Bossy Romance: Chapter 11

“Your grapes, my lady.” A platter of green, seedless grapes appears on a golden tray before me.

“What’s with the accent?” I pluck one of the grapes from the stems.

Rowan shrugs. “Aren’t butlers always British?”

I snort. “I don’t think so.”

He tilts his head, thinking about it. “Alfred was British.”

“Who’s Alfred?”

“From Batman.”

“Should have known.” I pluck one of the grapes and pop it into my mouth. “My butler references are from .”

His eyebrows cinch together. “Is that a cartoon?”

I groan. “Rowan, you have so much to learn.” I reach for another grape. “Want one?”

He tilts his head back, opens his mouth and indicates that I should toss it in.

I end up smacking him in the forehead.

Gasping and trying not to laugh at the same time is difficult. I flutter my hands. “Rowan, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He giggles.

I love watching his brown eyes light up. Rowan’s really starting to loosen up and show more of his personality. Finding his ‘thing’ with digital painting obviously helped, but I sense that it goes deeper than that. It’s almost like there’s a burden off his back these days.

“Have you talked to your mom lately?” I ask, munching on a grape.

His laughter dies immediately. “Yeah.”

“How is she?”

“She’s okay.”

“Is she coming for a visit any time soon?”

“Why?” Rowan grows sullen. “Does Adam want to get rid of me?”

“What? No, of course not.”

Rowan scoots out of the chair and grabs the tray of grapes. “I’ll take these back.”

“Okay,” I croak, watching him. He’s got his head down and he’s shuffling like all the burdens he’d been freed from came barreling back.

There’s a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Rowan says.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it.” Feeling bad and not sure why, I push off the couch and limp to the door.

I check the peephole.

Adam’s on the other side and he’s got a whole bunch of groceries in his hands.

I open the door and he slants me a scolding look. “Nova, why are you on your feet?”

“Why did you buy the entire produce section?” I gesture to the leaves hanging out of the canvas bag.

Adam juts his chin at the couch.

I limp back to the sofa. After the sports event, Adam wanted me to move into his manor so he could take care of me. I rejected him because I have a great sense of self-preservation.

Since I almost kissed my boss in the medic tent like a crazy person, I was determined to keep my distance.

Unfortunately, Adam decided that he would take care of me at place.

Hence my eleven year old babysitter.

And the Amazon jungle that’s currently growing out of Adam’s grocery bags.

“Rowan!” Adam yells. “You’re supposed to be watching the patient.”

“I watching her!”

“So why did Nova open the door on her feet that she’s not supposed to be on for the next twenty-four hours?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s not a good answer, young man. I left you in charge.”

“You can’t leave an eleven year old in charge of an adult,” I argue.

Adam slants me a dark look. “Don’t defend him.” He sets the groceries down and points a finger at Rowan. “Remember our agreement. You take care of Nova in exchange for that TenTwo merch you keep begging for.”

“I fed her grapes,” Rowan defends himself, his voice climbing to a high pitch. He seems slightly panicked by the thought of getting ousted from the deal.

Why he would be so desperate for an overpriced T-shirt with some guy’s logo on it? I don’t know. But here we are.

Adam shakes his head. “You need to be her hands and feet. If she leaves that couch again, I’m docking your pay.”

“That’s child labor exploitation, Adam.”

He opens his mouth, but before he can scold me, there’s a knock on the door. Adam goes to see who it is and arrives a moment later with Dejonae in tow.

I’m stunned to see her. “Hey.”

“Hi.” She’s carrying a mug in her hands. Her dark eyes go straight to my foot. “I heard from Niko that you got hurt.”

“From Niko?” My jaw slackens.

“Yes, Rowan told her.” Dejonae nods to the eleven year old.

I point a scolding look on him.

Rowan gives me a big, nervous smile. “Was this supposed to be a secret?”

“I brought you chai latte.” Dejonae winks. “It can’t cure a swollen ankle, but it can pretty much do everything else.”

My lips curl up and I leak a smile. “Thank you, but there was no need. I’m almost one hundred percent recovered.”

There’s another knock on the door.

“Who’s that?” Adam murmurs.

Dejonae whirls around. “Oh, did I forget to mention? The other ladies wanted to stop by too.”

“Other ladies?” I croak.

Adam glances at me before moving to the door.

