Page 46 of The Long Game

“Those fucking heels,” I said, hearing the harshness in my voice. Her brows wrinkled. “You’re going to break your bloody neck one of these goddamn days.”

Adalyn blinked a few times, then shook her head. The dazed look disappeared from her face. “Do you really need to talk like such a walking stereotype?” She lowered her voice in what had to be an attempt at imitating my tone. “Those bloody heels, mate. Bollocks,innit? I’m chuffed to bits! Fancy a cuppa?” A huff left her. “If you tell me you stop your day at five to have tea, and keep a tweed flat cap in a drawer somewhere, I swear I’m going to lose my ever-loving mind.”

I stared at her.

For a long time. Then, I barked out a laugh.

It was loud and boisterous, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t laughed like that in a long goddamn time.

Adalyn rolled her eyes. “You have that flat cap, don’t you?”

“I do,” I confirmed with a nod. “But I was raised with an Italiannonna, darling. So I’ll take a good espresso over a cup of tea any day of the week.”

“Not your darling.” Adalyn released a breath. “And I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You really have a caffeine addiction from what I’ve seen,” she added in a serious tone, but I could see the corners of her lips bending slightly upward.

I wondered how her smile looked. Her real one.

I made myself look somewhere else, my eyes landing on her chest. The button I’d been so preoccupied with moments earlier had come undone. And it allowed me a glimpse at the fabric of her bra.

It looked like satin. Lavender.

Christ.

My eyelids fluttered shut, out of pure survival. I even turned my body to face away. Searching for something else to look at and focusing on the first thing I found. The shed. Which still was in a state of complete disarray.

Exactly how I felt.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Adalyn

This was it. I was done. I really was.

I let the screwdriver I’d bought at Cheap Moe’s fall to the floor and absently wiped my hands on my legs, leaving twin trails of dirt on the fabric of my leggings. I looked at my tank top. Also filthy.

“Great,” I whispered. “This is just great.”

Not only did the parts of this monstrosity of a bed seem to be held together by some kind of super powerful dark magic, but now I was covered in dirt and sweat and I’d ruined the only casual items of clothing I had.

Grabbing my sandwich and fruit salad from the kitchenette’s counter, I tucked my phone under an arm, walked out to the sad and grisly porch that consisted of a single step, and plopped down. Something sharp pricked my ass, but I felt so helpless in that moment, so done, that I didn’t even bother moving. The leggings were dirty anyway. And it wasn’t like I could drop them in the washer because, turned out, there wasn’t one in the cottage, so whatever.

So whatever. I didn’t recognize myself.

With a sigh, I unwrapped my dinner and looked ahead as I chewed on the sandwich. I contemplated what was supposed to bethe peaceful and beautiful expanse of nature before me, and saw this place for what it was. A few hills. A bunch of trees. An ugly cabin. A chip of rotten wood under my ass.

A gust of wind picked up, making me curl my legs closer to my chest. I took a new bite, recounting the winter clothes I’d packed: zero. I didn’t even own more than the one winter jacket that I hadn’t used in… years. Which was one of the things I loved about Miami.

I shook my head, deciding not to think about that. I’d make do with what I had. The nights and early mornings were growing cold the closer we got to October but it’d be fine. I’d have to be fine.

My phone pinged with a message, providing a welcome distraction, so I shifted my sandwich to my left hand and held the device up.

MATTHEW:Bad news.

Alarm surged in my belly as I typed my answer. I’d talked to Matthew on Sunday night, but besides providing him with a good laugh at the image of me, doing yoga—with goats, and without Cameron, who I still hadn’t mentioned to Matthew—there hadn’t been any developments on the #sparklesgate front.

ADALYN:It must be really bad if I’m not getting a goat gif.

MATTHEW:It kind of is.

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