“Is that a problem for you?”
The chill in his voice threw her off guard and she hesitated.
“Because it was for Ann,” he continued.
“But … Adam told me he and you didn’t get involved until after you decided to divorce. Are you saying that your relationship with Adam was what caused the marriage to end?” Her insides coiled at the thought Adam had lied to her.
“What? No, of course not.” Then he sighed. “That’s what Helen told you.” He sipped his wine. “She won’t let go of that. I’ve tried to straighten her out, but she just won’t believe it.”
“Then what did you mean about it being a problem for Ann?”
He sighed deeply. “Adam wasn’t the first man I’ve been with.” He pinned her with his gaze. “But not while I was married. I was never unfaithful.”
She nodded.
“Ann found out and…” He stared into his flute while he swirled the liquid around. “Let’s just say she’s not very open-minded. She was disgusted by the discovery and said she would not stay married to a pervert. When she told Helen why she was divorcing me, Helen got the idea it was because I was cheating, not because of her mother’s small-mindedness. When Helen found out about Adam and me, she just assumed it was his fault. I think it was as much because she needed someone to blame.”
“I don’t understand. How did it even start?”
“Adam worked for me as an intern. Since Helen asked me to find him the position, I interacted with him as much as I could to ensure he was getting what he needed to further his education. Then when things started going wrong with Ann and me, Helen started acting up. One night she let it slip that she was having sex with Adam.”
Shock jolted through Ashley. “Oh, my God, Adam and Helen?” Her heart pounded, but Dare waved his hand.
“No. It turns out she was just yanking my chain. I confronted Adam about it and he told me, in as gentlemanly a way as he could, that Helen had thrown herself at him, but he’d turned her down. I’d suspected she’d been drinking and Adam reluctantly admitted it, not wanting to get Helen in trouble, but realizing that Helen had a problem and that I should know.”
Jessica had told her about Helen drinking in school and now she was hearing this.
“How did that turn into a relationship?”
“Adam’s a good listener. When I found out he knew about Helen’s problem, I opened up to him.” He raked his hand through his hair. “It was a tough time. I was going through this horrendous divorce, Helen was taking it hard—started drinking too much, getting into trouble. I couldn’t tell anyone else what was going on. I didn’t want people knowing about Helen’s problem, hoping that I could get her straightened out and back to school, but in the end, it got so bad, I had to put her into rehab. That’s why she didn’t go to college.”
She took his hand. “I knew it was hard on Helen, but I hadn’t realized how much it messed her up. Or how difficult it was for you.”
The waitress returned and refilled their glasses. Ashley took a sip, watching Dare as he stared at his glass.
She sucked in a breath, not wanting to drag him through more emotional turmoil, but needing to find out the answer that was key to them all moving forward.
“You know that it really hurt Adam when you left to move to New York. Why did you end it with him?”
“Fuck, Ash, I never wanted to hurt him. But what I had with Adam…” He gazed at her, his eyes begging her to understand. “It happened too fast, and at a time in my life where I couldn’t really start a relationship. He thought we could make it work. I couldn’t convince him otherwise.” His hand curled into a fist. “Finally, I had to walk away.”
“Abandoning him.”
“What else could I have done?” His jaw twitched. “I tried to make him understand. He wanted to keep trying to make it work, but all I wanted was to be as far away from this town, and all the pain it represented, as I could get.”
“So why didn’t you get in touch with him later? Once your life settled down? I take it you weren’t in love with him.”
The troubled look on Dare’s face shocked her.
Oh, God, it looked like …
Was Dare still in love with Adam?
Her heart skipped a beat. And if so, did she even fit in the picture? Could both Adam and Dare’s feelings for her pale in comparison to what they felt for each other?
“I didn’t try to start up a relationship with him again later for his own good. Once I had time to think about it, I knew it was a bad idea. Adam has always wanted to get married. To have kids. I felt he would be happier meeting a woman and getting those things in a more traditional way than with me.”