Page 80 of It Was Always You

‘So, Jaz, what brought you here to Scotland?’ she asked.

‘I came over for a study break during my time at U-Dub and fell in love with the place. My girlfriend and I decided to try and get work here so when study was over, we hopped on a plane.’ Adam saw disappointment flood Lily’s face.

‘So, is she here tonight? Your girlfriend?’

Jaz dropped his gaze momentarily. Oh, for God’s sake, now he’s going to play the heartbreak card.

When Jaz looked up into Lily’s face, his expression had changed. ‘Nah, me and Esther broke up not long after we arrived. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. And I’m hoping that maybe one day I’ll meet the right girl. Maybe a Scottish girl. I love the accent.’ His mouth lifted in a sexy half smile.

‘Yours isn’t so bad.’ Lily fluttered her eyelids at him and Adam suddenly felt nauseated.

Jaz lifted his chin at her. ‘So, where’s your guy tonight?’

Whoops… dammit!

Lily scrunched her brows. ‘My guy?’

‘Yeah… your Spanish love?’ Jaz chuckled.

Her eyes narrowed. ‘Rafael?’ She glanced at Adam, evidently confused as to why her booty call from years ago would have come up. ‘Oh, he and I aren’t an item. We just… erm… enjoyed each other for a while. We’re not in a relationship.’ Her eyes shot to Adam again. She was definitely a combination of confused and pissed off.

Jaz licked his bottom lip. ‘Oh? Well, maybe you and I could dance later?’ He gave her one of his all-American, handsome-as-all-get-out smiles.

Adam rolled his eyes as he watched Lily play with her hair. ‘That would be lovely. I’ll look forward to it, Jaz.’

The host announced dinner was to be served and asked for everyone to find their seats.

Lily whacked Adam’s arm as they walked towards the tables. ‘Why did you tell Jaz I was in a relationship with a Spanish man?’ she spat venomously as they took their adjacent seats.

Adam rubbed his arm and glanced around to check Jaz wasn’t watching. ‘Because he’s a womaniser, and I didn’t want you being a notch on his bedpost. That’s why.’

Lily gritted her teeth and flared her nostrils in true angry Lily style. ‘Adam, I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions about who I do or don’t sleep with. And looking at him, I would certainly sleep with him, so do me a favour and stop the bloody big brother act for one minute so I can breathe, will you?’

Hurt knotted his insides. ‘Well, excuse me for caring.’

‘I excuse you for caring, but I don’t excuse you for meddling. And how do you know that we might not hit it off and actually have a relationship?’

He lowered his head and spoke in a harsh whisper. ‘Because you, Lily, don’t do relationships. You do sleeping with men and then leaving them if they get too close. You never fall in love. It’s just not in your nature. I’m not even sure you’re capable of it.’ He growled. ‘And he’s had more women than I can count since he’s been here, so you would end up as fuck buddies and nothing more. But if you did happen to miraculously fall for him, you’d get hurt.’

Lily sat there agape and he regretted his unforgiving words. She was his best friend and in his own roundabout way he was trying to protect her. Wasn’t he? That had been a protective instinct that had caused him to lie… wasn’t it? It certainly wasn’t jealousy. Absolutely not. What was there to be jealous about?

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water and just before she turned away from him, he saw tears welling in her eyes.

Shit.

He leaned across to her and reached for her arm but she snatched it away. ‘Lil, I’m sorry, okay? That was mean and unnecessary. Please forgive me?’ She didn’t respond at first. ‘Lily, please. I’m really sorry.’

She slowly turned to him with glassy eyes. ‘I have never been made to feel so cheap, Adam. I can’t believe you could be so cruel. And you already know that I have been in love. But I got my heart broken. No, not just broken, smashed to smithereens. So excuse me if I’m not willing to give my fragile heart out to the first man who says he loves me. And there is nothing wrong with enjoying sex. If I were a man, you’d be patting me on the back. Now I suggest you just don’t speak to me at all for the rest of the evening, and then when this is over, I would like you to leave me alone for a while, please.’ She stood from the table, pushed her chair back, and excused herself.

His chest tightened as if he’d been winded. He’d really hurt her. She had never spoken to him with such venom. They’d had plenty of fights, sure. But this one was different. It had been real, and he hated himself for the things he’d said.

For the rest of the evening, he watched Lily and Jaz getting to know one another on the dance floor and off. She even left with him at the end of the evening, and Adam was sure she did it out of spite, but he couldn’t say a word. He had practically pushed her into it.

He went home alone, confused about why his stomach was so knotted and hating himself for being a cruel and heartless idiot.

The worst part was that Monty wasn’t even there to greet him.

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