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Natalia was still reeling with the thought of her own vegetable garden, unsure whether her heart would ever recover from Adam’s offer to grow her spinach. But her excitement evaporated at the mention of the Kelly brothers. Adam’s arm tightened around her shoulders.
‘Luce, stop staring,’ he hissed as Natalia turned to look. ‘Nat!’
‘Which ones are they?’
‘You’ll find out.’ He placed a kiss on her temple. ‘I apologise in advance for my behaviour.’
‘What?’
‘Maguire!’
Natalia glanced up as two men arrived at their table.
‘Fuck, I wish I’d had a beer,’ Adam muttered, staring at his empty glass of Coke before glancing at the brothers. ‘Harry.’
‘What’s this we hear about you knocking up our sister and then saying you want nothing to do with her?’
‘I never said that. But I can’t be sure I did knock her up.’
Natalia studied the Kellys. The one doing the talking, Harrison, was shorter than his brother but stocky, with wide shoulders and thick arms. Paul was lankier, but just as broad. They looked similar to Elanora, but Natalia wouldn’t have considered them to be related if she hadn’t known. She could never imagine Elanora’s face curling in a horrible snarl or seeing such anger in her eyes.
‘Of course you can’t,’ Paul said. ‘You were off your face.’
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. ‘How do you know how drunk he was, Paul?’
‘Everyone knows! He can’t even remember the bloody night!’
Adam unwrapped his arm from Natalia. ‘Exactly. So, how can I take Jordan’s word for it?’
Harrison folded his thick arms. ‘Are you saying Jordan’s lying?’
‘No. I’m saying I want to know what happened that night.’
Anger flashed through Harrison’s eyes. Natalia drew in a breath.
‘Piss off, Kelly,’ Jack snapped. ‘Unless you want to see this get ugly, we’ll talk about it later.’
Harrison lifted his chin. ‘Yeah. I want to see it get ugly.’
‘Right.’ Jack downed the last of his beer and began to slide out of the booth.
‘No!’ Meg grabbed his arm. ‘No one’s fighting tonight.’
‘Shut up, Riley,’ Harrison spat.
‘Don’t talk to me like that!’ she cried as Jack escaped her hold and stood.
Everyone else scrambled out of the booth. Natalia reluctantly followed Ana to let Adam out. The last thing she wanted was anyone fighting, but what could she do?
‘Now, you listen,’ Adam said, facing Harrison with Jack standing beside him. ‘Stay out of my business. I don’t know what happened that night, so until I do—’
‘It’s fucking simple. You got drunk and knocked up our sister.’ Harrison’s fists clenched at his side. Natalia tried to reach for Adam, but Ana grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
‘What proof have you got?’ Adam asked.
‘We believe our sister.’
‘That’s your problem, but I’m going to need more than just her word—’
Harrison threw the punch. Natalia shrieked as Adam stumbled backwards, and Ana dragged Natalia back a few steps. A stool crashed as Adam tackled Harrison into the bar and Jack grabbed Paul in some sort of headlock.
Liam’s shoulders heaved, relaxed, then he stepped forward. Natalia watched in stunned silence as he pulled Jack away from Paul and palmed him off to Meg.
But Adam and Harrison were still at each other. Natalia didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
‘Oi!’ Georgina rounded the bar in a five-foot-rage of fury. ‘Kelly! Maguire! Get your brothers off each other!’
They needed both of them to pull the fuming men apart.
‘Find someone else to pin your lies on, ’cause I’m not taking it!’ Adam yelled as Jack and Liam held him back.
‘Fuck off, Maguire!’ Harrison shouted as Paul pushed him away. ‘Own up to your mistakes. You think you can trade in my sister for this new hot piece of arse?’
Natalia gasped. Ana grabbed her hand.
Jack and Liam grunted but managed to stop Adam from charging at Harrison. ‘Don’t talk about Natalia like that!’
‘Enough!’ Georgina shrieked, and the whole pub fell silent. Heat rose in Natalia’s cheeks. Everyone was staring at them.
Harrison snarled. ‘What? You’re dating her for her brain? She mustn’t have one if she’s interested in you.’
Natalia winced. Couldn’t Harrison think of anything more original?
Adam didn’t hold back. ‘Let me at him, Jack. Let me fucking go!’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Jack grunted, his feet shifting as he struggled to restrain Adam. Jack glared at the Kellys. ‘Adam has every right to ask for proof he’s the father of that child, and if he is, I think you’ll find you have a bigger problem. Take a look at your own family before you insult mine.’
Georgina snapped her tea-towel against the table. ‘I said enough!’
