Page 102 of Make It Without You

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, baby.”

“He said he’s good to go. He’s gonna drop Dylan off at his parents,” I say as I face them.

“Okay.”

“So how’s it going with you two?” I ask them as I sit on my couch.

Brandon pulls Angie onto his lap and I smile when I see her squirming to get up. They’re so comfortable with each other and I don’t think it’s any type of trauma bond that connects them. But a soul-deep, this is my person type of connection that connects them.

“We told our families,” Brandon drops like it’s no big deal.

I choke on my inhale and cough. “How did they take it?”

Angie runs her hand through Brandon’s hair and an understanding look passes between them. “They weren’t happy,” she starts with a mournful tone to her voice. “They yelled, told us to break up, tried to disown me–us…but we stood our ground. And we moved in together in March.”

“That’s amazing news,” I tell them. “Have you talked to your families since?”

“No,” Angie admits with tears in her eyes. “Brandon’s brothers have come around to us, so at least I have them. But his parents have basically shut him out and mine don’t know how to act around me. So they stay away. It’s like losing Liam all over again.”

Brandon gently wipes her tears away and places a kiss on her temple. He whispers something in her ear that has her smiling as well as tears falling down her face. Luckily a knock on the door pulls me away from their private moment.

I check the peephole and see it’s Adam on the other side.

“Hi, handsome,” I greet when I open the door to him.

“Hi, baby,” he greets and crowds me against the wall as the door closes behind him. “Do you have any idea how much I miss having you all to myself?”

My hands slide up his torso and tangle in the hair at the nape of his neck. I rise onto my tiptoes and hover my lips centimeters apart from his. When we’re like this the rest of the world fades from existence. Adam erases the centimeter of space and our lips connect. His hands drift. One sliding into the back pocket of my ripped jeans and the other cradling the side of my face.

A throat clearing from the living room pauses our kiss. See? The rest of the world fades from existence.

I lower from my tiptoes and press a kiss to Adam’s throat. “Come meet my friends.” I take Adam’s hand and drag him tothe living room. “Brandon, Angie, this is Adam. Adam, this is Brandon and Angie.”

“Hey, man, nice to meet you,” Adam holds his hand out to Brandon who takes the offered hand. “Nice to meet you,” Adam tells Angie and shakes her hand as well.

“So you twostarted dating in secret?” Adam is baffled.

“Mm-hmm,” Angie starts. “He hated me at first. Or he hated what I represented. Until he didn’t hate me at all.”

“Now I can’t imagine her not in my life,” Brandon says.

“You are such a sap.” I tease him and throw my balled up napkin at him.

Brandon sticks his tongue out at me which has Adam looking between the two of us with humor.

Dinner went well. Brandon and Angie were another piece of my world that Adam got to meet. Plus it was good to see them interact.

“We should head out,” Brandon says and pushes back from the table.

“Where are you guys staying?”

Adam gets up and grabs everyone’s dishes.

“The Rosemont Inn,” Angie announces. “It’s so pretty there.”

“I’ll have to check it out,” I tell her and I mean it. “Have you decided if you’ll let Kamryn know you’re in town?”

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