Page 45 of (Un)Expected

All of that wasbeforeI tried to drive home. Three different roads were closed, blocked off to start some of the background shots and tests for next week. In a town with limited traffic patterns to begin with, it was a giant pain in the ass to get back to my house. My standard ten-minute drive took over an hour, and I was exhausted.

As my eyes started to drift closed, my phone chirped to life in my purse. Too tired to even move, I kicked it off the table with my foot. I stretched my fingers as far as possible, snagging the strap and lazily dragging it closer to me.

Adam: Guess where I am?

A picture followed almost immediately after, and I instantly recognized the Albany airport behind him. I sat up on the couch, texting him back.

Me: Thank God you’re back! I need someone normal to break through the hysteria. I don’t know how you do it. I’m not even in the movie, and my stress levels are through the roof.

Adam: I’d say you’ll get used to it, but that’s a lie. I’ll be there soon to help in any way I can.

Adam: Speaking of…are we still on for Sunday?

My fingers paused on the screen, not quite sure whatto say. It wasn’t like this was an actual date. The time and place had all been carefully selected by Theo, and I’d already agreed to it, so there was no way to back out now. My signature on the contract promised that.

However, Everly’s words played back in my mind, stopping me from replying. Was I leading Adam on? While he agreed that our relationship was for show, I couldn’t help worrying he wanted more. With our daily conversations, he was quickly becoming one of my closest friends, and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. I was willing to play pretend for a few months, but in the long run, I wanted the real thing, that all-consuming love I hoped existed…just not with Adam.

As I debated my answer, my phone suddenly rang in my hand.

“Hey, Adam,” I answered, “I was about to write back to you.”

“Maybe I wanted to hear your voice,” Adam said on the other side of the line. My pulse spiked, and not in a good way.Fuck.Did we already need to have this conversation? All I wanted were my sweatpants and my bed, not to dive into awkward misunderstandings. Thankfully, his laughter interrupted my panic. “Just kidding. The driver was listening in, and I was trying to do my best impression of a man in love. I shut the divider, so we can talk freely.”

“You scared me for a minute,” I chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Alex. I meant what I said before: strictly friends. Remember, this isn’t my first time acting this part.”

“Your past fake relationships?”

“Yes,” Adam sighed. “Although, I wouldn’t classify those women as friends. More like business associates. Once the cameras were down, we barely even spoke.”

“They didn’t get your question of the day texts?”

“Those are special, just for you,” Adam teased. “How was the rest of your day? You went silent for a while.”

“Oh…” I fumbled. Should I tell him about the hike? Was spending time with Cole a violation of the terms of our contract? There were already too many lies floating around in my head, and I refused to keep anything else hidden. “I ended up going for a hike. Cole needed to get out of the resort for a while, so I offered to show him a couple of trails.”

Simple and close enough to the truth. No need to mention the soul-crushing conversation afterward, or how I spent most of my day plotting Cole’s death.

“That’s great,” Adam answered. “I’m glad he went to you. I’ve been worried about him while I was gone.”

“What do you mean?”

It was silent on the other end for so long, I checked to see if we’d been disconnected. Eventually, Adam continued. “It’s not my place to say…” He let out a long sigh, seemingly debating what to say next. “Cole…he’s had a tough road. He doesn’t open up to, well, anyone. I was lucky enough to get in before he sealed himself off from the world. He’s been better lately, but I still worry he’s going back to that dark place.”

Curiosity flooded my veins. What did he mean, Cole’s had a tough road? It didn't take a genius to realize the man had thicker walls than Fort Knox. However, in my annoyance, I never stopped to wonder why. I searched my mind for the perfect thing to say, the right words to soothe Adam’s worries, but nothing came to mind.

“I wish there was something I could do to help,” I settled on.

“You already are,” Adam said. “He’s changed since we came into town. I think being out of California has been good for him.”

“Good,” I said. “I hope it keeps helping. If there’s anything else I can do, let me know.” From a distance, far away from Cole and his stupid, intoxicating smile.

“Actually, I think there is a way.” Adam said slowly. His pause made my hackles rise, terrified of what he was thinking. When he finally spoke, the words were worse than I thought. “You know your friend Calla?”

“Of course.”

“Well…I was thinking that Sunday might be awkward, considering that it’s going to be our first staged date. It might help if we brought along another couple to break some of that tension.” My brain disconnected, refusing to process what he was saying. “Like a double date.”

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