Page 186 of Bossy Romance

Heat creeps over my chest and neck, but I keep my voice steady and my head held high. “You were in a weird headspace and I… I took advantage of that. I’m sorry.”

Adam laughs humorlessly.

I whip my head up, shocked.

“I can’t do this, Nova.” His eyes darken like infinite galaxies, sucking me into a world beyond the one I’ve always known.

“Can’t… do what?”

“I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t live without you.”

I have no idea what’s happening right now, but I’m electrified. It’s like someone plugged me right up to a live wire and turned the switch on.

More Adam.

No Adam.

Rowan needs him. If he comes back to me, will his son—the little boy who captured my heart—feel abandoned and alone while his dad and another woman skip off into the sunset?

“Don’t.” He points at me. “I know that face. You’re rationalizing, but I need you to hear me.Reallyhear me, Nova, because this is important.” He gestures to his chest. “Every day without you is a day I’m destroyed inside. I told myself I’d give you space, but I can’t hold back anymore.”

“Can’t you try?” I hiss, overwhelmed and spinning out. My emotions are all over the place. “You and Rowan need more time to mourn, to grieve. Besides, you were married. Whatever the reasons, that’s—”

“I never married Rowan’s mom,” Adam says firmly.

I freeze.

The world tilts on its axis.

Then I shake my head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I saw the pictures. Rowan sent them to me. I saw you in your tux. And she was in her wedding dress. I…”

“It was a fake wedding.”

“WHAT?”

“I made an agreement with Alexa before she died. I told her that I’m in love with someone else and if I get married, I’m only going to marry once.”

My eyes widen. My mind crashes. My entire body jolts like I’ve been hit with a bolt of lightning.

“You know me, Nova.” Adam cradles my cheeks. “I solve problems for a living. But I won’t let a crisis force me to make an unreal commitment.”

“But the hospital wouldn’t let her leave if you didn’t, if you weren’t…”

His voice turns quiet. “You knew about the hospital’s policy?”

“They told me a few days before. That’s why I…” I lick my lips. “I mean, the only way for you to become a family member was to marry her.”

“That’s not true.”

I can’t even draw a whole breath. “What do you mean?”

“I called the lawyers. Had them apply for emergency guardianship. That’s how we got her out of the hospital.”

The floor shifts under my feet. I feel like I’m getting slammed with a canon. Why didn’t I think of that? I was so focused on helping Adam that I missed a solution that would have kept us together.

“But,” my eyebrows knit, “you still had a wedding.”

He nods. “Alexa was excited to get out of the hospital and go traveling, but when we told Rowan, he insisted that we had to do something on the list before then.”

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