Page 49 of Tangled Up In You

"Why?" she challenged. "Didn't you tell me we're not going to be anything?"

"I did say that," he admitted. "I don't have relationships anymore. I don’t have it in me."

"Because of what happened to Gina? That was a long time ago, Adam."

"It's not only that," he said defensively. "I'm just better on my own. I can take care of more people if I'm single. I can give my life to the job."

"Do you really want to give your life to a job? Don’t you want more than that?"

He should say no. But he couldn't quite get there. "Maybe someday I will, but not now."

"Then the real reason you don't do relationships is because you haven't met the right person. When you do, that will change."

"You sound confident."

"I can be a know-it-all, too," she said with a smug smile. "I've also seen it happen a lot. People don't want to get married and then suddenly change their mind when they fall in love. People who swear they don't want kids end up with three. People who think they'll never be able to touch their toes in yoga are suddenly putting their hands flat on the floor because they've fallen in love with how good they feel."

She might be right, but she wasn't going to be that person. He'd learned his lesson with Gina. If he was going to settle down, it would be with someone stable, someone who wasn't reckless or unpredictable or impulsive. Damn! That sounded boring as hell.What was wrong with him?

He knew the answer to that question. He was far too attracted to Molly. He enjoyed talking to her, even though he didn't want to believe half the things she said. But she was interesting and passionate, and she made him feel… He couldn't define how she made him feel, except that it was too good and also too risky.

"What about you?" he said, turning the conversation around. "Why aren't you in a relationship? Why were you so free and single that you could drop your entire life within a day and move to Whisper Lake and start over?"

She frowned. "I've had relationships. Just not recently. And when Phoebe passed away, I was at a crossroads in my own life. I was ready for a change."

"Aren't you always ready for a change?"

"What does that mean?"

"You said you're like your mom. You like to keep things fresh, new, different."

"I said I was afraid I was like my mom. I actually try not to be like her."

"But you do like change."

She sighed. "Sometimes I think I like it because it's my way of adapting to the change. I tell myself how great it will be so that I can do it. I can leave one life behind to start another. It has become a pattern, but I'd really like to break the pattern. I'd like to stay in one place, build a life, a circle of friends, like you've done. But I don't know if I have it in me. There are times when I think I'd like to find out."

She might want to find out, but he didn't want to take that ride with her. If he was going to get in a relationship with someone, it would be with a woman who was definitely going to stay, because this was his home now. He didn't want to live somewhere else. And he didn't want to fall for someone whose moods changed with the wind.

He frowned, feeling like he was suddenly becoming all the negative things anyone had ever said about him: too rigid, too unwilling to take risks, too predictable. If Gina had met him now, she probably wouldn't have given him a second look.

Here he was, sitting with a beautiful, sexy woman, trying to convince himself that he didn't want her, when all he really wanted to do was kiss her again.

"You know what I want to find out?" he asked.

Her eyes sparkled. "Whether it gets better every time we kiss?"

"Are you a mind reader now?" he grumbled right before he covered her mouth with his.

She tasted salty and sweet like the fruity margaritas they'd had earlier, and he felt like he could get drunk on her kiss, on her. The heat between them created a warm, cozy cocoon in the chilling evening air. One kiss led to two, then three. Each time he broke away, he went back for more. Each time he gave her a questioning look, she answered with her lips eagerly seeking his. He'd felt attraction before, but nothing so blinding, so filled with desperation and need and all the emotions he didn't want to feel.

Molly was a whirlwind. And she was knocking him over again.How the hell was he going to keep getting up if he didn't put a stop to the madness?

Finally, he let go of her, only realizing then how tightly he'd wrapped his arms around her.

She gave him a sweet, sexy smile, her lips full from his kisses, and he had to fight to keep away from her. He slid off the bench and forced his hands back into his pockets.

"I'll walk you home," he said.

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