Page 75 of The Last Saturday In July
‘He’s my boss’s nephew.’
‘What’s your boss going to do? Fire you for having a one-night stand?’ Zoe put her hands on her hips. ‘Never mind. How can you still think you want to marry Simon?’
Gemma appeared at Jess’s elbow, making her jump. ‘Sorry to interrupt, Zoe. I need to run through some stuff with you.’
Zoe gave Jess a final look. ‘Coming.’
After Zoe disappeared with Gemma, Jess found a large wingback chair and sat down, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. Even though she’d sworn to herself never to breathe a word about the Isle of Man, she felt oddly relieved that Zoe knew, and guilty that she’d ever mistrusted her.
‘Are you hungry?’
She looked up to see Adam, holding a plate of sandwiches. ‘Starved actually.’
‘Hang on.’ He pulled a small table towards her chair and put down the plate, before dragging over another chair for himself. ‘I took these from the buffet table. There’s someone coming around with tea and coffee.’
‘Thanks.’ She picked up a dainty turkey and salad sandwich and took a bite. They were miniscule: she’d need a dozen to fill her.
Adam hitched one ankle onto the opposite knee. ‘I had a bit of a chat with your sister about you.’
Jess tried not to look nervous. ‘Why?’
He grinned and reached for another sandwich. ‘You’re kind of difficult to get to know.’
Jess swallowed hard to dislodge some bread that had stuck in her throat. ‘There’s not much to know.’
‘So Zoe would have me believe.’
Jess said nothing.
‘Look,’ Adam said, finally, ‘I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d like to get to know you better.’
She gave him a wary look. ‘How do you mean?’
He met her eyes. ‘What would you say if I asked you out for adrink?’
The pulse in Jess’s neck started to throb. Hewasinterested. He was asking her on a date! God, not in a million years could she ever admit the truth now. ‘That’s not a good idea, we work together.’
Adam shrugged. ‘For now. ‘
‘Exactly, you’ll be going back to Switzerland after the wedding, so it’s better to keep things simple.’ Not to mention that if Adam really knew her, he’d want nothing to do with her. Jess hated how much that thought hurt.
‘Say if I wasn’t going back after the wedding?’
‘But you are.’ She was depending on it.
‘Yes, but if I wasn’t?’
For a brief moment, Jess imagined what it would be like to date Adam. The thought of it was so exciting, it was downright terrifying. It would never last, she told herself.
Adam wasn’t like Simon. In fact, he was the opposite of Simon. She folded her arms. ‘Then we’d be working together, and it would still be a terrible idea.’
Adam stood and brushed away some crumbs. ‘Looks like I lose, either way.’ He tipped his fingers to his forehead in a casual salute. ‘I’ve a few things to do. Catch you later.’
Jess sat, heart thumping, feeling strangely deflated. She could hardly blame Adam for asking her out, given what had happened between them, the last time they’d been down here. But she should be happy he’d finally got the message.
She badly needed to believe that if Zoe hadn’t put her on the ferry, she and Simon would be blissfully counting down the days. But they still had to sort out their problems, or there wouldn’t be a wedding at all. And even though Zoe knew the truth now, there was no point asking for her opinion, because she was completely against her marrying Simon.
She also needed to fix things with Kate. Jess just hoped that whatever had happened between her and Simon, and her and Kate, was a temporary glitch in the matrix.
