Page 131 of Burn

Scarlett smacks his arm, then pushes him back the way he came. “Go away. You scare people off.”

“Well, don’t try and bitch to me later that I never help with the front.” As he retreats toward the kitchen, he grabs a beer from the cooler, and Adrian laughs.

She rolls her eyes again, and says, “I never bitch that he doesn’t help out here. His being out here is bad for business.”

I chuckle, and Adrian says, “I like him.”

Her bright blue eyes sparkle when she grins at Adrian. She introduces herself and asks, “New to town?”

“First time here!” I reply, and her gaze flicks to Adrian, almost as if she recognizes him, which happens more than I expected. It seems like everyone has seen theBeaver’ssocial media account but often can’t fully place where they know Adrian’s face from.

We order two pizzas and eat on the patio. Before we leave, I have Adrian snap a photo of me in front of the massive pizza wings painted on a wall outside, then we wander the main street, stopping into the shops to browse. It’s all so cute, and the people are so friendly.

We climb back into the truck, and Adrian asks, “What do you think?”

“It’s adorable, but where the hell are we?”

“The town is called Hallowmoore. I have more to show you. I found this town online and thought it would be a fun day trip.This weekend is theirLilac Festival,” he explains. “I don’t think it’s usually quite so busy.”

I glance around incredulously. “Busy?” I snort a laugh. “Babe, there are like twenty people walking around.”

“Well, I assume it’s usually much quieter.”

My belly is full and happy, and I’m eager to see what’s next, so I excitedly pat my hands on my thighs and say, “Okay, so! What else?”

We pull out of town, heading down a new unpaved road. When we turn onto a dead-end, I peer at him wearily. “This isn’t where you plan to dump my body, right? Or is this a kidnapping? Really thought we were past all that.”

He shakes his head, his shoulder shaking in a silent laugh, but he doesn’t reply. Instead, he stops out front of a small blue house. He kills the engine, and we sit in silence as I take in the area.

“Where are we?” I ask cautiously.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he climbs out of the truck and rounds the front, coming to my door and opening it. “Come on,” he says, holding his hand out for mine. Suddenly, I’m incredibly nervous. My skin prickles as I slide my hand into his and descend onto the gravel road.

He clears his throat as he pulls me up the driveway. “So, when everything with my house with Alice was settled, she had to pay me out,” he explains. “We bought before the cost of houses exploded, and I got a pretty good payout.” His hand is clammy against mine. “I wanted to do something with the money, but the houses in Torhaven are completely unaffordable.”

Oh my god.

Hedidn’t.

We step onto the front porch, and he turns to face me. His eyes search mine, and I can see the way his heart races in his throat. He swallows thickly, then continues. “Ronan and Cally helped. They came out here with me every chance they had.”

My voice cracks when I ask, “Why did they do that?”

He smiles. It’s small and barely noticeable. “The place needed some work. We renovated it. We replaced the kitchen and the bathroom, and we built the garage.”

I can barely breathe, and it’s getting hard to hear his words over the sound of my own heart pounding in my ears. My head spins, and I feel like I might faint.

Adrian’s brows knit together, and he grabs onto my shoulders, stabilizing me. “Whoa, Lex. You’re white as a ghost.”

I wobble and barely whisper, “I think I need to sit down.”

He helps me onto a large egg-shaped chair, then drops to his knees in front of me. This is and always will be my favorite way to see Adrian. On his knees before me. I momentarily flash back to him on his knees in the snow, ring in hand, and I spin the diamonds on my ring finger nervously.

“I need you to spit it out, Adrian. What is this house? Where are we?” It’s a plea, I need him to say it.

What if I’m misunderstanding?

He cups my face, gently stroking my cheek with his rough thumb. “It’sourplace,” he says after a pause.

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