Page 48 of Bookworm
“I don’t know. I mean, Adam and I only just reconnected a week ago. I don’t know if that’s enough to make me uproot my life and leave England forgood.”
Behind me, I heard a quiet cough.
No.No, no, no.
He was in the shower. He was supposed to be in the shower.
Slowly, I spun toward the sound of the cough and was met with Adam’s back, rummaging around the clothes he’d brought over from his apartment, choosing black denim pants and a soft-looking gray sweater.
“You’re eerily quiet,” Daphne said.
“I um, I have to go, Daphne. I’ll call you later. And I want to hear all about Italy.”
“Does that mean he’s there?” she whispered.
“Yep.”
“Shit.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay, I love you, Harp. Call me later.”
I hung up just as Adam was tugging his pants up over a black pair of boxer briefs.
“Hey,” I tried.
Hey? God I was lame.
I cleared my throat, trying again. “I um, didn’t hear you come in.”
“Clearly,” he murmured, back muscles bunching as he pulled a white polo shirt on.
Okay, I thought, giving myself an internal pep talk.Stay calm. You didn’t do anything wrong talking with your best friend… but consider his feelings here, too. That’s not fun news to hear when you like someone. It’s not fun to even think about for me.
“I mean, youknewI had a home in London when this began.”
Well, damn.So much for that pep talk.Way to go, Harper. I can’t even listen to my own damn internal monologuing.
He paused, turning to look at me over his shoulder. Darkness clouded his features, a firm scowl marring his brows and mouth. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did know. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time… right?”
“What’sthatsupposed to mean?”
He shoved his head into his gray sweater, smoothing it down over his washboard abs. “You left once before, too.”
Boom. Gut punch.
“Yeah.Afteroverhearingyou and your dad talking all about what a loser I was.”
He snorted, dropping to a seat on the edge of my bed to slide his shoe on. “I really thought it’d be different this time.”
“Itisdifferent. You’re different. I’m different. Hell, this time we’re both adults to start with.”
With elbows on his thighs, he dropped his head into his hands, running his hands through his damp hair. “You leaving almost destroyed me last time, Harper. I was devastated. I almost didn’t even go to school that year. It was the only thing my mom and dad ever banded together for since their divorce, that intervention to pull me out of my depression and get me to Dartmouth that summer.”
I sank to a seat beside him. “I didn’t know that.”
“Why would you?Howwould you when we never spoke again until a few weeks ago.”
