The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2)
Read The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) Online
Authors: Emilia Winters
The Fifth Lesson
(The Bay Boys #2)
By Emilia Winters
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to actual events, places, or persons are purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Stock Art: Dollar Photo Club
Cover Design: Emilia Winters
Copyright © 2014 Emilia Winters
ONE
Adam Thornton shifted uncomfortably on his feet, eyeing the full backyard with a mixture of dread and resignation.
Transferring his beer bottle to his right hand, he lifted his left wrist, glancing at the time on his watch.
A gift from his mother.
A bit too large for his taste and more than a bit too expensive.
But she’d be hurt if he chose not to wear it.
His watch confirmed what he already feared.
It was only noon.
What was a socially acceptable amount of time to be present at a friend’s barbecue?
Well,
two
friends’ barbecue since he now considered Olivia, Alex’s girlfriend, a friend.
He figured an hour and a half would suffice.
Adam had already been here fifteen minutes…already a sixth of the way in.
Then he could return to taking apart an old Macintosh computer he’d discovered on eBay.
Venturing deeper into Alex’s well-maintained backyard, he observed the plastic tables and chairs that had been scattered across the lawn for this occasion.
Alex would’ve never tolerated their presence otherwise.
He liked everything to be pristine.
But summer was just around the corner…a perfect time for a backyard barbecue, so the tables and chairs were a necessity.
Adam spotted a few coworkers lounging near the fire pit.
They all worked in Alex’s department, not Adam’s, but he’d had lunch with them multiple times over the past couple years.
Just as he was making his way over to them, Olivia intercepted him.
Dressed in a purple summery dress that highlighted her curves, Olivia grinned and hooked her arm into his.
He understood why one of his best friends had fallen for her.
Not only was Livy beautiful, but she was also kind-hearted and genuine.
Not to mention she made pretty damn good cupcakes.
‘Adorable Adam’ she liked to call him.
And even though he flushed every time she uttered his nickname, Adam knew in the back of his mind that women didn’t want
adorable
.
They wanted
sexy.
“Where have you been hiding?” she asked curiously, steering him towards a long, white table situated under the porch.
It was laden with food and sweets, so Adam didn’t protest.
“I just got here.”
“No, I mean lately.
We missed you at dinner a few nights ago.
Been busy with work?”
“A little,” he replied uneasily.
But it had more to do with his new—or rather, old—Macintosh computer.
Adam was a bit neurotic.
When he set his mind towards something, nothing could break his focus…unless it was for another one of his hobbies.
“Alex said all you Software Developers have been working on some new product that’s rolling out next winter.”
Adam nodded, but didn’t elaborate.
He’d learned over the years that people tended to zone out when he talked about his work.
There was only so much he could explain to someone who didn’t possess a background in computers.
Instead, he eyed the food choices once they reached the table.
Chicken, hamburgers, fixings, potato salad, coleslaw, fruit, chips and dip.
The usual barbecue fare.
And, of course, Olivia’s delicious cupcakes.
“Looks good,” he commented politely.
Just then, a plate of hot dogs plopped down next to the hamburger buns.
Alex appeared, tongs still in hand.
He addressed his girlfriend with a quirk of his lips, “That should do it, darling.”
“Nice try,” she said, smiling.
“There are two more packages in the fridge and more burgers to grill.”
Alex’s eyes shifted to Adam.
“Do you see this abuse?”
Dryly, Adam responded, “I see at least thirty hungry people here.”
His friend grumbled and turned back to Livy, wrapping an arm around her waist before pulling her in for a kiss.
Out of reflex, Adam glanced away, giving them the illusion of privacy.
He glanced at his watch again.
12:14.
An hour and a minute to go.
When the two resurfaced, Olivia swatted Alex’s arm and he released her, albeit a little reluctantly.
Anyone could see the two were crazy about each other.
“Don’t try and distract me,” she chided, her face a little flushed.
“And go man the grill.”
“Fine.
But later tonight, I get to man
you
.”
“And I didn’t need to hear that,” Adam grumbled, becoming very interested in a faint yellow paint smudge on his thumb.
Hmm, he thought he’d scrubbed his hands pretty well this morning.
Suddenly, a musical voice sounded to his left.
“Didn’t need to hear what, gorgeous?”
Adam’s body immediately tightened like a coil ready to spring.
He jerked his head sharply to the right to regard the woman he’d had more than a few wet dreams about for the past six months, ever since they’d been introduced.
Christie Allaway…
Olivia’s best friend since college and arguably the most sinfully beautiful woman to ever walk this earth.
