Page 85 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“Wait. Please?”
She stood for a moment looking down at their hands.
“I’ve missed you, Jess.”
She tried to speak but nothing came out. Instead, she found herself holding her breath as Adam tucked some hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said.
His hand left her cheek to slide into her hair, cradling the back of her head. She should tell him to stop. All she had to do was step backwards, and he would drop his hand. Instead, she found herself moving closer until she could feel his warmth, every nerve on high alert until his mouth met hers. Desire pooled deep inside her as she leaned in, shivering as his free hand slid down to her hip, pulling her even closer. This was what she’d craved since they’d been apart. It felt so right, so natural …shit, no, this was all wrong!
She pulled jerkily out of his arms, stumbling as she lost her balance, and shaking off Adam’s hand as he reached out to steady her.
“What are you doing?” She glared at him. “You’re with someone.”
He rubbed a hand across his face. “Look, Jess, I’m actually –”
“And … and so am I!” Her pulse was still racing, making her breathless as the words tumbled out. What was she thinking, making out in the middle of Linford Village with her ex?
“Jess.” His voice broke a little.
She forced herself not to give in. If they were meant to be, they would have found a way back together. Instead, just seven months after their breakup, they were both seeing new people. She wouldn’t let herself go back.
She took a breath. “There’s no more to say.” She turned to walk away but then turned back. “Do me a favour, Adam? Invite me up to that stage tonight?”
He looked startled. “When?”
“I’ll let you know.” She turned and forced herself to walk back to the hall, her lips tingling from their kiss, every moment of their encounter spinning like a reel in her head.
Ted was ranting loudly from the stage and jabbing his finger repeatedly in Anthony’s direction when Jess slipped back inside.Finally, he seemed to run out of steam and sat down to loud applause and lots of cheering from the crowd.
Jess’s stomach knotted – more than half the village seemed to be united behind him.
As the clapping died down, Adam strode up the aisle before stepping onto the platform and adjusting the mic.
“Hi, folks.” He cleared his throat and glanced around the room, smiling at a few people in the front rows. “Thank you all for coming out tonight. My name is Adam Rourke, and I represent the Charleston Hotel Group. First, I want to thank Ted for outlining the problem so thoroughly.” He paused. “I think we can all agree that we want the same thing – for the River Rathon to be properly cleaned and any damage repaired. As you know, as soon as we discovered the spill –”
“As soon as the residents’ association pointed out that Linford Castle was after causing it!” Ted cut in, red in the face.
Adam inclined his head. “We’re grateful to you for being on top of this. It’s extremely important to us that our hotels maintain the lowest carbon footprint possible.”
“How’s that working out for you?” someone shouted.
“As soon as the pollution was brought to our attention, Linford deployed a huge clean-up,” Adam continued. “But, as a gesture of goodwill, we’d like to establish a modest Green Fund, which the residents’ association can apply for in the future.”
“So you’re trying to buy us off!” Ted jabbed his finger in the air. “That’s not going to work!”
“You tell them, Ted!” shouted someone else.
Jesus, was Ted going to keep pushing this stupid lawsuit just for the sake of it? She could see Adam’s jaw tighten – and could almost imagine the deep breath he took. But before he had a chance to reply, she spoke up.
“We’re not trying to buy anyone off!” She thought her voice probably hadn’t reached the top of the room.
Adam’s eyes locked with hers and she gave a small nod.
“Jess, will you come up and take the mic?”
Grabbing the tote bag she’d brought, she made her way to the stage where she left the bag beside Anthony and went over to the mic.
