Falling Star (9 page)

"Good idea." She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. If she concentrated, she could imagine him lying next to her rather than speaking on the phone.

"Jade?" Oh yeah. The intimate way he spoke her name could have easily been coming from across the pillow.

"Yes?"

"What are you wearing?"

She laughed. Again. Damn, she'd been laughing a lot recently. "I'm in my jammies. Why?"

"I was kinda hoping you were getting ready for a shower or something."

"Would it turn you on if we had a conversation naked?"

He growled in her ear. "Hell yeah. I'd love to hear you describe your body to me."

"Huh. I think I just figured out what you do for a living."

"You did?" His tone turned flat.

"Yes. I recognize it in your voice." She pulled her comforter over her shoulders, and snuggled deep into the plush bedding. The rain still beat a hypnotic rhythm on the roof, and she yawned.

"You do?"

She heard the anguish, and smiled sleepily. "Mm hm. You're one of those phone-sex men."

A noisy sigh. "Damn it, you got me. You see why I had to keep you in the dark? Now I'm going to have to start charging you for this call." His phone-sex voice washed over her like a warm Swedish massage.

"Mm, okay."

"And you don't get your money back if you fall asleep," he teased. "Go to bed, Jade. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No, don't hang up. I want to pretend you're here with me."

"Oh God, I'd love to be holding you right now. Breathe in your hair, wrap my legs around yours."

"Mm…"

"I'd kiss your beautiful lips, stroke the soft skin on your back…"

The last thing she remembered was his promise to rock her to sleep in his arms.

* * * *

Quarter after five.

Jade grinned.

"You should have played with your little toy last night." Dean shook his head. He must have noticed her checking her watch. Or maybe he saw the way she kept one eye on the front door of Earth Scents.

"What are you talking about?" She knew what he was talking about, and her blush had to have told him so.

"Jesus, Jade. At this point you'll have his pants around his ankles before the door alarm goes off."

Damn it Dean. The visual of Adam standing just inside the door with his pants down was enough to send a throbbing warmth through her. "Oh shut up." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm just excited to get away from your cranky ass for a few days."

"
Maybe
. I might not let you go, remember? That was our deal." He cut open a box of blue glass vases that came in today's shipment, and began unwrapping the bubble wrap from each one. "I don't care how horny you are."

"Be nice to him." She took the first vase from him and put it on the shelf they'd cleared earlier.

"I'm not promising anything." He handed her another.

"You know, I don't give you a hard time with your boys."

"I told you, I don't—"

"Date boys. I know. Except that one, what was his name?" She straightened the glassware before adding another to the shelf.

"Geoff."

"Geoff, that's right, 'Geoff with a G.E.O'
.
" she mimicked. "Like anyone cares how to spell his name. Tell me when I'm writing your name down, Geoff, otherwise who cares?"

"You're right. He was a boy. A cute boy though."

"Was he even legal?"

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"He wasn't, was he? Oh Dean you bad, bad man!"

He shoved the last vase into her hand. "We've been through this before. He was in the Navy, so I know he had to be over eighteen."

"No wonder you can't find a man to please you, when you're cruising the high school parking lots."

Dean stood, toppling the now empty box in his attempt to get at her.

Jade squealed. "Don't! Dean!"

No matter how much she zigzagged across the store to get out of his reach, he was able to grab the cartilage part of her ear, just like he always did. Damned if that didn't hurt, and he knew she would stop struggling. It only hurt worse if she moved.

"Are you sorry?"

"Me? I'm not the one sleeping with boys. You're the one who should be—oh, oh! Okay!" She winced. "I'm sorry for making fun of your taste in younger men, okay?" She wasn't surprised when Dean continued twisting her ear with malice. Her knees buckled, and she opened her mouth to cry uncle when the door opened, setting off the notification tone. They jumped apart guiltily.

Adam stood stock still on the threshold, wearing khaki board shorts and a black tee shirt with a silver tribal design. She'd never seen him in a hat, but today he wore a ball cap that looked like it had been run over three or four times. One hand gripped his sunglasses where they sat on his nose, the other on the door handle.

"Adam!" She all but ran across the room, but stopped just short of throwing herself in his arms. He aimed an animalistic snarl at Dean. When he looked at her, he slowly finished taking his glasses off, and his expression softened until he opened his arms.

"Well don't stop there." He took another step inside, and she did what she had been thinking about doing since about noon. Well, until Dean put that other picture in her head, but that would have to wait. She stepped into his embrace with a small hum of approval as his strong, hard arms went around to engulf her completely. "I'm going to assume that man is Dean, and he wasn't hurting you," he whispered.

"And you'd be right," she whispered back. "I'll explain later."

"You lied. No way he benches three fifty. I can take this guy."

Jade laughed. "Well then, flex those sexy muscles, and let me introduce you." She took him by the hand and led him across the room, where Dean stood by the teddy bear display. His wide eyes coasting down then back up Adam's body in a fascinated awestruck movement that gave Jade a little surge of pride. She knew Adam was gorgeous. She knew Dean would agree, and now she knew she'd be on Adam's boat for the weekend.

"Adam, this is my friend Dean Chambers. Dean, Adam Herlihey."

Adam put his hand out, and Dean automatically reached for it, but his mouth opened for a second, then closed with a snap. His eyes went down then back up. "Adam…"

"Herlihey," Adam finished. "Thanks for covering for Jade tomorrow."

Jade attached herself onto Adam's arm as she watched Dean interact with this new man in her life. "Uh, yeah of course," Dean stammered. "It sounds like you'll have a…uh…" Dean shook his head. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

"Geez Dean. His name is Adam and you know it!" Jade harrumphed. "Now, give me your keys. I'm going to get my bag from your car."

