Rescued by Love(10)

When they reached Main Street, Addy realized Gabriella’s relatives hadn’t said two words to her all morning. Usually they pestered her nonstop about meeting Mr. Right. Maybe she was just being paranoid…or maybe they’d seen her and Jake on the bluff this morning after all.

Her stomach sank, and she tried to concentrate on her surroundings to settle her nerves. She’d always loved the unique mix of Greek and Southern cultures the island was known for, as evident in the diverse architecture in town. Niko and Dimitri’s tavern was built in richly Mediterranean style with a tile roof and stucco walls, while the enormous white bank was true four-columned Georgian-style. A market boasting a typical small-town brick storefront was situated between an old-fashioned pharmacy, complete with a green awning, and an empty villa-style building that looked like it had been plunked down from the streets of Greece. Duke’s company had begun making strides toward beautifying the area, as evidenced by the scaffolding in front of the shops and the telltale noises of men working. But even that wasn’t enough to distract Addy from her worries. Looking for a better distraction, she turned her thoughts to Gabriella, who was emitting I-found-my-happily-ever-after vibes from her sparkling dark eyes to the gleaming diamonds on her finger.

“How was your first night of wedded bliss?” Addy asked quietly.

Gabriella sighed. “Amazing. Truly, wonderfully incredible. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning.”

If she’d been Gabriella, she wouldn’t have gotten out of bed. But she knew Gabriella would never blow off her family’s breakfast for sex—even with her new husband.

“Funny, I didn’t want to get into mine.” Yeah, Addy went there despite her demand that Jake not tell a soul. But Gabriella was her best friend, her sister from another mother, and the only person Addy trusted to give it to her straight. And the one person who could get hurt by my actions.

“You…?” Gabriella’s brow wrinkled, and a second later, her jaw dropped. She lowered her voice and said, “Ohmygod. Addison! You slept with Jake, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry!” Addy said, although she was only sorry that it might bother Gabriella. She wasn’t sorry she had experienced being in Jake’s arms. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I mean, not at first, but then…” She was selfish. That was the bottom line, and she needed to own up to it. “Then he was all I wanted. But I promise things aren’t going to be awkward or weird.”

“I think they already are,” Gabriella said. “Now this morning makes sense. You were acting so weird, looking away every time he was near you. I thought you’d just grown tired of him always trying to sleep with you.”

She ached at how far from the truth that was. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, but somewhere between last night and waking up in his arms, I…I got confused about it all. I promise you, Gab. I will fix this. I will act absolutely normal around him from now on. I won’t let this come between anyone, especially you and Duke’s family. I’m such an idiot.” Addy hated herself right then. She couldn’t even look at Jake. Every time she did she got all revved up again.

“Was he a jerk to you?” Gabriella asked. “Because if he was, Duke will set him straight.”

Addy shook her head. “No. Not at all. He was…” Great? Perfect? Amazing? Every word she came up with sounded sexual, and what they’d shared felt like so much more. She settled on, “He wasn’t at all jerky.”

“What does that mean?” Gabriella eyed her skeptically. “You usually describe guys as ‘sex machines’ or ‘orally challenged.’ What am I supposed to make of ‘wasn’t at all jerky?’”

“He’s your brother-in-law, Gab. What do you want me to say? I can’t go into juicy details about him without making things even weirder. It was a mistake. That’s all it was. And it was just one night. We agreed to that. I’m sorry for crossing that line. I know better, and it was totally selfish of me.”

They stopped in front of the quaint dress shop, Pretty Things, housed in a small brick building with enormous windows and a cute pink and white awning. Gabriella touched Addy’s arm, indicating for her to let the others go inside first.

“You guys okay?” Siena asked.

“Yeah. I just want to talk to Addy for a sec. We’ll be right in,” Gabriella answered.

“Take your time,” Siena told them. “I’ve got a few hours without the babies. I’m not in a rush to get back.”

