Page 74 of Embers of Torment

"Okie dokie. I'll go with you guys, but I want rolled tacos."

"Perfect. The taco shop it is. It'll be my treat," Sofie said, appearing a little too pleased.

"Why? I can pay for my own." I scrunched an eye, wondering if she was up to something.

"All right, that's it. You're going overboard and need to quit acting so defensive." Sofie shook her head at me as if I'd lost it. "It's lunch, for God's sake. That's it. Neither Adam nor I are attempting to do anything remotely questionable, and there's nothing wrong with splurging on my friends. So could you stop now?"

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll back off and cease questioning your motives. It's just… I guess I'm having trust issues after all the garbage with Jace."

"Then we'll start over," Adam said, perking up. "Della, would you like to eat with us? We're going to the taco shop in the plaza."

"I would love to, as long as you don't mind going with a knucklehead because I can see that's how I've been behaving lately."

"I agree. Your behavior has been ridiculous," Adam teased. "Now we need you to figure out how to fix your out-of-control brain and return it to a smidgeon of sanity."

"Wow. Only a speck of normalcy? You're not asking for much."

"No, I'm not. You're too far gone to ask for more," Adam said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Ahh, come on. I may have been a butthead, but I'm in no way a looney tune. I deserve a break." I poked Adam in the stomach, making him flinch. "So be nice. The last few weeks have been super shitty."

"Okay, you two. Let's head to the plaza before we spend our entire lunch hour here." Sofie spun around and walked away, expecting us to follow.

I hooked my arm in Adam's and led him from my office. I let go of him when we reached the exit to my department's lobby. "Hey, I'm sorry for how I've been acting, but you need to back off."

Adam held the door open while attempting, and failing, to look stern. "I forgive you and promise not to be so pushy. But don't expect me to take sides between you and Jace. You're both my friend, so you'll have to share my company. And don't think you can pry anything out of me because whatever either of you says is strictly confidential."

"But how can you call him a friend after what he did to me? I mean, the guy is a freaking asswipe."

"Uh-uh. We've had this discussion. The Jace you describe is not the person I met and have known for years. The Jace I know is a decent human being, and I'm not changing my opinion."

"Fine, but so you know, you're handling the situation better than I thought you would. I expected you to be all broken up when the bomb dropped and everything disintegrated between me and Jace. It appears I was wrong."

"Not really. I was upset at first, but then I realized my friendship with each of you was more important, and the only way I could keep it intact was to avoid taking sides." Adam peered down the hallway toward the elevators and grimaced. "Uh-oh. Sofie's tapping her foot. I think we walked too slow."

"Oops, I guess so. I'll tell her it's your fault."

"You better not."

"What are you two? Turtles?" Sofie said, crossing her arms. She glanced between us disapprovingly and scowled.

"It's Adam's fault," I blurted.

"No, it's not. It's Della's," Adam said, pointing at me.

"Good Lord, you two." Sofie jabbed at the elevator button and then rolled her eyes. "You act just like my kids."

I chuckled, realizing how childish Adam and I must look and sound. By the time the doors opened and I followed Sofie into the car, my amusement was bubbling over. The stress that had consumed me for the last few weeks now melted away. The three of us practically fell out of the elevator when we reachedthe downstairs lobby. By then, I had laughed so hard I snorted uncontrollably while Adam and Sofie lost it. We had to be an outrageous sight as we stumbled across the tile and out the door.

"Holy moly. It's been weeks since I laughed that hard," I said between shaky breaths. I leaned against the outside wall of our building, trying to pull myself together.

"Oh God, me too," Adam rasped. "And I'm not even sure what we were laughing at."

"I'd say you both needed that," Sofie said, smothering the remnant of a chuckle. She motioned down the sidewalk. "I have a meeting at one o'clock and can't be late. So now that a third of the lunch hour is over, we better hurry, especially since I'm starving." She hustled toward the plaza with Adam and me a few steps behind.

It wasn't long before I was snagging a table outside the taco shop, holding a tray filled with rolled tacos, a stack of napkins, salsa, and an iced tea. Sofie and Adam joined me when I took my seat, having ordered carnitas burritos and sodas.

Hungry, Sofie devoured a quarter of her burrito and washed it down with several gulps of her drink. Taking a breather, she glanced at Adam and me. "What are you guys doing this weekend?"

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