When he opens it, Vanya, Sunny, Kenya and Dawn come pouring through. They’re each holding something to present to me like powerful fairies at a coronation ball.

“We heard you weren’t feeling well,” Vanya says, pouting when she sees my foot that’s wrapped in bandages. “How’s the patient?”

“I’m fine.”

“‘I’m fine’ is Nova’s theme song,” Adam says. “She’s got a swollen ankle and a few lacerations. The doctor said she should stay off her foot until tomorrow. And no heels for another week.”

“The doctor’s a quack. I’m never giving up my heels,” I fire back.

Dawn laughs. “I can’t relate to but I did bring you some chicken soup. Beth swears it’s the only dish of mine that she can actually consume.”

“You can put it in the kitchen,” Adam directs her like an airplane marshal waving a plane into position.

“I brought tortillas,” Sunny says, lifting an expertly wrapped cloth. I can smell the floury goodness from here and it makes my stomach grumble.

“Kitchen.” Adam points in that direction.

“I brought a few of our best-selling books,” Kenya says. “In case you get bored.”

“Let me get those.” Adam reaches for them and relieves her of the package. “They look heavy.”

“Thanks.” Kenya smiles at him.

Adam sets the books down on my coffee table.

“And brought breast milk,” Vanya says.

Everyone stops and stares at her.

She snorts. “Just kidding. I didn’t have time to cook or pick up books, so I brought some makeup from the brand I represent.”

My heart feels squishy and that makes me uncomfortable. “You guys really didn’t have to.”

“And yet, that’s the time when we really ,” Sunny says with a wink.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“No need to say anything.” Dawn waves me off.

“We’re not here to talk your ear off either. We just wanted to drop these off and check on you,” Dejonae adds.

Vanya nods. “Now that we’ve done both, we’ll let you get back to resting.”

“Take care of her, Rowan,” Dejonae warns, wiggling a dark finger. “You too, Adam.”

“Always.” Adam shows them to the door.

It feels like all the energy gets sucked out of the room when the women leave. Despite not staying long or saying much, they seemed to have filled the apartment—and my heart—with light.

The problem is that my heart’s made of ice and all that light and heat is melting it.

“Why would they do that?” I ask Adam when he comes back into the room.

“Do what?”

“Care about me.”

His eyebrows pull tight.

“I don’t know them. The only person I have a slight connection with is Dejonae and it’s only because of your work with Sazuki. The other women met me once. Why would they come all this way just to check on me?” I sit up straight. “You think they want to do business with Vision Tech?”

“No, Nova. I think they just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

I purse my lips. “There has to be another reason.”

“Other than the fact that they like you and want to be friends?”

“Aha.” I point at him. “So it’s because of you.”

He gives me an look. “Darlin’, what part of what I said made you jump to that conclusion?”

“You’re the owner of Vision Tech. They think they can get to you through me.”

“No, Nova.” Adam frowns. “Is it so hard to believe that you’re lovable?”

“Me? Lovable?”

I know myself. And I know I’m not the giggly, overly-emotional type. I also know that when it comes to making friends, I tend to be awful at it. Like forget my best friend’s birthday awful. Like back out of all social gatherings at the last minute awful. Like stay in for days watching cheesy old rom coms rather than talk to another human being awful.

Me and other people? We don’t get along.

The only person who knows me well is Adam and that’s because he’s my boss and we have no choice but to spend all our time together. If it wasn’t for Vision Tech, I wouldn’t have gotten this close to Adam at all.

“Are you serious right now?”

“What?”

He sounds exasperated. “Someone hired a jazz band and came all the way over to the track just to beg for your forgiveness. And even after you pummeled them with crutches, they were still asking you to call them.”

“I think Jax asked me to call him so I could pay for his medical fees.”

“If it was just about medical fees, I wouldn’t have had to chase him out of Vision Tech yesterday.”

My eyes pop open. “Jax was at Vision Tech yesterday?”

“Minus the jazz band.” Adam scowls. “Even I wanted to wallop him with crutches by the time he was done.”

I know I shouldn’t laugh since I could have gotten charged with aggravated assault for that stunt at the sports day, but I do.

“The point is that you, Nova Delaney,” Adam touches my nose, “are incredible and brilliant and warm. And you shouldn’t discount how easy it is to fall in love with you.”

“Don’t say things like that,” I croak, my heart beating fast.

