Situations like what? We’re at a party at his cousin’s house and ten feet from half a dozen other people. It’s not like I followed him home.
Ollie chose that moment to start barking, and they both spun around as Adam walked around the side of the house. He stopped short when he caught sight of them, and even in the shadows, Hope could see the way his gaze jumped between them, his eyes widening for half a second before he got control of himself. “You two okay out here?”
“Fine.”
Adam and Daniel stared at each other in a way she’d never seen before, almost calculating. Like there was a line they were on opposite sides of. Hope didn’t like that. She didn’t like that one bit. They were best friends—had been since they were kids. She refused to be something that came between them. She smoothed back her hair, belatedly realizing her hair tie had disappeared into the darkness. Damn. “We’re good. I was just coming back inside to find Jules. I’m kind of tired and I want to head to the bed-and-breakfast.”
“Hope—”
Adam stepped forward, angling so he stood between her and Daniel. “I’ll give you a ride. I’ve got the keys to Jules’s truck.”
“Perfect.” She honestly didn’t care who was behind the wheel as long as she was putting some distance between herself and Daniel. She needed to think, and it was impossible to do that with her body still beating in time with the pleasure he’d brought her and his presence overwhelming her while he was just standing there.
She wasn’t back for good. It wasn’t fair to get tangled up with him. No matter how she could rationalize it, she’d never be able to have no-strings-attached sex with Daniel. She just wasn’t capable of it.
So she ran.
Like a scared kid.
Hope took a few careful steps back. “I’ll see you around, Danny.” Then she hightailed it for Jules’s truck. She didn’t stop to think that it might be yet another stupid idea until Adam got behind the wheel and cranked the engine on.
He barely waited until they were off the dirt drive to start on her. “Why are you back in town, Hope?”
“What?” She jerked back, stung. “I’m here for the scholarship in John’s memory.”
“That’s all well and good—if it were true. But you could set that shit up down in Dallas without ever setting foot back in Devil’s Falls, and you damn well know it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I have half a dozen meetings set up tomorrow alone and—”
“Meetings you could hold over the phone.” He didn’t look at her, but the judgment in his voice hurt. A lot.
It was a fight not to hunch down in the seat. “If you didn’t want to see me, you didn’t have to offer to drive me.”
“Fuck, that’s not it.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m happy to see you, kid. Really, I am. I’ve missed you like crazy—we all have—but this isn’t about John. This is about Daniel.” He didn’t give her a chance to jump in, not that she knew what she was supposed to say. Things with Daniel were complicated, and not in a good way.
Adam turned onto the highway leading into Devil’s Falls. “I don’t judge you for not coming back. Fuck, I left, too, and I had every intention of staying gone. I’m sure it’s hard being back here and seeing John everywhere.”
She knew exactly what he meant. She might have been the kid sister, but she’d tagged along through most of their grade school adventures, and then again once she hit sixteen and Daniel finally woke up and realized she was totally in love with him. Daniel. Seeing him and Quinn and Adam together only brought into relief the missing piece, but there was comfort in knowing that those three were here in Devil’s Falls, still friends despite everything. Still living and loving and maybe occasionally getting into trouble for old times’ sake.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You goddamn well know what the problem is. You’ve moved on with your life, left the past where it belongs. Daniel hasn’t.” He finally looked at her, the lights of an oncoming car illuminating his face. “Despite not having seen you in a hell of a long time, I still love you like a sister, Hope. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and watch you grind what’s left of Daniel into the ground when you leave again.”
“That’s not fair.” She couldn’t dredge up any anger. Adam could be a dick, but that’s not what this was. He was worried about Daniel. It seemed everyone was worried about Daniel. “I didn’t come back here to mess with him.”
“Maybe not, but you being back is going to do exactly that.” He headed into town, pulling to a stop right next to her car in front of Cups and Kittens. “If you care about him even a little after all this time, stay the hell away from him, Hope. I mean it.”