Touch of Love (2 page)

‘Seemed like a good idea at the time
.’ He grinned wryly, pulling his shirt back down and wincing lightly. ‘Not so much now, I have to say… By the way, I should introduce myself, right? Adam Scott.’ He stretched out his hand. ‘And for the record, I was planning to do the formal introduction the moment there was hope you wouldn’t run away.’

She could do nothing but take his outstretched hand and exchange a handshake.

‘Elly Marlow,’ she murmured hesitantly. Against her will, she was intrigued, which was very inappropriate.
Who is this guy who looks like a fallen angel? And what kind of trouble did he get into last night?
If losing his wallet and getting a tattoo were any indications, he had one hell of a ride.

Nothing like that had ever happened to her.
Elly’s life was simple and predictable. Things moved along nicely, with an occasional hiccup here or there.

‘Look, if you really need to make a call, here you go.’
She decided suddenly, digging in her handbag and fishing out her phone. ‘Just make it snappy. I need to get going.’ She didn’t need to be anywhere, but he couldn’t know that. It was bad enough that she had caved, allowing her sick curiosity to keep her there instead of walking away.

‘I’ll be just a minute
.’ He smiled gratefully. Once again, she reluctantly noticed how incredibly handsome he was—which was totally unfair, all things considered. She thought of Brad and all the effort he put into looking his best; his vast collection of cosmetics surely beat out hers for space on their bathroom shelf. Adam wasn’t even trying.

As he
touched the screen, his grin widened at the screen saver. She knew she should have expected that. It was a cheesy picture of her and Brad, dressed as Antony and Cleopatra at last year’s office Halloween bash. They had won the title of best-dressed couple, probably because Brad cut such a striking figure in his Roman outfit and most of his office coworkers were female.

‘Nice
.’ He nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching. But then he got serious, punching in the number, then waiting for a response with his eyebrows pulled together.

‘
Brian?’ He spoke fast, and something in his face told her he would appreciate privacy, so she turned away to study the sun-filled flowerbeds. Still, she could hear every word he spoke, her curiosity going up a notch.

‘Look, can you give me a lift home? My money is gone, together with the rest of my things.’
He paused, obviously listening to the response. ‘Yeah, I think I left it in the cab.’ Pause again, longer this time. ‘I know. I know…’

‘I don’t know how she is
.’ The edge to his voice made her turn around to cast a quick glance at his face. Darkened and serious, he listened, drumming his fingers impatiently against the bench. ‘She was great the last time I saw her, man. Probably even better now, right?’ His short, barking laugh sounded unconvincing. ‘Anyway, I have borrowed this phone from a lovely lady here who decided to give me the benefit of the doubt before alerting the police, so I need to make it short.’ He glanced up at her, his eyes twinkling with amusement. ‘If you can come and pick me up, I’ll be grateful. I’d rather not walk all the way home looking like this.’ As he described the meeting point, an unexpected sense of loss knocked the air out of her lungs. He would be gone in a second, and they would never meet again. She would never know why he’d spent the night in the park—or the identity of the mysterious woman whose mere mention made him defensive.

None of it was
her business at all. The sooner they parted, the better. She could imagine Brad’s face if he found out she’d chatted with a total stranger in a secluded part of a park. He was big on safety and responsibility, so he would probably think she was crazy.

‘Here, thanks,’ Adam’s voice interrupted her thoughts
, and she looked up only to see him watch her. ‘All set. My friend will pick me up ASAP. I’m in your debt, Elly.’

Hearing
him say her name felt weird. Her name was actually Elvira, but she preferred Elly. Only her parents insisted on the full version, which felt too grand and serious, as if she were some exotic beauty and not a totally average twenty-five-year-old girl with brown hair and eyes that couldn’t decide if they were grey or blue.

‘No problem,’ she mumbled, busying herself with her bag. Suddenly
, she felt shy. The short encounter had made her painfully aware of how awkward she had become around men. Especially young, handsome men. Ever since she’d started dating Brad, Elly hadn’t as much as stopped to notice other guys. Her friends teased her about it mercilessly, claiming she was taking her loyalty to her fiancé too far.

‘Why were
you crying?’ His question took her by surprise, and she should have come up with a plausible lie.

