Page 110 of Now or Never

“Sorry,” he said, cutting his uncle off. “I just had a thought. Can you get me a copy of the script?”

“Of course.”

“Like, right away?”

“I’ll have it couriered to you within an hour,” he said.

“Thanks, that would be great. I think I know what to do.”

“To help me invest?”

“No,” Adam said, shaking his head. He grabbed his keys from his bench, jogged to his truck. “To get her to see that I’m with her until the end. I gotta go.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he said, getting into his truck and turning it on. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He hung up the phone and headed straight for the hardware store, feeling way better about his new plan than the stereo.

thirty-five

Chelsea pulled up in Adam’s driveway, killed the engine of her car. She saw him even before getting out. He was standing in his garage with his back to her, surrounded by a cloud of sawdust. When she opened the car door, she was struck with blaring music and whirring saws.

He set aside a long piece of wood, pulled a measuring tape from his belt and a pencil from behind his ear.

She could stare at him all day. But for now, she needed to sort out this . . . thing between them.

She had sworn off him for good, but then he’d declared his intentions, and given presents to Ben, and insisted he loved her.

And then she heard a rumour from Vincent that he’d asked for a copy of her screenplay. She had to know what his game was.

“Adam,” she said, but her voice didn’t even reach her own ears over the sound of the music and saw, let alone his.

“Adam!” she yelled.

Still nothing.

She walked closer to him, tapped his muscular shoulder blade through his thin white T-shirt.

He stopped sawing and spun around, surprised, but his face immediately melted into a smile. He set down the wood, pulled off his safety glasses.

“Chelsea,” he said, looking so happy it melted her heart. Slightly. He broke eye contact for a moment, looking around at whatever project he was working on, and when he looked back, he was a little less confident.

“Hi,” she said.

He leaned in, the smell of wood and cologne messing with her brain, and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. It was the same kiss he’d given her that night after he’d professed his love in front of her date and left.

She fought the emotion that it brought up, the exasperation, and yes, the love. But she also felt apprehension. She wasn’t interested in going back to the way things were.

She wanted a whole entire committed relationship with someone, and she refused to settle for less.

“Sorry to drop in on you,” she said, suddenly feeling shy.

Adam shook his head. “You’re always welcome here.”

Her gaze went to her fingers intertwined at her stomach. She was incredibly conflicted. She wanted to hug him. Wanted to kick him in the shin. Wanted to call him an ass. Wanted to run.

Mostly, though, she wanted answers.

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