The “I Do” Dilemma

CHAPTER ONE

What the hell kind of boy band medley is this?

A handful of young women—much younger than Adelaide Song’s twenty-six years—were spinning around in a circle on the dance floor at Pendulum, screaming along to some bubblegum pop song. It was early in the evening, and they were sloppy drunk.

Adelaide was most definitely not in the mood to play Ring Around the Rosie at her cousin Colin’s nightclub. After the face-off she’d just had with her grandmother, she needed to lose herself in good music and dance off her frustration.

What was the Tuesday DJ doing up there on a Friday night anyway? She hunted down Tucker, the top DJ and manager-in-training, to remedy the situation.

“Hi, Tucker.”

“Hey, Adelaide. You haven’t been in for a while. How are you doing?”

“I’ve had better days.” She smiled wryly. “Why is Ethan up there? I can really do without the over-the-top pop tonight. It’s a Saturday night. Let’s get some real jam going.” Adelaide looked over her shoulder and out into the club. “By the way, where’s Colin?”

“He had a meeting and asked me to hold down the fort.” The heavily pierced and tattooed DJ stared at his shoes and fidgeted under her scrutiny. “Ethan begged me to let him play for an hour, and I felt bad for the guy. He’s a good kid.”

“A good kid who is playing Tuesday night pop on a Saturday night.”

“I got you. I’ll take over,” he said with a shy smile.

“Thank you. You’re the best.”

And it was true. He was an immensely talented DJ, and he should be proud of his mad skills. Within minutes, the sensuous, liberating strains of Tucker’s magic filled the air and calmed the tremors of frustration quaking under Adelaide’s skin.

For the last two years since she’d finished her MBA, Adelaide had been begging her grandmother to let her take her place at Hansol Corporation—the family’s multibillion-dollar apparel empire—but her answer was always, “Maybe next year.” It broke Adelaide’s heart because those words really meant that Grandmother still hadn’t forgiven her for her wild years in college.

It had been a time of switching from boyfriend to boyfriend, partying too hard to care about classes and distancing herself from the family. It wasn’t until her last year in college that she’d rediscovered her thirst for knowledge. She had cleaned up her act and learned to balance her responsibilities and recreations. That was nearly six years ago. But to her family, she was still an irresponsible wild child incapable of contributing anything of worth to Hansol. She felt a twinge of shame at her desperate plea to her grandmother. I’m not that kid anymore.

Refusing to let herself drown in sadness, Adelaide strode to the dance floor with sharp clicks of her stilettos and headed for a corner stage raised three feet from the floor. She gripped the railing when she reached the top and exhaled through pursed lips. Then she closed her eyes and let the music flow through her. The rhythm always grew in the pit of her gut and spread to her hips, legs, then the rest of her body. When it filled her to the brim, she danced.

Everything disappeared as it always did. Her loneliness. Her insecurities. Her grandmother with her dismissive words and disappointed eyes. They all shrank and blurred as she moved her body, carried away by the music and its beat.

Her song came on. The bass in the music shook the dance floor and pounded in her blood. Primal and raw. She closed her eyes and lifted her arms above her head, tracing the outlines of the song with her body. She no longer existed. There was the song and she was its instrument. Adelaide wasn’t there anymore. She just danced. Danced until she was erased.

She heard a rough growl from beside her. The sound merged with the music in its feral possessiveness. It wasn’t until a pair of strong hands grasped her upper arms that she realized a person had emitted the sound. A very tall, blazingly furious man person.

“Goddammit, Addy. What are you doing here?”

“Good to see you, too,” she said with cool detachment.

Inside, she shivered with awareness and need that refused to be stilled. Michael Reynolds. Her older brother’s best friend, and her first love. Unrequited, of course. He treated her like she was his kid sister for the most part. In the meantime, she was burning up from his innocuous touch.

“Let me take you home,” he said. “Your grandmother’s worried about you.”

Damn it. She wasn’t finished flushing out the anger and melancholy from her system. Her insecurities were rampaging in her mind, and she couldn’t handle any more heartache tonight. So she closed her eyes again and danced to make Michael disappear, as well.

Since he still held her arms, she placed her hands on his broad chest and assumed the junior high slow dance position. But rather than shift awkwardly from foot to foot, she swerved her body in languid waves in time with the music. Michael stood frozen for a few beats, then expelled a sound between a cough and curse.

“I’m taking you home. Now.” He abruptly picked her up off the floor with an arm under her thighs and the other cradling her back, frowning down at her with the same look everyone bestowed on her. Disappointment.

Enough.

“Stop with the Kevin Costner impersonation, and put me down,” she said, pushing against his shoulder.

