Page 21 of Yellow
Who else thinks me a stupid, naïve woman?
Is that how people see me?
Determined not to let Adam see me cry, I walked to the other side of the cabin and started making the bed. It gave me something to focus on and an excuse to look down until I had my emotions under control.
“So what’s the plan for today?” Adam asked me a few minutes later.
“I don’t know. Onava told me something that I have to work on, but I’m not sure how exactly.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Of course it is. She asked me to take over, so let me help you.”
I scoffed. “I don’t want your help.”Or your pity, I added in my mind.
“Suit yourself then.”
Two minutes later the door slammed and I was alone. I cried then, hard and long, feeling sorry for myself and wishing that I’d never come here.
When Adam returned an hour later, I had packed my bag.
“I need a lift to Seattle,” I said with a stony expression.
“Why?”
“I’m not staying here with you.”
Adam took off his hat and moved closer. “Look, Cleo, I’m sorry if I’ve been rude to you. I’ll try to be nicer.”
“No, you won’t.”
“I will. I promise. Ona would be very disappointed with me if she heard I’d scared you off within a day. She taught me better than that.”
He held out a hand to me. “Why don’t we start over? My name is Adam, it’s nice to meet you.”
I looked up at him, seeing a small smile on his handsome face and eyes that were warmer than before.
Slowly I held out my hand. “Chloe,” I said.
That made him raise his brows. “I thought your name was Cleo?”
“That’s my artist name. My real name is Chloe Olsson.”
“Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea, Chloe Olsson?”
I stiffened. Adam had been handsome when he scowled at me, but now that he smiled… It was like he knocked down every defense I had built up against him while he had been outside and I’d packed my bag. The tingling sensation in my belly when he took off his jacket was almost painful because it reminded me of his words that I was “naïve.”
I am!
So naïve that for a second I thought his charming smile meant he liked me. But obviously I was fooling myself. Adam couldn’t care less about me. He just didn’t want to disappoint Onava.
“How come you didn’t go with Onava? Her mother is your grandmother, right?” I asked in an attempt to find a safe topic.
“Yes, but I’ve never met her. She lives far up north, and I lived with my mother’s side of the family until I was thirteen.”
“What happened when you were thirteen?”
