A Risk Worth Taking

“Brian!” Cressa exclaimed. “What on earth are you doing here?”

CHAPTER FOUR

ADAM NOTICED CRESSA’S EYES widen, and she hesitated before rising to hug the man. Then they stepped apart and the guy glanced at him with curiosity before extending his hand to Alicia.

“I’m Brian McKenzie. I hope you don’t mind me intruding.” He smiled at Cressa. “I haven’t seen Cressa for a while and wanted to catch up.”

Ex-boyfriend or wannabe?

“I’m delighted you did,” said his mother. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Alicia.”

“And I’m Adam.” He rose and shook Brian’s hand. “Just passing, were you?”

Aroha Bay was the end of the road, thirty minutes out of Whangarimu. Brian’s rueful smile acknowledged Adam’s dig. “Not exactly. Mike and I flew in this morning and Juliet mentioned Cressa was staying here. It’s been a long time since I was up this way so I thought I’d use Cressa as an excuse to visit Northland again.”

Cressa smiled, but her shoulders were rigid and she didn’t say anything. Ex, Adam decided, and wondered why that was. Brian was good-looking in that Harvard kind of way that comes from generations of wealth interbreeding with beauty. His clothes were expensive and his manners seemed nice. All in all, he appeared the perfect package for a woman.

Adam, this isn’t easy to write, but I’m leaving you for someone else. He’s rich and successful and really nice. You’d like him. I promise he’ll make a wonderful father for Stella. You needn’t worry. Please don’t try to find us. It’s better for everyone if you let us go.

Crystal, as usual, had been wrong. He hated that unknown bastard who, all these years later, still made him feel inferior. Since then, Adam had also found it hard dealing with men who were like him—Brian, for instance.

“You’ll stay for dinner, of course,” said Alicia.

“I couldn’t impose—”

“You aren’t imposing. We’d love to have you.”

“Well, if you are sure…?” Brian looked at Cressa, who shrugged, but this time her smile appeared genuine.

“Of course. I’ll lay another place.”

Wannabe, Adam decided, noting the expression in the poor sap’s eyes. Poor, successful, rich, nice sap. Not that any of this was his business, of course. He’d woken this morning with the brain he’d misplaced somewhere in transit lodged firmly back in place. Cressa’s presence in the house needn’t be the disaster he’d foreseen last night. She’d be out all day working, and he’d be in his room at night, studying. They’d hardly run into each other at all. And mealtimes would be fine. She’d be a buffer between him and his mother, and his mother would be a buffer between him and Cressa. Simple.

He still writhed to think about Deirdre’s suit, but thank heavens he’d noticed her and been prevented from taking things too far with her daughter. Now nothing more than a dance—a close one, granted—lay between him and Cressa. If she mentioned anything, he would apologize, blaming jet lag and champagne. Which was true.

At least, it had all made sense when he’d been lying in bed with only a ceiling to stare at. Now that he had Cressa in front of him, he realized things weren’t going to be quite so easy. Her tight jeans and T-shirt showed off her curves. Her hair was in a long braid down her back and he remembered how it had felt sliding through his fingers. Outside the window, her bike sat parked next to his, and they looked pretty good together.

But if he’d required reminding that Cressa was a complication he didn’t need in his life right now, Brian’s arrival certainly helped to slap his resolve into shape. As Adam struggled to carve the chicken his mom had done her best to kill a second time, Brian produced two bottles of white wine. “I hope you like them. The wine is a new varietal.”

“Brian’s parents own a vineyard,” Cressa explained.

Why was Adam not surprised?

“None for me, thanks,” said Alicia, busy serving up the vegetables. “I don’t drink.”

Adam felt a flare of pride. It would be coming up five months since she’d stopped. Maybe Sass was right and she had changed. Then he watched the way the potatoes bounced as she tipped them into a serving bowl. Her cooking skills, it seemed, were the same as ever.

