Breaking the Rules (8 page)

Julia would still be dealing with everything she had going on when Adam got back to Wisconsin. Right now, he had a relationship to save.

Normally, Adam would have taken a cab from his hotel to Carly's, but he needed a little more time to clear his head. He could only imagine how upset Carly would be when he got there. That girl never was good at calming down once she was all wound up.

No matter how many times he experienced it, Times Square at night was overwhelming. The sea of tourists created a current that could sweep
away anyone who wasn't paying attention. If it weren't for the fact that most of his clients were in the area, there was no way you could get Adam to stay down here and he sure as hell wouldn't be out walking at night. It seemed like even more people crowded the streets at night, hoping to take in the full effect of the digital billboards that lit up the area to a constant state of daylight.

He didn't
want to be out here now, but it was the way to get to the woman he cared about, the woman he'd managed to upset. He just hoped they could come to an agreement quickly. He didn't want the entire trip to be tense.

***

Using the keycard Adam had left on her dresser, Carly let herself into his hotel room when he didn't answer the door. Through the stream of light shining in from the hall, Carly could see that the room was empty. She flipped on the light to find a piece of paper and a pen. As she dug through her messenger bag, her cellphone started ringing. It was Adam.

“Where are you?” she asked curtly.
While probably not the best way to answer her phone, especially when they hadn't parted on the best of terms, she was worried.

“I could ask you the same question,” Adam responded sounding slightly perturbed.

Carly rolled her eyes. It was too late for her to be dealing with this crap. Dax had called her in early this morning, and she seriously just wanted to be at home in her bed. Instead, she was in her boyfriend's empty hotel room, and he wasn't answering her.

“I'm in your hotel room,” she shot back at him, “So again, where are you?”

Adam laughed, “I'm at your place.”

Figures
.

“Okay, you stay there. I'll catch a cab and see you in a few,” she said shaking her head at the
way their night had turned into a mess.

“You eat yet?” Adam asked.

“No, you?”

“Nope. Went for the liquid dinner and I'm thinking I might need something to soak up some of the beer if I plan to function tomorrow. I'm going to
swing around the corner and grab dinner for us since I screwed up taking you out tonight. If I'm not here when you get back, don't leave again,” Adam said.

Carly allowed her head to
fall against the back of the seat as the cabbie weaved his way through the streets of Manhattan. Now that they were both calmed down, she hoped it would be possible to have a productive conversation about everything they had brought up earlier in the day.

***

Six long weeks spent wining and dining whenever Adam came to town. He'd spent every minute possible searching for things they could do together to make sure she knew he was always thinking about her. He wanted her to have memories of their time together to tide her over until the next time he came to town.

If he'd known how happy she would be to curl up on the couch with burgers from the
corner pub, he would have done it sooner. Sure as hell would have saved some time.

“So,” Adam started as they finished their burgers, “I've been thinking. We need to figure out what we're going to tell everyone back home. I can deal with not telling them we're a couple but--”

Carly placed a finger to Adam's lips silencing him. “I've been thinking too,” she said. “I still don't know how Julia's going to take the news, but she should know. You were right. We're not kids, and we're not each other's dirty little secrets.”

Until that moment, Carly was resolved to stand by her decision. There was something about Adam that had her changing her stand on so many things it was disconcerting. She was used to being with men who were all too willing to let her make the decisions.
She quickly dismissed those who couldn't deal with it.

“Besides, once we tell everyone I won't have to behave when we're around each other,” Carly laughed sliding her hands under the tails of Adam's button-down shirt.

“Are you sure about this?” Adam asked.

“No,” she admitted, “but I'm willing to go with it because I don't want to cause problems with us. I'd rather we stay on the same page
so that we can use all of our strength to fight them if they say anything.”

Adam gently squeezed Carly's arms as he turned her to face him. “Carly, I'm not sure why you think there's going to be a fight,” he said softly placing a kiss on her forehead. “I seem to remember someone else who had a problem with the thought of us at first and she got over it quickly. They will too.”

