AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After another quick kiss, I tell Adam I’m gonna help Riley and he pouts. “I’m still in the house,” I remind him.
“And I like you there,” he says. “It’s where you belong.”
Wondering where he’s going with this, but loving it so far, I start to ask when Riley yells for me. Knowing I shouldn’t keep her waiting, yet wanting to keep talking about this, I’m torn. Adam must see and motions me to continue with the promise we’ll finish this later.
Chapter Eight
Ember
September 10th…
Later ended up being the next day. Riley was so pumped it took her hours to settle down, and when she finally did, Nash and Camden hyped her back up by suggesting we play some board games.
She and I teamed up in Pictionary and wiped the floor with her brothers. Even stacking the odds in their favor, three against two, they couldn’t win. Riley gloated for a while, and they let her, so pleased she was happy and smiling again. They weren’t going to take that away from her.
Still ticked at my parents, I accepted Adam’s invitation to spend the night. I need to tell him about that, and I will at some point, but it was too raw to rehash mere hours after the confrontation. All I wanted was to sleep in his arms and he happily provided them, along with one of his t-shirts and a pair of boxers for me to wear. His scent surrounding me, his clothes touching my naked body, laying in his bed…dreams do come true.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay like that. We have things to do, people to take care of, and, in my case, a job to find. An apartment, too, but I need the money to pay for it first.
Over breakfast, we stick to light topics, all of us needing a break from the heavy stuff that’s been hanging over us lately. That’s not to say we’ve forgotten about who we lost, only that we need the emotional equivalent of a time out. Camden and Riley leave for school with Nash as he’s dropping them off on his way to work.
Adam and I sit there, table covered in dishes, the sink full of more of them, and wait after their whirlwind departure. No doorbells disturb the silence to warn of a visitor. No phones ring. No footsteps sound throughout the house to remind us others are here.
“Are we actually alone?” I ask.
“Shh,” he replies. “Don’t jinx it.” We both laugh at his admonishment. It’s not that he isn’t thankful for the condolences, food, and inquiries on how someone can help, and he loves his siblings to pieces. But I wonder if he’s had a moment to himself since receiving the news.
He doesn’t exactly have it now either since I’m here, but it’s pretty close to it. Besides, I have a feeling if I try to leave, he won’t let me. Seeing as how I don’t want to, that works out perfectly.
“What do you need to do?” I inquire to break the silence. “I’m job and apartment hunting, but I can work around that if you need me to.” I also have to finalize everything with the local college where I now attend, though I don’t mention that part. Adam doesn’t regret choosing to stay here for his family, yet he is a bit disappointed he won’t be able to finish his degree and graduate. Maybe once things settle down, he can.
“I start back at Chuck’s Monday, so I need to hit the grocery store and run some errands.”
“Want company?” I offer, happy to help while simultaneously spending time with him. When he doesn’t respond, I try a different tactic. “Or we could split the list and tackle them that way. Two is always better than one. Teamwork makes the dream work and all that.” Still nothing. “Unless there’s something else you need me to do that’ll lighten your load or stress.”
“Marry me,” he blurts, then sets an unmistakable ring box on the table beside my plate.
Gulp. “I meant like take mail to the post office or pick up toilet paper.”
“You don’t want to be my wife?”
“I do. See? I already have my line memorized.”
“But you didn’t say yes.”
“Kind of took me by surprise, Adam. Are you seriously asking over the remnants of breakfast or…” Oh shit. “What happened? Mr. Boone called, didn’t he? There’s an issue with the guardianship.”
“He did, but that’s not why I’m asking. At least not the only nor main reason.”
“Let’s start with him.”
“There’s some concern about the stability a young single man can provide.”
“But you aren’t single.”
“Which is what I told him. Apparently, a serious girlfriend that will become a wife at some point might not be enough.”
I understand what he’s implying, so I move to the next part. “What’s the main reason?”