“Why not? It’s true,” Adam says, his voice low and chocolate-y.

I’m this close, close, to throwing up a white flag of surrender and taking a hammer to the protective walls around my heart. Hell, by the time Adam’s done with me, all I might have to do is push a brick with my pinky and the whole thing will collapse.

I’m completely overwhelmed by the farmhouse ladies’ grand gesture and by Adam’s sweet words, that I don’t know if I have the necessary resolve to make rational decisions.

But I still have a tiny bit of Good Decision Nova bandwidth and I use it all trying to pull myself together.

Considering the fact that Adam backed off from the kiss in the medic tent, I’m not willing to risk that is real. What if I totally butcher the signals? What if giving into what’s between us becomes an even tighter noose around my neck?

I’m leaving Vision Tech to be free.

Not to chain myself down harder.

Adam pulls my head in for a kiss to my temple and all the reasons why I shouldn’t be falling for my boss start wobbling like one-legged ponies.

“Relax, Nova. Just breathe.”

“I am breathing,” I mumble.

“I can see the wheels turning a million miles an hour in your head. Slow down.”

Heat swoops to life in my chest and I choke. If I hadn’t spent the past seven years building the walls between me and my boss, they probably would have blown over like the straw house with the Big Bad Wolf.

I inch back. “Where’s Rowan? Why’s he gone quiet?”

“I’m right here.” Rowan pops out from behind the couch.

“Were you hiding?” Adam has an astonished note in his voice.

“I thought you guys were going to start kissing or something.”

I cough loudly.

The tips of Adam’s ears go red. “Come help me unpack these groceries, kid.” He places an arm around his son’s shoulders. “How was your art class today?”

Rowan dives into a retelling of the day’s events as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity. Adam hangs on to every word while his son jabbers on about color palettes and shading.

I turn to watch them.

Having people in my house feels strange.

Having people take care of me feels strange.

But good strange.

Like a warm bath on a cold night.

Adam mouths when he sees me staring.

I nod.

He unleashes a gorgeous grin and I finally learn what it means to have my breath stolen. Because Adam flipping Harrison has me by the neck.

And I cannot breathe.

“Morning, Miss Delaney.”

“Welcome back.”

“Glad to see you on your feet, Miss Delaney.”

I nod at everyone who acknowledges me as I limp into the lobby of Vision Tech.

Today, my hair’s out and defying gravity. I’m wearing pants and the shortest heels in my closet because Adam doesn’t know what personal boundaries are.

He hid all my stilettos and then he sent me a ransom notice, complete with a cardboard message on top of my stolen shoes.

The message said he’d continue to hold my heels captive if I don’t follow the doctor’s orders about wearing flats.

I’m cheating a little. These are one-inch heels.

They’re not much but at least they lift me off the ground.

“Nova!” Henry rushes into view, skating past the people lining up in front of the elevator. His backpack bounces against his lab coat and his sneakers almost skid on the ground when he stops in front of me.

“Henry, hi.”

“Are you okay?” He scans my body like a human X-ray. His eyes stop at my feet. “How’s your ankle?”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Are you sure two days is enough time to recover?” Henry asks urgently.

“It’s more than enough time. Besides, I have a lot to do.” The days until my resignation are counting down and I still don’t feel comfortable handing over my duties to anyone.

Adam said he’d take over, but we both know his strength is in the lab. He’s a genius engineer and if he gets distracted, Vision Tech would lose an incredible chief R&D director.

I want to find someone I feel confident would do a good job as CEO. I’ll work tirelessly to make the switch a smooth one.

Henry looks down at me with big, puppy dog eyes. “I am sorry about the three-legged race. I wish I could have kept you from getting hurt.”

“It’s okay, Henry.”

“No, it’s not. I feel awful.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it.” I pat his shoulder. “Really. I’m fine.”

“I have to make it up to you,” he says earnestly.

The poor kid. “Just keep working hard and that’ll be enough for me.”

“Can I at least buy you dinner?”

I freeze.

He backtracks, rubbing his neck. “Not like a date or anything. Just to say sorry. I won’t be able to forgive myself if I don’t at least show you how much I regret what happened.”

I tilt my head, thinking about it. I’ve been meaning to speak to Henry about staying on permanently at Vision Tech. Rather than giving him a slot of my day and thus taking time away from another task, maybe I can slot him in at night.

