There with You (Adair Family 2)

I flicked a guilty look at the kids, relieved they weren’t even paying attention, but Thane glowered at me like I’d just murdered the family pet.

Dirty. Little. Secret.

Whatever he saw flash across my expression softened his with confusion. Heart pounding, I skirted around him, keeping my distance. “I’m just going to put a load of laundry on before the littles get ready.”

I had been in there only a few seconds when I felt him.

Glancing over my shoulder, our eyes locked as Thane leaned against the doorjamb. He looked down the hall before turning and whispering quietly, “I’m sorry. I just …”

“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I get it.” He crossed the room to still my hands as I sorted the laundry. “I have moments where I’m itching to touch you … but we can’t. Yeah?”

Dirty. Little. Secret.

I blinked hard out of the memory, glaring at the school as I waited to collect Eilidh and Lewis. Will was a few yards away, talking animatedly with another parent, so I didn’t have him to distract me from my dark thoughts.

Two weeks.

It had only been two weeks since Thane and I started our affair.

And I was wondering how long I could hack the emotional roller coaster I was on.

Jared called last week to ask me out, and I made up some excuse about how I wasn’t looking to date while I was in Scotland. He didn’t seem to care. I mean, it took him long enough to call. Instead, he told me to call him if I changed my mind.

Robyn … my sister knew something was up. She kept asking if I was okay and giving me these long, searching looks. Usually, I would just tell her about Thane. But I’d promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone, and I didn’t want to break my promise, even though I’d kill for my sister’s sensible and loving advice.

Rather, I had to rely on what I thought she might tell me.

And she’d tell me that if the affair only made me feel good when we were having sex, if it made me feel horrible about myself when we weren’t having sex, then I needed to end it. I needed to be honest with Thane that I was not cut out for zero commitment. Not with him. I thought I could. I thought something was better than nothing.

It had taken less than fourteen days to realize how naive I’d been.

Loving the man who only wanted to screw you … it was like taking five knives in the chest every day.

I had to end it.

The thought made me want to scream in rebellion, but for the sake of my sanity, I knew I had to end it.

The bell rang, snapping me back to the moment.

Focus. When Eilidh and Lewis were around, I didn’t have time to worry about the state of my relationship with Thane. I thanked God every day for them—the best little distractions a girl could hope for. If I was obsessed with their father, I was a goner for them. But that was the kind of love a girl could live with.

Grinning at the sight of Eilidh hurrying down the front steps into the yard, my eyes wandered past her to find Lewis.

So focused on finding her brother in the crowds, I didn’t notice the man approach.

By the time I did, it was too late.

As my attention returned to Eilidh, she’d just stepped through the gates when the stranger swung her into his arms, making her shriek.

What the hell?!

“Hey!” I yelled, panicked, launching myself toward them.

The man’s eyes flew to me, wild and mad behind his round glasses as Eilidh beat his head and screamed, but I swore adrenaline made me fly into super speed. I shrieked at him to let her go, and he backhanded me so hard, I stumbled onto my ass.

“Oi, you!” I heard Will shout, and I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the throbbing in my cheek. Will grabbed at the man’s hair, distracting him enough so I could tug Eilidh by the waist out of his arms. He slammed an elbow into Will’s nose just as I got Eilidh free, and he lunged at her again. I pushed her away in instinct and put myself between them, trying to focus beyond the discombobulation of a complete stranger attempting to steal my child in front of hundreds of witnesses.

“Back off!” I yelled, shoving him away.

He grabbed my arm, trying to twist it, but Robyn’s lessons kicked in. I slammed the base of my palm in an upward strike into his nose. I wasn’t strong enough to break it, but it stunned him long enough to loosen his hold. Spinning toward Eilidh, now in Lewis’s protective little arms, I found my shoulder jolted back in a painful jarring yank.

“Give her to me!” he roared like an animal as he clawed at my throat from behind. The smell of whisky was overwhelming. “Give me my daughter!”