Dean dug in his front pocket without tearing his eyes away from Adam.
At least he didn't check out Adam's package,
Jade rolled her eyes and snatched the keys from his hand. "I'll be right back."

Dean didn't stop her, so she took that as her permission to go. She grinned all the way through the stockroom and out the back door.

* * * *

"Shit. You know who I am, don't you." Adam ran one hand through his hair, and turned away from the other man. Dean Chambers could easily blow this whole thing in the next five minutes. He knew there was a possibility of recognition, but he had hoped Dean would be just as much out of the loop as Jade. They were in the middle of nowhere for six years, the height of his career for Christ's sake.

"You're Adam Nash." Dean said it the same way he'd heard those words for years. Like he was surprised Adam Nash was a real live human being. Like Adam Nash didn't walk around in shorts and a tee shirt. Like Adam Nash would have to be crazy to pretend to be anything other than Adam Nash.

Adam faced the other man, resigned to the impending discussion. "Yes I am."

"You're
the
Adam Nash?
Looking Glass? Friends Before Lovers? Karina
?"

Dean knew his CD titles? Adam couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, that's me."

"You're fucking kidding me."

"Look, Jade—"

"Has no idea." Dean laughed. "Oh this is great. She told me you played guitar. She said you were in the entertainment business."

"I haven't lied to her," Adam pointed out. "I just haven't…"
told her the truth
, he finished silently. That would make him sound like a bastard, wouldn't it?

"Herlihey?" Dean asked pointedly.

"That isn't a lie. I was born Adam Herlihey."

"But…why? Why haven't you told her who you are?" Dean leaned against the teddy bear shelves, then crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Here comes the big brother act. Dean must have been wowed long enough. "Because with her I
am
just Adam Herlihey. I don't have to be anyone else." As Dean lifted his chin in understanding, Adam rushed to continue. "I want to get to know her, and I want her to get to know the real me. Not what
Opinion Magazine
tells her; not what the tabloids write about me. Understand?"

Dean looked at him long and hard. "Yeah, I get it." His eyes narrowed, and for the first time, Adam thought he might find out the validity of Dean's strength. "You've got a hell of a reputation."

"Yeah, I know I do."

"You gonna tell me it's all a lie?"

He'd like to. He'd love to say that person wasn't him. He wanted to be the kind of guy Jade could see herself dating. The kind of guy her warden here would approve of. Jesus, he hadn't been drunk for over three months, and he still talked like a sap. "Don't believe everything you read."

"You mess with her, and you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. I don't care who you are. She's got people who care a lot about her."

"I'm not going to mess with her; I don't want to hurt her either." For the first time in years, Adam feared his chances with a woman he wanted were at risk. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and tried to breathe evenly.

"Just being who you are can hurt her. Your track record with women sucks. Only an idiot would let someone they care about go anywhere near you."

Adam really couldn't argue that. "This is different. I won't hurt Jade. Give me this weekend. I'll tell her everything, and she can decide for herself. I'm not the man you read about in the papers."
Anymore
, Adam added silently, just to be honest.

"I don't know." Dean thought long and hard, and Adam actually started to worry that he wouldn't give his blessing. Not that he gave a shit what this guy said, but Jade did. Dean looked Adam up and down. "All right. I'll give you one chance. Just one. I won't tell her who you are, but she's gonna kick your ass when she finds out. She loves your music."

"She does?" Adam hadn't realized how much he worried about that. One constrictive band snapped from around his heart, and it beat just a little more wholly.

"Yeah, but her favorite song is 'Strawberries and Sunshine', and your picture isn't on that CD cover."

His hair was a lot longer on the pictures inside the
Looking Glass
CD jacket too. Adam took a deep breath, and ran a hand down his face. "I'm gonna tell her." He leaned against the counter beside Dean. "I just want one weekend, then I'll tell her. I promise."

"I won't let on that I know," Dean lifted one eyebrow, and gave Adam a pointed look, "but you'd better tell her by the end of the weekend, or both our asses'll be in a sling."

Adam nodded, taking a deep breath in relief. They both looked through the shop, and out onto the sidewalk, where the five o'clock pedestrian crowd had dwindled to almost nothing. No one bothered to look inside to find the hottest country music star having a casual conversation with a botanist. Still, Adam was always on alert, especially without Tyrell around. Crowds had a way of getting dangerous in a hurry.

"Well, I guess I don't have to worry about you doing something fucked-up with her. You've got cameras on you all the time." Dean shook his head. "Man, I'm still surprised you've kept it secret this long. How'd you do it?" He was now as comfortable with Adam as Jade. Adam found it refreshing, and he relaxed even more.

"I've been avoiding the general public for the most part. And I told her to stay off the internet." Adam joined Dean's laughter. "Shit, you don't even want to know what I went through for dinner that first night. I made my assistant call—"

"I'm ready." Jade emerged from the back hallway. Adam closed his mouth with a snap.
Fuck, that was close.

He tried not to look too relieved when he approached her to slip the strap of her duffle bag from her shoulder and onto his.

"Did you and Dean have a nice little chat?" Her eyes bounced from one man to the other.

Dean pushed away from the counter and joined them. "Yeah we did. He's all right I guess. Don't call me to come and get you when you get seasick all over the poor guy."

Jade's eyes sparkled when she smiled. Dean's approval must mean a lot to her. Adam put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her against his side, and kissed the top of her head to hide his silly grin.