At least Adam thought so…and she insisted on calling him ‘gorgeous.’
She made flirting a sport and she was always the MVP.
And she was standing so close that he could smell her jasmine perfume.
His heartbeat shot up into a range that couldn’t be considered healthy, his blood rushing loudly in his ears.
She was breathtaking.
Her long, bright turquoise dress brushed the dark wood of Alex’s deck, her painted pink toenails peeking out innocently from underneath its hem.
The thin-strapped dress highlighted the glow of her sun-kissed skin, while her shoulder length hair did nothing to hide the beautiful lines of her collarbone and the tantalizing dip of her cleavage.
Her hair was the lightest shade of blonde Adam had ever seen, making it appear almost white in the rays of the sun.
Her intriguing icy blue eyes glowed knowingly, almost invitingly, as he greedily drank in the image of her.
She was color in a world of grey.
And he was halfway in love with her already…
Clearing his throat, Adam greeted, “Christie.”
Jesus, his voice sounded like sandpaper it was so rough.
Christie’s ever-present collection of bracelets and bangles jingled musically on her wrist as she reached out to brush his arm.
Adam’s whole body tensed with need at the simple, yet erotically charged, touch, but his expression remained calm and collected.
The last thing he needed was for Christie to believe he was some sex-starved, drooling loser.
“Adam,” she purred in that bedroom voice of hers.
He was suddenly sweating in his button-up shirt.
And the knowing smirk on Alex’s face made his cheeks burn.
He nervously pushed his new black framed glasses up his nose.
These slipped more than his wire frames had, but he liked the look of them better.
Olivia cut in, as though sensing his distress.
“You look beautiful,” she gushed to her friend, wrapping her arms around Christie’s slim shoulders.
“I’m glad you could make it.”
“Me too,” Christie replied, her eyes focusing on Livy.
“Boss from Hell cut me some slack, but I have to go in later this evening for a couple hours.
The new exhibit opens in a few days.”
Her voice danced over him.
Intense longing followed.
Adam felt like he was in grade school all over again with a crush on the popular girl, the unattainable girl.
Except now he was twenty-nine years old with an extremely successful career.
He owned a townhome in the suburbs and had great friends who managed to drag him out often enough to maintain a social life.
Yet, he’d never had a girlfriend and he’d never been
intimate
with a woman.
He’d kissed a few in college and in the occasional bar.
But they were drunken explorations and nothing ever came from them.
His friends often joked that he’d be a thirty-year-old virgin.
With his birthday approaching next month, Adam feared they’d be right.
That was the last thing Adam wanted.
Shifting his gaze to Christie once again, he wondered for the millionth time if he had a chance with her.
When he’d first met her, he figured she was out of his league.
But over time, her flirting grew more brazen.
Adam often questioned whether there was mutual attraction or if she simply saw it as one big game: how many times could she make Shy Adam blush in the span of ten minutes?
Giving himself an internal shake, Adam knew it didn’t matter.
Unless he managed to rev up his courage to actually do something about it, it was all wild speculation.
He wasn’t like his friends.
He couldn’t just walk up to a random woman and come back with a phone number or a date.
His friendships developed slowly, over time.
And he was finding his romantic relationships evolved even slower.
As slow as molasses on a cold day, Bennett, one of his father’s employees, would say.
A boisterous laugh drew him out of his thoughts and Adam saw his friend Luke emerge onto Alex’s wood deck, with his girlfriend, Kate, in tow.
Their arrival gave Adam a much needed reprieve and he greeted them with a smile, happy for an interruption.
Anything to take his mind off the blonde beauty that haunted his dreams late at night.
TWO
Christie’s bangles chimed loudly as Olivia and Kate led her toward three empty lawn chairs.
They were nestled next to a beautiful rose bush, laden with the biggest deep red flowers she’d ever seen.
She could only admire their beauty for a brief moment before her two friends tugged her down to a sitting position.
“Whew!” Olivia breathed.
“I feel like I’ve been on my feet all day.”
“That’s probably because you have,” Christie pointed out.
“You and Alex really know how to throw a party though.
I’m digging the decorations.”
“I thought you would.”
Livy had transformed the backyard into a summer paradise.
Bright pops of color—blue, pink, orange, yellow—were scattered among the partygoers, whether it was an eye-catching flower centerpiece or the throw pillows for the outdoor patio set.
Even the serving dishes and tablecloths remained true to the color scheme.
But Christie’s favorite decorations were the colorful paper lanterns hanging from the rafters of the deck.
She immediately regretted she wouldn’t be able to see them lit up for the evening, but duty called.
Namely her bastard of a boss.