GirlMostLikelyTo (6 page)

Adam swallowed hard and paid the barmaid, who gave him a
curious look as she loaded the glasses onto a tray. He hoped she didn’t hurry
with the sandwiches because he needed to pull himself together. Twice in two
days he’d been rocked by his reaction to another person. It was almost as if he
needed to be away from Ally and Caspar before he could get on with his life.
Had Ally somehow understood that? He gulped at the thought of the pair knowing
how he felt about them.

That night, he’d rubbed Wren’s clit while she clung to him
and she’d come in an instant, shuddering against him. As he’d kissed her, she’d
released breathy cries into his mouth and Adam’s mind had been lost to
everything but getting his cock inside her. He’d known the moment he pushed and
felt unexpected resistance that she hadn’t done this before. Instead of doing
the right thing and backing off, giving common sense and decency a chance to
kick in, he’d sunk his cock all the way into her, thrilled he was the first to
feel her tightness, her sweetness, her warmth.

Neither of them had spoken again. She’d hung to him, urged
him on with her body, and he’d fucked her where they stood. He made her come again
and caught her scream in his mouth before he’d exploded with an intensity that
sent sparks of pleasure strafing his mind. More kisses were exchanged and
clothing put to rights as they stared knowingly into each other’s eyes, and he
was sure—
had
been sure—they’d go back his hotel or her place. They
emerged into the street hand in hand only to be snatched apart within seconds
by crowds of drunken revelers.

In an instant they’d lost each other. While he searched, he
had time to absorb the enormity of what he’d done. He felt like a monster for
taking her virginity with unprotected sex. When there were no reports of a dead
woman found in a Venice canal, he replaced one concern with another. What if
he’d gotten her pregnant? The thought had occasionally reared its head over the
years, usually when he was feeling sorry for himself. Now it was the foremost
question bubbling in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he returned to the table with their
meal. He put his laptop bag on the floor and his coat over the chair back.

“Thanks.” Wren took a sip of her drink.

Christ, she looks embarrassed.
He swallowed hard. “We
didn’t get a chance to talk five years ago.”
We were too busy fucking.
“I need…to apologize. I was stupid, thoughtless, careless.” So deep in lust it
was a wonder he hadn’t stripped her naked where she stood. He rubbed his damp
palms on his thighs. “I’d never…I should have…”
Fuck it.
He could handle
speaking to a roomful of antagonistic shareholders and not one wide-eyed
female?

Adam took a swig of beer to wet his dry mouth and she
whispered, “When would you like to meet the triplets?”

The result wasn’t pretty. Most of the beer went back into
his glass, the rest he wiped from his chin.

“I called them Harry, Ron and Hermione.”

It took a moment for his befuddled brain to get it and then
he huffed a chuckle of relief.

Wren smiled. “I went on the Pill before I left for Italy,
just in case. Not that I—well, you turned out to be my ‘in case’.” She gulped.
“Though I didn’t know if you were…the type of guy who usually…” She chewed her
lip as her smile slid away.

Oh Christ.
He leaned forward. “I’d never had sex
without a condom before. I haven’t since.” His hand tightened on his glass.
“I’m really sorry.”

“I got checked, just in case. Three months of…anxiety.
Some…things don’t show for six months, but I figured after three I was okay.”

Oh my God.
He hadn’t even thought about going to a
clinic. He’d assumed because she hadn’t had sex before—
fuck
.

“I am
so
sorry,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I
can say that enough times. I’ve no right to ask for forgiveness…” His voice
trailed off. “You think you could?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I didn’t say stop. I wanted you
as much as you wanted me. Neither of us was thinking straight. It was the most
exciting night of my life.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I didn’t want it
to end.”

His lungs locked. Did that mean she wanted to try again?

“But when it did, I…” She sighed. “We got carried away. The
music, the dancing. I swear the air tasted different that night. Maybe it was
better we parted. Could be the crowd knew something we didn’t, that it meant
more in our lives as a moment snatched and there was no future in it.”

Adam wanted to reach for her hand and instead picked up his
sandwich. Was she saying no, then? His cock wasn’t listening but his brain was
telling him—
you’re here for three weeks, then you’re back in London. Going
to fuck her and walk away again?
Is that what Tomas had been thinking
yesterday? That starting something that could go nowhere was a mistake?

