Leaving the other night had been filled with awkwardness, as Adam had wanted to ask her out again, but didn’t want to do it in front of her grandmother and grandfather. He hadn’t known if he could hug her or touch her, and he’d ended up literally patting her arm and walking out like a fool.
They’d been talking since, but Adam had been busy with Morris as they laid the groundwork for the five-concert series that Country Quad had agreed to do. Yes, even Luke, who’d texted Adam early the next morning with a few simple words that Adam could only imagine him grunting:Fine, I’ll do the concert series.
He’d prepared contracts for each member of Country Quad to sign, but they hadn’t done that yet. He’d met with Bryce, who’d said that he would find at least one more horse rescue operation to donate the charity funds to, and Adam had asked for a reference for a guitar teacher.
He’d been to Jackson Hole, where he’d bought a guitar, a stand, and the book that the teacher had instructed him to get. He’d been busy in a whole new way—the way someone was when they got a new job and were trying to figure out how to do it.
Adam also wanted to figure out how to live like a person who belonged at the family dinner table with Joey and her grandparents. He wanted art on his walls that represented him, towels he picked out because he liked them, and yes, he’d even considered taking a cooking class. Because normal people made their own meals, right?
He looked down at his phone, his thoughts all over the place today. Joey had texted a little bit ago with something funny about her family.My momma loves animals, and we’ve had at least two dozen over the years. OJ has picked up on that, and he’s always begging for a new cat or dog.
She’d included a couple of emojis of cats, dogs, and evena snake. Adam remembered why he hadn’t responded. He didn’t know how.
Was he supposed to ask her if she liked dogs or cats? He already knew she didn’t have any pets, and Adam looked up as realization streamed through him. Now that he’d be living in Coral Canyon, semi-long term, he could get a pet.
His mind whirred with what kind of pet he might want to get. Something that required him to come take care of it at night, he knew that. At the same time, if he got an animal, especially a baby one, he might be chained more to the house than he would like.
Indecision rained through Adam, and he hated how he knew exactly what to do for his clients, but when it came to himself, he was always second-guessing.
“Where is this person?” he grumbled, realizing that the caterer was now ten minutes late. How long did he have to wait? He didn’t need to meet with Diane for another fifty minutes, but anxiousness streamed through him that it wouldn’t be enough time to finalize contracts, go over the needs of the band and crew for the concert, and choose a menu.
He swiped away from Joey’s text to Shawn Avery’s. He’d said he would not be able to make the meeting, but he would send someone who could handle everything Adam needed. He’d just tapped to call the man when his doorbell rang. Relief flooded through him, and he told himself to chill out. This was not high-stakes-LA or country-music-star-Nashville. This was small-town Coral Canyon catering, andwho cared if he had to reschedule or couldn’t get everything done in one meeting?
He didn’t have anything else on his calendar, and no one from Country Quad would be texting him to find out details of the meeting within moments of it finishing.
Adam simply had a very hard time relaxing—and no, Joey was not the first person who had told him that. His mom, his dad, his sister, and literally every girlfriend he’d ever had had said the same thing.
He left his phone sitting on the dining room table, along with his notes for the catering company and the real estate agent. He opened the door and started to say, “I thought you’d never—” when he realized the person standing on his front step was none other than Joelle Young.
“Joey,” he said, his attitude and mood morphing immediately. She wore a bright pink parka that looked like it had sprinkles covering it. No, not sprinkles—glitter. She wore skinny jeans that disappeared into a white pair of puffy boots that she’d obviously never worn outside before. That, or she bleached them every time she did, because they were so blindingly white that they made Adam smile.
His eyes zoomed back to her. “What are you doing here?”
“This is your house?” she asked, seemingly as surprised to see him as he was her.
“Yes,” he said. “My rental, at least.”
She lifted a navy blue binder. “I’m here for Pork and Beans. Shawn said it was for catering?”
Adam blinked, the pieces finally liningup together. “Yeah, you’re in the right place.” He backed up. “Come on in.”
Nerves ran through him that she would see where he lived. She would know how impersonal it was—how bland and boring—and she might attribute those same characteristics to him.
He cleared his throat as she went by, the scent of her hair or her perfume fruity and fun—and reminding Adam that she was almost a decade younger than him. The bright pink glittery coat probably should’ve done that as well. He smiled as he closed the door behind her and turned to follow her.
“Let me guess what your favorite color is,” he said, a laugh following it.
Joey had gone down the hallway to the back of the house, and she turned to face him. “Are you making fun of my coat?” Her smile appeared, and Adam could not look away from her mouth.
“It’s pink, isn’t it?” He reached for her hand and realized how icy cold it was when she let him hold it. “Did you ride your bike over here?”
“No,” she said. “But not all of us have heated steering wheels in our cars.” She unzipped her coat, and Adam hastened to take it from her.
“I like the coat, Joey,” he said, in all seriousness. “And listen, I’ve been meaning to text you.”
Joey looked around his living room with its standard beige couch, a stand with the TV, and no window coverings.She met his eyes for a moment, then continued her visual inspection of his space by looking into the kitchen.
“You have?” she asked. “And what were you planning on texting me?” She brought her gaze back to his, and oh, Adam found the challenge there that had also resided in her voice.