Excited by the thought of maximizing my time, I smile. “Okay. I have something to discuss with you as well.”

“Really?” He gives me a hopeful look.

“It’s about work.”

“Oh.” His face falls. Then he seems to bounce back. “I’ll set it up.”

My phone rings.

Distractedly, I back away from him. “I should be finished at the office around six o’clock. How about we meet at six thirty to be safe?”

“Sure.”

I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

More morning greetings are flung at me as I step into the elevator. I acknowledge those with a wave of my hand and get an update from the lawyer about the patent case.

Since Adam suggested we settle, I changed my strategy. He was right. Not fighting this out is freeing up a lot more of my time.

I get to the top floor and Rochelle shoots to her feet. “Miss Delaney.”

“Morning, Rochelle.”

She opens her mouth and reaches toward me. Then she snaps her lips shut.

I stop my power-walk and face her. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry about what happened at the sports day.” Her eyes hit the ground.

“Are you referring to me falling or to the unfortunate jazz band incident?”

“Uh…”

“Thanks for the concern.” I start to leave and then change my mind and walk back to her table. “By the way, I saw the memes you put in the group chat. I didn’t know you had such a talent for video-editing. That little clip of me falling down over and over again was…” I kiss my fingers.

A horrified expression climbs over her face. Eyes wide and fearful, she starts trembling. “I’m sorry, Miss Delaney. I’ll take them down.”

“No need.” I wave her concern away. I found all the jokes that came out of the day’s events hilarious. Me and Rowan had a blast picking out our favorites from the Vision Tech group chat.

Rochelle rounds the desk and shuffles behind me. “I’m really sorry.”

I keep walking toward my office, done with the conversation. “Did you compile the financial data that I asked for?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Bring it to my office please.” I push my office door open and take a seat in my chair.

Rochelle knocks on the door a moment later and sets a file down in front of me, still not meeting my eyes.

I open the file and stop her before she leaves. “Rochelle, why is this table not organized by department?”

“It’s not?” She flies back to my side and peers down at the document. Then her face turns thunderous. “I told her to follow my template.”

“Told who? Didn’t you organize this file?”

“No. I asked our new intern to do it.”

“We have a new intern in HR?”

“Didn’t you know about it?”

“No.”

“Knock, knock.” Adam’s voice cuts through my interrogation.

At the sight of him, my heart starts beating double-time. Does he have a right to look so good with his hair all tousled and his big, muscular arms on display in that too-small T-shirt? And is it my imagination or does he flex his arms a little when he walks in?

I’m going to hyperventilate just watching him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I just dropped Rowan off at art camp.” He glances between me and Rochelle. “Am I interrupting a meeting?”

“Rochelle was just about to tell me about our new intern.” I spear him with a pointed look.

At once, his confident smile turns into a worried frown.

“Like I was saying, I thought you knew about it,” Rochelle tells me.

“Why would I?”

“Rochelle, let me handle this,” Adam says, his voice trembling.

“Handle what?” I frown. It feels like the proverbial boot is about to drop on my head and I just want to get it over with.

“Rochelle,” Adam insists.

“Rochelle,” I fasten my gaze on her, “

tell me.”

“Uh…” Rochelle looks like she’s seconds away from peeing her pants. “Uh…”

“Spit it out, Rochelle,” I insist.

“The new intern is your sister!” Rochelle blurts.

Adam cringes.

I stiffen, trying and failing to compute those words. No matter how much I turn them over in my mind, they still don’t make sense.

I flatten my hands on the table and wheeze, “

”

Adam makes a choking sound.

I turn my head slowly and shoot daggers at him from my eyes.

He. Did.

.

“Don’t be upset? Don’t be You went behind my back, gave my sister a job and you expect me to be happy about it?” I’m yelling at the top of my voice. Something I don’t usually do, but which I feel the occasion calls for.

My office door is closed and Rochelle is gone, having fled the moment she spilt the beans as if sensing that crap was about to hit the fan.

There is definitely something sputtering through the room.

And it doesn’t smell that great either.

“Lyra came to me the other night—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You her? And you didn’t tell me about it?”

“It didn’t come up.”

“I call bull, Adam.”

“She was outside your apartment the day we went to the farmhouse. It was a total coincidence.” His tone is level and stern, as if he’d prepared this speech beforehand. “She asked for a job and I couldn’t say no.”