Everyone shut up. Adam stopped struggling, and they all turned to the tiny blonde woman.
‘You two—’ she pointed her finger at the Kellys ‘—keep your bullshit out of my pub! And Maguires!’ She rounded on all seven of them. ‘I don’t care what you lot think either but take it outside. I don’t want to see any of you for the rest of the week!’
Meg raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re kicking us all out?’
‘Yes. Get these two cleaned up.’
Georgina turned on her heel and marched away. Jack and Liam released Adam and Natalia went to him, gripping his forearms as she assessed the damage. His lip swelled and a bruise would probably form around his left eye.
‘I’m sorry, Nat.’ His hands brushed up her arms to her shoulders. ‘I’ll fucking kill him for saying that about you.’
‘I’ve had worse,’ she muttered, reaching for her handbag. ‘Let’s just go.’
Outside, Meg fussed over Jack while Liam stood with his arm around Ana. Lucy paced with her arms crossed.
Natalia turned to Adam, unsure of what to say. Should she tell him they should have settled their anger in another way? That he shouldn’t let Harrison get to him? That he looked kind of hot with battle wounds?
She hated to admit it, but she would have punched Harrison too.
Adam placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’ll be fine. Take me home and I’ll put some ice on that face.’
‘Nah, it’s not that bad.’
Her jaw tightened. ‘Don’t argue with me, Adam Maguire. You just got me kicked out of the pub and that face needs some ice.’
He nodded, and after saying their goodbyes, they climbed into Adam’s ute. Natalia stared out the window the two blocks home. She hadn’t liked Adam fighting and for a split second there, she’d been terrified. Most of the time, bar fights only ended with bruises and lacerations, and she’d stitched up many lips and eyes in ED. But people had died in the bloody things too. Did he not realise that?
She rolled her eyes as they pulled up outside her unit. Men.
Adam cleared his throat as they strolled to the door. ‘Nat, I’m sorry. That’s not how I wanted our date to end.’
She slid the key into the lock. ‘The date hasn’t ended, Adam. Sit down and I’ll get you some ice.’
She grabbed a bag of frozen peas, wrapped it in a tea-towel, then joined him on the lounge. He’d have a shiner tomorrow, but she’d check him out to make sure he hadn’t broken anything.
‘Lie down,’ she said softly, and Adam obliged. She moved with him, twisting her legs between his. Propping herself onto her elbows, she placed the peas on his bruised cheek. He’d shaved before picking her up but still looked devilishly handsome as she brushed dark hair from his forehead. Her heart pounded against his and moments passed locked in each other’s gaze.
‘Are you mad at me?’
Natalia sighed. She didn’t approve, but mad? He’d only been defending himself. And her. ‘Not really. He punched you first.’
His eyes darkened as he slipped his hand into her hair. ‘I’m glad you noticed that.’
‘Yeah, but don’t do it again. You could get seriously hurt.’
‘I know.’ He ran his hands down her shoulders and caressed her arms. ‘Fighting doesn’t go well with the whole self-improvement thing. But I can’t make any promises if he insults you again.’
‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll get him back for it one day.’
‘Not if I do first.’
Unable to resist a smile, she moved the ice to his swollen lip. ‘Hold that, would you? Tell me if this hurts.’ He released her arm and held the peas so that she could assess his eye orbit. She poked and prodded. He winced, but she didn’t suspect any damage other than bruising. ‘You should be fine.’
‘I usually am, doc.’
‘But you know—’ she moved the peas up again ‘—I have to wonder why Jordan hasn’t been trying to win you back.’ She frowned. ‘Or has she?’
Adam’s eyes darkened. ‘I texted her yesterday, apologising for not taking the news well. She invited me over for a booty-call.’
Natalia stilled. ‘Really?’
He nodded, his hands resuming their gentle massage of her biceps. ‘I ignored her. Didn’t know what to say.’
Natalia didn’t know what to say either, but as Adam wrapped his arms around her waist, her body curved against the ridged planes of his chest, torso, and thighs, and any thoughts about Jordan vanished.
‘We’ll figure this out,’ he said, his voice deep and determined, his gaze boring into hers. ‘Trust me.’
She swallowed and tried to recover her breath. Natalia wanted to trust him. She did in some respects. But her fears lingered. ‘I’m sure we will.’
His hands resumed their gentle massage. Seconds, possibly minutes, ticked by and his eyes never left hers.
‘Can I ask you something?’ he whispered.
‘Okay.’
‘What do you think of Ana and Liam falling in love so quickly?’
She shrugged. ‘I’m happy for them, of course. Although, I’ll admit, it was fast.’ Not that she had any doubts about Ana and Liam’s relationship.
