Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Katie
I kiss William as usual and head back outside. I wonder if everybody’s still around. I feel like a bad hostess for leaving them to fend for themselves, but they’re all technically family.
When I open the door, my jaw drops.
The hallway is dark—not completely dark, though, because there are candles on the floor—not like the spindly kind on my birthday cake, but fat ones in heavy, glass containers.
The darkness and the warm, ghostly glow of the candles makes my hallway appear foreign. In a good way. It’s not like I ever put any thought into home décor.
The candles and some red flower petals form an aisle that leads down the hallway, all the way to the door that opens into the backyard.
I look around. I get the feeling someone’s watching me, but I can’t see anyone. It’s a disconcerting feeling.
Is this the after-party Adam mentioned?
I close William’s bedroom door and cautiously follow the glowing path to the end of the hallway. I push the back door open.
“Hey, you,” Adam says. He holds up my favorite black coat. “Put this on. It’s chilly tonight.”
I stand with my mouth agape as I take in the view before me.
This is my backyard?
String lights hang from tree branches, spilling light onto corners that are normally hidden. The candles from inside extend all the way across the backyard and toward a table in the center, on which sit two hot water bottles and two mugs.
We’re also joined by three men and a woman who are playing string instruments in one of the well-lit corners of this bizarro-world version of my backyard.
“Katie,” Adam says. “Your coat?”
“What is this?” I stretch my arms out and put them through the sleeves of the coat Adam’s holding up for me. I hold my breath as his hand brushes against my shoulder.
“Welcome to the after-party.” He smiles, obviously smug about having successfully surprised me.
“Adam, this is too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you,” he says earnestly.
It should sound cheesy. But coming from him, and seeing what he’s already done for me . . . I don’t know. Maybe he means it.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re very welcome.” Adam smiles.
“When did you . . .”
“When you were in William’s room, I got people to get this set up,” he says. “Do you like it?”
“Do I like . . .” I can’t believe he even needs to ask. “Adam, I’ve never had anyone do anything like this for my birthday. In fact, this is the sweetest thing anyone’s done for me, ever. And I’m not just talking about birthdays.”
“Good.” Adam’s lips curve up into a smile as he offers me his arm. “When you said the thing about the eagle, about how you didn’t want to leave the house after William goes to sleep, I had to get creative.”
“You did this just because I said that?” I place my hand on the crook of Adam’s elbow and let him take me to the table.
“Yeah,” he says. “Originally, I was going to hire a limo and take you to a nice restaurant.”
“I mean . . . You didn’t have to do this, Adam,” I say. “But now that you have, I’ve got to tell you, this is way better than a restaurant dinner.”
Adam chuckles, and the happy sound makes my heart dance.
Honestly, if he doesn’t stop treating me this nicely, it’s going to be really hard for me to stop myself from falling for him. I’ve been teetering on the edge for a long time now, and I know all it will take is just a little nudge.
That’s why I try to limit my interactions with Adam, keeping our conversations contained to just one topic: William.
But I can’t keep hiding forever.
When Adam pulls out my chair, it reminds me of the one time we really did go out for a romantic candle-lit dinner. He teased me all night and gave me a good, hard fucking while we were soaking in his hot tub on the rooftop. I felt like I was on top of the world.
But tonight . . . We can’t end tonight the same way. We’d just be repeating our old mistakes if we do. We’ll fight, inevitably break up, and hurt William in the process.
Yet, I can’t deny that I’m tempted—very much so.
I’ve been holding myself back for too long. And Adam’s looking gorgeous tonight, with his unruly hair and crisp business suit. And this sweet, sweet surprise . . . I don’t know if I can keep it together until the end of the night.
Katie
“Happy birthday,” Adam says as he takes his seat.
“Thank you.”
I watch closely as Adam holds up the two hot water bottles in his hands. He asks, “Tea or coffee?”
“Tea.”
“I knew you’d pick tea. It’s the responsible choice,” Adam says. “It’s too late for coffee because you’ll probably have to wake up early, whenever William wakes up.”