“Why not? You say no to me all the time.”

“Only to things that aren’t good for you.”

“Lyra working at Vision Tech is at the top of the list of things that aren’t good for me!” My ability to be calm seems to have poofed out the window.

I’m Mostly because I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.

I can’t believe Adam went behind my back when he how I feel about my sister. We talked about it and everything. I thought the matter was closed.

“She told me about your history,” Adam says.

I start hacking out a laugh that’s better suited for cheesy Disney villains and tuberculosis patients. “Yeah, I’m betting she left a lot of holes in that story.”

“I got the gist. Your sister didn’t make the best decisions and used to get in trouble—”

“Still doesn’t make the best decisions. Present tense. Happening as we speak.”

Adam prowls closer to the desk and I step back because his overly-gorgeous looks and sincere eyes will move me.

“You had no right to go behind my back and hire Lyra,” I insist.

“Why not? I can hire her without it turning into a conflict of interest for you. You get a chance to make amends. Everybody wins.”

“I don’t to make amends. At least not inside Vision Tech. Business is business. Personal stuff is personal stuff.”

“Why do you always have to draw the line?” Adam frowns.

I throw my hands up. “Why do you always fall for sob stories?”

“It’s not just any story. It’s your story.”

“Oh my gosh.” I roll my eyes to the ceiling.

Adam rounds the desk, standing much too close to my body. “Lyra’s your family whether you like it or not. That makes her my family too. If letting her into Vision Tech can help her out, I’m not against it. We can’t be all business all the time.”

Even when I’m sparking with anger, my body still hums in awareness of Adam’s nearness.

I feel like a pressure cooker with its lid about to blow off. “Vision Tech a business, Adam. And the decisions you make on behalf of this company need to be rooted in the bottom line.”

“If the bottom line was all I thought about then we wouldn’t offer the medical and insurance benefits we do here at Vision Tech. We wouldn’t offer profit sharing. We wouldn’t have an in-building therapist.”

I roll my eyes at that last part. Adam and I fought to the death about that therapist, which I still believe we don’t need.

“Nova, the reason people stay at this company and believe in the vision isn’t because it’s a business. It’s because we look out for each other.”

“And as valiant and noble as your mission is, Adam, there will be people who want to take advantage. Lyra is one of those people. I know her. She’s selfish and sneaky and unstable.”

Adam places both hands on my arms. “Just… give her a chance, okay? She’s on a three month probation and working only two days a week.”

“She’s also telling everyone she’s my sister. What if people talk?”

“You don’t have to worry about accusations of nepotism. Just say your boss hired her. Which is the truth. Besides, she’s the assistant to your assistant. If she messes up, I’ll fully support you in kicking her out.”

I grit my teeth and shake him off.

Turning, I stare at the skyline.

I don’t like this. I don’t like it at “Let’s meet,” I growl into the phone.

It’s been an hour after Adam left to pick up Rowan from school and take him to the skating rink to meet Micheal.

I can’t focus on work because I’m still stewing about what my boss did and I’m even more ticked off at Lyra. She’s up to something and Adam is too soft-hearted to see it.

“Sure,” Lyra says. “Meet me at the café.”

Twenty minutes later, I stalk into the same diner I met Lyra at last time.

She’s scooted down in the booth, a burger and fries in front of her once again. This time, she’s sipping on a milkshake.

I fling my purse into the booth and follow the same trajectory.

Lyra grins at me. “Hello, .”

“What do you want with Vision Tech, Lyra?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the crap. Are you still hanging with that deadbeat boyfriend of yours? The drug dealer? Are you two setting something up?”

“No.”

I scoff.

“I’m serious, Nova. I’ve cut ties with him. And I don’t do drugs anymore.”

I believe that as much as I believed Rowan when he told me I’m a natural at video games. The character I was playing tripped over a rock and ‘died’. Twice. If ‘good’ in video game lingo means painfully terrible, then maybe he was right.

“I’ve changed, Nova.” Lyra bats her thick lashes.

I let loose a bitter laugh. “Yeah, okay.”

Lyra’s voice cracks with hurt. “How is it that a believes in me more than my own sister?”

At the mention of Adam, I surge forward.

Lyra jumps in her seat.

