Page 25 of Now or Never

Chelsea twisted her head to look at the massive house, then turned back. “That’s different.”

Adam crossed his arms and thrust out his chest. “I know what real estate goes for around here. Your place is worth at least three times what mine is.”

Chelsea folded in on herself a little. “Yeah, well, I’m sure you don’t have to work three jobs to afford the taxes on yours.”

Her response made him feel like the hugest ass. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

She waved him off. “It’s fine. I’ve got it figured out. It won’t always be hard for me once I get my career going.”

Adam nodded. “Volunteering to work with Vincent is a smart idea. Is that what you want to do? Whatever he does?”

Chelsea smiled. “He’s a cinematographer. And, yeah, I guess I would be happy to do that.”

“But it’s not what you want?”

Chelsea’s head tipped from side to side as she glanced across the lawn at Vincent, Lilian, and Jasper. “Actually, I always wanted to be an indie filmmaker. But I need to start somewhere, so . . .” She trailed off, eyes downcast.

“I see. Well, it’s good to learn everything you can if you plan to direct one day. My dad made me work with every trade as a teen during the summer. Makes it a lot easier to tell people what to do and to make sure they did it right.”

Chelsea nodded and smiled. “Your dad seems like a great guy.”

Adam nodded, bouncing on his toes, happy to have a segue land in his lap. “Yup, and Ben’s dad seems like a real dipshit.”

Chelsea burst into laughter. “You picked up on that, eh?”

“Mm-hmm,” he drawled out.

“Well, he is a dipshit.”

“What happened to you two?”

Chelsea’s eyes widened. “I really don’t think—”

“Don’t start,” he said, cutting her off. “We’re friends. I told you all my shit. Pony up.”

He was half expecting her to slap him across the face, but she just rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fine. We were friends in film school, started hanging out a lot, started sleeping together, and then I found out I was pregnant.”

Adam had to stop himself from wincing. He looked across the lawn at Jasper’s back. The guy seemed completely in love with her. Something wasn’t adding up. “Then what?”

Chelsea clasped her hands, wringing them a little. “We moved in together. I thought it was forever, you know?” she said, piercing him with those eyes.

Forever.“Yeah.”

“But . . . when Ben was three weeks old, I came home from a checkup with him, and Jasper was packing up his stuff. He said he couldn’t do it, didn’t want to give up his career, and . . . he left,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Just like that.”

“Brutal,” he said, deciding he would be totally justified punching that fucker’s face in.

“It’s been a struggle.”

“Why does he look like he’s still in love with you?”

Chelsea shrugged. “He came back, after a few months, and told me he regretted leaving and wanted to get back together, but by that point, I had lost all the love I had for him. I guess abandonment is a hard line for me. The last time I saw him, he told me he still loves me.”

Adam stopped himself from cursing. “What did you say back?”

Chelsea flashed a smile. “I told him that the awkward alien invasion made our relationship planet uninhabitable a long time ago.”

Adam laughed. “You’re a weirdo.”

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