Carly raised an eyebrow trying to figure out whom he was talking about. No one she knew had a problem with him. They all loved Adam. Her co-workers practically pushed her out the door when he was in town. She hadn't told anyone in Wisconsin about them so it couldn't be anyone there. Did Adam's co-workers know why he was suddenly so eager to build their New York business base?

“You,
Peanut,” he laughed pulling her onto his lap. “You had a problem even going to one lunch with me at first. You had some strange hang-up because you've been friends with Julia for so long. And, to some extent, I think you're still fighting that.”

Happy that they'd made it through their first fight, Carly curled into a ball on Adam's lap burying her face in his neck. Julia could
rip every hair from Carly's head if she felt the need and it wouldn't change the fact that Adam made Carly happier than she ever remembered being.

“You might be right,” she conceded. “We'll tell Julia, but I think it'll be for the best if we tell her once I'm there. You know, united front and all that.”

“You're really ready for her to freak about this, aren't you?” Adam laughed. He began massaging Carly's neck with one strong hand while the other glided along the smooth skin on her thigh. “It'll be okay. And look on the bright side; you already know my family's crazy, so that won't scare you away.”

Carly purred in agreement letting Adam
lull her to sleep with his gentle caresses. She hoped he was right, and it would all be okay.

Carly was going to kill whoever was calling her at three in the morning. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue
, but she had an early morning flight, and had a hard enough time getting to sleep the first time. Traveling always made her restless. It had nothing to do with fear; it was simply the anticipation of getting away.

Add to that the fact that she and Adam
were going to be announcing themselves as an item while she was home and the fact that she was going to get to see him in an element they were both more comfortable with, she was little more than a tangled ball of nerves.

“Hello?”
Carly mumbled into the phone.

“Hey Peanut,” Adam whispered into the phone. It was as if once he remembered her childhood nickname, he forgot her real name.
Carly wasn't sure if she missed hearing her name cross his lips, or if she loved him using a nickname for her.

“Is everything okay?” she asked
, trying to hide the concern in her voice. Adam never called this late.

“No,” he whispered again, “it's not.”

“Why are you whispering?” she asked, trudging out to start a pot of coffee. Adrenaline was starting to course through her veins, and she knew there was no way she was going to get back to sleep.

“I'm at Julia's
, and she's sleeping,” Adam said. “Well, I hope she's sleeping. I wouldn't doubt it if she's not though. She's probably up there listening to everything I'm saying to you right now.”

“Adam,” Carly snapped, “shut up and spit it out. What in the hell is going on?” Typically, Adam was fairly articulate. The fact that he was rambling like an idiot told her this was serious. “Is Julia okay?”

Carly could hear Adam cracking his knuckles. He swore he was trying to break that disgusting habit, but tonight he was popping one knuckle at a time.

“Something happened tonight,” Adam growled. If there was any hint of grogginess left in Carly's system, it left with those words.

“You're starting to scare me, baby.” Her voice was shaking as her mind raced through everything that could have happened to have Adam calling her at this hour sounding as ragged as he did. “Just tell me what's going on. Please.”

“Jules was attacked tonight,” Adam said
, his voice straining with every word. “She's going to be okay, but Micah's fucking ex got a hold of her at Family Night and roughed her up a bit. I'm sitting at her place right now while Micah gets her calmed down.”

“What?” Carly exclaimed. “Did they catch her? How do they even know one another? How bad is she hurt? What did Micah say?” Now Carly was
the one rambling. She wished she had flown back earlier so that she could be there now to help her friend.

“No, she's still out there,” he
spat. “That bitch did a pretty decent number on Jules, but she's tough. Her face looks like hell, her arm is pretty banged up and she's going to be sore when she wakes up, but she'll be okay. Micah's ready to go hunt the bitch down. If Julia didn’t need him so much right now, I think he already would have.”

“I guess that's a good thing,” Carly said unsure of what exactly to say. “So, what now?”

“Not sure. I wish you were here with me,” Adam sighed. “Can you rent a car when you get to town? I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to leave to come and get you. Otherwise, I'll call Annie in the morning and ask her to come and get you.”

“No, it's fine,” Carly said, “I'll get a car. Jules is going to need Annie there with her. I suppose this means we're not going to the dance tomorrow night?”

