Page 60 of From the Embers

“I know Bohdi misses you.” I hold his cage up higher, putting on a ridiculous voice. “My dad is sorry but he promises there will be no more crazy stalker women on the horizon. He’s already changed the locks, and I got my claws sharpened.”

She rolls her lips to save from laughing. “Using your cat to get back in my good graces?”

“Is it working?”

She smirks. “It seems a shame to waste perfectly good donuts.”

I chuckle. “Couldn’t agree more.”

“Come in,” she finally says. “You’re gonna freeze to death out in the hall.”

I let out a breath of pure relief. “I thought you’d never ask.”

eighteen

Adelaide

Hearing his voice over the intercom was the last thing I expected tonight, but having him and Bodhi show up is the sweetest. And yes, my talk with Mom may have just smoothed things over and made me think about things from a different perspective. I also threw in a few texts to Delaney and she more or less said the same thing.

Hearing him out, for one. I know deep down Denver would never hurt me, that Hannah is trouble and I shouldn’t have run away like that.

I’m glad he’s here. My heart flutters as I look at him dressed in dark jeans, a black hoodie, and a baseball cap. His bright eyes capture me as he looks up from under the brim.

“Please talk to me.”

Hearing him say those words, from a man who isn’t great at expressing himself, is like music to my ears. He wants to talk. He wants to be heard, and I need to give him that opportunity.

He palms the back of his neck. “Listen, Adi, what happened back there was terrible. I know how it looks.”

I nod, folding my arms around myself. “Not the best timing. And I overreacted. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me, D. I just—I just tend to run away when things get hard. I was so stressed in my last relationship that I just forgot how to breathe for a moment.”

His eyes soften. “I should never have put you in that position.”

“It wasn’t exactly your fault if she copied a key and let herself in. The woman is fucking bat shit crazy.”

“That I can agree with, but still, she’s ruining everything. I didn’t treat her badly. I didn’t cheat on her. I tried to juggle my time between work and her needs, but that’s hard to do when she was secretive and really only into me because I’m a fucking firefighter. It was as if it was on her bucket list or something⁠—”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” I scoff. I look down to the carrier he’s holding. “Would Bodhi like to come out?”

“Yes,” he says, his voice quiet and a little guarded.

“It’s sweet you brought Bodhi with you,” I say.

“Well, he wanted to come over too and tell you I’m not a perfect person, heck, I don’t pretend to be. I’m a work in progress, and sometimes I can be incredibly selfish without realizing I’m doing it. I’m used to doing things alone, living alone, being alone. That is something I need help with.”

“He told you all that?”

“Uh-hu.”

I reach for him, unable to stop. “You don’t need help with anything,” I say. “You’re being open and honest, and that’s all I ever wanted. We will figure out the rest.”

He swiftly places Bodhi on the ground still in the carrier. “I think this is the part where I’m meant to grovel.”

I laugh. “Let’s see it then.”

He drops to his knees, the donut bag still in hand and a large book under his arm. “I’ll never ever lie to you, Adi. That I can promise. I’m sorry my ex keeps lurking around and trying to ruin what we have together, but we do have something. I want to explore that. I want to date you, get to know you properly, learn what makes you tick, all the fun stuff.”

I reach down, taking his hands in mine. “I’d like that, too.”