Crew

I have no idea what was running through Adley's mind when I dropped her off at her apartment last night. I helped her carry her bags up to her door, and when Sydney opened it to pull Adley into a tight hug, any chance we had to say goodbye was lost.

She didn’t turn back to say anything to me after she thanked me for the weekend.

I went home, stood in my shower for over thirty minutes and then drank myself to sleep.

"You're back a day early." Nolan waltzes into my office with a spring in his step. It's been there since he asked Ellie to marry him. "I rearranged a half dozen of your meetings. That was a waste of my fucking time."

The grin on his face tells me he's joking. Even if he weren't, I wouldn't give a shit. I've helped him build this company into what it is today. He's rewarded me handsomely for that in the form of a corner office and a percentage of shares.

I may not own as much stock in Matiz Cosmetics as he does, but I work for our success harder than he ever has.

It started as a friend helping a friend after he inherited the business. It turned into much more when I rode the adrenaline high to our first million. Now, our yearly sales are more than either of us could have imagined.

It affords us both a comfortable life, so you'll hear no complainants about the investment in time and effort it took to get us here.

"Kade showed up in Westhampton Beach. He wasn't alone."

Nolan's mouth twitches as he takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. "Who was with him?"

"You're going to flip your shit. I couldn't believe my eyes when she walked through the door."

"Jesus, don't tell me it was Damaris."

I cock a brow.

"What a stupid little fuck." He rubs his hand over his chin. "Your brother is an asshole. Have you noticed that?"

I huff out a deep laugh. "His story is that he thought Adley and I were on our way back to the city. He brought Damaris up there for a recharge."

"Why the fuck has he stayed friends with her?" Both his hands run through his brown hair. "I get that they were friends before you two got together, but still."

I have no clue why they're friends. They went to college together but their connection didn't lead to our meeting.  "Who the fuck knows? That's not the point. The point is that he brought her up to the house when I was supposed to be alone with Ad."

"How did she react to meeting your ex?"

I've only thrown Nolan bare scraps of information about Ad and me. She's his wife's best friend so he can't keep his mouth shut about Adley if he knows something Ellie doesn't. "It was awkward for everyone, pal."

"Other than the crazy ex showing up, how did the weekend go?"

"It was good," I say on a heavy breath. "We're closer than we were when we left. I think we're in a better place."

Or we were until Damaris showed up.

"Good to hear." He doesn't press for more, and I'm thankful for that.

"I'll take over the eleven o'clock and the two o'clock meetings with marketing." I tap the end of a pen on a folder on my desk. "You're off the hook."

"Taking an extra day to fuck around your apartment wouldn't have killed you." Nolan stands and buttons his suit jacket. "We don't need your ass in here every single day."

They do. He chooses to believe otherwise.

"Look, I'm only asking this because I'm worried about you. Did Damaris say anything about the …"

I stop him before the word leaves his lips. That word. My personal hell is bundled up in one word that forever changed my life. Damaris was there for me on the worst day of my life. Every day after that, she chose to remind me of the pain I was in. It was her weapon to make me weak.

"She didn’t," I cut him off. "She kept her mouth shut."

"Maybe she does have a heart after all." He looks over my shoulder at the open door of my office. He knows my assistant is on her break or this conversation wouldn't be happening.

She doesn't. Damaris has a big bank account, thanks to my generosity when we split. She wanted the wedding of her dreams. I wanted my freedom. We both got exactly what we needed.

***

I slow as I near her. She's outside her apartment, white pants and a navy blouse covering her body. She's wearing nude heels and a pair of sunglasses.

"Adley," I call out to her as she raises her hand to flag down a taxi. "Wait up."

She slides the sunglasses onto her head, as her eyes skim me from head-to-toe. "You're wearing a suit. Did you go to the office today?"

Work is my drug of choice. When I'm sitting in my office at the top of the Matiz tower, I feel centered. I needed that today after seeing Damaris in the Hamptons.

"I had some work to catch up on." It's not a complete lie. There is always something to do in my world, whether it's managing the concerns of a Matiz employee or signing off on a shipment of vodka at the club.

"I'm going to see a friend."

I follow her gaze when it drops to her phone and a text message appears.  She covers it with her other hand before I can read anything beyond " Hi Adley ."

"What friend?" I ask because she's always been an open book. She's never gotten on me for invading her space even though she's never invaded mine.

"You don't know them."

Them. Not her, not him, but them. It's a man.

"What's his name?" I don't even try and mask the heaviness of my tone.

Her eyes dart over my face. "Don't act like a caveman, Crew. I have other friends."

I know she does. Most of them are women.

"Is it someone I know?" I press for more like a sixteen-year-old kid who is worried his steady is going to kiss the star quarterback behind the bleachers.

"No."

I stare at her because that's not a satisfactory answer. "Who is it, Ad?"

"His name is John." She takes a step around me toward the curb. "Are you happy now?"

Fuck no, I'm not. She's never mentioned a man named John to me so this is coming straight out of left field.

"Where did you meet?" I keep my tone calm as I watch her wave her arm in the air as an already occupied taxi approaches.

She stomps her foot when it flies by.

"That one wasn't available." I look down at my phone and thumb out a message.

"I knew that. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm here to take you to dinner." I pocket my phone again. "I want to talk about the weekend."
"It's over." She squints as another occupied taxi whizzes past us.

Panic bubbles in my chest, seeping into my lungs. I exhale and try to draw in a deep breath.

"The weekend is over, not us." She turns to look at me. "I was surprised by the fact that you were engaged once. You. Engaged. Who would have thought?"

"She means nothing to me now, Adley."

Her hand jumps to my arm. "I know and I'm glad, but a part of me is freaking out about that."

"Why?" I grab her wrist and pin her hand to my cheek. "Why are you freaking out over the fact that I dumped Damaris?"

She opens her palm and cradles my face. I close my eyes because the touch is almost too much. I've been starving for her all day and this small morsel of her attention isn't enough to satiate the hunger.

"You were friends once, you fucked, fell in love and then you broke up."

I get it. She's terrified that we're going to travel down that same road. What she doesn't understand is that what I felt for Damaris was a dim light compared to the blinding sunshine that surrounds me whenever she's near me. "I never cared about her the way I care about you."

"We'll figure this out." She brushes her fingertips over my cheek. "We'll take this slowly and if it feels like too much for either of us, we stop, we talk and we decide together whether it's still the right thing."

"Agreed," I say because I can't tell her that it's never going to feel like it's too much. She's not ready to hear that yet.

"Is that Bill?" She points at a black SUV coming up the street.

"He's right on time." I smile as he approaches. "I just sent him a text. He's going to take you where you need to go."

The car pulls up on the street next to us. She waves to Bill before she turns back to me. "You know I could have gone to see John without your help."

John, fucking John.

"Tell John to keep his dick in his pants."

Her eyes lock on my mouth before they drift to my eyes. "He's twice my age. It's not like that."

"Tell me what it's like." I step closer to her and rest my hands on her shoulders.

"I'm not ready to." The fingers on her left hand tap dance over the front of her neck. "When I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first person I tell."

It stings. It fucking stings but a secret isn't just hers to hold. I have my own share that I've kept hidden from her for the past two years.

"I'll call you tonight," I say before I press my lips to her forehead.

She looks up at me. "You're still the best friend I've ever had."

I know it. I'm also the man who is falling in love with her.