Page 94 of Why Not Us?

“Adalie!” she says, squeezing me around the middle. “Dad said you might not be coming today, but Uncle Taylor said not to worry. I wasn’t worried.”

I hug her, unable to hold back the smile. “Nothing could keep me away.”

We step inside, and as she closes the door behind me, I allow my eyes to lift, immediately finding Nate in the kitchen where he’s preparing dinner. Our eyes lock and I see shock, pain, and shame in them before he returns his attention to the vegetables he’s chopping. Taylor sits at the island, a glass of beer in front of him. He smiles at me.

“Good to see you, Adalie,” he says. “You guys going to do the lesson upstairs in the art space?”

I offer him a grateful smile. “Yes. We’ll be up there if you need us.” I turn to Dani. “Ready?”

She nods and bounds up the stairs. I follow behind her, glad to not have to stay where I would be forced to remain in Nate’s presence. We get settled, and she begins sketching from the photo I brought, a picture of a maple tree. We’ve been at it for only a few minutes when she asks, “Did something happen between you and my dad?”

She doesn’t look at me when she speaks, focused on the photo and the sketchbook.

“E-excuse me?”

She looks up. “You and my dad. Are you mad at him?”

“I—Why would you ask that?”

“Because he’s been kind of mopey this week. And when you came in, you didn’t say hi to him.”

Damn, she’s observant.

“I’m not mad at him,” I say. And it’s the truth. I’m not mad anymore. But I still need him to make the first move to make things right.

“But something happened?” she presses.

I can’t lie to her. “Yes. Something happened.”

“Did you guys break up?”

My mouth hangs open for a minute and she looks at me when I don’t answer.

“I’ve known since the beginning,” she says. “Or at least, Uncle Taylor said it was the beginning. I saw you guys kissing outside. Uncle Taylor caught me and said you would tell me when you’re ready, but you never did. And now you’re broken up.”

She rolls her eyes like we’re complete idiots. I have to agree with her.

“I’m not sure if we’ve broken up,” I say slowly. “I don’t think I’m the right person to talk to about this.”

She sighs heavily. “You want me to talk to Dad, don’t you?”

“It’s probably better if you do, yes.”

“But you’ll keep giving me art lessons, even if you don’t work things out with my dad?”

She gives me such a hopeful look, it warms my heart. “I’ll make sure I can always give you lessons. If I have to, I’ll talk to your uncle or even your mom. But, as long as you want to keep going, I’ll keep coming.”

She gets up and gives me another tight hug. “I hope you and Dad get back together, Adalie. He was really happy when he was with you.”

Tears sting my eyes and my throat clogs up. I swallow a few times before I think I can speak. “I was really happy with him, too, Dani.” After another minute, we let go and I smile. “Now. Let’s see your tree.”

Chapter 31

Nate

Adalie and Dani have been upstairs for a while, and I’ve stopped myself from going to check on her at least a dozen times. I’ve been so distracted by her presence that Taylor had to take over dinner, forcing me to take his seat at the island, which means I’ll be doing dishes tonight.

“What is she doing here?” I say, staring at the stairs, not really looking for an answer, but Taylor gives me one, anyway.

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