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I didn’t want to fake a conversation for the sake of filling empty air. “Adam’s probably already told you.”
“I’m asking you. I want to hear ifyou’rehappy with the way things look and whatyourthoughts on the matter are.”
I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles ached, hoping I could get a grip on myself as well. “Things are going well.” There, was that so hard? “I’m really happy with the way it all came together. The lighting looks great. Thank you for the wiring.”
“Of course. Any time. Did you get any pushback from Travis?”
How much did she know? It didn’t matter, because she asked for my thoughts. “He’s doing his damndest to make everyone’s lives miserable right now. I don’t know if he’s suffering from tiny dick syndrome or what.”
“Really. You don’t know that?” Brooke’s tone was flat, but a hint of amusement undercut the words.
I shot her a puzzled look. “What? Why?”
“I’d just assume that at the very least he thinks he is. Or he’s upset he didn’t get an invite to the cool kids’ party.”
My laugh was half-entertained, half-disbelief. “I can promise you we’re not the cool kids.”
“From the outside, the people who own the shops on Main are very much the cool kids. Tattooed. Confident. High tech meets classy shops. You know you’re all in enviable positions, right? You, Aubrey, Sebastian, Evie… All of you.”
I’d never thought of it that way before. We were all struggling to stay open, especially with Travis and the council forcing new regulations, and our customers tended to be there as much for the novelty as the actual merchandise.
But I did love what I did, and most of them felt the same.
Not that it mattered. Regardless of how we saw ourselves, Travis’s decrees wouldn’t change. And really, as long as Brooke was smiling and joking with me again, I could think about everything else later.
When we got back to the antique shop, Adam had returned. He was behind the counter talking to Dylan when we walked in.
“You’re back.” The shift in Adan’s expression when he saw Brooke, from casual to bright as sunshine, was unmistakable. He hopped from the stool he was sitting on, crossed the distance between us, and reached for her.
Brooke took a step away, and the frown that whispered across her face was mirrored in Adam’s expression.
Was that because of me? There was no way they’d acted like this when Adam went to visit her. “You don’t have to act any differently around me than you would if you were alone,” I said. “If you’re dating, you’re dating.”
Adan loosely grasped her fingertips.
Pursing her lips, Brooke looked past me, to Dylan. She moved further into the shop. “I don’t know how public we’re making things yet.” Her voice was so soft I had to strain to make out the words.
I still wasn’t sure I’d heard them right.
But based on the scowl etched on Adam’s face, Brooke said exactly what I thought she did.
How dare she?
And why was as much of me cheering as upset? The surge of ambivalence was enough for me to choke on.
TWENTY-FOUR
BROOKE
I wantedto take my reactions to Adam back, but I couldn’t, no matter how much hurt was in his gaze. What was I doing? Giving up someone amazing because…
Because of nothing. I closed the distance between us and brushed my lips over Adam’s, relishing the spark that hadn’t diminished at all in the last week.
He slipped his hand to the back of my neck, holding me in place, and deepened the kiss until the only thing, the only person who existed was him.
“You had me worried for a minute.” His teasing was undercut with a more serious tone when he broke the kiss and moved his hands to mine.
“I’m gonna take a break,” Dylan said nervously.
