19. River

19

RIVER

“ I ’m gonna get the next round. Anyone for more wings?” Adam asked.

“How is that even a question?” Noah replied, pointing at the two empty baskets.

I couldn’t help stealing a glance at Adam’s parting figure as he made his way through the Friday night crowd at Tanner’s.

A whole week had passed since our hooky day. Seven days since the kiss, and I was going out of my mind because we’d barely spent five minutes in each other’s presence.

My assistant manager, Fir, had accepted a couple of events for the restaurant, a birthday party and a retirement party. I was totally on board with those because each was an opportunity to introduce the restaurant to new clients, but they meant spending more time crunching numbers, working on staff schedules, and basically spending very little time at home.

All week, I’d envisaged bringing up the subject again with Adam because I needed to know where his head was at. But for that to happen, we had to be in the same place at the same time, which, of course, would have been tonight if I hadn’t gotten a message from Lex saying they were hitting Tanner’s after work.

“Adam’s been a little off for a few weeks,” Lex murmured, leaning in close. His twin intuition was both a blessing and a curse. “Especially this week. I found him in his office listening to music on an iPod and singing. Who the fuck even still has an iPod?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s kinda cute.” I feigned ignorance, even as my pulse quickened. “He seems fine to me.”

“Come on, River,” he pressed, his concern evident. “You know him. Does he seem like himself to you?”

“He’s not crying in a corner, rocking himself back and forth. Is that what you expected?”

“Well…maybe,” Lex said, shooting me a knowing look, “he’s acting like nothing’s changed.”

Lex’s observation hung in the air. I raised my beer to my lips only to find it empty. The truth was, everything had changed.

The way Adam’s hand had felt against my cheek, the warmth of his breath mingling with mine, the electric shock of our lips meeting…

“Let’s just give him some time,” I finally said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

“Time,” Lex echoed, eyeing his brother across the bar. “Yeah, maybe that’s exactly what he needs.”

But as I caught another of Adam’s fleeting looks, I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was the last thing either of us truly wanted.

“Has he heard from Victoria at all?”

I shook my head.

“She needs to stay gone,” Noah said. Lex elbowed him as Adam returned to the table.

“Here you go, honey,” Adam said, placing a beer in front of me.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” I joked. Or at least I did my best I’m-totally-joking-and-aren’t-we-so-dumb impression, but I wasn’t sure Noah bought it from the way his gaze ping-ponged between Adam and me.

“Anyway, I had an idea for a fundraiser for Star Finders,” Adam said.

“A fundraiser?” Noah asked, his attention peeked. It was thanks to him that we learned about the Star Finders Foundation. Noah had been secretly volunteering with Drew and West for years.

It was also thanks to him and Lior that they got the lease of the old hospital building to house a youth center and shelter.

“Yeah. They desperately need help. The human power kind. It’ll take them months to get the bare basics, and they’re already functioning to help the local community. So, I was thinking we could help them organize an auction.”

Lex laughed. “What, like a bachelor auction? They’re so overdone.”

“No. Well, kind of. An auction where we offer skills. Let’s say Noah is up, and someone wins a bid?—”

“The only person allowed to bid on and win me is Lior,” he huffed.

Adam chuckled. “I think it’s safe to say Lior doesn’t need the skills you have to offer.”

Noah’s chin practically hit the floor.

“I’m talking about business. You can help someone with advice on how to start a business or make the best of networking opportunities.”

“Or how to work with your family without committing murder,” Noah added.

I laughed so hard it came out as a snort.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of it, Hartley,” Adam said, elbowing me.

“What? What do I have to offer?”

His gaze softened. “You have so much to give. You run one of the busiest restaurants in the city. If nothing else, you could teach someone about time management, problem-solving, or customer service.”

I kept my eyes on his, lost for words. He noticed those things? I mean, he’d worked at the restaurant growing up, just as his brothers had, but none of them wanted to make the restaurant their career. I’d thought he’d disconnected from it.

Lex grabbed his beer, tilting the lip forward. “I think it’s an excellent idea. And it means we don’t have to stick to single people because with everyone getting engaged and married in secret, there can’t be many singles left in the city.” He laughed but then stopped himself when he realized what he’d said. “Oh fuck. I’m so sorry, Adam. I didn’t mean…”

Adam’s earlier easy smile was replaced by a more somber expression. “I know you didn’t mean it. You’re right. Both you and Adam have someone. Even Tanner had a secret Vegas wedding at the same time as Noah. But I’ll argue there are still plenty of single guys out there. Me, River, Drew, and West for a start.”

Lex and Noah lifted their bottles, and the three brothers clinked them together.

“Oh fuck,” Noah said all of a sudden. “Gotta go. We’re spending the weekend at the museum house, so I have to meet Lior in his office. Tomorrow, we’re having lunch with his mom, so I’ll run the idea past her. She knows everyone who’s anyone. We’ll have a list of people to auction off skills before the end of the weekend.”

“Hey, don’t forget Sunday lunch at Mom and Dad’s,” Lex said.

“We won’t be able to make it,” Noah said.

“We will,” Adam added. “Right, River?”

“Um…sure.” Great, having dinner with the Spencer clan after kissing their straight son senseless will be super fun.

Unless I gave Fir the day off and worked instead. Adam raised his brows at me like he could tell what I was thinking.

