“You don’t mind.”
“Why would I mind people thinking we’re together? If anything, you up my cool factor.” He chuckled, but it sounded forced.
My tongue was too big for my mouth. My brain felt like it was seconds from bursting out of my skull. What the hell was going on? How was the freedom and control I’d clawed and fought for slipping out of my hands right before my eyes?
Adam sighed and twisted to face me fully.
“Our manager received a call from Saul this morning, who then called Iris. She’s pissed at me for digging this hole, but she also sounded worried. You know Iris, shit slides off her back, but I guess Saul found some kind of loophole in our contract he’s threatening to use to dump TSC. It was heavily implied his choice to use that loophole really depended on my behavior toward you.”
There it was. The reason I wasn’t jumping out of this car and running. My dad didn’t make empty threats. If he wanted to get rid of TSC, he would, even if they made him a hell of a lot of money.
“How will we break up?” I asked.
His eyes went sharp. “Break up?”
“We’re not actually getting married.”
Nostrils twitching, he bowed his head. “No. That would be unthinkable,” he gritted out, like the words offended him to say. Tension had his back ramrod straight, his affable manor replaced in a snap.
“Did you and Elise think that through?” I pressed.
“No.” His jaw moved side to side. “If you need an answer now, if I had to predict how it’ll end, I’m thinking it’ll just fade, like it always does.”
“Fade?”
“Yeah, fade.” There was sadness now, like a cloud settling over us. “Like us, right? You said we were faded. Usually, I feel it when it happens, but with you, I never did. That’s why I’m lost.”
I wasn’t ready to talk about this. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what I would say. The car pulled up to the curb, saving me. I sucked in a breath and peered out the tinted windows.
“Where are we?”
It took a moment for Adam to respond. When he broke his gaze from me to look outside, his shoulders lifted.
“We’re making a stop before dinner.”
It happened in a flurry. Adam’s door was opened, he slid out, then helped me do the same, and ushered me inside a shop.
A jewelry store. It wasn’t one of the big names. Not Tiffany or Cartier. This was a boutique shop that, much like the club, you had to know was there in order to find it.
A woman with a tight bun and a sleek, black suit met us at the entry and escorted us to a padded bench in front of a jewelry case. She was speaking as she brought out a velvet-lined box with several diamond engagement rings displayed inside, but my ears were ringing too loudly to understand anything she said.
Adam took my hand in his and squeezed. My head jerked in his direction. He was looking at me with a concerned, furrowed brow. Bringing his other hand up to stroke my cheek, he leaned into me, his mouth beside my ear.
“You have to have a ring, Baddie. To make it real.” Then he touched his lips to the hinge of my jaw.
In my mind, I got up, shoved the velvet box over so the diamonds went flying, then produced a bat out of nowhere and bashed all the glass cases so it rained glass and more diamonds. In reality, I sat there in shock.
Adam picked up each ring, examining them like he was making a real decision. Like this was happening. Like he actually thought I’d let him slip one of them on my finger.
He plucked the final ring from the velvet and held it up to me. “This one looks like my Baddie.”
I made myself look, and I really wished I hadn’t. The band was rose gold and razor thin, with tiny diamonds encircling it. The center diamond was cushion cut and huge, but not gaudy. If I were choosing a ring for myself, I would have gravitated toward this one. It was simple, yet unique. Honestly, it was perfect.
That Adam had deliberated and chosen it for me was utterly devastating. He knew me, down to the minute details. He knew me—and he didn’t want me.
“It’s pretty.” It was sheer will that my voice came out steady.
“Yeah?” Adam dipped his head, bringing his face inches from mine. “Will you wear this for me, Adelaide?”