Staccato (Magnum Opus #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,58

her finger down the page, then laughed. “God damn, he is hot.”

“Yeah,” Adam breathed out. He looked nothing like Nik at all, but there was the same intensity in their faces that he would never fully understand. “He’s kind of the reason I know it’ll never work between me and Nik, even if he does want me.”

Stella’s smile faded, and she leaned her head back, giving him a careful look. “You really believe that?”

Adam shrugged, unable to help the ugly, sad feeling in his chest. “This guy”—he gestured toward Nicolas’ headshot—“was famous even as a kid. And then he meets some unknown piano prodigy at a university, and they top the charts with freaking classical music after recording together. They’ve composed, like, three operas, they live in Rome. They have a whole life, like shit you see in the movies.”

“So?” Stella demanded.

“So,” Adam parroted and leaned his head back. He rubbed at the side of his thigh where he’d given himself his T-shot earlier that day, wincing at the ache. “When I was over at Nik’s house, he told me he wanted that. He wanted that kind of love story. I am not that guy.”

“Maybe you should try playing piano,” she joked, but when his face fell, she stopped. “You shouldn’t have to try to fit in to someone else’s story to be worth their time and attention, Adam.”

“I know,” he replied, then closed his eyes and let out a trembling breath. “It’s just…I think I’m falling in love with him. And it hurts, because I can never be what he wants. He made it very clear that we can’t ever be, you know, that.”

Stella hummed, and he felt her hand close over his. “Maybe it’s time to end it, then. The friendship? I mean, why do this to yourself?”

“Because I’m a glutton for punishment.” He gave her a weak smile when she scoffed, and he opened his eyes to see ones just like his, staring back at him. “Because I’ll take what I can get. And it might be too much someday—who knows.”

“It doesn’t seem fair to you,” she said.

And he agreed. With his whole heart, he agreed, but he knew he was too weak to give Nik up. “Any news from Coop?”

The look on her face told him she knew what he was doing, but her shrug told him she was giving him a pass. “He was able to call last night. They’re scheduled to head back to the base in Okinawa on Thursday, and then he’s going to see about his discharge papers.”

Adam’s stomach twisted in both happiness and fear. Cooper liked him—they had always gotten along, and it was probably why Adam had finally relented and given the two of them his blessing. He knew Cooper wouldn’t just throw him out, and he knew Cooper wouldn’t mind having him around.

But he’d been gone for so damn long. Eight years he’d been in the service, and eight months of not seeing his wife and child. It was going to take time for him to acclimate. He’d need space with his wife, with his daughter.

“I’m happy for you,” he said, but he knew it didn’t sound sincere. With a careful push, he lifted Stella’s legs off him and rose. “I gotta get going.”

Her brows furrowed and she sat forward. “Where?”

“Work.” The lie fell off his tongue, and he hurried toward his room for his jacket, even as she followed him.

“Wednesdays are your days off,” she accused. She tried to snag his arm, but he was quick this time and managed to dodge her. “Adam! Please don’t do this.”

He shook his head, his throat tight with emotion. “I just have some shit I need to work out, okay? It’s not you. And I don’t want to rain on Coop’s parade right now because I’m so fucking happy for you.”

“It’s okay,” Stella tried to assure him, but he shook his head, even as she pinned him with her gaze.

“Please,” he begged her after a beat, and she relented. He took two steps back, then felt for his keys before hurrying out the door, leaving her standing there watching him run.

In a town this small, there was the park, the mall, and a small patch of woods behind the high school for people who wanted to get away. The only bonus was that on a Wednesday afternoon, no one was around to bother him.

The mall was the last place Adam wanted to hang out in during his angst fest, so he