Page 33 of Come in with the Rain
I think of Jennifer and the amused pull of her mouth as she watched me. “She convinced me to come here.”
“I’m glad she did,” Stella says in a sleepy voice, and I let myself hold her a little tighter as she falls asleep.
CHAPTER33
ADAM
Stella is quiet on the ride to Berserkr, with this tense look on her face that’s been glued there since we woke up this morning. We’re going back to get her car, but part of me is hoping she’ll stay with me while I’m there. I’ve got some work to do for Ford, and I feel completely unable to leave her side.
But when the job is over, when I’m done with Stella’s condo, what happens to Stella and me? Are we done being in each other’s lives? Was what happened last night a one-time deal? I glance over at her again, and I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing, if that’s why her forehead is all wrinkled in thought like that. Or maybe she’s not thinking about it at all.
When we get to Berserkr, Ford and Dani are waiting for us outside. I texted them when we left Stella’s in hopes that one or both of them would be available to show Stella around the place, but I wasn’t prepared for a welcoming committee, and from the look on Stella’s face, she wasn’t either.
“I’m really sorry about both of them,” is all I manage to get out as we cross the sun-hot street and Ford throws his arm over her shoulders, yanking her from my side. Dani twines one of her arms through Stella’s. They surround her like a blanket, and I’m left standing on the sidewalk as they usher her inside.
I follow them in and let Dani steal Stella away, but if she’s at all bothered at the idea of being separated from me, she doesn’t show it. I watch her as they go. Her eyes are wide with wonder as she takes in everything Dani is showing her, like she’s being walked through Buckingham Palace. She’s so beautiful, all that hair and all that soft skin, all of it that I know the feel of now.
“Adam.” I have no clue how long Ford has been standing right beside me, trying to get my attention, but I can only imagine it’s been a little while from the cocky smirk on his face. He nods toward the men’s locker room, and I follow him, checking over my shoulder to make sure Stella is okay. Dani can be a little intimidating, to men and women alike, but Stella is laughing at something she’s said, her head thrown all the way back.
I mourn the loss of her when we step into the locker room and Ford leads me over to the sink he’s having trouble with.
While I try to diagnose it, Ford stands over me with his arms crossed. “And put me on your calendar when you’re done with Stella’s place. I’ve got to get the new bags installed and part of the floor redone. If you learned how to re-canvas the ring, I could pay you to do that, too.”
I scoff. “That’s a lot of work for one guy.”
Ford shrugs. “Hire someone. You’re going to need a team soon.”
I know he’s right, but until now, I’ve been able to do it all myself. It seems almost indulgent to even consider hiring anyone.
“I’ll give you Dani,” Ford jokes.
“And put up with that attitude all day long? No, thanks.”
Ford said the sink had low water pressure, and when I turn the faucet, almost nothing trickles out. I toss a rag down to cover the drain and unscrew the faucet head to clean the aerator. Ford takes a seat on a bench beside me as men wander in and out, stopping to glance at us before moving on.
“How are things with the pretty woman?” he asks.
“You know, you don’t have to stay. I work better in the quiet.”
Ford ignores my quip. “I’m assuming things have progressed, seeing as how you brought her in, in your truck, very early in the morning. I’m guessing the guilt has stopped eating at you.”
I scrub out the aerator with a brush I brought with me, glad for something to focus on so that I don’t have to look at Ford. “I suppose it’s a different kind of guilt these days.” When the aerator is clean, I put it back in place and try the water again, but the pressure is still nothing but dribbles.
“And what’s the guilt these days?”
I lean against the sink and look over at him. I’ve barely been able to let myself think the words that are about to come out of my mouth, things I’ve been shoving down to the very depths over the last few weeks. “I’m never going to be able to give her the life that Mickey did.”
Ford makes a sputtering sound and rolls his eyes. “And have you even once asked her if that’s the kind of life she wants?”
I throw my hands up and bend down under the sink, taking a look at the pipes, but they’re a blur, one giant, silver blob in my conflicted vision. “She’s struggling financially, and it’s killing her. I want to be able to give her everything, but I’m not in a position to offer her much at all.”
“Listen, mate—”
I reach out and twist the water supply valve. Water sputters loud through the open pipes and floods out of the faucet. I straighten up and turn the sink off, setting my hands on my hips and looking over at Ford.
He grumbles something about kids playing around in the locker room and then stands, putting one giant hand on my shoulder. “You’re trying to save her again. I don’t think that’s what she wants from you. Maybe I’m wrong, but I sincerely doubt it.”
I hate to admit it, but Ford has far more experience with women than I do. He’s probably right, but all I can think about is Mickey’s condo, the way she was happy to not be working while Mickey took care of things. I think of the way she broke down the other day, how desperate she is for stability. I want to be the one to give that to her.
