Page 33 of Unravel Me

“Why do you keep doing that?”

I twine my hair around my finger. “Doing what?”

“Covering your laugh.”

“It’s not a laugh. It’s some sort of strangled, dying animal sound, and it’s embarrassing.”

“Okay, well that’ll be weird.”

“What will be weird?”

“When someone asks me what my favorite sound is, and I have to describe it like that.”

I blink up at him. “You’re deranged.”

Chuckling, he takes my hand and heads down the sidewalk. “C’mon. Where’d you park?”

“Oh, I didn’t.”

His gaze swings my way. “You didn’t?”

“I don’t have a car.”

“Oh. Did someone drop you off?”

“No.”

“Is…someone picking you up?”

Another snicker-snort, but I’m less embarrassed about this one. “No, Adam.”

“Then how did you…how are you gonna…” He scratches his head. “Get home safely?”

“The same way I came. I’m going to take a bus.”

Adam hums to himself, then pulls me around, heading back the way we came.

“The bus stop is the other way.”

“And my truck is this way.”

“Adam—”

“It’s late. You’re not walking and taking the bus by yourself.”

“But I—”

“Nonnegotiable.” He opens the passenger door. “Unless you want me to follow behind you the entire way in my truck. So I guess it’s a little negotiable.” He grins at my crossed arms and hiked brow. “You’re supposed to be working on letting go, and I’m supposed to be working on being more in control, remember?”

I jab my finger into his chest. “Don’t turn my own words around on me.”

He laughs as I start climbing into the seat, and as my frustration grows with the difficult task, amusement rolls off him in waves.

“Something you wanna say?” I grunt as I hike a leg up in a particularly charming fashion in my sundress.

“I was about to ask you the same thing. ‘Can you help me, Adam? I seem to be slightly too short to do this myself,’ might be a good place to start.”

My head swivels in slow motion to glare at him over my shoulder.

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