Page 43 of Lucy Loves Him Not
The sun had completely vanished by the time we pointed the car toward my mom’s house. Liv was texting me, asking where we were. But I was on a sugar high, an Adam high.
I should enjoy riding in a car with him a normal amount, but talking with him and sitting beside him made me giddy in a really inconvenient way.
Sixteen
The long, oak dining table at Mom’s felt like a talk show with my mom and Olivia letting their curiosity spill out question after question.
“Lucy says you’ve moved around a lot. Where all have you lived?” Mom asked, melty cheese hanging off her slice of pizza.
“Oklahoma, Oregon, Ohio, Arizona, and now Texas,” Adam said, counting them off on his fingers.
“Do you date around a lot?” Olivia asked, both her feet on her chair with her knees against her chest.
“I think I date a regular amount,” Adam said.
“When was your last date?” Olivia asked, eyebrow arched.
“A striking woman invited me over for pizza tonight.” Adam nodded toward my mom.
Mom and Olivia both howled with laughter. I kept twirling my hair around my index finger.
“My last date was more than six months ago. I’m a relationship guy and I got out of a relationship a couple years ago. I haven’t had it in me to jump back out there. My job is also really, really time-consuming,” Adam answered Olivia, but his eyes kept landing on me.
“How serious was this last relationship?” Olivia pressed.
“Eh, well, we dated for several months but it kind of stagnated after a while. It never went very deep. That magic wasn’t there,” he explained.
“That was my last relationship, too,” I said without thinking. “It was in my early twenties and lasted for months, but it never went very deep. There was no magic.”
“Favorite vacation spot?” Mom tossed out another question.
Adam thought for a second then said, “Rent a car and drive around the East Coast in the fall.”
“If you could have any dinner guest, who would it be?” Olivia asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Clara Rhodes. I wish I could meet this big-hearted woman who got the respect of a pack like this one,” Adam said, tapping his hand against his chest.
“Are you close to your grandparents?” Olivia asked.
“I’m fairly close to my mom’s parents,” Adam answered after a beat.
“Do you have any secret talents?” Mom asked, pushing her plate away.
“I play the guitar for all my girlfriends. And my mom,” Adam said, his voice syrupy sweet.
“Did you leave behind a best friend when you moved here?” Olivia asked. I chewed on a bite of salty crust while I waited for his answer.
“I have a best friend who lives back in Tulsa. We’ve stayed in touch. I left behind some friends I made at work, but otherwise, where I last was in Ohio, I didn’t really make any friendships that hurt to leave. I sound like a loner, huh?”
“Not a loner, but maybe a little lonely,” Olivia said softly. The look in Adam’s eyes made my hands itch for his.
“How did you find the job as city manager here in Sweet River?” my mom asked.
“I was feeling that drive to keep moving along in my career, not to mention I was kind of ready to hit the road after being in the same place for a while, so I connected with a recruiter. And one of the people in Sweet River’s HR had worked with me previously back in Oklahoma, so they gave me a good reference.”
“Okay, let’s get back to a fun question. What movie do you watch over and over?” Mom asked, her arms folded on the table.
“I watch the Harry Potter movies over and over. Sometimes to really pay attention with popcorn, but then other times, I put it on in the background while I’m cooking dinner or working on a project. Just the sound of it makes me feel kind of peaceful.” I imagined laughing in the kitchen with Adam while scenes from a snowy, magical England flit across the screen in the background. I shook the image away.
