Page 39 of The Law of Attraction
But it was just a little rain, right? If she could get this tire changed, they’d be back on the road in a few minutes. As opposed to waiting for a wrecker, which could put them hours more behind their already fucked schedule.
Adam met her at the back of the car, and they both huddled under the rear hatch while they flipped the back seat down and shoved their bags out of the way so they could lift up the bottom panel of the cargo area where the spare tire was stowed.
Or was supposed to be stowed.
“There’s no spare,” Olivia said, staring at the empty tire-shaped space.
“Nope,” Adam agreed.
“I can’t change the tire if we don’t have a spare.” There also wasn’t a jack or a lug wrench, so even if there had been a spare, they still would have been screwed.
“Can I call Triple A now?” Adam asked.
“Yep.”
He slammed the hatch shut and they ran back around to the passenger side in what was ramping up to another torrential downpour. By the time Adam had crawled across her seat and fit his large frame behind the wheel, Olivia was soaked through to the skin.
She did her best to wipe the excess water off her face and arms while Adam called AAA. Without a towel it was pretty much a fool’s errand. Why, oh why had she worn a white shirt today? Now that it was wet it was semi-transparent, and her beige lace bra was showing through. Also, she was freezing, despite the fact that it was eighty-five degrees outside.
She toed her shoes off and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them for warmth. Which mostly just succeeded in squeezing her wet clothes against her body, making her even colder.
“You want the good news first, or the bad news?” Adam asked when he got off the phone.
“Good news,” she said. “I can’t take any more bad news.”
“They should be able to get a wrecker here in an hour.”
She hugged herself tighter. “That’s the good news?”
“The only garage in the area is closed for the night, so the wrecker’s going to drop us off at a nearby motel.”
She groaned and banged her forehead against her knees. “We’re so fucked.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“I’m starting to feel like we’re on a D&D quest instead of a business trip, and there’s an evil dungeon master who keeps throwing obstacles into our path.”
It took her a moment to realize Adam was laughing. It sounded strange and dusty, like he hadn’t used it in a long time. Even he looked surprised by it, like he wasn’t used to the sound of his own laugh. Maybe it was that rare of an occurrence, like an eclipse or a leap year. Or even rarer, like a comet that only came around once every century.
He reached up to wipe his eyes. “If I meet that dungeon master, I’m definitely going to beat the shit out of him.”
“Have you ever been on a trip that went this bad?” Olivia asked.
“No. This is definitely the worst trip I’ve ever had.” He laughed again, but this time it sounded shaky, with maybe a slight tinge of hysteria. “Congratulations, you’re witnessing history.”
“Lucky me.”
He dragged a hand through his wet hair. “It could be worse, I guess.”
“How?”
“I could be here with Gavin instead of you.”
Olivia’s stomach flipped over. Was he actually enjoying her company? She would write it off as a dig at Gavin, except for Adam’s eyes. They’d gone soft again, and there was something in them she’d never seen before. It hinted at possibilities she wasn’t prepared to think about or acknowledge.
Before she could formulate any sort of response, Adam twisted around and lowered his seat back to rummage around in his suitcase. “Here,” he said, tossing her a heather gray hoodie.
She accepted it gratefully, using it to dry off her face and arms before putting it on and letting the softness encircle her in its warm embrace. A pleasant scent enveloped her: laundry detergent, something that smelled a little like leather, and whatever it was that Adam used in his hair.
