Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(66)

When Adam arrived—still dressed for success in his business attire and looking particularly debonair—Helena readied herself to leave. She claimed she needed to run over to the house because Nate was cooking dinner and might burn down the bungalow if she didn’t check on him. I knew she was just giving us time alone, and I appreciated her all the more because of it.

Once Helena was out the door, Adam leaned down and kissed me with far more passion than I was prepared for. Wow! By the time he pulled away and sat down across from me, I finally caught my breath. Adam seemed to be in rare form this evening.

“So,” he began, something naughty sparkling in his blue eyes as he loosened his tie. “Did you have a pleasant afternoon?”

I decided to play along. Smiling, I responded, “Pleasant, Adam?” He chuckled. “Yes, my afternoon was quite pleasant. And how was your meeting on the mainland?”

Adam traced the inside of my forearm with his long fingers. “It sucked,” he said silkily.

“Why was that? The potential client didn’t sign?”

“Oh no, Maddy, he signed. But let’s just say I had other things on my mind.” Adam leaned forward, his voice low and sultry. “Would you like for me to show you some of the things that were occupying my thoughts?”



Would I ever, I thought. Meeting his lust-filled gaze, I offered, “Maybe we should get out of here?”

“Fuck that. Maybe we should lock the door and—” But, before he could finish, the café door swung open. Adam, his back to the door, groaned in aggravation.

Jennifer Weston darkened the threshold, holding the door ajar with her hip. “Oh, what perfect timing,” she exclaimed. Was that smugness in her tone? “I just brought a visitor over, and he cannot wait to see you, Fitch.”

Adam shifted in his chair to face the café entrance, his expression none-too-pleased. Uh oh. Jennifer continued, undeterred by my lack of response, “In fact, it’s someone who is quite worried about your well-being up here on this lovely island.”

Adam shot me a look, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. I shrugged, having no clue what Ms. Miserable was going on about. Just then, Jennifer made a grand gesture of pushing the door open as wide as it could go, thus allowing the mystery passenger she’d ferried over from the mainland to step into the café.

A tall man with a strong physique stopped just inside the entrance—hair the color of caramel and, as usual, in need of a cut, deep brown eyes that I hadn’t seen in months.

Oh…my…God. My words caught in my throat, but I somehow squeaked out, “Julian?”





Chapter 17



Julian’s eyes moved from me, nervously, to Adam and then back to me. “Maddy, what the hell is going on here?”

Just as I was about to ask my ex the same question, Adam turned back to me, the legs of his chair scraping harshly against the wooden floor of the café as he pushed it away. Standing, his eyes burned into me, a mixture of fury and disbelief. Without speaking a single word or waiting for any kind of an explanation, Adam turned his back on me.

Heading over to where Julian and Jennifer were standing, he paused momentarily but then walked past them without a word. Both Julian and Jennifer moved aside to give Adam a wide berth. Yes, an angry Adam was not to be toyed with. That much was certain.

After Adam left, Julian’s expression changed to one of confusion, while Jennifer just looked victorious. “You’re a f*cking bitch,” I yelled, directing my comment at Jennifer as I rose from my chair.

I could no longer control my own anger. She had set this up somehow. I was sure of it.

But how? I had no clue, yet. But I was going to get to the bottom of it once I had a chance to talk with Julian—alone. But first I’d deal with Jennifer.

“No, Fitch,” she hissed. “From the priceless look on Ward’s pretty face, I’d say you are the f*cking bitch, Bitch.”

“You did this,” I accused, stepping closer to where she stood near the door.

Julian, who I’d almost forgotten was there, interrupted, “Is anybody planning on telling me what the hell is going on?”

Jennifer spun on her heels. “You should ask Fitch since I have to go.” She giggled maniacally, reaching for the door handle. Crazy bitch. “It looks like you two have a lot of catching up to do.”

With that she was gone, leaving Julian staring at me with a look of befuddlement. What a mess. I stepped back and sank into my chair, defeated. This was just too much. Instead of having a discussion with Adam to define what was going on between us, I was stuck here with my ex-boyfriend. And based on Adam’s reaction, it was starting to look as if we might never be having that relationship discussion.

Julian came over to where I sat. “Maddy, what’s going on? Are you all right?”

His voice held nothing but genuine concern, making it even more likely he was being used as a pawn by someone. Jennifer? Ami? She is in Los Angeles, I thought.

I sighed. “Julian, what are you doing here?”

He slid into the chair across from me, the one Adam had been sitting in. “Your friend from up here tracked me down.” Ami, I thought. “She told me you were here. She said you’re in danger.” His voice dropped. “Maddy, we may not be together anymore, but I’ll always be here for you. If you need help getting out of here, I’ll do whatever I can to help. If that guy is—”