Page 44 of The Night Before Christmas
That doesn’t exactly answer my question.
‘I’ve put paid to it? You were the one who showed up at my work, with a ring. On New Year’s Eve. Talk about a weird vibe.’
Adam shrugged. ‘It was meant to be romantic.’
He took another sip of his drink and Felicity followed suit, mainly so she had something to do other than stare incredulously.
‘So,’ he continued, and she looked up sharply. ‘If I had proposed, what would you have said, exactly?’
Felicity’s chest tightened.
‘I would have said, “What the hell are you playing at?” I would have said, “You’ve got to be joking,” that’s what I would have said. Don’t you remember how we left things? What I said? How I behaved? You can’t just pretend that didn’t happen.’
Shame washed over her at the memory, and she held the cool drink against her cheek.
‘I can hardly blame you,’ he said. ‘I was bloody cheating on you, after all.’
The blood rushed to her ears in that moment as if she’d been ruthlessly hurled off the top diving board. Backwards.
‘Wait – what?’
Adam shifted in his seat. ‘I mean, I was cheating on you, Fliss. I deserved whatever I got back then. I can hardly blame you for reacting the way you did.’
Felicity’s mind was racing and for a moment she felt like she might faint.
‘What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean you were cheating? You’ve always denied it. You made me… you made me feel so terrible!’
Adam looked around furtively, his face panicked. Felicity, meanwhile, found she was halfway to standing up, fists clenched, adrenaline pumping.
‘Come on, Fliss, sit down. Let’s talk about this. We can talk about this.’
She dropped into her seat; fists still tight.
‘Don’t call me Fliss. You were cheating on me? You actually were cheating that whole time?’ Her voice rose as the emotion slammed over her like a wave.
‘I thought you knew that?’ he replied nervously. ‘Hell, I’ve been with her the whole time since. How could you not know that?’
‘You what?!’ It was out before she could stop herself. A couple on a nearby table gave her a sharp look and she waved her hand in apology.
‘Let me get this straight,’ she hissed across the table and Adam looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world. ‘Youwerecheating on me that Christmas and you’ve been withthat personever since? Have I got that right?’
Adam looked sheepish. ‘I honestly thought you knew.’
‘No. No, I did not know. Isn’t it obvious from my reaction that I didn’t know? Is this the face of a person who knew this information, Adam?’
‘But… surely you did? When you saw that text message and put two and two together, I knew the game was up. You always were so clever, Brooks.’
‘Don’t you bloody “Brooks” me either,’ she hissed. ‘Now is not the time. You let me feel bad all this time, like I’d treated you so unfairly. You let me believe it was me being the bastard, when you knew it was something I would never ever want to do to anyone. Oh, I’m so mad at you.’
She was. As she said it, half in jest, she realised how furious she really was. Her hands were shaking. And then something else dawned on her and a cold sensation prickled her spine.
‘When I saw you at the shelter the other day, you didn’t set me straight. Why not? Or when we went for coffee for that matter.’
‘I tried, honest. I was trying. And then your bloody designer-glasses-air-kissing friend turned up.’
‘That’s no excuse at all. You should have tried harder.’
And then as clear as if it had been whispered in her ear, an ominous thought arrived. Her palms were sweating. She virtually spat the words at him.