‘Yeah ... it certainly made me think. I always thought that love was something you could fall in and out of. But now, I’m not so sure ...’
Something in his eyes changed and Natalia froze. Her heart pinged, zapped, and squeezed. Hook her up to an ECG and she’d have no clue what was going on. ‘Do you think about this often?’
‘Sometimes.’
Nodding slowly, she tried to find some words. Any words. ‘You’re not afraid of love? Commitment?’ She’d thought a man like Adam would run for the hills at the mere thought.
‘I’m afraid I’ll suck at it.’
Exhaling, she broke their gaze and trailed her fingers down his chest to fiddle with the logo on his shirt. Why was he even thinking about such a thing? It might explain why he’d turned a new leaf, but right now ... the light in his eyes terrified her.
‘Nat? Are you okay?’
She nodded, although she wasn’t sure. Silence filled the room. She fiddled with his buttons and he stroked her back.
Again, Adam broke first. ‘Have you been in love?’
She shook her head, the tightness in her chest easing. ‘I guess I’ve always thought about love differently. When you’re in it, there’s no turning back.’
‘Yeah, I’d agree with that.’
Her gaze shot back to his. ‘But you just said you can fall in and out!’
His smile lit up his face. ‘I said I’d thought you could.’
‘Right ...’ She swallowed. ‘Well, I always thought it’d be a one off for me. Like my mum.’ She moved her fingers to fiddle with the button at his throat. ‘Mama loved my father. He’s been gone twenty years and she still loves him.’
Adam’s hand brushed through her hair. ‘I reckon my parents would feel the same way.’
‘And I’ve always wanted that. But I guess I’m ...’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m scared, Adam.’
‘Of what?’
‘Lots of things. I’ve never been with anyone long-term and I’ve had terrible dates in the past. And I’m insecure.’
‘Maybe about some things, but mostly, I find you very secure indeed.’
She blinked, speechless. Was he right? Sure, others had treated her poorly, but at least she knew who she was. And she was fighting to get that person back.
But she wouldn’t be ready for love until those insecurities at the back of her head were silenced. Even if she did have the sexiest man she’d ever met lying beneath her.
‘Thank you, Adam. I am trying, but I guess we all have little things we can’t shake.’
‘We do. But until then, I’m happy to take things between us one day at a time.’
‘Good,’ she whispered before silencing his dangerous mouth by pressing her lips to his. Stupid idea though since his passionate kiss only increased the threat upon her heart. He tightened his grip and pulled her closer, brushing his tongue against hers. Desire shot through her so hot that she forced herself to pull away.
Adam grinned. ‘Not slow?’
‘No, it’s fine. I just ...’ Shaking her head, she picked up the peas from where they’d dropped onto the lounge. ‘Let’s not do this here.’
His eyes brightened. ‘Too hot?’
‘Dangerous. Enticing.’ She managed a smile. ‘It may make me want to forget slow and let you stay over.’
He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say no, but I don’t want to stay over.’ He drew her close and kissed her again. ‘I want to bid you goodnight—’ she almost moaned as he sucked in her bottom lip ‘—and see you tomorrow.’
She joined in his laughter. ‘Okay. But trust me, we won’t hold out for long, Adam.’
The wicked gleam returned to his eyes. She pulled out of his grasp and let her knees slip to either side of his thighs. Her dress rode up, but not enough to be indecent. The peas lay abandoned as he followed her to a seated position.
‘I hope not.’ His hands caressed her hips, temping her to surrender. ‘I want to be with you, Nat. I want to taste your skin, feel your body, and make unbelievable love with you like nothing we’ve ever experienced.’
Natalia trembled as his hands brushed down her hips and settled on her thighs.
‘You have high expectations, don’t you?’ She flashed him her most seductive smile, then leaned close to whisper in his ear. ‘I’ll let you in on a little secret. I like sex, Adam. And I’m good at it.’ She had the pleasure of hearing him groan as she placed a kiss on his bruised jaw. Her grin widened. ‘Too bad we won’t experience it tonight.’
He pulled her close until her breasts pressed to his hard chest. She shivered. ‘The teasing must stop, Natalia. Seriously.’
‘You love it. Besides, I thought you were going to bid me goodnight—’ she brushed her lips over his, yearning for him ‘—and see me tomorrow?’
He swallowed hard. ‘I am. But first, you promised me dessert. And I’m in the mood for something sweet.’
Still laughing, Natalia untangled herself from him and stood. ‘Okay. One citrus tart coming right up.’ She paused halfway to the kitchen and tossed a look over her shoulder. ‘Pity I don’t do whipped cream.’