She hated how selfish the question sounded. How could she even be thinking about a damn street dance when a psycho freak had attacked one of her best friends, her boyfriend’s sister?

Adam let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Knowing Julia, there's no way in hell she's going to miss the dance. After she
stopped freaking out tonight, all she could talk about was not letting Karen screw up her life anymore. I just hope you girls can figure out how to hide some of the bruises. She's bound to go off on anyone who looks at her with pity. And trust me; her face has earned her some pity.”

Carly grabbed her iPad and sent a quick email to one of her friends from the theater. She hoped Vixen was still awake
so that she could pick up some things before she had to leave for the airport.

“Don't worry about that,” she said, “I'm already on it. I'm going to pick up some makeup from one of my friends. You'd be amazed at what her makeup will cover.”

They stayed on the phone until the sun was filtering through the blinds of Carly's apartment. Every time Carly tried to end the call so that she could shower and get ready to leave, Adam begged her to stay on the line. He was obviously more rattled than he wanted to let on, and Carly didn't press him to talk about it.

It was the first time she'd ever showered while talking on the phone. She didn't do much of the talking, but Adam prattled on the entire time her phone was sitting on the back of the toilet. When she dried her hair, he sat quietly waiting for the hair dryer to turn off.

“Baby, if you want me to be there at all, I seriously do have to go. I have to make a stop on my way to the airport and then pray I can still get there on time.” She didn't want to hang up, but she couldn't carry her bags down the stairs while talking to him and she needed to call Vixen to let her know she was coming over to get the makeup kit.

“I know,” Adam sighed. “Thanks for staying on the phone with me, Peanut. It means a lot to me.”

“Not like I would have been sleeping anyway,” Carly said sarcastically. “Sleeping after the type of wake-up call you gave me would be impossible.”

“Sorry,” he said softly. “I just needed to hear your voice. And you needed
a heads up for when you get here.”

“No, baby. Don't apologize. I'd have been more upset if you hadn't called,” she whispered.

“I know, but I still feel bad,” Adam mumbled. “And Carly?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“You were right. We can't tell anyone. Not right now,” he grumbled. Carly let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to bring it up, but it felt incredibly inappropriate to flaunt their happiness and their relationship with everything hitting the fan back in Wisconsin.

“I know, babe. Don't worry, it'll all work out,” she assured him. “We'll find a way to find some time for ourselves. Promise.”

***

Adam could kill Micah. No, it wasn't his fault that his crazy ex-wife thought she'd get anywhere by pinning Julia against the bathroom wall
, but that didn't make Adam feel any better. If Micah weren't nosing around trying to get back into Julia's life, his sister wouldn't be resting upstairs bruised and scared. Adam wouldn't be trying to figure out how to make it through a visit with Carly without being able to touch her for fear of upsetting his already emotionally fragile sister. He was still reluctant to believe she'd be upset, he figured Julia might even be happy for them, but it wasn't a chance worth taking.

At some point, the thoughts racing through Adam's mind slowed enough that he was able to nod off. The sound of his sister's voice startled him awake
, and he immediately felt terrible for sleeping while he was supposed to be keeping his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.

“Sorry, guess I fell asleep,” he said sheepishly as Julia made her way to the coffee pot. She looked like hell. He wanted to give her a hug and let her know it
would all be okay, but he was afraid anywhere he touched her would hurt. “You sure know how to make things exciting, don't you?”

“That's me,” she sighed, “Miss Excitement.”

If you could ignore the discolored skin on Julia's face and her tentative movements, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with her. He admired that about his sister, her ability to bury any pain she was feeling and move on with her life. He knew it was a front, but it separated her from most women who consciously chose to wear their pain like a badge in hopes of garnering sympathy.

That thought made him realize just how
similar Julia and Carly were. They both worried about everyone else more than themselves. They were willing to pack away whatever they were feeling if it meant helping someone else.

“What are you smiling about?” Julia asked as she poured two cups of coffee.

“Nothing,” he lied. He and Carly had made the decision, together this time that they weren't going to tell anyone they were a couple, and he wasn't going to go against that decision.

