Chapter 36
THIRTY-SIX
The next few days, the town seemed to transform into a completely different place. With Fall Fest coming up this weekend, everyone was preparing for the influx of tourists and visitors. Besides the summer season, this was the biggest draw for the town of Saint Stephen’s Lake, a final hurrah for many of the seasonal business owners. When the winter months came, many people shut down their shops, not opening their doors again until the snow finally melted away.
While there was a hectic, frantic energy everywhere I went, I loved being a part of it. In fact, most of my days were spent with Cole and Alex, helping them figure out last-minute details of their booth.
After Cole’s talk with Adam, he’d said he was happy for the two of us but wanted absolutely no details of what happened behind closed doors—not that I would tell him anyway. Still, Adam couldn’t help but tease him, kissing me every chance Emilia wasn’t in the room.
Even though we hadn’t told her we were dating yet, I knew she was starting to suspect something. While Adam made a big show of leaving at bedtime every night, the moment Emilia was asleep, he’d sneak back in, leaving as soon as the sun came up in the morning. It was the fun type of sneaking around, compared to the stress I felt when we were hiding from Cole.
There was no doubt in my mind that Emilia would be thrilled about my relationship with Adam. He spent almost as much time with her as I did, and she’d started to naturally assume he’d be eating all meals and hanging out with us. In fact, on the one night he had dinner plans with the guys, she’d cried into her pasta, unable to hide her disappointment he wouldn’t be there to tuck her in.
He’d remedied it immediately, coming over last night with a bunch of extra cat cookies from the local bakery and reading her three different stories before bed.
The day before Fall Fest, I turned over in bed, reaching out to see if Adam was still at my side. Instead, all I found was a note, something he did whenever he woke up before me. I read the scratchy handwriting, smiling as I looked at his words.
You were sleeping so soundly. I didn’t want to wake you. See you soon, trouble.
I stretched my arms over my head as I crawled out of bed, grabbing my robe before I went to Emilia’s room. Peeking inside, I could see she was still out. I smiled to myself as I softly shut the door. I’d never tell her this, but some of my best mornings were when she slept in a little. While waking up to her smiling face was one of my favorite sights, it was nice to take a breath before diving into the day.
As I pressed the coffee maker's button, a soft knock came on the door. I rolled my eyes, already knowing what would be waiting on the other side. Opening it up, I saw the same long, white box with a deep purple bow. For the past week, Adam sent me flowers every morning. He claimed it was because he couldn’t be there when I woke up, but I think he just liked knowing they brought a smile to my face. He’d been sending different bouquets each day, all in shades of purple because it made Emilia happy. After almost a week, it was starting to look like I’d opened a flower shop of my own. Maybe I’d bring some downstairs for the other guests to enjoy.
But as I lifted the top of the box, I let out a sharp gasp, the smell of decay and rot filling my nostrils. I quickly pulled it back down, almost vomiting at the noxious odor. Shit, had something happened at the florists? After a week of near-perfect blooms, it seemed like something must have gone wrong for this arrangement to be so vile.
Without looking again, I ran downstairs and dumped the flowers in the back dumpster. Hopefully, they could give Adam some kind of refund. But as I walked back inside, I was stopped by the sight in front of me.
“Cam?”
My ex turned around at the sound of my voice, greeting me with a bright smile. “Hey, Vic,” he said as he stepped forward, wrapping me in a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” I said as he put me back down. “But what are you doing here?”
“I have a meeting in Boston on Monday, so I thought I’d come up a little early and surprise my girls. Plus…” He nodded off to the side. “I brought you a little something.”
I glanced around his shoulder, squealing when I saw a swatch of bright blonde hair checking out the breakfast bar. “Hadley?”
“Oh my God!” she said, almost dropping her full plate when she ran to hug me. “I have missed you so, so much! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this place sooner. It is adorable. Your brother owns the whole thing?”
“Yup,” I said, my chest filling with pride at all of Cole’s hard work. “He runs it with his wife.”
“I can’t get over how much I love it here. I can see why you’d want to come for a visit.” She tugged my hand before realizing I was still in my robe. “Shoot, I didn’t realize how early it was. Sarge over there made us take the red eye, so my sense of time is all thrown off.”
“Some of us have a schedule, Menace,” Cam called out from the stairwell. “Is it cool if we head to your place? I’m dying to see Em.”
“Of course,” I chuckled, leading them up the stairs to my apartment. But as Cam went through the door, Hadley held me back. “I want every single detail about you and Adam Rice. Leave nothing out.”
“Never going to happen,” I chuckled, wrapping her in another hug. As much as I loved it here, my world wasn’t right without Hadley at my side. “But you can tell me how you survived an entire plane ride without murdering Cam.”
“Trust me,” she groaned, “it was the biggest challenge of my life. But it was worth it to see you and Emilia again. I missed you so much.”
“Missed you more.”
