“It was like walking in shoes that used to be comfortable but no longer fit if that makes sense.”
Whitney nodded. “Completely. I mean it’s nice to be home, but it’s not the same without—”
“Dad?” I filled in for her.
Her green eyes grew bright, and I knew she was trying hard not to cry. “Yeah,” she said softly.
Without thinking, I put my arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze. “It gets easier, though. I even kind of like being back now. Though if you repeat that to anyone, I’ll deny it.” We shared a grin for the first time in what felt like forever.
“Could that have something to do with a certain man you swore to despise until your final breath?’ Whitney teased.
“Things are...better where Adam’s concerned.”
“Maybe we can get some dinner in the next few days. Just the two of us. And you can tell me how things are better.” Whitney seemed hopeful. I could see that she missed me as much as I missed her.
Pride really was a lonely emotion. Perhaps my relationship with Adam wouldn’t be the only thing to get better.
“I’d like that. Though there’s nothing to say about Adam.” Lie. Lie. Lie.
Whitney smirked. “I don’t know about that. I’ve seen that look in your eye before, remember.”
I waved away her comment with a laugh. “Talk to you later.” And I quickly headed to my car before I gave myself away.
Chapter 17
Adam
I was having a super shitty day.
I was fucking exhausted. The late nights with Meg were starting to take their toll. I loved having her in my bed for as long as she’d stay there, but three hours of sleep before a hearing wasn’t ideal.
If I were honest, it was more than being tired. My emotions were frayed to the point of snapping. I didn’t know what was going on with Meg. One minute I’d think things were great, the next she would freeze me out. Her continued insistence that what we were doing was only sex hurt. I didn’t want it to but fuck if it didn’t.
Because what I felt for Meghan Galloway was a lot more than lust.
I was growing impatient with our arrangement. I was fine with casual screwing with anyone else but Meg. And then last night she had completely shut down any discussion about the future. About what she would do when she was done with the mural. She only had another week until she finished. And Whitney was in town now. What would stop her from going back to New York?
Nothing.
I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter. That Meg and I would stay friends after she left. That we’d remain in touch. But that wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Not now. Not after getting a taste of what it was like to be with her.
I fucking loved her. I knew that with a certainty that went deep down into my marrow. I had loved her since I was old enough to understand what love was. And even in the years I was married to Chelsea, those feelings had lain there, waiting for me to acknowledge them again.
I loved Meghan Galloway.
And she was going to leave me.
I knew that was what the final chapter of this story would look like. She would get back into her crappy car and drive away, leaving me in her rearview just as she had done a decade ago.
Things were different this time.
Feelings were messy, and she had me twisted in goddamned knots. I knew I was frayed, and at the end of my rope. I was short-tempered and ready to punch someone in the face if they said something to piss me off, so when I arrived at court at 8:30 that morning, I wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. But bullshit was exactly what I got.
It started when the district attorney handed me a bulging file that undermined my entire case. Turns out my simple DUI was a swirling shit storm, mostly because my client was a lying sack of assholes. I was forced to change my entire strategy on a dime. Normally, I rose to a challenge like that. Not today. Today was Adam Ducate on three hours of sleep and his heart in a fucking sling.
To make matters worse, Dick Radner was the presiding judge, so three guesses how the hearing went. Then I may have lost my temper and called the district attorney a jackass. That hadn’t gone over well with Judge-small-dick-Radner, who