“No way.” A hint of humor sparked in his eyes. “I remember how fast you can run. I’m not in the mood to chase you.”

Adelaide spied movement from the corner of her eyes. The club bouncers were heading toward them with fists clenched. They knew she was Colin’s cousin and were a protective lot, and Michael was carrying her out of the club, looking angry as hell.

“Oh, for God’s sake. I’m not a ten-year-old, Michael.” She struggled in earnest. If the idiot didn’t put her down, he would get beaten to a pulp by the bouncers before she could de-escalate the situation. “You need to put me down. I’ll walk out with you.”

“Adelaide? You all right?” Too late. Four of the loyal bouncers had surrounded them. “I suggest you get your hands off of her, buddy.”

“I suggest you go back to your posts, gentlemen.” Michael’s arms tightened around her, and a dark, recklessness entered his eyes. Why was he acting like this? “I’m escorting Ms. Song home.”

A baseball mitt–sized hand with an impressively large signet ring closed around Michael’s shoulder. He tensed for a second then he loosened his arms and set her down. Now he’s letting me go? I’m the only thing between the giant fist and his face.

Adelaide spun around to face the guys and plastered the back of her body against Michael’s chest and thighs. Reaching her arms behind her, she held tight to whatever part of him she could reach. She wouldn’t be able to hold on to him if he really wanted to move, but she could hopefully slow him down. Every second was precious for de-escalating the impending disaster.

When his body went taut and hard, Adelaide flexed her hands, wondering if he was getting ready to pounce. Through the roar of her instinct to protect him, she belatedly realized which part of his body she was holding—the exact point where his incredible ass met the back of his thighs. She gingerly cupped her hands to make certain.

Yup. I’m grabbing his ass.

She released his backside faster than she could gasp and gripped the sides of his pants in her fists, gathering as much fabric into her hands as possible.

“Settle down, guys.” She injected her voice with steel to hide the slight tremor behind it. “My big brother decided to send his best friend to rescue me from myself. You know…from the drinking, dancing and general debauchery.”

To her gratification, all the bouncers sputtered in outrage at the very idea. At least they knew what she was made of. She could take care of herself and then some.

“I know, I know. It’s ridiculous, but he’s practically my brother. Sometimes he treats me like the little girl I was when we were growing up together. He must see some invisible pigtails on my head.” She scanned the immediate vicinity and saw the beginnings of curious eyes swiveling their way. “But you guys are my friends and know I can handle this, right? So please go back to work before we create a bigger scene.”

As the mountainous bouncers retreated, baring their teeth at Michael for good measure, Adelaide stepped away from him. He felt the loss of her warmth acutely. Michael wanted to draw her back to him and return her small, strong hands to his ass. Hell. He was a complete dick. This was Adelaide. Garrett’s baby sister.

She was right. He practically was her brother. He’d watched her grow from an adorable baby with alarmingly pudgy cheeks to an angry, sullen teenager. In many ways, he’d continued to think of her as that rebellious teen rather than the grown woman she was now. But practically her brother? Her words settled like a lump of coal in his stomach.

“Come,” Adelaide commanded between gritted teeth, grabbing his hand in a death grip, and led them toward the exit.

He followed without argument.

When Mrs. Song called to ask him to check on Adelaide, Michael had tensed with concern. Grace Song was not a woman who fussed. She ruled Hansol Corporation and her extended family with an iron rod and swung it with chilling accuracy as needed.

If the formidable Song family matriarch had a soft spot, it would be for her only granddaughter. In her eyes, Addy was still the seven-year-old girl who’d lost her mom to cancer, which had caused her father to withdraw into his grief. Both parents, suddenly out of reach. Mrs. Song granted Adelaide more leeway than any of her children or grandchildren. If she was reeling her granddaughter in, something big must’ve happened.

Michael had shoved aside a pile of work to come searching for Adelaide, and found her dancing on a stage at Colin’s club with hungry eyes ogling her. Fury swelled in his throat just thinking about it. Michael gripped Adelaide’s hand more firmly and steered her toward his car. It had taken everything he had not to shove away the men surrounding her. He had no right or reason to feel possessive of her, but in that moment, his mind had screamed that she was his. Which he chalked up to temporary insanity.

“What the hell is going on, Addy?” He pulled her close to his car and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You were making a spectacle of yourself.”

