“Carlie, that night ... But you were so different …”
Her expression shifts—a combination of vulnerability and relief washing over her face. “I was there, incognito, I guess. I needed to ... I don’t know, escape for a while. Be someone else for the night. It was all role-play.”
I take a step back, my mind racing to align this new information with everything I thought I knew.
Hell, I’d even wondered—looking for that birthmark on her clavicle.
Only, by the time I actually had the chance to see it, I’d completely let go of that fantasy.
A faint smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “That night was just supposed to be a night of freedom. Something to get me away from all the complications of my real life. Being cheated on—it isn’t fun.”
“It’s not,” I agree, reaching out, and gently cupping her face in my hands. “Carlie, don’t you see? That night, that connection,it wasreal. It wasn’t just some random encounter. It was us, being drawn to each other, even when we didn’t realize it. Those stupid, past experiences—they brought us together.”
Her eyes are glistening with unshed tears as she leans into my touch.
“I know,” she whispers. “I should have told you when I realized. But it scared me, Adam. The intensity of it all. I was afraid of what it meant. What you’d think of me.”
I brush a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “It means that we’re meant to be, Carlie. That no matter how we try to fight it or deny it, we’re drawn to each other. Our paths are intertwined.”
Carlie’s eyes sparkle with a mix of tears and mirth as she lets out a soft, incredulous laugh. “You’re making it sound like fate,” she says, her voice carrying a playful undertone.
“Isn’t it?” I ask, my heart in my voice. “One night together at Nocté, only for us to find each other again on our own … It’s more than just coincidence.”
She raises an eyebrow, a hint of her usual playful humor returning. “So, are we living in a rom-com novel now? I should start taking notes for my next book. Maybe I’ll be able to get past my writer’s block.”
There’s that humor of hers again.
The realization that Carlie and I have been connected in more ways than I knew hits me with the force of a tidal wave. Everything we’ve done—the ways we’ve been intimate.
“God, everything makes so much more sense now,” I say, unable to hide the awe in my voice. “But I still don’t understand. If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I haven’t known long. But I didn’t know what to do,” she admits. “I was afraid of how you’d react—of what it would mean for ... whatever this is between us. I mean, you said it yourself, I’m not the woman you spent the night with at Nocté. I was afraid you’d want her—not me.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong.” I step closer, closing the gap between us, and gently lifting her chin so she’s looking at me. “Carlie, that woman you were that night is still a part of who you are. She’s at the core of you—the woman you want to be. You just embraced her.”
A small smile floats to her hips. “You think?”
“Iknow,” I say, brushing her chin with my thumb. “Last night … You blew my mind. Hell, I should have known, come to think of it.”
“Why?” she asks breathlessly.
“Because there was only one other woman that made me feel the way you did last night. But as it turns out, it was thesame woman,” I huff a laugh. “Knowing this ... it doesn’t change how I feel about you. If anything, it makes me feel closer to you.”
A tear escapes her eye, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“We’ve both been hiding parts of ourselves, but it’s time to stop. Let’s be open with each other—no more secrets,” I whisper.
Carlie nods, a small smile breaking through her tears. “No more secrets.”
CHAPTER32
Carlie
Sitting on the small loveseat on the back deck of my apartment, I gaze out at the afternoon sky. Adam sits beside me, a fuzzy lap blanket thrown across us both.
There’s a coolness in the air today, but there’s also a calm that wasn’t here before Adam’s Instagram Live confession—and then revelation about our connection.
Even the birds seem happier.