Page 57 of Now or Never

The second Adam’s foot hit the carpet, a hundred people started shouting his name, practically climbing over each other to get his attention. Chelsea was not prepared for him to garner such a huge reaction. She almost wanted to laugh. She couldn’t think about Adam in any way other than the cocky playerconstruction guy who liked country music and drinking beer out of the bed of his truck.

He took her hand tightly in his grip and started toward the door, sparing only a slight nod of his head at his adoring fans. No wave. No smile.

He was acting so guarded, so different from himself. He wasneverwithout a smile and a wave. He loved chatting up people in Mapleton. She’d expected him to hop out of the limo, yell “Hi!” and start dancing toward the theatre doors.

Instead, he dropped his gaze to the floor in front of him and moved briskly, never breaking his stride. It wasn’t until they’d stepped into the theatre and the doors had closed behind them, shutting out the world, that his whole body relaxed.

“You okay?” Chelsea asked.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath but keeping hold of her hand. “I was hoping they wouldn’t recognize me.”

Chelsea looked back out the door at the crowd, cameras aggressively trying to photograph him through the glass.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was going to be hard for you. You’re so . . . outgoing. I thought you’d bask in this sort of thing.”

Adam shook his head. “When I was younger, I did. That was part of the problem.” He raised his hand to run through his hair, then made a face when he remembered it was styled. “Haven’t you googled me?”

Chelsea smiled and shook her head. “No. Honestly, I forget that you’re a somebody. I just think of you as this over-the-top small-town guy with lots of friends who lives to have fun.”

“Thatiswho I am. Out there is just my name. And my past.” He glanced out the window, a frown marring his brow. “The press shadowed me relentlessly after my accident, they got footage of me in the hospital, used telephoto lenses to show my injuries and scars, they even followed my ex around and gossiped about our breakup. It was brutal.”

Chelsea sighed. She wanted to hug him but settled for squeezing his hand a little tighter in hers.

“Anyway,” he said, shaking his head to clear the bad memories. He smiled down at her before reaching his free hand up and scratching his stomach through his custom-made designer suit. “Do you think they’ve got popcorn at these things?”

Chelsea laughed as he melted back into the man she’d come to know, and the tension between her shoulder blades eased. “Let’s find out.”

Chelsea was stunned when the credits started rolling and Adam leaned in and told her he’d got them on the list for the most exclusive after-party of the festival. Possibly even more stunned that he’d be willing to go. She loved parties and thought it would be amazing to be in a room full of that many industry people.

He’d told her he was happy to go with her as long as she didn’t walk away and leave him alone with them, and she emphatically agreed.

She didn’t really want to be there without him, anyway.

They arrived at the party by limo, and although there were still cameras vying for Adam’s attention, it was far fewer, and they weren’t allowed in the room.

The moment she stepped into the loft, she was floored. The room was entirely marble, from floor to ceiling, with purple lighting up the walls. There was a DJ set up in the corner and servers with platters milling about the room, offering the rich and famous tiny little bites of food.

Chelsea walked through the room with wide eyes, watching big name producers and directors make their way to Adam and introduce themselves to him. He’d politely say hello, thenimmediately introduce her, and she would do everything she could not to embarrass herself as she’d done with Vincent when she’d first met him.

They made their way around, all the while tightly gripping each other’s hands, until Adam leaned in close to her ear and whispered, making her skin tingle all over.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” he said, warm breath fluttering over the shell of her ear and trickling down her neck.

She hadn’t recovered from the sensation yet, but he was already walking, gently tugging her along.

They weaved through the crowd all the way to the other side of the room before Adam finally stopped and Chelsea came around him to see a man’s back.

When Adam tapped the man’s shoulder and he turned around, Chelsea’s jaw dropped.

She was looking at Adam.

Only . . . old.

“Adam?” the man said, first in shock, then repeated it so loud it drew the attention of the crowd.

Old Adam let out a disbelieving laugh, pulling Adam into a bear hug and holding it for at least thirty seconds before letting go. “What are you doing here?”

Adam laughed and sounded more like himself than he had since the car ride from Mapleton. Chelsea found her shoulders relaxing, breath coming easier.

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