“He’s not even listening to me,” Grace said to Molly, then gave Levi a withering look. “That’s not what this is about.”
Levi leaned forward, his palms digging into the counter. His head dropped between his shoulders. His heart was beating too fast, and he could feel his blood pressure shooting up.
He didn’t want to do it, but she was giving him no choice. He raised his head, drilling her with a look and taking great care to keep his voice steady and calm. “You know Mom and Dad wanted you to go to college, Grace.”
Her eyes went glossy. “That’s not fair. Stop guilt-tripping me.”
“It’s the truth.”
Grace glared at him, tears clinging to her lashes. “I told Mia you wouldn’t listen!” She whirled around and stormed out of the house.
He winced as the door slammed shut.
Mia knew about this? Levi’s head was spinning. He felt a little dizzy.
“Let’s talk to her later after she settles down,” Molly said.
“She’s obviously felt this way a long time. But she has to go to college. We’re on the same page here, right?” He realized his tone left little choice, but he didn’t care. He knew he was right.
“Why don’t we talk about this later? Nothing has to be decided tonight, and I’m due at Adam’s.”
“Yeah.” He ran his hand over his face. “You’re right.”
“But Levi...” Molly squeezed his arm and held his gaze for a long moment. “Next time you might consider doing a little less talking and a lot more listening.”
thirty-eight
What a night. Molly was ready for some quiet time with Adam. She sat beside him in the pontoon boat as he guided it quietly through the choppy water. The sun had set and darkness crept across the sky. Already a few stars twinkled on the cloudless palette.
Boats crowded the lake, all headed toward the main basin, which would offer the best views of the fireworks. The boats’ navigation lights reflected off the water, and the quiet strains of a country tune carried from a nearby radio. A mild breeze drifted across the lake, already carrying the flinty smell of fireworks.
Molly shifted on her seat. Even though she’d just come from a family squabble, that wasn’t what was usurping her thoughts. Things had felt different between Adam and her since three weeks ago when he hadn’t proposed. Conversation didn’t flow like it used to. A barrier seemed to have been erected between them. Worse, she’d started to doubt him.
A week ago she’d thought back to that call he’d received from Tiffany, and it occurred to her that the screen might not have said Tiffany & Co. at all. It may have just said Tiffany. Maybe she’d only presumed it to be the jewelers because she’d had proposal on the brain. Maybe Tiffany was really the name of some woman.
The thought had gutted her.
She didn’t want to think Adam could be talking to another woman, or worse, seeing another woman.
And yes, yes, she knew. Adam was not the cheating type. He wasn’t some playboy. But her ex-boyfriend Dominic had done a job on her. Shaken her trust in men. She thought she’d gotten past that, but here she was in doubting mode again. And there was that distance between them that hadn’t been there before. How could she explain that?
She wiped her sweaty palms down her shorts. The thought of losing Adam was unthinkable. It would be so much worse than losing Dominic. She loved Adam with all her heart. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She couldn’t imagine a future with anyone else.
“You’ve been quiet.” Adam shot her a sideways glance, his face unreadable in the shadowy light.
“I know. Sorry. There was a big blowup between Levi and Grace before I left the house. She told him she doesn’t want to go to college, and things got pretty heated. I can see both sides. But the bottom line is, it’s Grace’s life, and Levi needs to back off. But you know Levi. He can be pretty single-minded.”
“He cares about both of you.”
“Of course he does. But he has a tendency to be a little bossy, and that just makes Grace buck up. They both need to cool off before they talk about this again. I’ll work on Levi in the meantime, see if I can soften him up a little.” She gave him a wry grin. “A middle child’s work is never done.”
Her attempt at levity went unrecognized. Adam fell quiet again. That had been the way of things lately. What was going on? Her eyes burned. She was grateful for the darkness and glad they’d reached a good spot to anchor down.
Adam shut off the engine, leaving the nav lights on, and dropped the anchor.
Distant laughter and music carried from the boats around them. Seeing the fireworks on the lake had always been a highlight for Molly. And she’d looked forward to sharing it with Adam. But now it was all ruined by... whatever this was between them.
He turned on the captain seat to face her. “That isn’t what I meant, Molly.”