As Brian poured the wine into the other three glasses, he said with elaborate unconcern, “So, Cressa, I hear you’re seeing a French archaeologist?”

“Danish, and no, we finished a few weeks back. The French guy was a tour leader.”

“Ah. And wasn’t there a skier?”

Adam wondered why Brian would torture himself in this way but supposed it was like having a bad tooth—you just couldn’t help prodding it to see if it still hurt.

“Canadian.” Cressa smiled. “He was cool, into all that freestyle stuff. You’d have liked him, Adam.”

She certainly thought she had him pegged, he decided grimly. People always did. “I’ve never been skiing.” He’d never had the money for it.

“Really?” Both she and Brian spoke together, and exchanged equally surprised looks.

“I’m sure you’d enjoy it,” said Brian. “Cressa and I have had some wonderful times together on the slopes.”

Nice one. He might have polished manners and a vineyard, but Brian wasn’t above getting in the odd jab. It made him a bit more real. But Brian didn’t need to concern himself about Adam. For years after his divorce, Adam had kept all his relationships clean and easy and short. These days he was hanging out for something deeper, more permanent. Right at this moment, with his MCAT exam just weeks away, any sort of involvement was out of the question. Whichever way you looked at it, Cressa was a no-go zone.

They settled down to the meal. The extra setting cramped the table and the dinner was past saving, but the wine was excellent, as far as Adam could tell. His budget kept him well out of range of top wines. Alicia stuck to orange juice, and though he saw her glance at the bottle, she showed nothing of the cravings she might be fighting. She was gentle and soft, but she also had a tough core. Funny, he’d forgotten that.

When Brian tried to top up Adam’s glass, he covered it. “It’s great, but that’s enough for me.”

“So, Adam, I heard you used to do motorbike stunts, too. How did you get into it?” Brian looked interested, and tried to spear a potato with his fork. Now, how had he heard that? Cressa’s family? That would explain his unexpected appearance. The fork pinged off the potato. Surprised, Brian eyed the potato as though seeking a way to break into it. Hammer and chisel, Adam felt tempted to suggest.

“A misspent youth.”

“He bought his first motorcycle when he was thirteen,” said Alicia, covering for his abrupt answer. “I had no idea, but he got himself a job walking dogs and saved all his money under his mattress. I was appalled when he said he’d bought a bike off his friend’s brother.”

Cressa looked at him. “Only thirteen? You were a determined little chap.”

He could see admiration kindling in her gray-green eyes and for a second he felt tempted, cursing his exam.

“Nothing stops Adam,” said Alicia, “once he’s got an idea in his head. He’d visit Calvin, his friend, and ride that bike around and around their farm. Bert, Calvin’s father, assured me Adam had more natural instincts than any other kid he’d ever met. He knew what he was talking about, having four sons of his own.”

She still sounded proud of his riding skills, even though for years they’d caused her nothing but anxiety.

“Yeah, Bert was great. Took me and Cal to all the dirt bike events.” Adam laughed. “Now Cal drives an SUV with baby seats in the back.”

What had he said? Cressa’s face didn’t change at all, and neither did Brian’s, but Alicia must have felt the sudden stillness because she immediately chimed in. “What do you do, Brian?”

“I’m a doctor.”

Adam choked. Then patted his chest and peered reproachfully at the potato on his plate. He so should have guessed! Not content with movie star looks and being rich and nice, he had to go be a damn doctor, as well.

“Really,” said Alicia. “What branch are you in?”

“I’m a GP, but I’m thinking of specializing in pediatrics. There was this speaker at the conference I’ve just been at….” And Brian went on to talk about new discoveries in child cancer. Alicia was interested, but Cressa seemed to tune out of the conversation. Was it medicine or children she didn’t like? Adam noticed her glancing at her phone several times. Was she waiting for the skier or the archaeologist? Not that it was any of his business.

“Where did you two meet?” Alicia asked after a few minutes, turning to include Cressa.

“Brian is Juliet’s husband’s best friend.”