Instead, she blurted
out, ‘I got into a fight with my fiancé.’ She froze, horrified by her own stupidity.
Why on earth would I talk about it to this stranger? Not as if he cares, either way…

‘The guy from the phone pic?’ He nodded matter
-of-factly, as if that was exactly what he would expect from Brad, and the gesture irked her beyond belief. She wanted to tell him that her fiancé was wonderful and that the whole fight was just a big misunderstanding, but she couldn’t. She was suddenly tired of pretending that everything was wonderful. Her family and friends expected it to be perfect. Her mother’s happiness that she was getting married was matched only by her future mother-in-law’s. This Adam guy knew nothing about her—or her life—so she didn’t have to pretend. For once in her life, she could say exactly what she wanted and not worry about the consequences.

‘Yeah, he wants us to have sex with my friend
.’ She shrugged, trying to sound blasé. ‘A perfect threesome, as he says.’

‘
Interesting.’ He nodded again, his face perfectly straight. If he burst out laughing, she would kill him. But he didn’t. His eyes were pensive as he watched her heated face. Well, she was probably all red and blotchy. She didn’t cry prettily, and she knew it.

‘
Very
interesting,’ she agreed. ‘He got mad when I said no and left to fetch us some coffee and give me time to cool off, I guess.’

‘
But you don’t want to cool off.’ He smiled, seemingly unimpressed by her militant tone. ‘You came here to lick your wounds and ran into me.’

‘
Something like that. Plus, I really wanted to have him wait at the door with no keys in sight.’ She turned to walk away, abruptly embarrassed to talk about her private life with this stranger. The moment of cathartic release was over, and she wanted to disappear. ‘Look, I’d better run now. Your friend will pick you up, right?’

Being gracious was much easier since
the park had begun to fill with more and more early joggers and dog walkers. She didn’t need to worry anymore. Plus, they had made some kind of connection, however fleeting and shallow it might have been.

‘I’ll walk you to the gate
.’ It wasn’t so much an offer as a statement. They walked on together, the glorious morning sunshine pouring down on them from a perfectly blue, cloudless sky.
Another gorgeous day,
she thought bitterly, trying to figure out where to go once they reached the gate. Sitting in the restaurant for a whole hour was out of the question. She could always change her plans and visit her parents, but she could only imagine her mother’s shock if she admitted that she’d had a fight with Brad. In her mom’s eyes, her Brad could do no wrong, and Elly didn’t want to share his threesome idea with her mother.

‘
Aren’t you going to ask me why I popped out from behind the tree?’ Adam was watching her, a mix of curiosity and disbelief darkening his eyes even more. ‘I mean, that’s not your everyday experience, is it?’

‘I guess
ed you must have your reasons.’ She was curious, but nosing into someone else’s life wasn’t her style. And she wasn’t about to change that, no matter how tempting it seemed.

‘
Last night was my wedding rehearsal.’ His words made her slow down, and she looked up at his face, where she saw nothing but a perfectly smooth façade with just as much life as one of the statues placed strategically around the park.

‘I gather it didn’t go well?’
She felt embarrassed by her sarcasm, but she couldn’t hide it. At that moment, any talk about weddings, engagements, and such didn’t feature on her list of favorite topics.

‘
That’s the understatement of the century.’ He kicked a pebble, making her notice his handmade Italian shoes. The dark leather was dusty and tired looking. ‘To make a long story short, my fiancée decided to break it off, right in front of everyone. She’s always had a flair for the dramatic, but I never imagined it would involve humiliating me, as well.’

‘Why did she do it?’
Since he was asking her personal questions, she felt entitled to do the same. And in a sick way, she thought hearing about someone else’s problems would make her feel a bit better about her own.

‘The usual.
“It’s not you, it’s me” kind of stuff.’ He smiled bitterly, betraying his agitation with the tiny gesture. Though he acted indifferent, Elly could tell he was hurting. And she felt ashamed of her curiosity.

‘Basically
, she slept with my best friend—our best man.’ He laughed shortly. ‘And she discovered she loved him. I mean, she did love him once before, when we were still in high school. So in a way, she’d just got back to the starting point.’

The
park gate loomed ahead of them, where two stone lions watched them with stoic expressions. There were more people here, and she studied the moms with strollers and a group of sporty-looking middle-aged women following someone who appeared to be a yoga instructor.

‘So I left with a bunch of my friends, got drunk
, and lost my wallet. You know the rest.’ He grinned down at her.

If
this is how he looks hung-over, he’s a lucky man
. Except for his crumpled clothes, he looked as if he’d just stepped from the glossy pages of a magazine. The slightly rugged look only added to his sex appeal. Not that she cared, of course.

