Page 46 of The Law of Attraction
What was she doing trusting him this much? Giving him access to her room while she slept? That wasn’t something you did on a regular business trip with a regular coworker.
But she did trust him. Because of the way he’d held her hand on the airplane during the turbulence, and the hesitant way he’d touched her face in the car after their flat tire, checking to see if she was okay. How he’d taken the middle seat in the wrecker, and made sure her door was secure just now, without mocking her or making her feel stupid for being frightened of a motel desk clerk.
Her gut told her she was safer with the door between them open than with it closed.
“Is a few inches all right?” Adam asked, moving back to the doorway.
“Yeah, that’s great. Thanks.”
“Just scream or something if you need me.”
“You better believe it.”
His mouth twisted into a smile. “Goodnight, Olivia.”
“Night.”
When he was gone, she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. By the time she came out, the light was already off in Adam’s room. She tried not to look at the crack in the door as she padded across the room, or think about him lying there just a few feet away as she turned out her own light and crawled into bed.
It was a long time before she fell asleep.
Chapter Ten
Olivia’s alarm woke her at six thirty in the morning. Adam’s room was still dark and quiet, so she slipped out of bed to shower.
She dressed for a day working at the plant: long-sleeved plaid shirt over a white tank top, comfortable jeans, and a pair of battered Doc Martens she’d had since college. When she came out of the bathroom, the light was on in Adam’s room, and she could hear him talking on the phone to someone. Rather than eavesdrop, she dug her makeup bag out of her suitcase and went back into the bathroom, leaving the door open to let the steam out.
A few minutes later, there was a rap on the door between their rooms. “Hey,” Adam called out.
“Morning,” Olivia said, leaning out of the bathroom.
He was still wearing the sweatpants and T-shirt from last night, and his hair was all sleep-mussed and unbearably attractive. It was so unfair that he could roll out of bed looking like a snack, when she looked like the Bride of Frankenstein’s homely cousin before she’d brushed her hair and put on makeup.
“I just talked to the guy at the auto shop. Car will be ready in an hour.” He was typing on his phone as he spoke. “I’m updating Gavin and Brad on the situation. Anything you want me to add?”
Olivia chewed on her thumbnail. “Make it sound even worse than it is. Be sure they know we could have died when that tire blew on the highway last night.”
He nodded without looking up. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
The funny thing was, she believed him. What a difference twenty-four hours could make.
Adam finished what he was typing and reached up to scratch his head. “Anyway, we’ve got plenty of time if you want to walk somewhere for breakfast.”
“Sounds good.”
He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Lemme just shower and get dressed.”
When Adam was ready, they set out for the Whataburger just down the highway. It was only a five-minute walk, but it was already as hot as the asscrack of hell outside. Two minutes after stepping out the door, Olivia took off her plaid shirt and tied it around her waist. She looked like a background extra from an old episode of My So-Called Life and she didn’t care.
Adam had changed into a faded denim shirt, Dickies work pants, and well-worn Wolverine boots, and he fit right in with the truckers and blue-collar workers grabbing breakfast at the Whataburger. The coffee tasted like it had been made in the iced tea urn, but Olivia’s honey butter chicken biscuits were as delicious as she remembered.
Adam’s lip curled as he unwrapped one of the tacos he’d ordered. “There’s American cheese on these.”
“It’s a burger place, not a taco truck.” She pushed one of her chicken biscuits over to him and claimed a taco. “Trade me. I like their tacos.”
Things felt different between them this morning. After everything they’d lived through yesterday, topped off by Adam’s late night motel room confession about his ex, it was impossible to look at him the same way she had before.
They were…maybe not quite friends, exactly, but somewhere on the way to becoming friends. Now that she understood him a little better, she felt a new sort of affection for him and all his odd ways.
