Page 20 of Why Not Us?

“What if I come up with something you’re absolutely against?”

“I won’t.”

I look at her skeptically. Several unsuitable things come to mind.

“We could come up with a code,” she says after a moment.

“Like a safe word?” The words are out before I can stop them, conjuring images of other reasons we might need a safe word.

“Yes. It should be something I already know I can’t stand since I’ll have no reason to say it.” Then she smiles, a teasing look coming to her eyes. “Stout.”

“You don’t like stouts?” I ask, appalled.

She shakes her head, still smiling.

I narrow my eyes. “Stouts are the best kind of beer. You’ve obviously never had a good one.”

She shrugs. “Derek has made me try a bunch of them. I never like them.”

“I’m going to find one you like.”

She laughs. “You can try.” She scrunches her nose, and it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “They’re just too heavy.”

I heave a sigh. “Fine. Stout is your safe word. So when do we start?”

She bounces on her toes, clapping her hands together. Then her smile fades. “Oh. I’m busy this week, so I guess we start with the art lesson next week? What’s the schedule with Dani?”

“Monday to Monday. She leaves for school from Katie’s house Monday morning, then comes to my house Monday afternoon. That way, the weekend isn’t broken up with shifting houses.”

Her smile returns and I’m fascinated by how easy it is for her to be happy. “Perfect. What day would work for you?”

Instead of answering, I ask, “What are you busy with this week?”

The question is absolutely none of my business, but she answers anyway.

“My friends are taking me out tonight and tomorrow for my birthday. I work late Friday and Saturday. My parents’ house on Sunday and game night at Derek’s house on Monday.”

I blink in surprise. “It’s your birthday?”

“Yesterday,” she says with a nod, like it’s not a big deal.

“Your sister stood you up on your birthday?”

She gives me a self-deprecating smile. “Now you understand why I want to try something different.”

I’m suddenly very angry. Why does she think this is somethingsheneeds to change? What her sister did has nothing to do with Adalie and everything to do with the sister. But at the same time, she wants to break out of her comfort zone, and she’s come to me to help her.

“I have to talk to Katie and Dani,” I say. “Katie and I have an agreement that any new thing in Dani’s life has to be approved by both of us.”

“Fair,” Adalie says, excitement returning to her eyes.

“And Dani has to want to do this. But given how she wouldn’t stop talking about you on Friday, or all weekend, I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

Adalie’s smile grows. “I really liked her, too.”

“We’ll do Thursday nights for Dani. For our things, we’ll make it work depending on what we’re going to do.”

She squeals and throws her arms around my neck, but this time she doesn’t get carried away and kiss me. I’m disappointed, even as I take an extra second to let her go.

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