Page 16 of First Comes Forever

“Please, stop—”

“I’m just kidding,” he says. “I heard you loud and clear at Chase’s birthday party. Business only. But seriously, pop the hood, I’m pretty good with cars. I can check to see if—”

“Adam. I’m fine.”

“Amani.You’re stuck.The least I can do is—”

“Stop.” The word comes out as a plea and the stupid hot tears break free, staining my face. “You can’t help me. Okay? Not with my car. Not with my apartment. Not with my fucking baby, mainly because now…there’s no baby.”

The words fall out unintentionally, but I’m instantly relieved. Saying it out loud helps relieve the pressure.There is no baby.As I take my time to steady my breathing, I almost forget Adam’s still hunched over, studying my eyes.

“That’s what this is about?” he eventually asks, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. “You had a miscarriage?”

I shake my head. I want to explain more, but I can’t seem to find the words, so instead, I just shrug and let him watch me avoid his gaze. Which he does for about two minutes before he takes the liberty of opening my car door and pulling me up by my elbow. I’m in his warm, strong arms before I can say“stop”or“don’t.”Not that I would. I nuzzle into his broad chest and wrap my arms around his waist, ignoring the fact that I can feel his sculpted obliques through his thin dress shirt. I ignore the fact that he smells incredible—he’s wearing fancy cologne,but properly. It’s light, not even in the realm of overbearing, just enough to cause a stirring in the lowest part of my stomach.

Right now, I don’t want to think about the fact that I’m incredibly attracted to Adam. That’s not what I want at the moment.

This is the hug I’ve been waiting for.

This is what I need.

“Thanks,” I say, trying to sniffle subtly. “This helps.”

He sweetly rubs my back in response, seemingly in no rush to release me. But eventually, he lets go first, a little before I’m ready. His hands slide from my back to wrap around my shoulders.

“Your car—I can help with that. Your apartment situation—actually, I think I can help with that too. The baby thing…well, at least I can listen.”

I guess Adam was standing there in Jessie’s doorway longer than I thought. The eavesdropping is annoying, but oh well, what can I do. He heard what he heard. If he truly can help me, maybe it’s for the best.

He drops his hands and points to the other side of the parking lot to what is unmistakably a peculiar-colored Lamborghini. It’s a mix between a gun-metal gray and a navy blue. Which means, Adam not only can afford a Lamborghini, but he can afford to customize one too. “I’m starving. Do you want to grab a bite?” he asks.

“I thought you had a meeting.”

He runs his hand through his chocolate-colored hair. “Yeah…that’s just something I say when I don’t want to wait on people.” He shrugs innocently. “I’m more than free to take you to lunch. Are you into tapas?”

I nod before I swivel around, open the car door, and roll up my driver’s side window. I let Adam lead me across the parking lot to his fancy ride. Trailing right behind him, I’m shaded from the bright midday sun by his tall shadow.

“That was too easy, Amani,” he says over his shoulder. “All I had to do was wait for you to have the world’s shittiest day, and suddenly you’re mine, huh?”

I pause in place and my hand finds my hip. “I am most definitely not yours.”

“Ha. Keep singing that tune, sweetheart.”

There’s a literal pep in his step as we near his car, his gleeful demeanor interrupted by a loud ring from his pocket. He pulls out his phone, checks the screen, then quickly silences it before tucking it back in his pocket. It rings again immediately, and this time he silences the phone by finding the side button. After he hustles to the passenger door for me, his phone rings for the third time. This time, he answers as he gestures for me to sit. “Look, something urgent came up. I’ll text you my speaking points,okay?” he murmurs into the phone, his voice full of agitation. He doesn’t wait for a response and simply hangs ups.

“You were lying. You actually do have a meeting, don’t you?”

He smiles. “Yup.”

“And you’re blowing it off to hang out with me?”

“Yup.”

“How much trouble are you going to get into?”

“A lot,” he answers simply.

“You’re being ridiculous. I can just call Triple A. I don’t want to ruin your plans.”

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