Page 70 of The Comeback Summer

I lean back in my chair and take a deep breath. Yes, I have feelings for Josh.

What’s more, I’m going to have to face them. To make a decision.

Just not tonight.

Twenty-Five

LIBBY

It turns out the only thing more stressful than Hannah going out with Adam is Hannahnotgoing out with Adam.

All day, I’ve been a nervous wreck. I played every possible scenario through my head: that they don’t hit it off and the date ends in disaster; that it’s love at first sight and they run away to get married and I lose both of them; that Adam somehow realizes it wasn’t Hannah he’s been talking to.

The one scenario I didn’t consider was that my sister would back out of the date. And now poor, sweet Adam is going to get stood up. I know it’s for a good reason—the whole point of this challenge is to save our family business. But Adam...

I check the time on my phone. He and Hannah are supposed to be meeting in fifteen minutes, so Adam is on his way, if he’s not there already.

When we were messaging a few weeks ago, he told me he’s always early to everything. It stems from an experience one morning in seventh grade when he had an upset stomach and was late walking into a school assembly. They had a guest speaker, some ex-military guy turned self-help/motivationalspeaker. The jerk made an example out of teenage Adam, calling him onto the stage to apologize, then ranting that tardiness was a sign you didn’t respect or value anyone else’s time.

Adam hasn’t been late to a single thing since.

Which means I better do something fast.

My heart constricts at the thought of Adam sitting alone at a table, waiting for a date that isn’t going to show. Just like his wedding day.Ugh.I can’t believe Hannah is doing this to him.

For a reason I can’t explain, I’m compelled to go myself, to make sure he’s okay. Or to see if he’s not. The coffee shop is just a few blocks away, so I grab my purse and head out the door.

I walk there in half the time it usually takes and stop outside to catch my breath. Once my heart has settled to a normal rate, I force myself to look inside the window. It’s just like I imagined it, Adam sitting alone at a table. Only he’s cuter in real life than in his photos. A lot cuter.

He’s wearing a light blue button-up shirt, the collar loose and the sleeves rolled up to show his tan forearms. His brown hair is short on the sides and curly on top, his beard neat and trimmed, his lips full and soft. There’s a warmth to him that none of his pictures captured. He just looks so... so kind. Like you want to sit down and tell him everything about yourself.

I smile in spite of myself, then remember why I’m there. I check the time again—two minutes until Hannah was supposed to meet him. I open the One+One app, my finger poised over the message icon, but I can’t do it. Not yet.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I walk inside. The bell above the door is tiny, but the noise it emits is so loud it might as well be a cymbal in a marching band, cutting through the din of people talking and the whir of the espresso machine.

My cheeks flush as every person in the place turns towardme—including Adam, sitting alone at the table in the back. His face lights up in a smile, but it fades when he sees I’m not the woman he’s been waiting for.

It takes everything in me to keep my own smile in place, to pretend his disappointment doesn’t sting. I make my way to the counter—since I’m here, I might as well get something to drink.

My phone feels heavy in my hands; I need to message Adam and let him know that Hannah won’t be coming after all, but I don’t want him to get up and leave quite yet.

“Can I help you?” the barista asks.

As I place my order for a medium sugar-free vanilla latte and white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, I notice the woman at the table next to Adam’s is gathering her belongings to leave.

“On second thought, make that two cookies,” I say, on impulse.

Taking a deep breath, I settle at the now empty table beside Adam. He looks up and gives me a polite smile before furrowing his brow and looking down at his phone. Hannah is officially late.

I pick up my own phone and open the One+One app.

HANNAHF:Hey...

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Adam’s face lights up at the sight of Hannah’s name.

ADAMR:Hi! This place is really cute, I’ve got a table for us in the back.

HANNAHF:Shoot, I was hoping to catch you before you got there

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