Page 96 of Why Not Us?

“She didn’t want me to walk her to her car. She didn’t say anything to me the whole time she was here.”

He slaps a hand on his forehead. “You didn’t talk to her either!” He closes his eyes in a bid for patience. When he opens them again, he looks kind of angry. “You sure are making a lot of assumptions without actually talking to the woman.”

Then Dani comes back, and we set the table and sit down to eat. After we talk about our favourite parts of the day, I think everything is finally calmed down. Until my daughter looks at me, a determined set to her jaw.

“Why did you break up with Adalie?” Dani asks, and I literally choke on my food.

After I’m done coughing, I say, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you didn’t say anything to her, and you didn’t walk her to her car. She didn’t stay for dinner. Why did you break up?”

“Who said we were together?” I cast a look at my brother who shrugs.

“I told you to tell her,” he says.

Dani rolls her eyes. “I saw you kissing her. When you walk her to her car, I would look out the window.” She points upstairs and I know she means the window in the spare bedroom that looks over the front yard.

“You sneaky little spy,” I say, but there’s no heat to my words. More like admiration.

She looks at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.

I sigh. “Adult stuff is complicated, pipsqueak.”

“What’s so complicated? You love her. She loves you. She should be staying for dinner.”

I swallow hard. “I don’t—She—” But I can’t tell her she’s right about me being in love with Adalie or that she’s wrong about Adalie being in love with me. I can’t tell her I want Adalie to stay for dinner. Or forever. Because I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me, and I can’t give Dani hope if I don’t have any myself.

I clear my throat. “Dani. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out. But she’ll always be welcome here if you want her to come for your lessons.”

It’ll tear my heart out to see her every two weeks, but for Dani, I’ll never stop Adalie from coming. And maybe I want to see her again, keep seeing her, even if she never says another word to me.

Dani snorts. “I’m done eating. Can I go and finish my sketch?”

I agree and watch my daughter climb the stairs. Taylor stands.

“I’m going home,” he says. “Since I don’t need to do the dishes. I’m going to say good night to Dani.”

I stand as well, bringing the first plates into the kitchen.

“Nate?” Taylor says before he goes upstairs. “She’s not going to wait forever.”

He doesn’t wait for me to respond. Just leaves me with a warning I don’t know what to do with.

Chapter 32

Adalie

Ipark my car outside my parents’ house on Sunday and wring my hands on the steering wheel for a moment before I get out.

“Just go in, get through dinner, and get out.” I take a steadying breath and grab my pink cardigan from my passenger seat, tugging it on to cover my shoulders despite the August heat, before walking to the house. Then I smooth my hands down the front of my dress and open the door.

“Hi,” I call out.

“Hi, Addie,” Elliot responds. He appears at the top of the stairs before I’ve even taken my shoes off. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

I take another deep breath and climb up to meet him. “Sure.” I follow him to the living room, since everyone is sitting outside on the deck. I sit on the couch while he sits on the love seat, his hands clasped in front of him like he’s about to beg me. Though, now that I think of it, he doesn’t even say please when he asks me for money.

He hasn’t asked since he came to my office when I’d told him it was the last time. I’m a little curious to see what he’s going to say now. Why he needs me to bail him out again even after I’ve told him I won’t.

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