Until Fountain Bridge: (InterMix) Read Online Free PDF

you.”
    “I’m not drunk. I’ve got a buzz going, that’s all.” His eyes narrowed. “
You’re
not drunk are you?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Adam, I’m legally allowed to drink now.”
    “Is that a yes or a no?”
    “I’ve had a couple of shots.”
    We were quiet a moment and I actually allowed myself to relax against him. That was until he flexed his fingers against my back and an involuntary shiver rippled over me. Adam tensed, as if he’d felt my reaction, and I quickly looked at his face for confirmation. His dark eyes glittered in a way I’d never seen before.
    My mouth felt dry.
    He studied me a moment and I found myself pressed even tighter against him. My fingers curled into his shoulder. His next words almost blew me off my feet. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Els,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
    My eyes opened wide with shock at his announcement, my heart began to thud inside my chest.
Adam thought I was beautiful? No, not just beautiful: The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
    Wow.
    My chest began to rise and fall a little more rapidly. “Adam . . .” I replied softly, unsure whether he meant that in a strictly platonic sense or if he was finally opening his eyes up to see I wasn’t a little girl anymore.
    “I worry about you all the time,” he confessed. “You’re so sweet and kind—too kind sometimes. I worry someone will hurt you and I won’t be there to stop it.”
    It was true that I had a tendency to look for the best in everyone, and I had a bit of a hero complex (I wonder where I’d picked that up from), but I wasn’t incompetent. And I was a woman now. I could take care of myself, and I told him so.
    Adam frowned. “That’s not what I mean. You get a lot of male attention, Ellie, and sometimes it’s difficult to weed out the wankers. For instance, the guy you came with tonight. He flirts a lot . . . with everything that has tits and a pair of long legs.”
    Glowering at the insult to Liam, I tried to press back. “Liam is a nice guy.”
    “Liam is after one thing. I should know—”
    “Right, you’ve been hogging her enough.” Braden was suddenly standing beside us, grinning. “I want a dance with the birthday girl.”
    Adam tightened his hold on me and then as if it had just occurred to him what he was doing, he threw Braden a smile and let me go. We shared one last look and then he was gone and I was in Braden’s arms.
    What the hell had just happened? Had Adam Sutherland . . . Was he? . . . Was that more than friendly advice?
The way he touched me, the things he’d said, the way he’d looked at me. It had felt different. My heart was racing, a bubble of giddy hope starting to float up inside of me. Poor Liam was forgotten as I let myself be distracted by my own longing and fantasies.
    “I’m proud of you,” Braden told me gruffly, bringing me out of my head where I was already picking wedding dresses and deciding who would be my maid of honor.
    I smiled at my big brother, curious about his declaration. “What for?”
    “For many reasons. For getting into Edinburgh Uni. For taking care of Elodie and Clark, and for being a good sister to Hannah and Dec. And for being a great wee sister to me. It’s been a tough year, Els, and I’m grateful for all your help.”
    I hugged him close for a second, my heart hurting all over again for him. After falling for and marrying his Australian wife, Analise, Braden had filed for divorce when he walked in on her and his old school friend having sex in one of Braden’s empty developments in New Town. The bitch had put him through the ringer for the last nine months of his marriage and then she’d cheated on him with his friend. It was the ultimate betrayal. Worse, our dad had been the one who’d cottoned onto it and he’d set Braden up to find the traitorous couple. That was dad’s way. Rather than pulling his son aside and letting him down easy, he let Braden walk right into