Page 12 of Her Senator's Second Chance

“Of course, we can be friends,” Adam said. “I’d like that.”

“You’re sure Darla won’t mind?”

Adam laughed. “No. I can guarantee she won’t mind.”

His response bothered her. What kind of relationship did they have, anyway? Was it just for show? She’d known Jenny fairly well since she was always hanging around while she’d been dating Adam. Jenny was a good sister. She could spot a fake friend from a mile away. There was no pulling the wool over her eyes. If she didn’t like Darla, she would have a good reason. And apparently, she hated Darla enough to lock Adam up in the pantry with Natasha overnight. She had to be desperate. What was Adam walking into?

“I’m guessing that Jenny will be awake soon. What are we going to tell her when she comes to open this door?”

“We tell her we’re friends now.”

“I don’t know, because I felt something with you last night.”

“Natasha…” Adam’s voice grew quiet. “I’m not sure I can let myself go there with you again.”

Pain crept into her chest. “Why not?”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way. I fully respect that you’ve struggled a lot with the loss of your father. But I don’t know if I can handle going down a path that may lead to you ultimately leaving me again.”

“You mean you don’t want to invest in someone you can’t trust to stick around when the relationship gets too serious.” It hurt. A lot. But she understood where he was coming from. She couldn’t blame him. She’d crushed his heart once. What was keeping her from doing it again? Were the years of therapy enough to help her survive a serious relationship?

“Yes,” he said in a somber voice. “That’s what I mean.”

“So, you’re saying you still have feelings for me.” It wasn’t a question.

“I can’t deny how I feel about you, Natasha. I’ve tried to bury my emotions for years. No matter how hard I’ve thrown myself into my studies or my career, I still think about you when it’s late at night and the world has gone to sleep.”

“And that most likely won’t end after you marry Darla.”

“I’d thought about coming to see you on this trip to put my feelings for you behind me. Because I owe it to Darla.”

“But you just said that Darla won’t care if we’re friends,” Natasha pointed out. “And now you’re saying you still have feelings for me. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t let you near me.”

“I told you, my relationship with Darla is complex.” Adam crossed his arms in a defensive stance.

“Care to explain what that means?” Natasha presses.

“It means that Darla may not care as much about respecting marriage as I do.”

Why was he being so stubborn? Anger burned at the unfairness of it all. “If you respect marriage so much, then why are you marrying someone when you’re still thinking of another woman?”

A tortured expression crossed Adam’s face, and before he could respond, the door swung open and Jenny stood in the doorway.

“Good morning, Lovebirds! I didn’t mean to leave you two in here overnight. I kinda sorta fell asleep and just woke up. I hope you guys--” She must have noticed the look on Adam’s face because she stopped mid-sentence. “Um. Are you guys hungry? I can make breakfast.”

“Breakfast would be great,” Natasha said, grateful she didn’t pry into what had just transpired between them while locked up. Jenny was a very intuitive person. She must have figured from the look on Adam’s face that whatever needed to be talked about during their lockup was unearthed.

“Do you like eggs?” Jenny asked. “I make a killer breakfast burrito.”

“No,” Adam said abruptly. “I’m not hungry. I want to go home.” He brushed past Jenny and snatched his phone from where Jenny must have left it on the counter.

Jenny watched his behavior with a frown. “There’s no need to be rude, Adam.”

“No rudeness intended. I just really would like to go home and shower.”

Natasha had spent the last ten years running from Adam. Now that he was running from her, she understood how much she must have hurt Adam and how much she wanted him in her life to stay

“Adam.” Natasha followed him to the grand entrance of the home. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“I told you my relationship with Darla was private.”

She took a deep breath. “I love you, Adam.”

He stopped and turned to her.

“I know it may be ten years too late to tell you this. But I wanted to tell you I loved you back that night at prom. I was just too scared. You deserve to know. And now I know I still do. And I always will.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re right. It is ten years too late. But we’re different people now.”

Adam walked out the door, taking Natasha’s heart with him.

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