And Then There Was You Read online

  'No, Adam.' I moved the wine out of the way on the table and, before I could think about what I was doing, my hand reached for his. The shock was instant and my heart felt like it had been hit by lightning. 'Oh God, I can't believe this is happening.'

  'I know, Eve. I know.' He slowly leaned forward and brushed his fingers down my cheek. 'We'll work it out.'

  His touch was like shockwaves running through my body and I jumped up out of my chair, stepping away from him. 'Please don't touch me, Adam. It's not a good idea.'

  'I...I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. But I won't, I won't. Not again. I promise.'

  'Promise? Promise what?' asked Matt, as he and Charlie wandered back into the kitchen, both grinning like Cheshire cats.

  'You should see his bikes, Adam. He's got one motorbike, two road bicycles, and a mountain bike.'

  'Oh really? That's quite impressive. I'm not much of a biker myself,' Adam said, turning his attention to our spouses.

  'Well, we'll have to change that. Now that you're living next door, we'll have to go out together. Oh, and speaking of going out, Charlie and I were talking about going out for curry tomorrow night. Are you up for that?'

  CHAPTER TWO

  'Don't you think it's a bit soon to be going out for dinner with them?' I asked, hoping he might reconsider.

  'Huh? Don't be ridiculous, Eve. How do you expect to make friends with the neighbours if you don't want to go out for dinner with them?'

  'It's not that I don't want to go out with them, it's just that... that...' I paused; I didn't know what to say.

  'Eve, you're weird sometimes, you know that?' Matt replied, as he stepped out of the shower and began rubbing himself down with a towel that was clearly too small for the job. I walked out and grabbed a fresh bath sheet from the airing cupboard and returned, handing it to him. 'Thanks. C'mon, you'd better get ready, or we'll be late.'

  'I...I think I've got a headache coming on.'

  Matt glared at me. 'No, you don't. Don't you like them or something?'

  'No. I mean yes, of course. Charlie is fun. Don't really know much about Adam, though.'

  'He seems like a cool guy, now put some clothes on and do your hair.'

  'What's wrong with my hair?' I asked, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, wiping it and looking at myself. My dark waves hung down past my shoulders.

  'Nothing,' he answered. 'It's just nice when you do stuff to it, that's all.'

  'Like what?' I rarely did anything with it.

  He shrugged. 'I dunno. Something.'

  'Don't you like it like this?'

  'Sure... for everyday. But for going out? I like you to make an effort.'

  'An effort? I always make an effort.'

  He raised his eyebrows and walked out of the bathroom.

  'Whatever,' I whispered, as I forced myself to follow him, flopping onto the bed.

  'Eve, for God's sake. Pull yourself together and get dressed. Have you seen my blue shirt?'

  'Which one?'

  'My favourite.'

  'What? The midnight blue one? You're going to wear that tonight?'

  'Why not?'

  'It's just a curry at the local restaurant with our neighbours.'

  'Yeah, and? What's wrong with wearing my favourite shirt? Just forget it. Have you seen it?'

  'It's in the ironing. I'll go and press it for you.'

  'Look, I'll do it myself. You go and get ready. We're leaving in twenty minutes,' he huffed, giving me one of his stares.

  Holding up my hands in defeat, I stood up. 'Okay, okay.'

  'Finally,' he muttered, as he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him.

  Standing in front of the full length mirror, I dropped the towel to the floor and looked at my naked self.

  Why the hell was this happening? Of all the streets in all of England, why did he choose this one? Just thinking about him made my body tingle. I put my hand to my chest and sighed. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Why had I done it? Why had I slept with him, three years ago?

  Because you couldn't resist him, replied the devil on my shoulder.

  Yeah, but you're married, said the angel on the other side.

  And you're still drawn to him,whispered the devil,and you want to make love to him, over and over and over.

  Butterflies in my stomach fluttered as I turned away, trying so hard to remove that thought from my head. You're married, Eve. You're bloody married. Happily married, I might add.

  Yes,said the devil again,but Matt doesn't make you feel like Adam did. You think of Adam every single day. And why is that?

  I growled at myself and shook my head. 'Stop it!' I practically yelled to myself.

