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“What?” I stared back, genuinely confused. “You didn’t do anything.”
“I dragged you on this cruise and forced you to interact with my embarrassing mom, angry sister, and one of my mom’s all-time worst boyfriends.”
“But your grandma’s amazing,” I joked. Adam didn’t even manage half a smile.
“I’m not mad at you.” I laid a tentative hand on his upper arm. There was nobody around we were supposed to be convincing.
Adam covered my hand with his, releasing a kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach. Or maybe even an entire continent full of migrating monarchs, all fluttering inside me because of the soft brush of his skin over mine.
“You should be. Frank is disgusting, and you wouldn’t have to deal with him if you hadn’t come.”
I inclined my head, unable to argue with that. “Yeah, he’s awful. But at least you won’t have to see him again.”
“True. They probably won’t be together by Christmas.”
Apparently, Adam didn’t know, and I hadn’t promised Beverly to keep it a secret. “Your mom told me they broke up before the trip.”
Adam wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Why would she still bring him?”
I shrugged. “I guess we aren’t the only couple in a fake relationship.”
He shot me a look. “That’s not at all the same.”
Maybe Adam meant that our relationship wasn’t so fake anymore. “Yeah?” The eagerness I could hear in my voice was embarrassing.
“Mom wouldn’t have disappointed everyone if she’d left Frank in California.”
“Oh.” I dropped my gaze, but I didn’t pull my hand away. “Your mom seems like she thinks she can eliminate bad stuff by putting a positive spin on everything.”
“And no matter how many times her hypothesis is disproven, she keeps hoping for different results. Drives Nicole crazy too.” He leaned back to rest his head against the wall. “Nicole always thinks I should speak up for her, as if adding another person into the argument is going to improve anything.”
“Maybe she just wants a little validation,” I suggested.
“She needs me to repeat the obvious?” Adam scoffed.
I thought about everything I’d seen of the dynamic between Nicole and Beverly, along with Adam’s silence. “Maybe she needs to know that you’re hurting too. So she doesn’t feel alone.”
Adam’s whole body jerked in surprise at my words. “I’m not hurting.”
I waved my free hand in front of his face. “What do you call this?”
“I’m frustrated by my family, but I’m not sad or anything. I don’t dwell on the past.” He crossed his arms, finally relinquishing my hand.
I should’ve guessed someone so clueless about love would also deny feeling pain. Freshly embarrassed for even considering there might be something more developing between us, I rose from my seat. “I guess I’ll head to bed. It was a pretty long day.”
“Yeah. Puerto Costa Maya tomorrow. Nicole has us all going to see some ruins.”
“Sounds good.” I started to turn toward my room, but I hated to end the evening on such a sour note. A friend could compliment a friend. “That was a really sweet gift you gave Grandma, by the way.”
“Yeah, she seemed to appreciate it.” Adam looked down at the floor. “I deliberated about it for a long time.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Because you didn’t think she’d like it?” She probably would have been happy if Adam had given her a smiley face drawn on a cocktail napkin.
“Because I didn’t know if it was a foolish gift for someone who isn’t going to be alive much longer.” His voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
My heart did a crazy flip. Oh, Adam, freezing me out with his emotional stupidity and then reeling me back in with this melting admission. I sat back down on the couch. “Of course it wasn’t foolish.”
Adam didn’t meet my gaze. “She won’t be able to enjoy it after she’s gone. It’ll just be one more thing left behind.”
