But soon enough he lobbed the pebble into the water and refocused on Cassie. "I'm with you on this," he said. "I need you to know that."
Cassie reached out to pull Adam closer. She buried her head in his chest and he rested his chin on her hair. Raj barked and jumped with jealousy. He nosed at their legs and pawed at their feet until Cassie gave in and bent down to give him a pat on the head. Adam laughed and stroked the dog's disheveled coat.
"I think Raj is right," Adam said. "We've had enough serious talk for one night." He returned to his pizza and bit off a mouthful.
"Actually, there's one more thing." Cassie looked down at the dewy ground. As much as she wanted to forget all her troubles and enjoy her time with Adam, she knew she couldn't keep the cord a secret from him any longer.
"More bad news?" Adam said with a smile. "Have you been saving it all up for this one walk?"
"Kind of." Cassie couldn't bear to fake levity. "I've kept this inside for a while now."
Adam commanded Raj to sit and tried to read Cassie's expression. "What is it?"
"I saw something," Cassie said, in a barely audible voice. "That night in Cape Cod. When I was in your arms. I saw the cord, our cord."
"Okay."
"But I also saw a second cord. Going from you to Scarlett."
"I don't understand what you're telling me," Adam said, but Cassie knew he must have perfectly understood what she was saying.
"It looked just like ours," Cassie explained. "But it was between the two of you. What do you think that means?"
Adam shook his head. "I didn't see anything like that."
Cassie didn't want this to turn into an argument, but denying it wouldn't help any. They couldn't just pretend this away. "I saw it with my own eyes," she said. "I could almost reach out and touch it."
"Cassie." Adam took Cassie's face into his hands and made her look him in the eye. "Whatever conclusion your mind is racing to right now, stop it. You were close to dying when you think you saw that cord. You must have been hallucinating in the smoke."
"Adam ..." Cassie started to say, but he interrupted.
"The silver cord is just between us. That's how soul mates work."
"What if you have more than one soul mate? That's what I'm asking."
"I don't even think that's possible." Adam wrapped his arms around Cassie's torso. "And any cord aside, I love you, Cassie. Only you. With everything I have."
"I love you too, but - "
Adam kissed Cassie on the mouth, softly at first and then with more passion. The kisses made Cassie feel dizzy and light-headed in a way that made her want to giggle out loud. Even more so, she felt him - his essence - intertwining with hers.
Then Adam abruptly pulled away. "Did you feel that?"
"Of course I did."
"That's all the proof I need. Cord or no cord. So forget about what you think you saw when you were half-conscious." Adam kissed Cassie again, this time affectionately on the cheek.
His lips felt warm and loving on her skin, and she couldn't deny the feeling she got every time Adam kissed her. He was right about that much.
"I only wish you'd told me this sooner," he said. "I hate that you've been worrying about this."
"You would tell me if you saw it, wouldn't you, Adam?" Cassie wasn't sure where the question came from. She never doubted Adam's word before. She'd never had a reason to.
But Adam hesitated in a way that caught her attention. His answer didn't come with the immediacy of honesty.
"Of course I'd tell you," he said, calmly and dismissively, only after he'd faltered. "I didn't see a thing. And I don't think you did either."
Perhaps it was all in Cassie's head, but Adam didn't sound quite convincing enough. Maybe she was even more confused and paranoid than she realized.