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I’m moving my yogurt around the bowl and counting the minutes till I can leave when in he walks.
He’s dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. His hair is tousled to the side, giving him an artful yet brooding look.
His bright blue eyes are scanning the room while he greets the other guests.
Those eyes land on me, and I hastily look away.
Shit.
In spite of my better judgment, I look back up and find Adrian weaving through the crowd, pausing now and again to greet more of the guests.
He gives them all smiles and waves. By the time he reaches me, I’m a nervous wreck. Sweat has formed on my forehead and on the sides of my face. My shirt clings uncomfortably to my back.
I want a hole to open up and swallow me.
I also want to reach across the table and give Adrian a firm shake.
Neither of those things happen as Adrian pulls the chair out and sits down. He links his fingers together and smiles. “You look beautiful today. I’m sorry about last night. A few things came up.”
My throat is dry. “Thank you.” A few things came up? Is he being real now?
“I got a lot of work finished last night,” he continues in the same pleasant voice. “Sometimes, I really hate the managerial side of things. It’s a lot of paperwork, you know.”
I give him a weak smile. “Sure.”
Is he trying to give me an out, a chance to redeem myself for last night?
I can’t tell for sure.
All I know is that not talking about what happened isn’t making me feel better. Why isn't he saying anything about last night?
It’s actually making me feel worse.
And the longer we sit there, making small talk about anything and nothing in particular, the more uncomfortable I feel.
But I can’t bring myself to say the words and watch his face fall.
I’ve been humiliated enough as it is.
“Are you okay?” I lean forward and lower my voice. “Because, you know, you seemed a little…. off yesterday.”
Adrian takes a grape off of my plate and shoves it into his mouth. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think it’s just the stress of the job.”
I blow out a breath. “You can talk to me about things, you know. If anything is bothering you, I mean anything…”
Or if there’s anything he wants to get off his chest. I don't know how to bring that up. His behavior was so bizarre I don't even know how to start.
I’m starting to wonder if he even knew it was me in his room.
I don’t want a heavy cloud over us, but Adrian offers me another smile and shrugs. Then someone comes in looking for him, and he has to get up.
As he walks away, I begin to wonder if he was trying to tell me something the other day.
Is the relative who has issues really Adrian? Is he the one with anger issues? Is he the one he's been describing to me? Maybe he's too embarrassed to admit that it's him. OMG! How can I even bring that up?
I don’t get the chance to ask him because he’s not available for the rest of the day.
And when I get back to my cabin after a day of yoga and horse-back riding, I’m sore and sweaty and my mood hasn’t improved.
