Page 120 of Unravel Me

Tension stacks in my shoulders, so tight it curls me forward. I roll my neck, but the stiffness has already dug its claws in. My fingers move on their own accord, hitting that Video Call button, and my knee bounces as I pray for it to connect.

Rosie’s face fills my computer screen, and I melt into the seat.

“Hey,” she greets me quietly, a spark of hesitance in her eyes. Through all the messages since Bear came out of surgery, we haven’t spoken face to face.

“Sorry for calling so late.”

“It’s okay. I just climbed into bed two minutes ago.” She looks like an angel, lit only by the glow of her phone, pink waves scattered around her face, the sleeve of her oversized sleep tee hanging off one delectable shoulder. “Congrats on your…oh God, this is going to be so embarrassing. I know this is wrong, but I know it’s close. Shut-up?”

I bark a laugh, and she blushes my favorite blush. “Shutout.”

“I told you it was gonna be embarrassing. But it still made sense in my head. You didn’t let in any goals, so it kinda shuts up the other team, you know?”

“I like it. Petition to change it from shutout to shut-up.”

“I know you’re just placating me, Adam Lockwood.”

“And I know I’m in trouble when you or my mom use my full name.” I smile at the way she giggles. “Did you watch?”

She nods, brushing her bangs back. “Both games. Carter Beckett is really fast. And Jaxon likes to fight a lot, which I wasn’t expecting, given that he fell head over heels for a cat at first sight, called him Mittens, and then adopted him.”

“He hides his soft side behind tattoos and punches.”

“And you, you were so…” She blows out a breath, eyes widening. “Big. I didn’t think you could get any bigger, but you really did. And, um…flexible. I mean, I knew you were flexible, of course.” Her eyes widen. “Oh God. That’s…that’s…” She swipes a hand through the air. “Just never mind me.”

Christ, she’s so damn cute, I’d give anything to pull her into my arms right now. “I, uh, called because I…wanted…to…”Tell you I love you and I’ve hated every single minute apart from you?“Thank you. For taking care of Bear.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, Adam. He makes school better, getting a hug and kiss whenever I want.”

“That’s why he looks so smug in all the pictures you send me, huh?”

“You know I can’t say no to him. Plus, he’s thriving on all the attention. He’s got the girls here wrapped around his paw.” A rustle draws her gaze away from me, and then she dives under the covers with her phone. “Oh shoot. I’m waking Connor. I better get going.”

“I’ll see you in the morning? When I pick up Bear?”

“I’ll be there, Adam. We’re so excited to see you.”

We’re. The single word sends my stupid heart into a tailspin, and I fixate on it for the rest of the flight, and two hours later when I’m lying awake in bed. When I’m walking into the clinic after breakfast the next morning, spinning my keys around my finger and whistling, the six-word sentence is still playing on repeat in my head.

“Mr. Lockwood,” the receptionist greets me. “It’s a beautiful day to bring home a happy, healthy pup.”

“It definitely is.” I slide a box of donuts onto the desk. “These are for everyone.”

“We love donuts. I’ll let them know you’re here.”

A woman walks out from the back a minute later, and she most definitely doesn’t have pink hair. “Come on back with me. I’ll walk you through what to expect from Bear’s recovery at home.”

“Is Rosie here? I brought her breakfast, in case she didn’t eat this morning. She forgets sometimes.”

“Rosie’s working on an emergency that came in about twenty minutes ago. She’ll be sad she missed you, but I can take those for you.” She reaches for the iced latte, the bag with a piping hot bacon, gouda, and egg breakfast sandwich on a croissant, with a warm and gooey ginger molasses cookie.

And what do I do? I pull the items into my chest, because apparently, I’m a child.

“I’ll make sure she gets them, Mr. Lockwood,” the woman assures me. “I promise I won’t eat her breakfast.”

“Oh.” I look down at the food in my hand before slowly handing it over. “Okay. Thank you.”

A gloomy feeling settles low in my stomach. With Bear coming home, Rosie has no reason to check in. As I follow the doctor through the clinic, my brain is already working in overdrive, conjuring up a hundred ways toaccidentallybump into her. If I can get my hands on her hat again, she’llhaveto see me.

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