Page 92 of Once Upon a Boyband
“Girl. You’re in a relationship. Twenty-four hours is a long time to go without answering a text.”
“I’mbarelyin a relationship that we never actually defined with any official labels,” I say. But it’s a lie. I amabsolutelyin a relationship with Adam. Heart, mind, body, all of it. I’m invested. I care. And it’s killing me that he hasn’t texted back yet.
“Can we please talk about something else now? What’s going on withyou?”
He points an eggroll at me and opens his mouth to respond, but then a knock sounds on my front door.
“You expecting company?”
I shrug and dig into my orange chicken. “It’s probably the neighbor kid. She’s saving up for a bike and keeps stopping by to ask if I have any yard work she can do. If I don’t answer, she’ll go away.”
“You just ignore her?”
“Last time she was here, I paid her ten dollars to rake my mulch. You can’t make me feel guilty about this.”
He rolls his eyes and goes to answer the door.
When he comes back a minute later, his eyes are wide. “Definitelynotyour neighbor,” he says under his breath.
I put down my fork, my skin prickling with awareness,and point at Percy. “Don’t say a word,” I say to his knowing grin. “Not a single word.”
When I round the corner into the living room, I stop in my tracks.
Adam is standing near the front door, looking handsome as ever. His hair looks a little shorter, and I wonder if he got it cut today, but his stubble is longer, not quite a beard, but close, making him more Adam and less Deke.
But it isn’t Adam’s hair or his beard that stops me. It’s Ringo, sitting in Adam’s arms with a big red bow around his neck.
“Oh my gosh,” I whisper as Adam walks toward me, Ringo tucked closely against his chest. The hopeful look in Adam’s eyes makes the anxiety coiled in my belly snap and dissipate.
“Hi, baby,” I say as Adam lowers the puppy into my arms. “My sweet boy. I missed you!”
Ringo wiggles and squirms until his tiny paws are on my chest and he’s licking my chin with a determination only matched by his enthusiasm.
“If you aren’t ready for him, I can take him back,” Adam says. “Keep him until?—”
“No, this is perfect,” I say. “I’m ready.”
Adam lets out a breath as he nods. “Good. I’m really glad.” He looks over my shoulder, then clears his throat. “I, uh...sorry for interrupting your evening.”
I look over my shoulder to see Percy leaning against the kitchen door frame, arms folded across his chest. “Don’t apologize,” Percy says. “We’re just hanging out. There’s plenty of food if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks, but I have an early morning tomorrow,” Adam says. “And still lots to do at the rescue beforehand.”
I frown at the thought of Adam leaving so soon. Now that he’s standing in front of me, I feel an intense need to wrap my arms around him, to breathe him in and hold him close, but I still have no idea what’s going on inside his head, so I settle for hugging Ringo a little tighter. And shooting Percy a glare that says he’d better get back in the kitchen.
If I only have minutes before Adam leaves, I’d rather they not happen with Percy watching.
Percy must get the hint because he heads back to the kitchen after offering Adam a wave and a, “Nice to see you, Adam.”
“How are you?” I ask once we’re alone.
Adam’s expression shifts the slightest bit, like he just pulled a layer of protection around himself. “Good. Great.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Things have been really busy at the rescue, so I’m tackling paperwork, trying to get caught up. I’m actually heading to Georgia first thing tomorrow to pick up five new dogs from a kill shelter in Rabun County.”
I have no idea what’s happening here. Adam is talking like everything is fine. Like last week didn’t happen at all and there’s nothing for us to discuss.