He was racing well ahead of himself. Just because she hadn’t
had triplets with him—and for one crazy moment when she’d said the word
triplets, he’d felt his world expand—it didn’t mean she hadn’t had kids with
someone else.

No ring on her finger, but still…

“What brings you to Ezispeke?” she asked.

“I’m having a few weeks off work. I’m not good at relaxing
so this is a sort of holiday.”

Adam was
not
going to tell Wren what Ally had signed
him up to study because the moment he got back to the school, he was going to
switch courses from Russian to Italian. Though the answer to his next question
might make that a bad idea.

“Are you married, engaged or otherwise taken?” He cursed the
croak in his voice.

“No, no and no.” She met his gaze. “Are you?”

If she’d said yes, maybe it would have been easier, but Adam
could feel his cock preening. He could almost hear it purr. How could someone
as cute as her not have a boyfriend? With that pixie-cut hair and big brown
eyes, she—
why is she staring at me?
Fuck.
She’d asked him a
question.

“No,” he blurted. “Unless you count being married to my
business, which takes up far too much of my time.”

Adam heard Caspar’s response in his head.
Because you let
it.
And the guy was right. Adam had worked hard to build his company. He’d
sacrificed his social life to make money because that was what he’d learned
from his parents. He should have known better. Without someone to share his
success, the effort seemed pointless. Adam wanted someone who belonged to him,
someone he could belong to. He wanted what Caspar and Ally had.

Maybe Wren was the one. Fate, coincidence, or pure dumb luck
had brought them together twice and this time, he wouldn’t let her slip through
his fingers. Maybe he shouldn’t have let Tomas slip through his fingers either.
He should have spoken to the dumbass after he’d lurched away, found out what
was the matter. At least he’d know.

An image of Tomas and Wren in bed with him almost had him
spitting out another mouthful of beer. Wren pulled the crust off her sandwich
and played with it but didn’t eat anything. Was he making her uncomfortable?

“What do you do?” she asked.

“I’m in the antifraud business. I mainly work on the IT
side, but the company handles all sorts of solutions to fraudulent activity.
Areas like disruption and target hardening.”

She gave him a blank stare.

“Sorry. I give advice on fraud management, corporate
governance, the tracking of online criminal activity—Christ, I’m boring you.”

I babble when I’m nervous? Fuck it, I’m never nervous.

“You’re not boring me. What does target hardening mean?” She
grinned and his cock made a break for freedom.

He let out a strangled laugh as he shifted his chair closer
to the table to hide the tent in his pants. “It’s basically advice on how to
make a potential target harder to attack or break open. Like making a building
more secure.”

“Easy. I have the perfect solution. Get rid of all doors and
windows.”

He chuckled. “Genius. Need a job?”

“Funny you should say that.” She started to chew her nail
and then dragged her hand from her mouth.

“Don’t you enjoy what you do?”

“I don’t hate it but teaching isn’t on my list of the ten
jobs I’d most like in the world. Not that I could actually do any of those
jobs. Not even the chocolate tasting otherwise I’d be the size of a bus.
Instead, I spend my days explaining in slow, steady sentences how to ask inane
things in three languages so students can pass a test at the end of the course
and get some pathetic piece of paper that means absolutely nothing.” She
blushed. “Oops. Forget I said that. Of course the certificate is a valuable
asset to your résumé that employers are sure to…oh crap.”

She wriggled and he was desperate to kiss her.
Christ.
What the hell was the matter with him?
Just do it.
She’d either kiss him
back or slap him and at least he’d know how she felt. He leaned closer and
Wren’s eyes widened. Did she want this as much as him? Was her heart pounding,
her palms sweaty?
Just do it.
Adam licked his lips.

“Can I sit with you?” asked a woman in tight black pants and
a pink cowl-necked sweater. She didn’t wait for an answer but put her glass of
wine on the table and pulled over a chair.

“Hi, Sylvie,” Wren said and sighed.

Did Wren sound pissed off? He was. The kiss would have to
wait. But it was coming.