  'What's that?' shouted Matt from the next bedroom.

  I felt my face turn pink. 'N-nothing.'

  'Fifteen minutes, okay?'

  'Yeah, I'll be ready soon.'

  oOo

  The moment I stepped through the door, I felt his eyes on me. Trying to avoid his gaze, I focussed my attention on Charlie.

  'Hey darlin',' she smiled, approaching with her arms out in front of her before she kissed both my cheeks. 'You look smokin' hot.' She winked. Her tight skinny jeans emphasized her impressive curves, while my boyfriend jeans and white shirt did little but hide my own body. Matt hadn't been particularly impressed with my choice of outfits, so I'd put on a chunky necklace and a pair of heels to make him happier.

  'Thank you. You look amazing, those jeans look incredible on you,' I replied, as she grinned and moved across to Matt. I couldn't help but notice his eyes settle on her bum when she turned to climb into the car. I rolled my eyes as Adam shook hands with Matt.

  'Eve, you look lovely,' he said. I smiled and air kissed his cheeks. We didn't even touch, and I could still feel my breathing quicken with every heartbeat.

  'Thanks. Erm, you too.'

  Matt had already climbed into the front seat and was talking animatedly with Charlie as Adam held the door open for me. Feeling his gaze bore into me, I finally looked up at him and melted. Just looking into his eyes took me back to that night in the hotel. It felt like it was yesterday.

  'I'm sorry about all this,' he mouthed.

  I grimaced and smiled at the same time but said nothing. I just sat down beside his wife and put on a brave face. I looked from her to Matt and back again. If only they knew the truth. That her husband had fucked me every which way possible.

  And it was bloody amazing, said the devil on my shoulder.

  I gulped and turned to look out the window, watching as the street lights suddenly turned on, like Adam had turned me on...and was still turning me on to this day.

  'Are you okay, babe?' asked Charlie as she patted me on the hand. 'You look like you've seen another ghost or something.'

  I shook my head. 'No, no. I'm fine.'

  'You sure?' she asked.

  I nodded. 'Yes, I was thinking about the book I'm writing, that's all.'

  'Oooh yes, Matt told me you write books for a living. I'd clean forgotten you were an author. Anything juicy?' She laughed.

  'No, not really. Not at the moment.'

  'Tell them what you're working on,' Matt said, turning to look at me. He seemed to be desperately trying to include me in the conversation.

  I smiled at him. 'Just a book for kids, at the moment. Nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure.'

  'Nonsense,' said Adam, from the driver's seat. 'We'd love to know what it is that you write. What kinds of things get you excited, I mean in the literary sense.' I could almost hear him curse himself under his breath.

  But before I could say anything else, Matt had already changed the subject. Yeah, he really wanted to include me in the conversation, didn't he? I hated it when he did that. Adam looked at me apologetically through the rear view mirror as we pulled up outside the Indian restaurant.

  Matt climbed out first and opened the door for Charlie, who was sitting behind him.

  'Thanks darlin'.' She smiled.

&nb
sp; Adam clumsily opened my door and I rushed out, avoiding his stare and his touch. 'Thanks,' I muttered, as I quickly walked to Matt and let him put his arm lazily across my shoulder.

  'It's a good job we booked,' Matt said as he dropped his arm and opened the door for us all. 'It's packed.'

  Led to the only table left next to the window, we all sat down, Charlie talking animatedly about something I hadn't quite caught.

  '...don't you remember, Eve?' Matt asked.

  'Huh?'

  He looked angrily at me. 'Charlie was just talking about their last holiday, to Las Vegas.'

  'Oh really?' I replied, looking towards her.

  'I was telling them about our trip,' he said.

  'Yes, yes of course. We went in, what was it? Last January?'

  'January?' Adam interrupted. 'That's when we were there.'

  'Oh what a coincidence,' Matt smiled. 'Where did you stay?'

  'The Bellagio.'

  'No way, that's where we stayed.'

  'Oh my God,' Charlie squealed. 'We were there together. That's just too weird. Did you like it?'

  I nodded. 'Loved it. It was amazing.'

