Page 43 of Wait For You

Rosie grinned over at me. “Things are looking good.”

Fiona caught my eyes from where she sat beside Rosie and subtly arched a brow with a small smile teasing her lips.

“What do you mean?” I hedged.

Quinn snorted beside me. “You and Adam. I actually saw you together in public, and damn if you don’t both look happy.”

Haven was smiling as well, and I glanced around at my friends. “You think he’s happy?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh my God. Are you serious?” Rosie rolled her eyes. “Adam is downright giddy when he’s with you.”

I couldn’t help my smile. I almost giggled. I was feeling downright giddy. Shockingly, Rich was minding his own business. Ever since he’d started dating, he finally seemed content to leave me in peace. Oh, I still had my moments when I woke during the night and fretted that I should probably warn his girlfriend. I didn’t know how to go about doing that. I was just so relieved that he wasn’t bothering me anymore. The nights he was scheduled to have Eric for visits were truncated to just dinner. He didn’t even want to bother with more. Although part of me was sad that’s how little he cared, the relief was far more powerful.

Little sprouts of hope were growing in the barren, burned patches of my heart. Whenever worries started getting noisy in my thoughts, I swatted them away. I desperately wanted it to be okay finally.

“Does Rich know you and Adam are seeing each other?” Haven asked.

“I think so. Obviously, I won’t have a conversation with Rich about it. But this town is small. I don’t see how he couldn’t have heard. No matter what, at some point something had to give. I can’t hide from Rich forever.”

“Definitely not,” Rosie said firmly. “I still think you’re not telling us the whole story of how bad it was with him, and I totally understand. You don’t have to tell us. You deserve to be treated well, and I’m really happy for you.”

Quinn curled an arm around my shoulders, giving me a side hug. “Adam is a good guy.”

Whenever I thought about Adam, the word that came to mind was safe. I felt safe. Beyond that there was the combustive force of our chemistry and the intimacy that was stitching us tighter and tighter together. But those only existed within the sense of safety I felt with him.

McKenna came walking in at that moment. We were having our casual get-together at Quinn’s house tonight. “I’m late!” she announced as she shrugged out of her jacket and kicked off her boots by the door. She lifted three pizza boxes aloft. “I come bearing food.”

“That makes up for everything,” Haven teased as she reached for the plates in the middle of the table and began passing them around.

After we started eating, McKenna asked, “What did I miss?”

“We’re all ecstatic that Tessa and Adam aren’t hiding anymore,” Fiona offered between bites of pizza.

“Let’s toast to that.” McKenna held up her glass of water, and we clicked our glasses together. Her eyes were warm as she smiled over at me a moment later. “That man is so into you. And I have to say I thought Adam was the least likely to fall.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“He’s so serious. He was busy taking care of all of us when we were growing up, the classic middle brother. But then, when I think about it, it makes sense. He has a good heart. I think you two are good for each other.”

Conversation moved along, and later that night, when Adam came over, I thought about McKenna’s observation. I hoped we were good together. I just hoped somehow it would all hold.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Adam’s voice beside my ear sent a hot shiver through me.

He brushed a kiss on the side of my neck just below my ear, and goose bumps prickled over the surface of my skin.

“Hey.” I felt the tug of my smile. The sense of joy rising inside was fizzy and bubbly, like champagne. That was my reaction to Adam all the time these days.

He reached for my hand, his grip warm as his fingers laced within mine. “Ready?” he asked.

“Always.”

We fell into step beside each other. I was slowly getting used to doing things with Adam in public, as though we had a regular life. He was my boyfriend. We’d even done gone to two cooking classes together like we talked about. I’d scrambled up the courage to go here in Fireweed Harbor, and I’d loved it. All because Adam was with me.

I almost couldn’t believe it. For years, I had assumed I would be stuck with Rich, because it seemed too risky to try to leave him. I had carried a weary sense of dread in my heart.

When I had somehow mustered the courage to actually leave, I had been so relieved. All I’d wanted was to be alone. The freedom of being free from the weight of Rich’s abuse had been powerful.

I’d believed it would be disastrous for me to even try to date. And honestly, I hadn’t thought I would ever be interested in a man again. Rich’s jealousy had been so out of control. If I happened to look in the direction of a man, not looking at the man, but say because I was looking for a street sign, and a man happened to be standing near it, that led Rich to cold fury.