Page 133 of Unravel Me

Her gaze drops, searching through my words as her chest heaves.

I squeeze her hands in mine. “Can you try something? Close your eyes for me.” I smile, brushing her hair off her face as her eyes flutter closed. “I know it’s hard, but picture your parents sitting here with you.” A tear escapes, tracking its way down her cheek, followed by another, and she clamps down on her lower lip, chin trembling. “Tell them you see their pain.”

She shakes her head, tears falling faster.

“Rosie,” I whisper, taking her face in my hands. “Please. Tell them.”

“I see your pain,” she cries softly.

“Good girl,” I murmur, swiping at her tears. “Now tell them you can’t hold it for them.”

She gasps out the words before she falls across the center console, collapsing against my chest. I smooth my palm down her back, holding her close as she cries into my neck.

“What did they say?”

She looks up at me, green eyes dancing in their own rain, crystal clear as it washes away just a little bit of her fears. “‘We’re not asking you to.’”

“I believe that. They don’t want you to hold onto that. Not the pain, not the fears. They want you to remember the love.” I wipe away the tears that cling to her lashes as she gives me a heartbreaking smile. “I bet they gave the best kind of love, Rosie. Just like you.”

Rosie tosses her arms around my neck, hugging me tight. “Thank you, Adam. Thank you so much.”

We spend the next few minutes checking the mirrors, practicing tapping the break and giving the truck just alittle bitof gas, and when Rosie’s ready, she takes a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel.

“Put it into drive,” I tell her, watching as she does it. “Good. Now signal left to let people know you’re going to be merging into traffic.” I glance over my shoulder at the imaginary traffic, Archie and Marco hitting us with two thumbs as they watch from the side of the road, Connor clapping Marco’s head. “And when you’re ready, take your foot off the brake.”

She squeezes her eyes shut and breathes deeply before demanding, “Tell me something good. Tell me about your charity, The Family Project. Why do you do it?”

I smile. “I do it for the kids who are searching for somewhere to belong, searching for safety, for love.”

Rosie cracks her lids. Slowly, she releases the brake, and the truck inches forward.

“I do it for the kids who want to give up, because I want to show them what happens when you hold on a little bit longer.”

She steps on the gas, just a bit, and the truck moves a little faster.

“I do it so they know there’s always someone out there that loves them, that’s rooting for them. That it might take some time, but they’re going to find their people. I do it for the Rosies.”

She beams, bright and so beautiful, and when she comes to a stop at the corner and throws the truck in park, Archie and Marco run toward us with Connor, shouting and cheering. The pride shining in her eyes is unparalleled, a sight I’ll remember forever.

“I did it, Adam. I drove down my first street!”

CHAPTER31

WHO’S THE REAL MR. INCREDIBLE?

ROSIE

“Are you nervous?”

“Me? Nervous? Pfft. Have youeverknown me to be nervous?”

Adam side-eyes me as we stroll down the sidewalk together, towing Connor along in a brand-new, top-of-the-line, fancy-as-hell wagon he just happened to have in his garage. In the wagon with Connor? Bear. Yes, this wagon is so fancy, it supports this one-hundred-and-forty-pound dog with ease. “Always.”

“This would’ve been an acceptable time to lie, in case you were wondering.” I look at Connor, bouncing along in his new favorite ride, clapping his hands and chantingI-lan, because Adam told him we were going to go meet his new friend Ireland. Then, I look down at myself, the outfit I changed four times, the jeans Archie swore hugged my ass just right, the oversized sweater I put on after giving up on everything else. “I just want your friends to like me.”

“They already love you, Rosie.”

“You can’t possibly know that, Adam. You’re only trying to make me feel better.”

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