“Nice enough to keep dating?”
A half-smile curls her lips. “I want to be alone, but I don’t want to be lonely.”
My brows lift. I can’t stop them. Maybe it’s not fair of me to think Adeline has no problems because she’s so good looking. Lennie certainly had her fair share of shit to contend with. Anxiety and a stalker.
But Adeline has this air of graciousness. Like she could take on the world and come out on top without trying hard. I know looks can be deceiving. I’ve honed my face to show no fear because it’s what’s needed for the life I lead.
“Is it fair to this Blake guy, though?” I ask.
Adeline takes a deep breath, shaking her head like she doesn’t know.
Something niggles in the back of my mind. Some little worry about how a girl in her early twenties is already starting to settle because she’s lonely in life.
“Why don’t you come around Fujimori’s more?” I ask her. The restaurant was the lifeline I needed when I got to the city. A place where friends came into my life, roots of connection growing in an otherwise lonely soul.
“It just always seems more like my sister’s place.” Adeline starts unwrapping a cord to a curling iron. “Should we use the bathroom for this?”
I follow her into the small space.
“How is it going sharing a bathroom with the Ghost?” she asks.
“He’s a clean freak, so it’s fine.” Adeline laughs. “You know Len is too tied up with Elijah right about now. Come hang out with us more.”
I feel the irony as I say it. No one is doing much hanging out at the moment. Maybe part of the reason Adeline and I are hanging out so much is because we’re the two without partners in our lives.
Sure, I slept with Tris, but I know once Ren gets back, I’ll have lost my best friend. I mean, not really. But I’ve done this before. When everyone in the group starts to couple up.
“But you’ll always have me,”Sammie’s ghost says, placing a hand over her heart. I frown, not understanding if the movement is mocking or sincere.
CHAPTER 15
Isolde
“Can I ask you something, Blue?” Luis eyes me using the rearview mirror.
Tristan normally shoots him a glare anytime he tries to ask me questions when we’re in the car, but I don’t mind. I like Luis’s questions. They’re entertaining.
He reminds me of Abe in a lot of ways.
He gasped earlier this evening when I exited my building. “Fucking hot!”
My face turned scarlet, but I knew he wasn’t coming across in a gross way. Luis is a wingman, through and through.
Adeline curled my hair loosely before changing into a black dress and fluffing up her hair. We offered her a ride, but her own security team had her covered.
“Text me if you need to,” she said, leaving behind a large majority of stuff she brought. I’m about to have an overflowing closet.
“Same to you.” I caught her eye. “Especially if the guy ends up being a wanker.”
A smile broke out on her face, but I caught a more matureAdeline staring back at me. “Don’t worry, I can take care of that on my own.”
She blew a kiss to Luis, who clapped his hand over his heart in boyish delight. Now we’ve been stuck in traffic because when isn’t this city in a constant state of gridlock.
From the backseat of the SUV, I nod at Luis to go on.
“Do you like Greggs?”
My mind takes time to calibrate.