‘Well, I hope you’ll find your wallet,’ she said, aware of how lame it sounded. But saying something sympathetic was
awkward, and she hated sounding superficial. ‘As for the rest, you never know, things might turn out okay.’

She
noticed a car pulling over to the curb, just a few meters from the gate. A flashy red convertible with white leather seats.

‘Adam?’
The driver leaned over, his freckled face concerned. ‘Hey, man, are you okay?’

‘
Yep.’ Adam still watched her, his pensive look making her uncomfortable. He looked… reluctant to go, even as crazy as it sounded. ‘Coming, Brian.’

‘
Well, my ride’s here.’ He smiled at her, and his voice was warm when he added, ‘I guess it’s goodbye then. Thanks again for letting me use your phone.’ He was already leaving when he turned back hesitantly. ‘Say, if you’d like, we could have breakfast together? Just as a thank-you for your help. I just need to grab some clean clothes, and then I’m good to go.’

She was tempted to say yes
—more than she thought she should be. But for that reason exactly, she needed to say no.

‘I can’t
.’ She shook her head, disappointed to see him nod.
Well, that was easy, after all. He probably didn’t even mean it. Probably just being polite.

‘Well, I’ll see you around,’ she
finished lamely, aware of his friend’s eyes burning holes in her back. ‘Good luck with everything.’ That was a safe way to end things, she hoped.

‘Same to you
.’ He hesitated for a split second before reaching out and touching her hot cheek. ‘And just for the record, I think that your fiancé is an ass.’

He walked to the waiting car, leaving her to
stand frozen, her lips stretched into a noncommittal smile. She realized she was still smiling even after the car had left, her face muscles screaming in protest at her negligence. For one insane second, she wanted to run after him, shouting that she’d changed her mind and wanted to have breakfast with him after all. She didn’t, not because it would be totally humiliating if he didn’t hear her, but because he might hear her and actually stop. And she couldn’t afford that.

‘You mean you had a totally hot guy ask you out and you said no? With Brad being such a jerk and all?’ Indignant and puffing with fury, all five-foot-one of Jess Travis shook with disbelief.

Serve
s me right,
Elly thought self-deprecatingly.
Next time, I’ll keep my mouth shut.
Her best friend’s warrior-like attitude wherever men were concerned should have tipped her off to keep the facts to herself.

‘He didn’t really ask me out,’ she grumbled evasively, aware of the tinge of regret coloring her voice. ‘
Just a thank-you gesture, that’s all.’

‘Yeah, and my name is Scarlett Johansson, sweetie.’ Blue eyes watched her with hawkish
intensity, and Jess’s red curls bounced up and down like tiny springs. ‘Just for your future info, guys don’t ask you out because they feel grateful. They have their moms, sisters, and aunts for that. If they ask you out, it means they like what they see and probably hope to get into your pants.’

Elly
had to make her shut up. A few of the other guests were already looking in their direction, their discreet glances making her skin crawl with embarrassment.

‘Let’s drop it, all right?’
She attempted to change the subject, hoping Jess would play along. ‘What’s done is done. No need to analyze it. I said no, and that’s it. Brad might have behaved like an idiot, but he is my fiancé. We talked it out, and he apologized.’ He’d even bought her flowers.

Jess’s attention was
momentarily diverted by the choice of cakes and ice cream for dessert. Having lunch together had been their weekly tradition ever since they’d both started working downtown. This time, they’d picked a little Italian trattoria. Its delicious scents wafting down the street had made it an easy choice.

Brad
had surprised her with the roses after their fight. He had given her flowers exactly four times in the two years they’d been together. She remembered each occasion. She liked to think that his reluctance to make what he called empty gestures meant he cared even more. Not that she would confess her reasoning for his sparse generosity to Jess, of course. She would call Elly a delusional dummy.

‘
Oh my God, let me guess,’ Jess exclaimed, her lovely face scrunched into an expression of exaggerated sweetness. ‘Brad admitted he was wrong and then swept you off your feet with… oh, I don’t know, being nice for a change.’

Maybe this lunch wasn’t such a great idea.
Jessica seemed to not like Brad one bit; talking about him brought out nastiness Elly didn’t even know her friend possessed. Trying to tiptoe on the thin line between loyalty to the man she was about to marry and her friend was getting tiresome.

‘He isn’t perfect
, and I know it,’ she offered, her tone reconciliatory. ‘But he loves me, and I love him, too. I mean, what couple doesn’t run into problems from time to time? At least we talk about it.’