Adelaide winced and jerked out of his hold. He’d hurt her with his hard, judgmental words, and he immediately regretted them. But he’d wanted to lash out at her. The memory of her dancing on the stage like a siren and the men gathered around her had triggered something inside him. The dismay, fury and…lust that swirled inside him in that moment unhinged him. He was confused and angry with himself, and a little angry with her even though she’d done nothing to deserve it. He felt like he was falling headfirst into an abyss, but that was his problem. It wasn’t fair to drag her down with him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her expression schooled into a bored, sardonic smirk.

Michael ran his hand through his hair and tugged a fistful at the top of his head. His scalp felt stretched too tight.

“So her majesty, Grace Song, summoned you to check on me.” Angry splashes of color stained her cheeks. “Since when have you been her errand boy?”

“Addy…”

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” She pivoted and marched away from him.

“Damn it.” He went after her and stopped her trajectory by taking a firm grip of her hand. “She’s worried about you. Worried enough to call me to find you. What happened between you two?”

“We argued because I’m sick of being treated like a child. Ironically, I ran out of the house sobbing like one.” The rage vibrating through Adelaide seeped out of her, and her shoulders drooped in fatigue. “I could understand why she’s worried. She hasn’t seen me cry since I was seven. But enough is enough. I can’t go on like this.”

Now he understood why Mrs. Song had called him. Adelaide’s older brother, Garrett, was in New York with his wife and daughter, and Colin was probably unreachable. She had wanted this kept close to the family. Michael wasn’t family, but growing up, he’d spent more time at the Songs’ than at home. Plus, he was their publicist. She knew he’d be discreet about whatever state he found Adelaide in.

“I’m ready take my place at Hansol, but Hal-muh-nee shut me down with another ‘maybe next year.’ Hansol is my family’s legacy, and I want to be a part of its future.” Adelaide’s voice trailed off into a sad, forlorn sigh, and Michael wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to chase her sadness away, but the best he could do was listen. “She’s been saying that for the last two years. And next time when I ask her again, it’ll be the same answer. She doesn’t believe I have anything to contribute. I’m nothing but a clueless child to her.”

“That can’t be true. You’re one of the smartest people I know,” he said, running his hand through the silky strands of her long hair. Her arms tightened around him. “You’re far from being a clueless child, and your grandmother knows that better than anyone.”

“Then why is she keeping me out of Hansol?” She leaned back to meet his eyes. “She’s afraid I’ll tarnish Hansol’s reputation. She hasn’t forgiven me for my college days. Most of the crap in the tabloids didn’t even have a grain of truth in them. Yes, I partied hard and dated more than my fair share of guys, but I’m not an eighteen-year-old anymore.”

“I can’t imagine your grandmother being that small-minded. There has to be another reason, but you know her better than me. Besides, if that’s what you think, there’s an easy fix.” His arms still encircled her waist, and he was drawing slow circles on her lower back. When his brain registered what his hand was doing, he coughed and dropped his arms.

Adelaide arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms. He didn’t know if it was because she was waiting to hear his suggestion or because of his hurried step away from her. “Tell me more about this easy fix.”

His mind went blank. Her crossed arms had the effect of a bustier, pulling her breasts close and lifting them high. The sexy-as-hell scene at the club must have short-circuited his brain. He beat away his heightened awareness and focused on the shadowy outlines of the plan that had formed in his head.

“You majored in fashion design, right?”

“Along with sociology. And I have an MBA.”

“Even better.” Michael rubbed his hands together. “Hansol’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department has funds to support various charities. I think you should pitch a big-scale charity event, and show your grandmother and the world that you have what it takes to plan and execute it.”

“You’re right. There are a million things I could do.” Her face lit up with excitement. “Where do I start?”

“With the CSR Department. They’re the ones you need to convince to sign off on your proposal.”

A slow smile curved her lips, then she launched herself at him with a giddy laugh. His heart sang with her happiness, and he lifted her off her feet and hugged her tight. Dizzy and breathless from her nearness, Michael forced himself to set her down. Before he could gather his scattered wits, Adelaide reached up and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, Michael.” Her wide eyes were bright and welcoming, and he had to muster every last ounce of willpower not to kiss her upturned face. He needed to nip whatever this was in the bud.

“Sure thing, kiddo.” He slid the back of his index finger down her perfect nose—something he’d done since she was a little girl.

Adelaide jerked back and shoved his hand away, her eyes burning with resentment. Regret washed over him. She hated being treated like a child, and he hated himself for using her vulnerability to push her away. He was desperate, but he should’ve found a better way to distance himself.

As expected, Adelaide pivoted on her heels and walked off without a word. Even the back of her head looked furious with him.

Read more of

THE NOT SO SECRET CRUSH

by Jayci Lee,

the next book in the Heirs of Hansol series,

available wherever Desire books are sold!