti?"

"Of course." It was all Dean really knew how to cook. "I wasn't sure if you had plans or not."

Put it on
, came the text from Adam.

"Adam is practicing with his band."
Can't. Dinner with Dean
, she responded. "Do you need help?"

"Well…no. I've invited a guest. He's bringing the salad."

"Oh." Jade opened the oven, and took a big whiff of garlic bread. "Just give me a plate, I'll eat in my room."

"You don't have to do that." Dean slapped her hand away from pinching off a chunk of bread.

"I don't mind. I'm going to bed early tonight anyway. I've kept crazy hours over the past few days." She happened to be staring at her phone hopefully when the next text came through.
Text me when you're in bed.

"I thought Adam was practicing with his band?" Dean dipped a spoon in the marinara sauce and offered it to Jade while she typed.
It's not too early for bed?

"Needs more oregano. He
is
practicing with his band."

"Then who are you texting with that look on your face?"