“Oh Lord, Kat. I can’t believe she recorded this. Can I get a copy?” Darcy giggles. “Kidding,” she mutters when I glare at her.
I’m annoyed at Lily for recording it, but I’m more upset with myself. Nobody made me get up there and sing. My hands shake as I grip the phone. I bite down on my lip so hard that I taste blood, but the pain is welcome, because it’s taking the focus off how embarrassed I feel.
Thank God nobody else has seen this.
Darcy continues to choke back laughter, but when Lily joins in, I lose control. She doesn’t deserve to find this amusing. Accident or not, if this landed in Julian’s hands …
Or Adam’s.
God, I can’t even imagine how horrifying that would have been.
“I’m so sorry,” Lily whispers, her eyes wide.
“Delete it,” I growl. I get to my feet and lunge for her phone. “Delete it right now. I want to watch you press that button—”
I jump when someone pounds on the door, my heart thudding in my chest. Lily teeters forward, her eyes wide. She looks like she’s about to throw up.
“Lily? Katie?”
I freeze. Everything else stops, because I know that voice.
“Darcy, then?” He sighs. “Come on. I know you’re all in there.”
My first instinct is to hide, but I can only hide for so long. Then facing him will be a thousand times worse. I take a deep breath and stalk over to the door. I grasp hold of the handle but takes me a moment to work up the courage to twist it open.
My heart races when his face comes into view. His sexy, rugged, perfectly proportioned face and those full, soft lips …Adam Jenkins.
“Katie Harris.” His eyes twinkle as he looks me up and down, then he nods appreciatively. “Well, aren’t you all grown up?”
I glare at him, my face growing hot, the pounding in my heart getting faster and faster. All I can think about is how I stood on that stage and sang something so personal …
About him.
And now he’s here.
The question I can’t answer is why.
His lopsided grin sends shivers down my spine, as does the intensity in his stare. I feel naked, the way he’s looking at me, to the point where I look down to make sure I’m wearing clothes.
I shift my gaze off him, feeling exposed and vulnerable. There’s no doubt about it. He’s definitely still the same arrogant asshole who made my childhood hell. The only positive I have to cling to right now is that she sent that video to me and not Julian. If Adam had seen it…God, I would die. I stiffen when a thought hits me.
What if he saw the live version?
No. He must have seen us when we were checking in, or when we were walking around. We haven’t exactly been discreet. Julian must have sent him to get rid of Lily. I take a deep breath. Yes. That has to be it.
He clears his throat, jolting me out of my thoughts, his electric eyes burning through mine. I can’t stop leering at those muscles, and the way his tattoos curl around his biceps …
I thought for sure the beer gut and receding hairline would’ve come with age, but no such luck.
“Can I help you with something?” I finally say.
God knows how long I’ve been standing there, gaping at him, like a tool. I stare at him coolly, trying to hide how unnerved I am at seeing him.
“You can start by explaining what you’re doing here,” he says.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re having a girl’s weekend,” I retort.
“Ah, so it’s just a coincidence that you turn up at the same hotel in Las Vegas, on the same weekend as Julian’s wedding?”
I think about lying, but then decide to own it, so I cross my arms over my chest and shrug, looking him straight in the eye, keeping my expression hard.
“No.” I shrug and raise an eyebrow. “We knew. So, what?”
“And you still thought her being here was a good idea?” he says, shaking his head. “Darcy, I can understand, but I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”
“Hey,” Darcy growls, appearing behind me in the doorway. Her expression changes when she sees him. “Hey there, Adam. Long time no see,” she murmurs, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
I stifle a laugh and push her out of the way. If only she had a mirror, because she looks like raccoon roadkill a week after it was struck.
“Lily would have come, whether I did or not,” I retort. “I thought I could stop her from doing something stupid if I were here.”
“Get your things together,” he sighs. “All three of you. We’re leaving now. I’ll drive you home.”
“Excuse me?” I laugh. “Besides the fact that I’m not going anywhere with you, it’s a seventeen-hour car trip back to Seattle. Why the hell wouldn’t we fly?”