“Let’s assume Adele does have a migraine,” Jude said, ever the levelheaded one. “She seems like an honest person. So you let her rest tonight, but send her a text. Tell her you’ll check on her in the morning. Maybe offer to bring her ibuprofen and soup.”
“Ibuprofen and soup?” Asher repeated, brows arching high.
“And then,” Jude continued, “if she feels better in the morning, maybe try to talk to her. Don’t let it fester. Just tell her you’re not sure how she feels, and you don’t want to fuck this up.”
“That’s it?” I asked.
“That’s all you say,” Haven said with a nod.
“Or,” Grady added helpfully, “we could go over as a group. You know, backup for you.”
“Oh my fucking God.”
That night, if I got even four hours of sleep, they were broken and fitful. I wasexhaustedby the following morning. I’d played and replayed multiple variations of this hypothetical conversation with Adele in my headhundredsof times.
By the time the sun finally rose, I was weary of my own thoughts. The day rolled along, and I finally decided to text Adele when I didn’t hear from her. I crafted my text carefully and rewrote it twice. Finally, I even showed it to Lincoln.
He read it and nodded. “It looks good. The tone is just right. It sounds like you care, but you’re not being overbearing.” Heglanced up at me, his lips twitching at the corners. “Just hit send.”
My thumbs hovered over the screen long enough that Lincoln snatched the phone from my hands, added something, and tapped the screen to send the text.
“What did you just add?!” I exclaimed.
“Nothing,” he said innocently.
“Give me that.” I gestured for the phone, and he handed it back with a wink.
When I reviewed the text, my stomach dropped. He’d added:I love you.
My pulse skipped a beat. It wasn’t that I hadn’t told Adele Iwas falling in love with her. I had. But I honestly still didn’t know how she felt. My doubts had overtaken any confidence I had in her feelings for me.
“Hey, man, don’t look so panicked,” Lincoln said. “It’s okay.”
“Should I go check on her?”
“Yes! Maybe put us out of the misery of watching you. Go check on her,” Jude said as he walked into the gear room.
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered under my breath as I hustled out the door.
Chapter Thirty-One
COLE
Heartbeats gone haywire
As I waited outside the door to the apartment above the barn, the loud warning pinging in my gut turned into a full-on fire station alarm.
“Adele?” I called through the door, trying to ignore the static in my brain, the churn of worry twisting through every thought. Her car was outside, so I knew she was here. But not a sound came from inside.
“Adele?” I repeated, curling my fingers around the doorknob. “I’m going to come in, okay?”
Still nothing. Carefully, I opened the door. My eyes searched her out instantly. She was on the couch with her knees curled tightly to her chest, arms wrapped around them as if she was trying to hold herself together. The door swung behind me as I crossed the room in a blink, dropping to my knees in front of her.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on, Adele?” I asked, scanning her face and trying to keep the panic out of my tone.
She sucked in a breath and blinked slowly as she lifted her head. Her skin was pale, too pale.
“It’s my heart,” she finally whispered.