  'I agree.' Adam smiled. 'It's one of those places that you have to visit at least once in your life.'

  Matt laughed. 'Eve is always saying that.'

  I reddened.

  'Did you go to the canyon?' Charlie asked.

  'Yes, but we got lost on the way there. The bloody GPS took us about two hours in the wrong direction.' Matt laughed, taking a swig of lager before continuing. 'And when we eventually got there, we were ripped off.'

  'Really?' Charlie asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

  'Yes, we had to get a coach, and then...'

  I zoned out. I'd been there with him and had heard the story a million times before. I sat back and took a long sip of white wine.

  'So what did you love the most about Vegas?' Adam asked quietly, leaving our spouses to chat animatedly about our trips to the canyon.

  I shrugged and smiled. 'Everything. The fact that each hotel is like a mini city, the shows, the buzz in every casino, the food, the general atmosphere, the craziness of it all.'

  'There must be one thing above all else that you remember,' he encouraged.

  Smiling, I rested my arm on the table and put my chin on my hand. 'Hmm…' I sighed as thought. 'The Bellagio fountains were pretty incredible.'

  He nodded. 'Amazing, weren't they?'

  I nodded. 'Did you have a cocktail in the Bellagio bar?'

  'Yes! They were wonderful,' he said.

  'It wasn't just the drink though, but the ambience there with the guy playing the piano. It was very memorable.' I blushed, thinking about something else that had been far more memorable.

  As if reading my mind, Adam choked on his lager.

  'You alright, honey?' Charlie asked, temporarily halting her conversation with Matt.

  Adam nodded. 'Fine, I should swallow the drink and not inhale it.' He grinned.

  Charlie smiled and returned her attention to my husband.

  'So where else have you been on holiday?' I asked.

  'We went to New York,' Charlie answered. 'Oh my God, now that was amazing. What a city,' she breathed into her drink.

  'Yes, it is,' I said.

  'You've been?' asked Adam.

  'We were there… a year before Vegas, I think.'

  'Really?' Charlie asked.

  We both nodded.

  'What month?' Adam asked curiously.

  'When was it, darling?' Matt asked me.

  'Late December.'

  'No way,' Charlie whispered.

  'What?' Matt asked.

  'We were in New York then, too.'

  'Really? Now thatis a coincidence. I prefer beach holidays myself, though.' Matt smiled, finishing his lager and asking the waiter for another. 'Anyone else for a refill?'

  Adam nodded. 'Yes please.'

  'That'll be two pints of lager, please.'

  'So where did you stay in New York?' asked Adam.

  'A little place called, erm… oh, what was it called, Eve?'

  'The Hudson. Lovely place. I'd definitely go back.'

  'The Hudson? The Hudson Hotel?' Charlie asked.

  Matt nodded. 'You didn't stay there too, did you?'

  Adam shook his head. 'No, but we were only round the corner from it.'

  'Wow, it's certainly a small world, isn't it?' Charlie asked.

  I glanced sideways at Adam and couldn't resist a smile. A small world? She had no idea.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Adam and Charlie had been living next door for only a month and, other than the night we'd gone out for dinner, I'd managed to avoid him. Luckily, whenever Charlie had invited us out, we had been engaged elsewhere.

  But I wasn't able to avoid them forever, and their house warming party was looming.

  Sitting in my little office in the spare bedroom, I was supposed to be writing, but my thoughts were otherwise engaged. I could hear Matt whistling as he opened the front door. 'I'm home,' he yelled at the foot of the stairs.

  'I'm working. I'll be down soon.'

  'Okay, I'm going to mess around in the garage for a bit.'

  'Knock yourself out,' I muttered. Some dutiful wife I was. I didn't even go and say hello properly. Not a kiss, nothing. Mind you, it's not like he was offering it to me either, was he? What was happening to us?

  You're growing apart, said the devil on my shoulder.

  But you can fix it, replied the angel.

