Secret Kiss (32 page)

Jane knew what Nikki was doing, and she wasn’t going to let her. “Nikki, I’m fine, and we have a lot to go over whether Adam comes back or not.”

At the mention of Adam’s name, Mike went into his office.

Nikki bee-lined it straight to Jane’s desk. “I wasn’t going to bring
it
up because I didn’t know if you wanted to talk about
it
, but since you did, how are you doing with that situation?”

Jane smiled. She hadn’t really brought
it
up. But she could see that her friend was dying to know details, and she figured, what could it hurt? She’d talked in circles about this very subject all weekend with her grandparents and she still had no real idea of what was going on. Might as well get a new perspective. Time for some girl talk.

“I’m okay.” That was all that had come out. Apparently, talking about things wasn’t going to be as easy as deciding to do so.

“You’re okay? That’s it?” Nikki’s eyebrows rose. “Have you talked to him?”

“We’ve texted a few times because I had to thank him.”

“
You
had to thank
him
?” Nikki had obviously taken sides and Adam had come out on the short end of the stick. Putting her hands on her hips and getting in full oh-hell-no stance, Nikki asked, “Why did
you
have to thank
him
?”

The one good thing about talking everything out with her grandparents all weekend was that she’d cried so much that she didn’t think she had any tears left. She felt kind of numb. Which came in handy now—she didn’t want to cry in front of Nikki.

“Well, Friday, a locksmith showed up at my house and changed the locks on both my front and back doors. I figured that it was my landlord since I’d been complaining about the lock sticking in the back, but when I asked for a copy of the bill and work order for my records, it wasn’t my landlord’s name on it. It was Adam’s.”

“Aww.” Nikki placed her hands over her heart, and just like that, she skipped back to Team Adam, like it was a jump rope and she was playing Double Dutch. In the blink of an eye, Adam had found his way back into her good graces.

“Yeah.” Jane nodded in swooning agreement. “So I messaged to thank him for that. Then, Saturday, I woke up to my grandpa speaking just outside my window in a very animated discussion with a man whose voice I didn’t recognize. When I went outside to investigate, I found him with an electrician who was taking care of the wiring that was causing my lights to go out almost every time I used my hair dryer.”

“Awwwwww.” Nikki’s response got longer, and she sat on the edge of Jane’s desk.

“Again, I asked for a copy of the work order and bill, and again, it had been ordered by and taken care of by Adam. So I had to text him to thank him again.”

Before Nikki had a chance to
aww
once more, Jane saw something that had her up and out of her seat. Rushing outside, with Nikki in tow, she called out, “Excuse me? What are you doing?”

A good-looking guy wearing a blue jumpsuit with an oval patch on the chest that read
Lance
, looked at her like she had a few screws loose before responding slowly. “I’m changing a flat tire.”

“I know… I mean, that’s my car. I didn’t call you.” Jane had figured she would go down to the garage at the end of Main, buy a tire at lunch and then put it on herself. It was a lot cheaper than hiring someone to do it.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it before looking back up. “We were called by an…Adam Dorsey.”

“Dorsey,” Jane finished at the same time that Lance did.

“How did he know?” Nikki’s brow furrowed, apparently she was just as confused as Jane.

“I don’t know.” A small thrill ran down her spine. Was he back? Whipping her head around, she scanned up and down the street but saw nothing.

After retrieving her phone from her pocket, she sent him a text.

How did you know about my tire???

“Did you ask him?” Nikki asked, excitement brimming in her voice.

Jane nodded. While she waited for a response, her heart sped at the thought that he might be back. Expectantly, she looked at the corner, thinking that, any second, he was going to walk around it and she would run into his arms, just like in the movies.

When her phone buzzed, she checked the screen.

I told you, I worked for the CIA. I know everything.

“What did he say?” Nikki was bouncing up and down on her heels.

She let her friend read his response.

Nikki tilted her eyes, her excitement deflating from a ten to about a six. “Seriously?” she said flatly.

Jane’s phone vibrated again, so she turned it around.

I told Walter to call me if you needed anything…because I knew you wouldn’t.

As sweet as the gesture was, Jane was disappointed that he wasn’t back in Hope Falls. He was still gone.

Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.

I told you I would take care of you and I will. Always.

“Well?” Nikki waved her hands. “What did he say?”

“My papa told him. When I was putting on my spare, my nana called because I’d forgotten the juice she’d made for me this morning. She must’ve told my papa. Apparently, Adam asked him to call if I needed anything because he knew I wouldn’t.”

“Awwwww,” Nikki repeated.

“I know.” Jane nodded. “I know.”

After thanking Lance and trying but failing to tip him because he told her that he’d been more than taken care of—which shouldn’t have surprised her, knowing Adam’s generosity—she and Nikki headed back inside.

“Okay, so, what’s the game plan?” Nikki asked, clapping her hands together.

Jane wasn’t quite sure she was following. “The game plan?”

“What are you going to do about Adam? You can’t let that witch of an ex-wife win! That man is a serious keeper. He inspired three ‘aww’ moments in under ten minutes, and I’m not even a romantic.”

Jane had to laugh, because she really wasn’t. “Well, Alexis is not an
ex
yet, and I know he’s a keeper. But what do you expect me to do? We weren’t even a real couple.” She appreciated her friend’s enthusiasm, but it was a little misplaced.

“Bullshit,” Nikki coughed into her hand. “
Real
couple or not, you two were
together
and he obviously loves you.” She gestured towards Lance, who was climbing into his truck.

“I guess the game plan is just to wait. Wait and see if he comes back.” Other than that, Jane really didn’t know what to do.

“Wait?” Nikki asked.

