“My heart is not frozen!” Adam yelled, sending the plate to the floor. “My heart is fucking broken!”
I blinked the tears out of my eyes as he limped out of the room, and that was that. A fucking disaster. He returned later to finish the lasagna, while I scraped the sauce off the wall and cleaned up the mess we’d made. What ensued was another dinner filled with awkward silence, but the lasagna was to die for. A smarter man would stop there, but apparently, I wasn’t that smart or easily discouraged. Hell, I was an Aries, which meant I was stubborn like a bull. It was why that same night I dialed a number, needing urgent help.
“Verna’s Psychic Retreat, Verna speaking.” The soothing female voice could be heard after the first ring. “What’s troubling your soul, traveler?”
“Things are not going well,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Please help me.”
Verna bit into what sounded like a carrot. “I know. I read your cards. Man, you’re in trouble.”
“Don’t I know it?”
She giggled. “I’m kidding. Health-wise, you could be better, but it’s because you fret too much. By the way, I compared your birth chart to Adam’s. You two are meant to be together, hun.”
“Can you please tell him that? He thinks I’m a spawn of Satan.”
“You’re tiptoeing around him. That’s your problem. Adam is a direct man. That’s how you should talk to him.”
“I did,” I grumbled. “He almost broke my tooth.”
“You need a diversion, Jordan.”
“What kind of diversion?”
“I’m not sure. Something that will knock his socks off. Something he needs but he doesn’t know it.”
Her words got me thinking. When I came up with an idea, I smiled. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but I was running out of good ideas. It was time to take a chance, so the following day, I picked up a potential solution to my problem and brought it home. When I came in, Adam was in the kitchen, or so the mouthwatering scent drifting through the air told me.
“Honey, I’m home,” I bellowed, smiling when I heard him curse. “What are you making?”
He remained silent, to no surprise, since he had been giving me the silent treatment since yesterday.
“It smells like carbonara,” I chirped, walking up to him and peeking into the pot. “Oh, it is carbonara. That’s awesome, because Milo adores carbonara.”
Adam looked at me with a frown. “Who the fuck is Milo?”
“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced you two yet,” I said, heading to the hallway. I opened the door to a pet carrier, and as soon as I did it, a furry creature ran out. A few moments later, I heard Adam’s alarmed shout. “Jesus H. Christ! What the fuck is that?”
“Milo is a pomeranian,” I explained, walking into the kitchen. “Milo, the pomeranian, meet Adam, the asshole.”
“Get that thing off me,” Adam growled, trying to get rid of Milo, who was humping his leg.
I smiled because what could I say? We had the same taste.
“They found him wandering the Palisades,” I said, pouring myself a glass of water. “Someone left him on the streets to die. When I realized Milo was looking for a new home, I saw it as a sign.”
“A sign of what?” Adam bit out. “Your growing lunacy? Get rid of that thing.”
I blinked. “Why should I? I don’t have anyone in this world. You don’t want me, and I refuse to grow old, bitter, and alone. Milo will keep me company. Besides, he reminds me of you.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I don’t want him here.”
“If I may remind you, this is my apartment. You can leave if you want…” I paused, smiling sweetly. “Oh, right! You can’t leave! You need me to walk, to sleep, and probably to jerk off, so… yeah, Milo stays.”
Adam made a painful grimace, looking at the dog that was running around the room as if he were possessed. “Did you feed him at least?”
“I have no idea what dogs eat,” I said with a shrug. “You feed him. I have to go back to work. Speaking of…” I hesitated, not knowing how to deliver that particular piece of news. “They found Skull Crusher.”
“Dead?” Adam guessed correctly, reading my expression.
