Page 135 of First Comes Love

Xavier’s bright gaze lit on me, hope in his eyes, but morphed immediately into a scowl when he spotted Adam next to me.

Shit.

I sighed. Kate was wrong. Even if I wanted to put my dress to use as she suggested, this was not the place to do it, under the watchful eyes of my family and an overeager coworker. And that was even if I was in the mood to go looking for love or lust or whatever else people did in places like this.

I turned back to Adam. “I’m sorry, but I think I’ll take a rain check.”

He frowned. “Why, because of him? You can’t let him run your life, you know.”

“He’s not,” I said a little too sharply. “I’m sorry, but I really need to go.”

Sometimes there were benefits to being small. Namely, the ability to move quickly through tight spaces.

Before Adam could stop me or anyone else in my family could figure out what I was doing, I deposited my glass on the bar top and darted quickly out of the restaurant. I took deep breath after deep breath as I stepped out to the curb and held up my hand for a cab.

This was right. They were right. Sofia was cared for. The only thing I wanted now was to go home and sort out whatever this odd feeling was in my stomach. A cross between regret, yearning, maybe something like hurt.

Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

A good book and a cup of tea would sort me out. It had to.