Chapter Ten
The Choice
Lenor
The problem with walls is they don’t just keep people out. They keep you trapped inside.
I’ve spent years stacking mine brick by brick—after Jacob, after the whispers, after that night six months ago that left me raw, exposed, and aching. I thought if I built them high enough, strong enough, I’d be safe.
But walls can’t keep out Adam Blake. Not when he tears them down in front of the whole damn town.
It started at the diner.
Mrs. Carter’s voice is sharp enough to slice bread. “Another Blake boy dragging a girl’s name through the mud. Shame.”
I flinched, bracing for the heat of pitying stares. But before I can shrink away, Adam’s voice cuts through, calm and deadly.
“Funny, Mrs. Carter,” he says with a smile I know isn’t friendly. “I didn’t know you were an expert on happiness. If you were, maybe you wouldn’t spend your nights alone with a cat that hates you.”
The whole diner erupts. Mrs. Carter sputters, red as a beet. And Adam just leans back in his booth, smirking like the devil, his eyes locked on me across the room.
And for once, I don’t feel like the punch line. I feel like the prize.
****
Later that week, at the farmer’s market, Mason tries again. He offers to carry my bags, his smile is polite, and his voice is smooth. Before I can answer, Adam appears, taking the bags from my hands without asking.
“I’ve got it,” he says firmly, his arm brushing mine as he falls into step beside me. “She’s with me.”
And just like that, the whispers stop. People stare, sure. But not with pity this time. With curiosity. With something like respect. Because Adam isn’t hiding. He isn’t ashamed. He’s claiming me in front of everyone, daring them to laugh or talk. But no one does.
I let him walk me to my car, not saying a word. And I watch him in my rearview mirror as I drive away. My walls are tumbling down, one brick at a time.
When I finally go to bed, I lie awake staring at the ceiling, my chest tight. Because I can’t deny it anymore. Adam isn’t Jacob. He isn’t Mason. He isn’t anyone but himself. Reckless, stubborn, infuriating, and mine.
The truth presses heavy and hot against my ribs, breaking through every lie I’ve told myself. I love him. God help me, I love him. Finally admitting the truth to myself lifts a massive weight off my shoulders and for the first time in more than a year, I sleep peacefully.
****
I go looking for Adam, finally ready to tell him I want to be with him. It’s time I grab onto my happily ever after with both hands.
I find him at Blake’s. He’s behind the bar, wiping down the counters with the music low on the jukebox. When he looks up and sees me, his whole body goes still, his eyes dark and wary, like he’s bracing for another fight.
“Lennie,” he says carefully.
I swallow hard, my heart pounding. “We need to talk.”
He tosses the rag aside, crossing his arms. “That usually means you’re about to kick me in the teeth.”
“Not this time.”
His brows lift, surprise flickering across his face. “No?”
I shake my head, stepping closer, my hands trembling. “I’ve been fighting you. Fighting this. Because I was scared. Because I thought letting you in meant letting you break me.”
“Lennie...”
I hold up a hand, cutting him off. “But you already broke me. The first night you kissed me, I was done for. And every time I tried to pretend otherwise, it just hurt more.”
His arms drop to his sides, his eyes burning into mine as he leans across the bar top. “Say it.” His voice is low and demanding.
My throat tightens and my breathing grows erratic as I push past the fear holding me back. But I do.
“I love you, Adam Blake.”
The words leave me trembling, raw and bare. But the second they’re out, relief crashes over me like a wave. Because it’s the truth. It’s always been the truth.
Adam stares at me for one heartbeat, two. And then he’s across the bar, his hands cupping my face, his mouth crashing onto mine.
The kiss is everything, wild and desperate and tender all at once. His lips taste like redemption, and his hands feel like anchors. I melt against him, clutching at his shirt, finally letting myself have what I’ve wanted all along.
When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine, his voice a rough whisper. “Say it again.”
“I love you.” My voice cracks, but it’s steady enough. “I’m yours.”
His chest heaves. His eyes shine. “You’re mine,” he echoes fiercely. “And I’m never letting you go.”
We don’t make it upstairs.
We barely make it to the back office before his mouth is on mine again, our bodies pressed together, years of tension snapping like a live wire.
But this time, it’s different. It’s not just desire. It’s need. It’s love. It’s forever. And for the first time, I don’t feel terrified. I feel free.
Adam lifts me in his arms and presses my back against the door. My sundress bunches up around my hips as his hands grip my ass. His lips skim my neck as one hand lowers the straps of my dress.
“Adam,” I moan, gripping his hair and pulling back his head to look into his eyes. “I want you inside me.”
“Just, let me take my time,” he says, his eyes wild.
“Later. I just want to feel you now.”
He stares at me for a moment before doing what I ask. His pants drop to the floor and the crinkle of the condom wrapper follows. His hand moves between my legs, finding no underwear to bar his entrance.
“No panties, Lennie.”
“I was working with a plan.”
He slams into me, fucking me against the wooden surface, both hands back on the globes of my ass. Pleasure courses through me and I can’t hold back my moans.
I don’t last long until my second orgasm crashes over me.
Adam groans, his hips thrusting erratically before he joins me in pleasure.
We breathe hard for long moments before he carries me over to the couch, still inside me, and letting me straddle him.
I trace lazy circles on his chest, my heart steady for the first time in years.
He tilts my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Say it one more time.”
I smile softly as I stare at him. “I love you.”
His grin is slow and devastating. “Good. Because I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
And I know then that I made the right choice. Not the safe one. Not the easy one. But the only one that’s ever mattered.
Adam Blake is mine. And I’m his.