Jess looked as if she wanted to say something but
had decided to bite her tongue. She sighed, her eyes regretful. ‘All right, I’ll shut up.’ She stabbed her food with her fork with more force than needed, her lovely face resigned. ‘I’m starving, anyway.’

They ate in silence, the soft music playing in the background filling the otherwise oppressive
quiet. It wasn’t the first time an argument about Brad had spoiled their lunch. Elly had to think of what it would be like when she and Brad got married. Would her friends shun her because they didn’t like her husband and were unwilling to give him a shot?

But then Jess smiled, dimples appearing in her lovely, peach
y cheeks.

‘O
h, my goodness, the guy in the corner is totally checking us out.’ She put down her fork and leaned closer. ‘He is absolutely gorgeous, Elly. Take a peek.’

Elly
wasn’t surprised Jess noticed him right away. She was a terrible flirt at college and so many desperate guys had visited their dorm that Elly had stopped trying to remember their names.

‘
Take a look, will you?’

Elly
didn’t want to follow the prompting, knowing the guy would be looking at Jess, anyway. Not that she was envious, but facts were facts. She had never been the one to stop a man in his tracks, save for Brad. That might have been part of the reason she was so relieved when he’d proposed. She immediately scolded herself for the thought. Jess’s nagging had gotten to her.

‘He
’s staring at you,’ Jess whispered dramatically, her eyes round with wonder. ‘Oh, man, I think he’s coming over.’

That sounded alarming. And as it was, Jess seemed shocked enough to forget to breathe.
Having her friend choke would be criminal.

She turned in her seat, praying for the man not to notice her interest. Nothing
was more embarrassing than two gals ogling a man. But she was ready to get it over with and return to her food. She was starving, and they had only twenty minutes before she was expected to return to the office. Working for a busy advertising agency could be a drag.

Cautiously
, she glanced at the man in question, her eyes widening when she finally saw his face. She found herself smiling, Jess’s surprised expression barely registering in her brain. ‘Jake?’

He grinned
widely, his blue eyes sparkling with mischievous joy. He closed the distance between them with three fast steps.

‘
Elly? I thought it was you.’ He looked at her with such cheerful satisfaction that she could do nothing but smile, forgetting her friend and the rest of the restaurant. It was Jake Svenson, for God’s sake! The hottest guy in her high school, he was one year her senior. Every girl was smitten with the tall, brown-haired, blue-eyed boy with a smile that could light up the room.

‘
What are you doing here?’

He grabbed a chair
and joined them with a confidence devoid of any arrogance. She was really glad to see him. Memories of her third year of high school flooded her mind, bringing back his chivalrous gesture that had saved her from total embarrassment.

‘I just came back from LA.’
He waved at the waitress, and his charming apology for changing seats was met with a smile that could have melted the polar ice caps. That was the effect Jake had on women.

Elly
was aware of Jess’s burning impatience to be introduced. ‘Jessica, this is my friend, Jake. We went to school together.’ She obliged, watching them shake hands and smile at each other.

‘You live in LA?’
Jess asked, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. ‘How exciting for you.’

‘Hardly
.’ Jake stretched his long legs in front of him, bringing his muscular jean-clad thighs into Jess’s field of vision.

God,
I’ll have to hear about this later,
Elly thought resignedly.

‘I’m in between auditions for two shows, so the last weeks
have been just a blur.’

Okay,
now Jess will be officially in heaven.
She loved all celebrity gossip. Knowing the names of the rich and famous came to her as naturally as breathing did. Jake wasn’t a huge star, just one of the many hopefuls who headed west year after year, hoping to get famous. Still, Elly had heard at her last high school reunion that he’d been a steady fixture on an adventure show, which was enough to make Jess swoon, for sure.

‘How are you,
Elly?’

T
o Elly’s surprise, Jake didn’t seem totally absorbed in her gorgeous friend. She was so used to staying in her shadow as soon as they met a guy that being noticed came as a shock. Jake was actually talking mostly to her, his warm voice melting some of the icy ring that had formed around her chest during her fight over Brad from before.

‘So you’re engaged?’
He seemed a bit surprised. If she were vain, she would have even said he sounded disappointed… but she wasn’t, so she figured he was just being polite. After all, he no doubt remembered her as a sobbing, sad girl who had just been dumped. He had rescued her back then, after her boyfriend had broken up with her just before the school dance. Jake had offered her his company instead, transforming the night that had been shaping up to be the worst of her young life into an absolute success.