Pounding my fist on the table, I hiss, “You might think that Adam’s a sucker, but I’m not suffering from the same affliction. I know you, Lyra. And I know you have something up your sleeve. Whatever it is, I’m going to find out and then I’m going to kick you out of Vision Tech myself.”

“So testy.”

I growl at her.

“All I’m asking for is a chance.” Her eyes narrow. “You can’t even trust me once?”

“No.” I grab my purse.

“Are you leaving already? Come have a meal with me. I’ll even pay for it.”

“Cut the act, Lyra.”

She smirks.

“I’ll be watching you.”

“Go ahead, big sis.” Her shrug of disinterest makes my blood boil.

I crash through the doors of the café, take deep breaths and then march down the sidewalk to Steve.

“Miss Delaney, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I answer shortly. And then I feel bad and adjust my tone. “I’m okay. Thanks… it’s been a long day.”

“Are you going home now?” Steve asks as we both get in the car. His ears turn a little red. “Just a warning, Mr. Harrison requested that I report to him if you don’t.”

The stalker.

If Adam was so interested in my life and wellbeing, he wouldn’t have invited my biggest headache into Vision Tech.

I check my watch. It’s almost time for my meeting with Henry. “I’ve got one more task for the day, Steve. So no, I’m not going home.”

“Roger that.” Steve starts the car.

I lean my head back, close my eyes and let out a breath through my mouth.

Alarm bells are clanging in my ears. I have a strong feeling that if I don’t figure Lyra out soon, she’s going to do immeasurable damage to either me, Adam or the company we both want to protect.

My knife sinks into my steak. It tastes a little dry. I expected more from such an expensive, pretentious restaurant.

This ambiance is…

Wow. Not the best for a business meeting.

To say I was surprised when Henry chose to meet at would be an understatement.

This place is known as ‘the engagement capital of the city’.

All around us, couples are sitting cozily together, nestled under low-hanging chandeliers, their grins broad in the light of flickering candles.

I outed the candle between Henry and I the moment I walked in.

If I wasn’t so irritated about Lyra, I would probably have asked us to move somewhere else. As it stands, I just want to get this job offer over with and go home.

“Would you like some wine?” Henry motions to me.

“I don’t drink during business meetings.”

A flash of hurt swirls in his eyes. “Right.”

I realize I’m pulling the mood down and cave. “I’m not a big drinker, but I can have one glass.”

He starts smiling.

Good. The happier Henry is, the more likely he’ll sign the contract without too much negotiation.

“Cheers,” Henry says, offering his glass.

“Cheers.” I clink my glass to his. Tilting the cup back, I drain the wine. It’s bitter, which fits my mood perfectly.

“Whoa.” Henry laughs.

I remove the contract from my purse and slide it over the table. “Henry, like I mentioned this morning, I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“So did I.”

“Me first,” I insist. “I know that there are many companies trying to snag you, including Yoon Technologies. But I believe that Vision Tech can truly foster your talent.” I push the folder toward him. “Here’s the contract we prepared for you. I hope you’ll consider Vision Tech your family and—”

“Nova.”

I stop abruptly and stare at him.

Henry places his elbow on the table, settles his chin on his fist and gives me an earnest look. “I’ve admired you since my first day at Vision Tech. I don’t know if you remember, but you handled our orientation. You were so confident and in control. I immediately knew that I wanted to learn from you.”

“Thank you, Henry.” I pour another glass because the first one made my chest warm and loosened some of the knots in my stomach.

“But when I saw the way you handled the miracle goo incident, my admiration turned into something deeper.”

I choke on the wine.

Wait.

Is he…

Is this?

“Nova,” Henry picks up my hand and I’m so shocked that I let him, “the truth is that I—”

“There you are,” a low voice growls.

Henry and I both turn.

It’s Adam.

He’s panting up a storm at the head of our table. There’s sweat running down his temple, his hair is wind-torn and his eyes are two burning coals in his face.

It’s wrong the way my heart skips a beat when he flings an angry stare at Henry’s hand on mine. It’s especially wrong to smile when he takes that hand and lugs me from the table.

But damn if his possessiveness doesn’t make me tremble.

I don’t know what to do with those two pieces of information. I only know that I like them both, even if I’m angry with what he did today.

“What are you doing?” Henry bellows.

“Leaving.” Adam snatches my purse, swings it over his shoulder and takes my hand again. “Come on, Nova. Let’s go.”