Chapter Six

Tomas sat in the pub nursing a pint, bought by Georg from
the English conversation class, thinking it wasn’t enough compensation for
having to listen to the guy ramble on about metal heat treatment. That his
English was appalling made it even worse.

“When quenching, forbidden to stir because one side fast
cooling, one side slow cooling and metal will turn—bend—screw—twist.” Georg
demonstrated with his hands and Tomas bit back his laugh.
Maybe not so
boring.

“For making item hard on outside can use cyanide. I buy from
Sweden. Very good.”

Monique sat on Tomas’ other side, her stool as close to his
as the legs would allow it, her arm against his, her foot nudging his while she
drank a glass of champagne bought by Georg. When Georg finally ran out of words
that made sense, Monique took over. She was equally boring, talking about her
papa’s publishing company, her papa’s château, her apartment in Paris and her
precious dog Froufrou, bemoaning she’d not been able to bring the mutt with her
even though he’d fit in her purse.

When she finished talking about herself, she quizzed Tomas
about where he came from, who his friends were, what he did for a living. He
managed to deflect most of her questions and pretend not to understand others,
but she was like a guided missile. There was something about Monique’s
intensity that unsettled him.

He tipped back on his stool and glanced around the pub only
to bring the legs crashing to the floor when his gaze locked onto Adam.
What
the fuck?
He sat at a table with two women, one of whom was Wren.

“Excuse me,” Tomas said and pushed to his feet. “I need
speak to someone.”
What the hell was Adam doing in here?

Adam looked up as he reached his side. The surprise on his
face seemed genuine before he blanked his expression. Too late, Tomas realized
he’d hardly be pleased to see him.

“Hello.” Adam’s voice was cool.

Tomas nodded. The arctic tone both disappointed and
reassured. He didn’t deal well with coincidence. Of all the pubs in Leeds, Adam
happened to choose this one? Of all the women in Leeds, he happened to know
Wren?

“You two know one another?” Wren glanced between them.

“We meet yesterday. We neighbors. Adam just move in.”

“And you’re both Ezispeke students? That’s a coincidence.”
Wren shot a smile at Adam.

Tomas was confused. A student? Hadn’t he said he was only in
Leeds for three weeks? Could still be a fluke but—

“And I’m Sylvie,” said the other woman at the table.

“Sorry, Sylvie,” Wren said. “This is Tomas. He’s in my
English conversation class. Tomas meet Sylvie. She teaches English and
Japanese.”

Sylvie held his hand a little too tightly and looked into
his eyes a little too long. He pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of
the table between Adam and Wren. His distrustful brain filed this whole
encounter under
something to check on
. When had Adam booked his course?
Was he even who he said he was? Was Wren? Christ, working undercover made him
suspicious of everyone.

“There you are.” A hand tapped his shoulder and he turned to
find his French leech.

Monique put her glass of champagne on the table and dragged
a stool over, forcing it into the space between him and Adam. Tomas didn’t miss
the glare Sylvie aimed at Monique, nor the roll of the eyes from Adam. Wren
made no attempt to disguise her amusement and his interest piqued again. There
was little Tomas loved more than a challenging woman. Except perhaps a
challenging guy. Not that he could take a relationship anywhere at this point
in his life. The worse thing he could do right now was get attached to anyone,
but if he needed info on Ezispeke, he’d rather squeeze it out of Wren than
Sylvie.

“What you study?” he asked Adam.

“Italian.”

Wren stiffened.
Ah, she wasn’t aware of that?
If the
two hadn’t met each other in the class she’d just taught, when
had
they
met?

“What about you?” Adam asked.

“English conversation and Italian,” Tomas said. Well, he
would be studying Italian once he’d registered for Wren’s class.

Sylvie put her hand on his arm. “Why don’t you try Japanese?
I can squeeze you in. It’d be a pleasure.” She all but fluttered her eyelashes
at him. “I’m planning a really interesting field trip. Somewhere we can take
our clothes off and have fun.”

Tomas gaped at her.

Wren sighed. “Swimming pool again?”

“The changing room at Harvey Nicks,” Sylvie said.

Monique all but moaned. “Very beautiful store.”