  How? A sudden picture appeared in my head, and I smiled. That would be nice. A bit of afternoon sex was always good for the soul. Grinning, I closed my laptop and headed for our bedroom. Opening my wardrobe, I rifled around until the box came into view. Taking off the top, I pulled out a couple of possible outfits. I wasn't in the mood for leather or PVC, so I settled on my favourite little lace number. It was actually a dress, but was far too transparent and super short to be worn anywhere other than the bedroom. I grinned and closed the wardrobe door, undressing as fast as I could.

  With the dress and stockings on, my hair up and lashings of black mascara, eye liner and deep red lipstick, I smiled at my wicked self in the mirror. Grinning, I grabbed my little black satin dressing gown and threw it on before I skipped down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to the garage and seductively draped myself in the doorway, letting the gown fall open.

  Unfortunately, Matt wasn't alone.

  'Erm... babe?' he said, horrified, as I looked around and noticed Charlie straddling his motorbike.

  'Oh,' I shrieked and pulled the gown tight around my body, as Adam came into view from behind the car. 'Oh shit,' I said, my face turning the deepest possible shade of red.

  'Charlie and Adam just popped over to make sure we were going to the party tonight, seeing as you forgot to confirm,' Matt said, totally embarrassed.

  He was embarrassed? Jesus.

  'Oh, erm. Sorry. Yes, of course we'll be there,' I muttered. 'Must go and erm... turn the oven on.'

  'What?' Matt said, through clenched teeth.

  Grimacing, I quickly turned around and shut the garage door behind me.

  Holy shit.

  As I ran up the stairs, I heard the door open and close behind me.

  'What the hell are you doing?' Matt said at the bottom of the stairs.

  'I, erm, I... thought you might like to... Oh, it doesn't matter, anyway.'

  'Babe, you can't just open the door to the garage dressed like that. Jesus. Talk about embarrassing. The whole neighbourhood will be talking about it.'

  'Who gives a shit about the whole fucking neighbourhood? What about me? I was hoping to have sex with my husband, that's all. Is that so wrong? How was I supposed to know they were in there with you? You normally keep the main door closed, unless you're going out.'

  There was a knock on the garage door and it was opened gingerly. Charlie popped her head around. 'Hello?' she said, looking around. When she spotted us on the stairs,
she smiled. 'Please don't be embarrassed, darlin'. We're going to go. We figured you'd want to be alone for a while.' She winked.

  'Oh no, there's no need to go,' Matt said, walking back down the stairs.

  What the fuck?

  'Really?' I muttered under my breath and turned around awkwardly, tripping clumsily on the top step before disappearing into the bedroom.

  I heard them talking and then the garage door closed behind them.

  Well, screw you, Matt.

  I threw myself on the bed and looked at the ceiling. I'd just revealed myself, in all my sexual regalia, to Charlie and Adam. Adam. Oh God. I turned on to my stomach and thought about the look on his face when I saw him standing there.

  It wasn't embarrassment. He wasn't mortified. He was turned on. It was written all over his face. Oh God.

  I bounced off the bed and walked over to the window. Adam was slowly walking back to his house, alone. He turned to look at our place, and his gaze slowly turned upwards. I watched as he looked from window to window, until his eyes eventually locked with mine. I wanted to turn away, but I couldn't. We just stood and stared at each other until I managed to tear myself away. I pulled the curtain closed and caught sight of myself in the mirror. Horny, God did that man make me feel horny. I couldn't help myself. My fingers tenderly brushed against my body as I imagined him rushing into the room, like some kind of knight in shining armour, and having his wicked way with me right there on the floor.

  The idea caused shockwaves to reel through my entire being, and I barely had to touch myself before I came, sobbing quietly.

  oOo

  I purposefully put the quiche in the oven late; I didn't want to be early to the party. I wanted everyone else to get there first, so I could quietly walk in and blend in with the crowd.

  Sitting beside the oven reading a book, I barely looked up when Matt walked in whistling. 'Oh, how long is that going to take?'

  I looked up and noticed he was wearing a shirt I hadn't seen before. 'About half an hour.'

  'But we'll be late.'

  I shrugged and he scowled at me.

  'I haven't seen that shirt before.'

  'It's new. I bought it today.'

  'Oh, haven't you got enough shirts already?'

  'I saw it in the shop window and liked it. Is that alright with you?' he asked sarcastically.