Page 97 of Now or Never

Adam rolled his eyes.

“She left him,” Max added.

“Why?” his dad asked.

No one answered.

Adam reached his trowel into the mortar again and spread it over the next tile.

“What did you do?”

Ignoring his dad, he pressed it onto the wall. He knew it was just a matter of time before his dad started demanding answers. Fortunately, someone opened the door again, breaking the tension.

They all turned to find Uncle David decked out in designer golf pants and a polo shirt strolling into the kitchen.

“Well, hello,” he said with his signature smile. He took in their faces, and his smile dropped. “What’s wrong?”

“What are you doing here?” Adam asked.

His uncle’s brows rose. “Jill said I’d find you here. She said you’ve been here all week. I was going to steal you away for a round of golf.”

There was no way he was going to spend two hours walking around in the sunshine, joking with his uncle and pretending everything was perfect.

“Sorry, rain check,” he said, and turned back to the wall.

“Did I miss something?” David asked, looking around and settling on the only face he didn’t recognize. “Who are you?”

“This is Antonio,” Max said, introducing them. “Adam is in love.”

“With Chelsea?”

Adam groaned.

“The Monroe girl?” his dad asked his uncle and received a nod.

Silence. He wanted to scream. Wanted to smash the tiles in his hands to the ground, watch them shatter into a million pieces and scatter all over the floor.

And once again, the door swung open. “Fucking hell, what now?” he said.

He turned to find Ethan walking in, confident at first, but his stride faltered at Adam’s outburst. “What did I just walk into?”

“A total fucking shit show,” Adam muttered.

“Did you know Adam is in love with Chelsea?” his dad asked.

Ethan nodded. “Actually, I just came from her place.”

Adam’s heart leaped, and he spun on Ethan. “Is she okay? How’s Ben?”

“Who’sBen?” Denise asked at the same time his uncle asked, “What’swrongwith Ben?”

Antonio and Max filled them all in.

“Ben’s perfect,” Ethan said. “He’s recovering well. Natalie and I brought him some games and snacks to keep him busy while he rests. He started riding his bike again,” Ethan said with a smile. “Well, not riding, but he’s trying.”

Adam’s shoulders relaxed. “How’s Chelsea?”

Ethan tipped his head from side to side. “She’s . . .”

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