Sylvie grinned. “I figure I can talk Olive into it if I
include an expensive meal in their café.”

“Probably.” Wren pushed her empty plate away.

“I like shopping,” Monique said.

Wren turned to her. “We can talk about that tomorrow. What
you like to buy and where you prefer to shop. Maybe we can go for a walk around
Leeds next week.”

Monique clapped her hands together.

“Fancy learning Japanese?” Sylvie pleaded. “Any of you?”

“No thanks. I’ll stick to Italian.” Adam glanced at Wren.

Tomas shook his head. “I need English for work. Italian for
love. I don’t need Japanese.” He took a drink of beer, remembering a split
second too late that it was Adam’s.
Christ.
He’d never done that before.
It was the sort of thing that got you a black eye in Yorkshire. He heard Adam
exhale.

“French is the perfect language for love,” Monique said. “
Je
t’aime
.” She stared straight at Tomas. That was subtle. He thought about
telling her to fuck off in Croatian but decided not to risk it in case she
assumed it was a compliment.

“
Amin mela Ile
,” Wren said.

Adam laughed. “Elvish?”

She blushed. “I didn’t think anyone would recognize that.”

Tomas hadn’t. Elvish?
What the fuck?

“I’m not liking class this afternoon,” Monique said.
“English grammar. Ugh. Boring. Conversation is the best way to learn.”

Wren put her empty glass back on the table. “If you want to
really understand a language, you need to study the grammar too.”

“But the priority should always be on communication.” Adam
stared straight at him. “If you can’t make yourself clear, it’s easy for
misunderstandings to arise.”

Tomas deserved that. Although to be fair, he’d communicated
his desires clearly enough, he’d just changed his mind. Wouldn’t take much to
change it back. Adam looked like he’d walked off the page of a magazine advertising
some preppy clothing company with his pressed pants, and white shirt under a
cashmere sweater, his hair perfectly cut. A gray coat was slung over the chair
back, a leather Tumi bag at his side.

He found his mind accelerating into a new fantasy. Two
dark-feathered birds of prey and a cute brown-eyed Wren sandwiched between
them. Tomas had been in a threesome once, a long while ago, and not for very
long because it went bad. Not easy to balance everyone’s needs. Jealousy flared
and when things became heated, he’d stepped away before they boiled over. He
was in the habit of stepping away. He’d perfected the art of the one-night
stand to the point he was bored with it.

Sylvie tapped his arm. “How long have you been learning
English?”

“One day. My first lesson this morning.” He grinned at Wren.
“I learn a unicyclist with an ugly nose can carry a horn and an umbrella.”

Wren roared with laughter and then clamped her hand over her
mouth as she glanced around. Probably checking Benoit wasn’t nearby. Adam glared
as if annoyed Tomas had amused her.
Shit. Competing already?

“Indefinite articles?” Adam asked.

Wren nodded. “How did you guess?”

Because he’s a fucking smart-arse.
“I also learn how
to talk about weather,” Tomas said. “Only need two words. Gray and miserable.”

Wren picked up her bag. “You can joke in English. That shows
quite a high level of competence.”

Damn.
Now
he
was being a smart-arse.

She stood up. “I have to go back. Thanks for lunch, Adam.”

He stood too. “I’ll walk with you.”

Tomas pushed to his feet. “I come as well.”

Monique started to get up but Sylvie caught her arm. “Can I
buy you another drink?”

Monique sat again.

“Have you thought of learning Japanese?” Sylvie asked.

Tomas caught Wren’s flash of thanks to Sylvie and then
followed Adam and Wren out of the pub.

“You know each other?” Tomas asked as they headed toward the
language school.

Wren walked between them, her hands in her pockets.

“We met in Italy,” she said.

“In Venice,” Adam added. “Very romantic city.”

Damn if that didn’t annoy him. “Has problem with streets
flooding,” he muttered.

Wren chuckled. “Have you ever been?”

“Once.” He’d hated it.

As they drew closer to Ezispeke’s admin office, Tomas
realized they were all heading for the same place. Part of him wanted to wait
and register later for Wren’s Italian class, the other part of him was keen to
know what Adam wanted. Plus if Wren and Adam created enough of a distraction in
there, he might be able to pick up information for Marco. It was always a
balance working for him, a line Tomas had to think twice about crossing,
especially when what he did or said might be of too much benefit to the
bastard.

