Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
As I returned to Fox Creek for the night, my eyes instantly flew to the apartment above the main lodge. The yellow lights flooding from the windows were a strange yet comforting sight. I stared at them for too long, just in case I caught sight of the woman who’d stolen my thoughts all day. I’d tried to keep busy helping Gray make sense of his dad’s filing system, though even with the two of us, it was useless. At least it’d kept me away from the apartment.
Victoria and Emilia needed time with Cole; that was what this trip was really about. Cole wanted to get to know his sister and niece, and they didn’t need me hanging around like an interloper. So I told myself to give them space, to not intrude on their time together. But with every ticking second, it was getting harder to convince myself to stay away.
“Fuck it,” I hissed to myself, grabbing my hat before killing the engine. “You’ve got better willpower than this, man. You can stay away for one night.”
Climbing out of the car, I started to walk toward my cabin. But as soon as I reached the back path, my feet stopped, refusing to go a step further without seeing Victoria.
“You are not going over there,” I whispered to myself. “It’s one fucking night.”
We’d gone weeks without seeing each other, relying on texts and calls to get to know each other. There was no rush, not when I had her here for the next month. There would be plenty of time to spend together.
But even as I told myself all these truths, my body started to rush toward the main cabin, not even glancing toward my own. Chuckling to myself, I moved up the staircase, my heart beating a steady, excited rhythm in my chest. I pulled out my phone, rereading our last conversation before I knocked on the door.
VICTORIA
Thank you for Emilia’s room
ADAM
Just helped pick the paint color. Everything else was Cole and Alex
VICTORIA
Really? I remember Emilia only telling one person she wanted a teapot with purple roses and a unicorn.
It took me almost a week to find it online, but it was worth it to imagine Emilia’s face when she saw it.
ADAM
Okay, I might have had something to do with that. Wanted you two to be happy you came here
VICTORIA
We didn’t need all of this to make us happy, but it’s appreciated. Thank you, Adam.
See you soon?
Rereading her last text again, I lifted my fist, lightly tapping my knuckles on the door. One knock, and she was there, even more beautiful than I remembered. How was it that every time I thought I’d figured this woman out, she surprised me by taking more of my breath away?
“We’ve got another one,” Victoria called out over her shoulder with a smirk.
With that, I peeked behind her, seeing the small living room filled with familiar faces. Emilia sat on Cole’s lap, adding different barrettes and ribbons to Alex’s hair. On the other loveseat were Calla and Theo, watching the exchange with amused grins. Normally, I loved nights like this. Throw Gray into the mix, and we’d sit around and talk for hours.
But with Victoria finally in town, all I wanted was to show her how much I’d been thinking about her during our time apart.
Victoria leaned in. “I didn’t invite them here; they all just showed up.”
“Everyone’s happy you decided to come stay.” I smiled, trying to hide my annoyance. All I wanted was to sit and talk to her, watch her easy smile in person, hear her laugh for myself. I also wanted to do a lot of other things that definitely wouldn’t be appropriate in front of this crowd.
She moved to the side, letting me join the chaos in the living room. Pizza boxes covered the coffee table, and half-empty soda cans lingered on the edges. I dove into the first box, grabbing a cheese slice before settling onto the ground near Victoria’s seat.
“Adam!” Emilia exclaimed, running over to jump into my lap. “Did you see my new room? It’s purple everywhere!”
“That’s awesome, kiddo.”
She stood up, holding out her hands. “And guess what? Auntie Alex and Uncle Cole got me a new tea set!”
“Nice, Em.” I lifted my hand to give her a high-five. “Does that mean I get to come to another party?”
“Only if you promise to follow the rules.” She turned to face Alex, pointing her thumb at me over her shoulder. “He didn’t wait for me to serve the tea last time.”
“How rude.” Alex smirked. “Can’t take him anywhere.”
“Wait a minute, how do you score an invite to these exclusive parties?” Calla asked. “Because I have a killer dress I’ve been dying to wear for a special occasion, and a tea party sounds like the best kind.”
Emilia’s eyes widened before she let out an excited giggle. “Mommy, is it okay if everyone comes for a tea party?”
“Of course,” Victoria said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“And can I get a new fancy dress?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
Satisfied with the answer, Emilia jumped up to talk to Calla about all her clothing. I swear, the girl had more energy than most grown adults. Victoria had told us she was constantly on the go, but it had taken until now to truly believe it. But the strange thing? I didn’t mind it.
As I scarfed down the rest of my pizza, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Glancing at the message, I was surprised to see Victoria’s name on top.
VICTORIA
You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to
ADAM
How many times do I have to tell you, trouble? I like being around you.
Three dots appeared, as if she was typing more, but before I could look, Theo caught my eye. He watched me like a hawk, smirking when, apparently, he saw something written on my expression. He leaned forward, untangling from his wife to speak with me.
“Did you look at that script I sent over?”
“The one about the murderous computer chip?” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
Theo’s eyes lit up, and I instantly realized my mistake. “But you did look at it?”
“I was curious about the title,” I shrugged. “No other reason.”
As Emilia slid off her lap, Calla joined our conversation. “Nothing has caught your eye? I thought that rom-com had a lot of potential.”
“He’s not doing a rom-com,” Theo added.
“And why is that?” his wife said, arching one of her brows. “I seem to remember someone wiping away tears when he read the third act break-up.”
“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone that, beautiful,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I just meant that project shouldn’t be his big comeback. We need something splashier, something with more box office potential. ”
I held my hands up to silence them. “Okay, enough. I looked at one script. I didn’t say I was ready to jump back into any project.”
“How much longer is this little sabbatical going to take?” Theo said. His patience was wearing thin with me, especially because I’d been evading telling him the reason behind my absence. I knew he worried about me as a friend, but the man staring back at me was all agent.
“When he’s ready,” Victoria snapped from behind me. All eyes turned to her, shocked and surprised to hear the fierceness in her tone. As I glanced back at her, her cheeks flushed with color. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “But I don’t think putting pressure on Adam is going to help. He’ll tell you when he’s ready, not the other way around.”
“Thank you,” I mouthed, turning back to the rest of the group. “I’m getting there, Theo. And trust me, when I decide to jump into a project, you will be the first to know.”
He nodded, but I could see a look pass between him and Calla. I couldn’t blame them; they had seen me at the height of my panic earlier in the year, when the emails and letters were happening multiple times a day, and I couldn’t even sleep without thinking of someone busting into my apartment. They’d tried to help, but I shut them down, too scared to let anyone else in on my nightmare. After all, if the police didn’t take my concerns seriously, why would anyone else?
Alex shifted the group’s attention to the lodge’s stand at the upcoming Fall Fest, and luckily, that took the attention off me. As they talked about signage and what they wanted to include at the booth, my phone buzzed again in my hand, alerting me to the earlier text message.
VICTORIA
Even with the chaos?
I smiled to myself as I read her message. Little did she know that there was nowhere else I’d rather be.
ADAM
Especially with the chaos