Once all the others were out of earshot, Addy apologized again. “I will make this right. I promise.”

“Addy, please. What am I, a child? I don’t care that you hooked up with Jake. I mean, I care, but it’s your life, your decisions. You know that.” Gabriella hugged her. “I’m actually kind of relieved. You two have been dancing around each other for so long, Duke and I wanted to lock you in a room until you finally did it just to get it out of your systems.”

“Oh Lord. You and Duke? He must think I’m a slut.”

Gabriella laughed. “The girl who talks about vibrators the way other people talk about pencils, like they’re a staple of every woman’s daily supply list, is worried about what someone thinks of her?”

Addy laughed. “I do not talk about them around him.”

“No? I seem to remember at dinner last week when Jake made a comment about helping you deal with your stress and you said you had plenty of batteries on hand to deal with it.”

Oh, shit.

“Face it, Ad. You don’t exactly hide your thoughts on sex.”

“Fine, whatever, but sleeping with his brother is different.”

“Only because Duke cares about you and he’ll beat the shit out of Jake if he hurt you or forced himself on you.”

“First, I think Jake could take Duke. Just sayin’. But really, Gab? Jake, forcing himself on me? I think you know us both better than that. Besides, Duke doesn’t need to know. Okay? Please don’t tell him. I’m leaving right after Trish’s wedding tomorrow to go back to the city, and the next day I’m leaving for my trip. This will all blow over by the time I return. And you’ll be on your honeymoon, so there’s no need to say anything.” Trish and Boone were having a small afternoon beach wedding. There would be absolutely no opportunity for drunken sex with Jake afterward. Addy tried to convince herself that was a good thing.

“If that’s what you want,” Gabriella said, looking intently at her. “But you seem…I don’t know. Nervous? Something’s different. I’m so used to you going on and on about how you’re better off watching porn, and you’re not saying that.”

“I’m exhausted,” she said as they walked up the steps to the dress shop. “We pretty much stayed up all night screwing like bunnies. I think there was an ass slap involved. It was a million times better than porn and battery-powered boyfriends combined.”

“Ohmygod. Do not tell me anything else.” Gabriella whispered as they walked inside, “Ass slap? Really?”

“Shh. I never said that.”

The dress shop was bustling with activity. Trish came out of a dressing room in the back looking stunning in her mother’s wedding gown. The shop owner, a busty brunette who looked to be in her late forties, and a handful of Gabriella’s relatives converged, guiding Trish onto a platform in front of several tall mirrors. Gabriella’s other relatives stood at the ready, sewing gear in hand, prepared to nip, tuck, and perfect the fit of Andrea Ryder’s wedding gown for her daughter. Addy had been to Elpitha often enough to know that every event was a community affair, but that didn’t dull the astonishment of witnessing the women coming together to help Trish. They treated the preparation of daily meals with as much love and attention as they did weddings and birthdays. It was no wonder Gabriella missed the island so much. If she’d had her wedding in New York City, the venue would have been cleaned up within hours of its end and they’d be on to the next party in no time, Gabriella’s big day forgotten. Here on Elpitha, the lights and decorations Duke had arranged around the bluff were left up, and the plants he’d brought in were cared for and would be replanted after the weekend. The women had gotten up at dawn to prepare a feast for relatives and friends, then moved seamlessly to the next task of graciously giving Trish her own perfect wedding.

The coming together of extended family—some of whom weren’t even blood related—made Addy think of her own family. She couldn’t imagine her mother ever being involved in this type of camaraderie, and that realization made her sad. She often wondered if her mother liked having all of her needs taken care of and hired help to handle things to the nth degree. Did she enjoy having only to show up and look pretty? Or did she secretly long to be more involved as an equal partner in her marriage, hiding her disappointment beneath an expertly practiced, refined facade? The thought spurred another, more troublesome one. Had her mother simply resigned herself to accepting a role as the silent, adoring wife, as she knew her grandmother had?