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He didn’t say anything but I could see it on his face. The way all of those extra lines softened one by one and how hard he struggled to keep the walls up. And I knew, without a doubt, he was mine. It was that simple. He loved me and every decision he made was influenced by it.
I wouldn’t let him go through this alone.
A knock echoed on the door and I shifted back to see Sloane, poking through. "Hey? There’s a bunch of people downstairs who say they want to come up? It’s Zariah and everybody."
I glanced back at Adam and his voice was soft. “It’s a party to celebrate the presentation.”
“You’re throwing me a party?”
“It’s not a crowd,” he assured me. “It’s just our friends.”
“No, Adam, you’re throwing me a party and you expect me to just say, okay, relationship is over? Thanks for the gift bag?” I raised my eyebrows before returning to talk to Sloane again. “Hey, we’re going to need a couple of minutes.”
Sloane threw me a thumbs-up sign and closed the door.
I placed my hands on the table, facing Adam again. “I don’t understand how you think I can just walk away, knowing you’re going to get hurt.”
“Ice—” He stopped himself. “Piper. I’m doing this to protect you.”
“And now I’m doing this to protect you,” I interrupted and gazed at him without compromise. “You take care of me all the time. This is how I’m going to take care of you. By being there and loving you and I know you love me. So I’m going to show you how it feels to be loved too.”
He didn’t have anything to say but Adam gazed at me. No walls. No barriers. Just him. The man who wasn’t perfect but he was absolutely perfect for me.
I rested my chin on my hands. “Do you want to go get dinner?”
“Dinner?” he repeated. “I—Piper…”
“Do you want to skip the party? Just go get dinner?”
Slowly, Adam nodded. It was like he didn’t even realize he was nodding until he quickened the pace, nodding harder. He took a deep breath and leaned on the table. “Do you want to go to the aquarium with me?”
“Yeah.” A smile crossed my face. “We can go to the bar next door and get the rum slushies to walk around with.”
“And after…” Adam hesitated, giving me the most torn look in the world. “Can I bring you back home? It’s not right without you there.”
My heart squeezed. “Of course, baby.”
A breathless grin touched him and he stood up the table and reached for my hand. I didn’t have time to properly stand up before he pulled me off towards the door and the two of us headed down the stairs together. I was no match for his long legs and I tried to tell him. But Adam burst through the door to the right, to the kitchen of Gianna’s, and he ducked around the staff, heading towards the exit in the back.
“Adam!” I could barely keep up with him. “You’re too tall, I can’t—”
We burst through the door and all my arguments vanished when Adam put his hand on the back of my head and shoved me against the brick wall, crashing his lips to mine. He pushed me against the wall, kissing me harder. I couldn’t breathe. I actually couldn’t breathe and I pushed him away, trying to breathe again.
He gathered up my hands and pressed them to his chest. “I love you. I’m sorry. I love you.”
“It’s going to be okay,” I told him. I slipped my hands from his grasp and touched his face. “I promise.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“We’re going to get through it.”
Adam sighed. "I have a really fucked-up family."
"I guess we have to make a new one." I shrugged.
Pure happiness hit him, I could read it all on his face, and he dipped down to kiss me again, gathering me up in his arms, holding me close. A low groan vibrated from his throat. I kissed him back with every bit of longing I’d held on to without him.
“Adam? Piper?” King’s voice interrupted us and we broke apart to see him at the other end of the building. “Hey—uh—everyone’s inside.”
