Page 105 of Now or Never

Grabbing his keys, he left the house and hopped into the truck. He tried her cell again but got no response, so he suppressed his anxiety and drove on.

It took only four minutes to get there, time he spent thinking about what to say.

I’m sorry. I was stupid. I caused you pain by projecting my own fears onto you, and I will never do that again. I’m dealing with my trauma now. I’m in therapy. I love you. If you still have feelings for me, please let me love you for the rest of my life.

He braced himself, knocked on her door, and ten seconds later, it swung open, revealing Chelsea and her huge dimpled smile, looking as beautiful as ever.

His mind blanked.

He couldn’t form words.

Beads of sweat formed at his temples.

Her smile dropped immediately, and a deep scowl emerged.

Shit.

“Hey . . .” he said, his voice full of nerves. He couldn’t stop it from shaking, couldn’t think of all the things to say. It really wasn’t like him to flounder like this around women. But to be fair, charming random women out of their panties was way different than asking the best person in the whole world to be his . . . his.

She stared at him, waiting, annoyed. A pretty eyebrow cocked up at him.

Say something!

“What’s up?” he said, immediately regretting it. What the fuck was he doing? He was way, way out of his depth here.

He glanced at his feet, shook his head a little, then looked up to start over. But she was already rolling her eyes. “Ch—”

“What’s up?” she asked, cutting him off with a humourless laugh. “My standards.That’swhat’s up.”

Smack!

The door slammed in his face so hard the windows rattled. This was going badly. He took a deep breath, started rehearsing his lines again while making ten trips to his truck to unload all Ben’s presents onto the porch. It took him a few minutes, then he braced himself and knocked again.

He was actually a little surprised when the door opened.

“You again?” she said, her pretty hand on her squishy hip. God, he fucking loved her hips.

“Me again.”

She looked down at the porch covered in presents. “What the hell is all this?”

“Presents. Birthday presents. For Ben.”

Her scowl deepened. “He doesn’t want presents. He wants people that will show up and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. Go away.”

The door started closing in his face again. “Wait! Please!” he said, relieved when she paused. “I’m sorry I missed his birthday. I willnevermiss another one for the rest of my life.”

“You won’t have the chance to disappoint us again, Adam. Goodbye.”

“I’m so sorry, Chelsea, for the way I acted. I was stupid and I hurt you and it’s the last thing on earth I want to do.”

Chelsea’s face softened slightly, and she rolled her beautiful eyes. “Fine. Now leave.”

“Actually, I was hoping—”

“Stop,” she said, cutting him off. “Don’t hope. I’ve moved on, and you should do the same. We are awkward acquaintances, at best. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Adam started shaking his head. “I can’t leave it at that. I’m in love with you.”

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