Jolene, Olive’s secretary, looked up when the three of them
walked in. She’d been happy enough to take Tomas’ cash this morning, no receipt
offered. She smiled from him to Adam but her expression soured when her gaze
settled on Wren. Tomas bristled. What had she done to deserve that?

“Hi Jolene, I’ve come—” Wren began.

“Not now,” she snapped. “Come back later.” She beamed at
Adam. “How’s everything going?”

“Fine, thank you.”

Wren slammed the door and the glass rattled. Tomas swallowed
his snigger.

“How can I help you?” Jolene glanced from one to the other.

He inclined his head toward Adam. “You first.”

“After you.”

“I can wait.”

Adam’s jaw tightened. “So can I.”

Fuck, we’ll be here all day.
“I want to change
course,” Tomas said.

“Already? If you have a complaint about Wren—”

“No, her class good. I want to learn Italian.” He stared at
Adam as he said it and saw his eyes widen.

Jolene clicked on her keyboard and checked the screen.
“Instead of…Russian?”

“Yes. I change mind. Wren good teacher. I learn lot from
her. I like her. I
want
her.”

Tomas had chosen his words deliberately and Adam tensed.
Why
the hell do I like needling him?

“There’ll be a twenty pound administration charge,” Jolene
said.

Fucking hell. For what?
But Tomas took out his wallet
and tossed a note onto the table. It wasn’t his money.

Jolene slipped it into a cash box without offering a receipt
and turned to her monitor. “Okay. I’ll add your name to her list.”

“Mine too,” Adam said and somehow Tomas wasn’t surprised.

Adam handed over the money and Jolene didn’t offer him a
receipt either. Not hard to conclude the forty pounds wasn’t going through the
books, but why would Marco be interested in that? Was he thinking of using the
school in some way?

“Take me out of the Russian class.” Adam glanced at Tomas.

Tomas started. “You were going to learn Russian like me?”
Un-fucking-believable.

Adam shrugged.

Jolene tapped at her keyboard. “Fine. Let me give you new
timetables.”

The printer by her side whirred into action.

“You have list of all classes and teachers?” Tomas asked.

Jolene handed him a leaflet. “If you want to sign up for
something else, you need to be quick or you’ll miss the first session.”

“Some too many people to take more?” he asked.

She frowned. No wonder. He hardly understood that himself.

He tried again and offered her the leaflet. “Mark which
classes full.”

She shook her head. “They’re never full. We can always fit
another in.” She handed over the timetables.

Once they were out of the office, Adam confronted him. “Have
you been following me?”

“What?” It hadn’t occurred to him Adam might think that.

Adam raised his eyebrows. “You made your feelings clear
yesterday.”

Not exactly. “That was yesterday. Maybe I feel different
today.” Nope, he felt the same.
I want him.
“I not follow you.”

Adam stared at him. “Do you believe in fate?”

He faltered. The answer was no, but what was the
alternative? That Adam wasn’t who he appeared to be? Tomas sure as hell wasn’t.

Adam didn’t believe in fate, God or guardian angels. He had
no explanation for how he’d managed to bump into Wren again except for pure,
dumb luck. He’d never mentioned that night in Venice to anyone. It had been a
flawed gem hidden in his heart. A few hours of pure excitement that ended too
soon. But it didn’t matter
how
they’d met again, they just had and he
knew even after all these years, there was something unfinished between them.

And was it dumb luck he’d also found a guy who made his
heart race? Or had Ally made that luck for him by choosing an apartment with
temptation next door? Even if she had, that Tomas also wanted Wren was a bonus.
Possibly. Or a disaster. It all depended on whether the guy could share and whether
Wren wanted to be shared, setting aside the issue of whether
he
could
share. It wasn’t in Adam’s nature. A spoiled only child, he’d never had to let
anyone else touch his toys. Ruined by parents and nannies, he’d grown up
selfishly expecting to always get his own way. Until Ally and Caspar had taught
him different.

“Yesterday…” Tomas’ voice trailed off.