“You're a horrible liar,” Julia laughed. “But I'll let you get away with it for now. Come
on; let's go outside so that we don't wake anyone.”

Adam let Julia lead the conversation as they sat on the rickety swing on her front porch afraid he'd crack if she asked again about the stupid smile he was trying to keep off his face. He couldn't help it
; in just a few hours, the one person he wanted to be with would be in town.

For over an hour, Adam and Julia sat on the porch talking about things they'd been avoiding for years.
They had never dealt with their mother abandoning them for another man. Between their mother leaving and the end of her relationship with Micah, Julia had run off and not looked back for nearly a decade. It was going to take more than one conversation to resolve their issues and Adam was relieved when she turned the conversation to Caleb and the parallels between his situation and their own.

While Karen hadn't abandoned her son for someone else,
she had still abandoned him. Julia worried about how Caleb, Micah's son, was handling the news that his mom was back in town. Her strained relationship with the boy seemed normal given the fact that Julia had only recently found out about his existence. But in true Julia fashion, she worried about what the drama among the adults was going to do to him.

When the conversation started to fade, Julia excused herself saying she needed to try to take a shower. Adam returned to the dining room, hoping for a chance to talk to Micah about how they could keep Karen from a repeat performance. After glancing at his phone at least a dozen times, he startled when it vibrated against the hardwood table.

Carly:
I'll be there in 20. Can you sneak out for a few?

The text message had Adam jumping from his seat. He and Micah were getting nowhere, and Adam was glad for a reason to get out of the house.

The truth was, Micah's ex was unstable, probably hopped up on drugs and still out there. Not only that
, but she had someone helping her. The fact that they didn't know who was helping her made it that much more difficult to keep Julia safe.

“Hey man, I'm going to grab some lunch,” Adam said. It wasn't a total lie. He'd run to the sub shop, pick up lunch for everyone, get a kiss or six from his girl and head back.

“Yeah, should probably get something for the girls too,” Micah responded not looking up from his phone. He'd been having problems making eye contact all day, consumed with guilt over what happened.

Adam placed his hand firmly on Micah's shoulder. “It's not your fault. I wish it
were so that I could pound the piss out of you, but you didn't do this to Jules. If it makes you feel better, I suppose I could take you out back since you were a stupid bastard when you were a kid, and that's the only reason Karen is in our lives at all.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Micah grumbled. When his shoulders slumped forward even further, Adam felt
terrible for giving the guy a hard time. Micah was beating himself up enough; he didn't need Adam throwing old mistakes in his face.

“Hey man,” Adam said, “knock it off. Julia doesn't need to see you moping and shit. We all love the hell out of Caleb, so I guess we have to forgive you for the bitch too. It'll be okay.”

Micah finally looked up. “What time is Carly coming in?” he asked knowingly.

Adam debated playing dumb for a minute
, but as his sister pointed out, he sucked at lying. “You can't say shit to Julia, man. Carly's all freaked that she's going to be upset about it.”

Listening to his own words, not only was
he a lovesick pansy, he was also apparently pussy whipped. Now Micah knew.
Wonderful.

Micah sat there shaking his head in disbelief. “You got it bad, huh?” he laughed, “Don't worry, I won't tell her. And I won't tell Carly that you
just spilled your guts like a little girl.”

Times like this made Adam realize that Micah wasn't a
bad guy. He just hoped Micah would keep his mouth shut like he said he would.

“So, when's she getting here?” Micah asked again. Adam wanted to slap the smirk off Micah's face
, but it was amusing to see his spirits lifted, even at Adam's expense.

“Dude, why do you think I'm going to get lunch?” Adam laughed. “We're going to meet there for a few minutes and then she'll be over. You can't say a fucking word to anyone, Micah. I'm serious.”

Micah held up his hands in surrender, “Easy there, Buttercup. I told you your secret's safe with me. But you'd better get a grip or everyone's gonna know anyway as soon as you get back.”

Adam grabbed his keys off the counter and turned to the door. He hated it when Micah was right almost as much as he hated feeling like a giddy little girl. No, he hated Micah being right more.