Jane nodded, feeling like she simultaneously wanted to cry and throw up. She’d never felt so helpless in her life.

“Ooooookay. Wait it is,” Nikki said with forced support. Then she turned to head into the kitchen when Jane sat down, thus ending the conversation.

Tears filled Jane’s eyes, but she was relieved to see that her computer was up and running.

As Jane started clicking away, Nikki called out from the kitchen, “Side note: ummm, hello? How hawt was Tow Truck Driver Lance?!”

“I heard that!” Mike shouted from his office.

“Yeah, babe,” Nikki yelled back playfully. “I wasn’t trying to be subtle.”

Jane’s head fell back in laughter. Things might work out with Adam and they might not, but she was sure that she’d be fine either way. Because she had great friends, a great job, and a great life. With or without him.

*

Adam sat outside a run-down trailer park and drummed his fingers on the console of his rental car. This idea had sounded a lot better when it had been just that—an idea. Now that it was reality, he was having serious second thoughts.

When he got an incoming call, he was relieved for the distraction.

“Hey, D.”

“Do you want the good news or the good news?” his friend asked.

Adam grinned. “The good news.”

“You, my friend, are officially a free man. As of today, you are no longer married. And in more good news”—Declan lowered his voice, doing his favorite Elvis Presley voice—“Alexis has left the building. Thank you, uh, thank you very much.”

“Good.” Adam was glad that that was behind him, but not in the way he thought he’d be.

He wanted Alexis to be happy. Now, she could be.

“Hey. So, um, all kidding aside, that was some pretty serious stuff yesterday. It was heavy. How are you doing with all that?” Declan’s voice was filled with concern.

Mediation hadn’t gone the way Adam had expected it to at all. He had thought Alexis would try to spin a story that the affair wasn’t her fault. That he was the one to blame. He’d assumed she had only wanted to see him face-to-face to tell him what an asshole he was and what a horrible husband he’d been.

He’d been wrong.

When he’d sat across the table from her, tears had started streaming down her face. Real tears. She hadn’t been putting them on to work an angle. It hadn’t been a show. She hadn’t even been making a sound. She’d just sat there, silently crying.

It had taken him by complete surprise. He’d thought maybe one of her parents had passed away. Never in a million years would he have thought that those tears had been shed over him or the loss of their marriage.

He hadn’t even heard anything the lawyers had been talking about while they’d been negotiating with the mediator. All he’d wanted to know was if Alexis was okay, but Declan had made it clear to him before entering the room that he wasn’t to speak unless he was addressed directly. And not to address Alexis directly at all.

As much as Adam had tried to keep his mouth shut, he just hadn’t been able to. He didn’t know how long he’d silently sat there, but finally, he’d broken, asking as he’d reached across the table, “Are you okay? Do we need to postpone this?”

She’d looked up at him, and for the first time in all the years he’d known her, he’d felt like he was seeing the real person. Not the confident no-one-can-hurt-me front she put on for the world.

Her chin had quivered as she’d apologized. She’d just kept repeating, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” again and again. She’d worked herself up so much that Adam had stood and told everyone to clear the room. To give them a moment.

Surprisingly, Declan, her lawyer, and the mediator had all listened to him. When the door had shut, he’d sat back down and they’d proceeded to have the most open and honest conversation they’d ever had.

She took full responsibility for the infidelity, and she was barely able to get out her apologies over the baby. But she also talked about how lonely she’d been. Not only when they had both traveled, but even when they had been in the same house. She said that he’d never let her in. Never made her
feel
loved, even when he’d said it. She talked about how he had done all the right things, but they’d just been on the surface. But he had never let her in. Never opened up to her.

She said that the reason she’d lost it in Hope Falls is that, for the few minutes she’d witnessed him with Jane, she had seen him look at another woman the way he’d never looked at her.

As he listened to her speak, he knew her confessions weren’t a bitter ex’s accusations. She was speaking the truth. Everything she said was true. He’d figured out the same thing only days earlier.

He’d believed that he’d loved Alexis, but now, after having met Jane, he knew he never had. He’d been attracted to his wife, and he’d respected her on a professional level. She was one of the most badass women he knew. They’d gotten along and had fun together.

But he’d never craved her like he did Jane. He’d never missed her after spending an entire day together like he did Jane. He’d never wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to breathe like he did Jane.

So he told her that she was right. That he hadn’t been the husband she deserved. That he understood how she’d been driven to the point she had. He told her that he’d never done anything to intentionally hurt her, but he also hadn’t listened when she’d tried to explain what was missing. He’d dismissed her as just being dramatic. He’d chalked up their issues as “normal marriage problems.”

After a few hours of talking, apologizing on both sides, and mutually and truly forgiving one another, they called their lawyers back in, and Alexis proceeded to ask for less money in the settlement and Adam insisted on paying her more than they’d ever agreed to.

The mediator and both of their lawyers left shaking their heads.

In the end, there was no screaming. No name calling. Just two people saying goodbye and wishing each other the best with their lives.

“Adam,” D’s voice came over the speaker. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah man. Sorry. I’m good.”

“Are you back in Hope Falls?” Declan still sounded concerned.

Adam scanned his surroundings. The dirty bikes resting against rusty trailers. The railroad tracks with old tires and other debris littering its sides. “No, I had to take a detour.”

“Where are you?”

“Detroit,” Adam said flatly.

“Oh shit,” his friend breathed.

“Yeah, oh shit,” Adam repeated.

“Hey, man. Do you need me to come out there? I can get the next flight out and be there in a few hours,” Declan offered.

“No. I need to do this alone.”

“Okay, but promise me you’ll call if you need anything, homie.”