An hour later, we all sat at the island in my kitchen, listening to Emilia tell tales of our trip. She spared no details, making sure Hadley and Cam knew precisely what they had missed out on. As she told yet another story featuring Adam, Cam arched his brow at me with a sly smirk. “Seems like you two have been hanging out with Adam a lot, huh, Em?”
“Oh yeah!” she exclaimed. “He’s the bestest. He got me all the paints, and we’ve had so many tea parties.” She leaned in to whisper, “And he told me we’re going to see horses soon.”
“Oh, he did?” I mused, hiding my smile behind my coffee mug. Adam had gone all out this weekend, not only making sure that there would be ponies at Fall Fest, but also offering a donation to make sure Emilia’s dreams come true. He’d even given them extra to make one look like a unicorn, complete with a purple felt horn.
I looked up, finding Hadley and Cam staring at me with twin smiles. While Hadley knew all too well how much time Adam and I were spending together, Cam could probably tell from the look on my face—definitely a downside to our almost lifelong friendship. The man knew me way too well.
“And what about you, Vic?” Cam smirked as he leaned back on his stool. “Do you think Adam is the bestest ?”
Before I could answer, a knock came from our front door, and the man of the hour stepped in. Adam’s face practically glowed when he spotted me, and he held up his usual breakfast treats. I swore, the man was trying to spoil us, not realizing we didn’t need any perks to stick with him. Both my daughter and I were head over heels for Adam.
As Adam turned to greet us, his face fell slightly when he realized we weren’t alone. His false smile was back in place as he stepped up to my side, dropping the bag on the counter. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “Sorry, Tor. Didn’t realize you had company.”
“No worries. We were just talking about you,” I chuckled. “ Adam, you remember Cam, Emilia’s dad.” I nodded down the island. “And this is my best friend, Hadley.”
“Charmed,” she smirked as she held out her hand. “And yes, we’ve heard all about you from Emilia.” She turned that saccharine smile toward me. “Tori’s been a vault, however.”
My eyes narrowed at her as Adam chuckled. He placed his hand on my lower back, “Glad to hear someone is singing my praises.” He smiled down at me. “Maybe if you try some of these new pastries, you’ll have nicer things to say about me.”
“Oh, she hasn’t said anything ,” Hadley teased, pulling the bag over to her to look inside. “Maybe you’ll be willing to spill more secrets than your friend here.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “Ignore the menace, Adam. She’s only happy if she’s torturing an innocent soul.”
“Aww, Cammy baby, are you feeling left out?” She booped his nose. “I’d ask you questions about your love life, but frankly, I don’t think anyone could stomach you long enough to date you.”
Just as Cam was about to snap back, Emilia’s voice rang out. “What’s a love life?”
I glared at Hadley as I turned back toward my daughter. I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s another word for dating. You know how some of the ranchers have partners back home?” She nodded. “So that’s their love life—who they’re with, if they’re married, something like that.”
She furrowed her brow then stared at me. “Like you and Adam?”
My eyes widened as I looked at him over my shoulder. He just shrugged and mouthed no idea . Still, he had a smile on his face, probably ecstatic that our secret was finally out in the open.
Cam met my eye and gave me a subtle nod, as if encouraging me as well. As I stared back at him with uncertainty in my eyes, he chuckled, grabbing Hadley’s arm. “C’mon, Menace. Let’s give them some space to talk.”
“Boo,” she sighed. “I want to see how this plays out.”
Despite everyone else’s reassurances, for a moment, I debated lying to my daughter. I hated to do that, only lying when it was entirely necessary. And even though I knew she loved Adam like family, it was hard navigating dating as a single parent. All the books had mixed responses in terms of a timeline, but most stated it was best to wait until you were sure the person would be a long-term partner, not a passing entity in your child’s life. And no matter what other questions I might have had about our new relationship, one thing was for sure: Adam fell into the former category.
“Yes, baby,” I said, exhaling slowly with each word. “Like Adam. He’s my boyfriend.” I ran my fingers through her hair. “Are you okay with that?”
She scrunched her nose and turned toward Adam. “Does that mean you’re going to come to dinner every night?”
“I hope so,” Adam answered. “I might not be able to be there every night, but I’m going to try. And if I can’t, I’ll be sure to call and talk to the two of you.”
She nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer. “Are you going to live in our house?”
“Not right now,” Adam said. “But maybe one day. We’d talk to you about that before it happened. And if we did…maybe we could all get a big house and fill it with lots of animals.”
That made her eyes light up, but she wasn’t entirely done with her questions. “Are we gonna cross the thing off Mommy’s list?”
Adam’s face blanched, and even when I arched a brow at him, he didn’t look in my direction. “Not yet,” he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “But soon. I’ll let you know.”
My eyes narrowed at the two of them, trying to read through the lines. When Adam pulled back and wrapped his arm around my hips, I glared in his direction. “Are you ever going to tell me what she wants me to do?”
“Nope,” he chuckled as he pressed a kiss on my forehead. “But trust me—I think you’re going to like it.”