Page 24 of Tangled Up In You

The group finally broke up around nine, and for the first time in hours, Adam actually looked at her.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Sure." She said her goodbyes, as did Adam, and then she got into the passenger seat of his gray Jeep.

She wasn't surprised he drove a rugged vehicle. It seemed to fit him, not that she knew him well enough to say that, but he seemed like a man of action, someone impatient, direct, and ready to go off-road if he needed to get somewhere. She smiled to herself. She'd done this her entire life, made up stories about people that probably weren’t even close to being true.

"What are you smiling about?" Adam asked curiously as he started the engine.

"Nothing."

"It looks like something."

"Just thinking that this Jeep suits you, but then reminding myself that I don't actually know you."

"Well, it does suit me. And it gets me where I need to go."

"A practical car for a practical man."

He frowned. "Is that what you think of me?"

"I don't know what I think of you," she said candidly. "But what I do know is that you were uncomfortable with me being at the barbecue."

"I was surprised," he admitted. "I wasn't uncomfortable."

She didn't believe him for a second, but she wasn't in the mood to pick a fight. "It's a beautiful night. I'd forgotten how many stars you can see in the mountains." She peered out the window at the brightly lit sky. "What's the name of that place where everyone goes to stargaze?"

"I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"You get to it from the street behind the rec center. It's a couple of miles up some steeper hills and then at the top is a bluff. I think it's something with the wordpeakin it."

"Probably Carver's Peak."

"That was it. We had some teenage parties up there."

"That still happens in the summer, not so much this time of year."

She gave him a quick look as he suddenly changed lanes and made a right turn. "Where are you going?"

"Apparently down memory lane. Want to see if it's still the same? Or are you in a hurry to get home?"

His questions made her hesitate. She wasn't in a hurry to get back to Phoebe's apartment at all. She wanted to be a lot more tired before she tried to sleep in Phoebe's bed. On the other hand, spending more time with Adam was probably a bad idea. But maybe if they talked a little more, they could get past the awkwardness between them. "I'm not in a hurry," she told him.

"Then let's go see some stars."

ChapterSeven

Let'sgo see some stars—why the hell had he just said that?

He should take Molly straight home, not to some remote mountain lookout, but the drive to her apartment had seemed far too short, and he was feeling far too restless to just go home. He'd been wanting to talk to her all night, even though he'd tried not to show any interest in her.

But here they were.

And maybe he was okay with it.

It took about ten minutes to get up the hills. When he turned onto the flat paved vista point next to a wide, grassy meadow, there wasn't another car in sight. In the summer, this place would be packed. But tonight, it was just them. That seemed both good and bad.

Molly was out of the car as soon as he parked. He followed more slowly.

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