I glance at him as he watches her, and I witness his eyes softening.Shit.That does something to me.
Fills me with emotion.Pride.And something else.
“She’s good, Ad.Really good.”
Then, more quietly, “Looks just like you and Bonnie when you were kids.”
The comment slips under my ribs and settles somewhere deep, warm, and painful.
My eyes sting—not with sadness this time, but something gentler.
For once, I have no idea what to say.
And beside me, Nathan stays silent too.
Just two people sitting in the dark, watching a bright little girl bring magic to the stage.
And for just one moment it feels like maybe I haven’t lost everything after all.
ChapterTwelve
Nathan
I can’t stop thinkingabout Adrianna.
Or our accidental-on-purpose school play sorta date.
It’s been a few days, and I’m climbing the damn walls.I’m like an addict, jonesing for a hit, checking the clock, pacing the house, replaying every second we spent in that dark corner of the auditorium.
Her laugh.
Her soft voice when she talked about Bella.
The way she looked under those lights—gorgeous, warm, real.
I’m so lost for this woman it isn’t even fucking funny.
But truth is—I’ve known that Adrianna Bosco is the woman of my dreams since the third grade.
When she handed me a crayon because mine broke.
When she shared her cookie at lunch.
When she leaned over and whispered, “We’re friends now,” like she’d just announced a lifetime contract.
I wasn’t expecting to still feel this way.
Awestruck.
Dumbfounded.
Perfectly aligned.
Safe.
Home.
Like I could finally breathe for the first time in years.