‘How about you? Seeing any of those
Californian beauties?’ Jess wasn’t giving up. Batting her long eyelashes, she looked at Jake with her sweetest smile, which made Elly sick.
God, does she have to flirt with every man? Or am I upset because she’s trying her charms on Jake?
She felt a bit possessive about him, however inappropriate that was.

‘
Not really.’ Jake didn’t seem to mind the attention, though.

Why would he?

‘I’ve been pretty busy, and my social life suffers from some serious lack of dating. I’m planning to remedy that soon.’ Elly could tell he was joking. A devilish spark lit his eyes even though he managed to appear perfectly serious. His mouth twitched in the beginning of a smile, the corners lifting ever so slightly. She remembered his sense of humor keeping her and the rest of the drama club in stitches. Prompted by her English teacher, she had joined the drama club, where she’d met Jake. Drama hadn’t been her first choice, and she hadn’t been one to join in anything really. Her natural shyness kept her away from most of the school’s hubbub. Still, drama club proved to be different.

‘Any candidates so far?
’

Ugh, she just doesn’t
get it. Or is she planning on asking him out?
Salvation came from the most unexpected place. Suddenly, Jess’s phone rang, and the persistent ringtone was impossible to ignore. She glanced at the screen, visibly annoyed with the interference. Holding her breath, Elly watched her.

‘Now? Can’t you find it yourself?’
Obviously, the news wasn’t too good. The dimply smile disappeared and was replaced by an annoyed expression. ‘Okay, I’ll be there in a moment. Don’t erase anything in the meantime, Marcy.’

‘I need to go
.’ She looked at them both, her face disappointed. ‘We’ve got this new assistant in the office, but she is hopeless as far as I am concerned. I left her the files she was supposed to work through for the presentation tomorrow, but she can’t find them. Apparently, her password doesn’t work and she can’t access the company’s site. So I need to get back ASAP and save it, before Mr. Richardson has a heart attack.’

She worked for a legal firm,
at a job bringing in enough perks to even out the long hours and occasional weekends in the office.

‘Are you staying?’
She cast Elly a resigned look, as if she already knew the answer. Still, she was visibly reluctant to leave her friend alone with such a hunk; that much was clear.

‘I still have some food to finish, so yeah, I think I’ll hang around
.’ Gods were listening to her prayers after all. Elly pointed to her almost-empty plate, feeling like a total cheat, but enjoying it too much to feel any regret.

Jess left briskly, visibly disappointed with
Jake’s lack of interest in her hurried offer to stay in touch.
Probably hoped for him to ask for her number.
Elly bit her lips to stifle a little smile.

‘So, it’s just the two of us left?’
He leaned forward, the color of his eyes making her think of a perfect winter day, with a sky so blue it seemed Photoshopped.

‘Seems so,’ she agreed
. And his smile deepened.
He remembers I’m engaged, right? And most importantly, do I?

‘I
s your fiancé a jealous type?’

His question surprised her.
She wanted to say yes, and the answer begged to be released from her already-opening lips. But was Brad ever jealous over her? Not that she could remember. She didn’t really give him any reasons to be, either. Still, she somehow couldn’t imagine him turning into Othello, no matter how many other men clamored for her attention.

‘I don’t really know
.’ She had decided on honesty and was rewarded with his smile again.
What does he care if Brad is jealous? Does he plan on giving him a reason to be?

‘Do you remember our school dance?’
He surprised her even more.

‘
Sure. You saved me.’ She grinned, recalling herself in the hand-me-down emerald-green dress that would have been beautiful if it weren’t a size too big. It belonged to her sister. She’d come nowhere near filling out the generous bust line, and her hips drowning in the loose folds made her about as shapely as a potato. At least that was what the other girls had said in the bathroom. And they weren’t the only ones laughing behind her back, since Rick had decided to dump her then and there, spending the rest of the evening with the other girls instead.

‘Nah, I didn’t mean it
that way.’ His cheerful response broke into her memories, and she blinked as he continued, ‘Just how much fun we had together. One of the best parties I remember, Elly.’

She doubted it. Surely he had much more fun in LA. She could imagine all the girls lining up to spend time with him.
Everyone craved his company—always had, and probably always would. His mix of gentleness, fun, and sharp wit wasn’t that common, after all. Plus, he was seriously hot.