By the time we got home, it was late, and after being up at three in the morning to go to the fish market, I could barely form a coherent thought, let alone try rehashing the kiss from a week ago.

The scent of roasting chicken and baked bread wafted through the Spencer family home as Adam and I stepped inside and were greeted by a chorus of familiar voices.

I’d been part of this family for as long as I could remember. I’d been to more Sunday lunches with the Spencers than I ever had with my mom. Because of her shift work as a nurse, we always picked a random day of the week and made it our family lunch, but while it was great to have that time with her, it lacked the loving chaos of Adam’s family.

Hearing the noise of a table being set in the kitchen and Adam’s mom singing to herself made me miss my mom.

A lump formed in my throat. I’d been so close to losing this. If Adam had married Victoria, she would have taken my place at the table. Not that Carla and Jack would ever not want me here. But with my strained relationship with Victoria, I wouldn’t have wanted to make their family dinners awkward, which would have meant missing them more often than not.

I’d sat through a few we’d both attended and had found an excuse to leave early every single time.

“I’m going to see if your mom needs help,” I said to Adam, who went straight to the living room.

“You’re such a momma’s boy,” he teased.

“Hey, until mine returns from working abroad, I’m taking yours.”

I ignored whatever he muttered and stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, Carla.”

She turned around, wiped her hands on a cloth, and reached out for a hug. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m glad you could make it. I’m making your favorite.”

“Nice. Thank you. Anything I can do to help?”

“Everything’s in hand. Go join the boys out there.”

“River! Come here. You’ve got to hear this one!” Lex bellowed from the living room.

Carla shook her head. “Whatever argument they use, the answer is no. You have to back me up.”

I laughed. “I got you.”

Adam’s laughter rang out as I slipped through the hallway into the living room.

“Dad wants to get a goat,” he said.

“A goat? What for?”

Lex and Emery were cuddling in one of the armchairs, seemingly staying out of the argument.

“Hear me out,” Jack said, holding his hands up. “The next-door neighbors have a micro pig. They call her Stacey. She’s a terror. Whenever I turn my back on the backyard, she’s there, eating my crops.”

“How is getting a goat going to help? Goats eat everything.”

Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Yeah, and hopefully, they’ll eat Stacey too.”

“Dad!” Lex cried.

“Mom can’t be on board with this,” Adam said.

“That’s where you come in. You have to convince her.”

Adam’s grandma came into the living room. “You’re fighting a losing battle if you think Carla will ever give in on that.”

“Olá, Avó,” Adam said, getting up to greet her.

“Olá, Jacinta,” I said, giving up my seat for her.

She raised her hand. “No need, son. Give it a second and?—”

“Lunch is on the table,” Carla shouted from the kitchen.

“It’s like I have a little magic pinky that knows things.” She winked, wiggling her pinky finger at me.

I hope your pinky finger doesn’t know everything.

I followed everyone toward the kitchen until Adam grabbed my hand. “We’ll be right in, Mom. I want to show River something in my bedroom.”

“You know the rules,” Carla said.

“If you’re going to put your hands down each other’s pants, don’t forget to wash them after,” Lex said.

“Alexis,” their mom scolded.

Adam laughed. “That’s the most Noah comment I’ve ever heard.”

“He won’t be missed then,” Jack said. “Although he’s the one who’d be on my side, I bet.”

Without another word, Adam pulled me toward the hallway, past the framed photographs on the staircase wall that chronicled memories of their childhood, many of which included me. With a glance over his shoulder, he opened the door to his old bedroom.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

Adam didn’t say a word, but he locked the door and guided me to the bed.

“What—”

“Shh, don’t worry, we’re not having sex while my parents are downstairs.”

My eyes bulged. “ That is what you thought I was going to ask?”

He pushed me on the bed and straddled my lap. His lips curled into a defiant smile. Fuck, I wanted to kiss that cockiness off his face, but that would probably make him cockier.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“I know, but this isn’t the right time. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

“Then I guess I better make it quick.”

He pressed his lips against mine, sucking them into his hot mouth. I moaned, and he took the chance to tease his tongue inside past my lips.

I kept my hands on his waist, holding on to him like I was holding on to my sanity.

He pulled away, keeping the kiss way too brief and leaving me begging for more. At least internally. Did he know what this did to me? How he was giving me a taste of something I never thought I’d try in my life?

With our chests heaving and foreheads pressed together, I wanted to stay like this forever, but the world outside the bedroom door called.

“River,” Adam said, a gentle plea laden with determination. “All week, I tried to get my head around that kiss. Was it a fluke? Temporary insanity?”

“You don’t look insane to me,” I joked, giving up all pretense and cradling his face. “Also, that”—I pointed to where his erection pressed against mine—“doesn’t look like a fluke.”

He chuckled. “I guess it’s happened a few times now, so I have to trust he knows what he wants.”

Our eyes met again. “And that’s me?”

“Yes. Don’t ask me to explain it because I’m not entirely sure how we got here, but I feel like the blinders have been taken off, and now everything in my being is drawn to you.”

I breathed out and leaned my head against his chest. He threaded his fingers through my hair.

“Don’t break my heart, Adam.”

He kissed me again, this time with the kind of reverence that made me wish his family would disappear into thin air so we could stay here forever.

“Come on, let’s have some food and then go home. I’d like to spend the rest of the afternoon naked.”