Free Adam’s Boys by Anna Clifton

for herself living with a man who didn’t care for her. And she despaired for him too, for thinking the living arrangements he was proposing could ever work.
    â€œBut you haven’t thought through what it will mean,” Adam argued. “We’ll be living together, you and me, as a couple—in all ways except the bedroom.”
    â€œI know what it means. But as I said, I have no choice.”
    â€œOkay then,” Adam replied huskily after watching her for several seconds, clearly trying to gauge whether she was of sound mind or not that night. But then pressing his lips together momentarily, he shook his head a little in despair.
    â€œThe cruelest irony in all this is that twenty-four hours ago I decided to ask you if we could put our past behind us and work together to encourage the friendship between the boys. But that was before I knew what you …” Adam stopped, all the while staring at her as though he was looking for something he’d lost. He bit down on his bottom lip and nodded his head a little as though making a private decision before he continued on. “Anyway, there’s no use looking back. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms here so there’s plenty of room. My only concern is that it’s not an orthodox situation for the boys to be in. But neither is Pete, Henry and I finding out about each other when Henry’s nearly four years old. So frankly, I don’t give a damn about orthodox.”
    â€œOrthodox and my life are not especially good friends anyway,” Abbie thought out loud in a self-deprecating voice, and again Adam’s expression flickered out of its rigidity for a sliver of a second.
    â€œAnyway, that’s enough for tonight,” he finished crisply.
    With that Adam tipped his untouched coffee down the sink, placed the mug on the bench and began to walk in the direction of the front door. He was plainly intent on showing her out as soon as possible, but Abbie didn’t move. She was too busy trying to get her head around the fact that she’d had all the anger, misery and despair she was going to get from him that night.
    Well, she wasn’t having it!
    She’d waited for hours so that he could have his explosion, his breakdown, his tantrum—whatever he wanted to throw at her. Instead she’d received a cold-blooded judgement and a list of binding conditions. Then he’d simply moved off the bench in that judicial fashion of his. As far as he was concerned, the family law matter of Cooper and McCarthy was closed until he chose to open it again on whichever terms he thought necessary.
    Abbie slipped off the stool but moved no further. Adam appeared at the door again, his eyes searching for her.
    â€œWell? Are you going home or not?” he asked in unconcealed irritation.
    â€œNot!” she shot at him, distracted by trying to tighten his oversized track pants around her waist again.
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œBecause believe it or not,” she began hotly, continuing to struggle with the uncooperative drawstring. “I came here tonight to let you vent your spleen about me keeping Henry from you all these years. Damn these things!” Abbie shouted in explosive exasperation at the pants that were determined to move south to her ankles. Finally, letting them fall to her feet, she kicked them off in such a wild rage that that they flew across his kitchen and landed on the range hood, one of the legs dangling precariously over the stovetop.
    Adam leant against the doorframe and crossed his arms. Those eyes of his that had deepened in colour that night to perfectly match his blue T-shirt slid with frosty focus down her bare legs until they reached her trainers.
    â€œI’m under no obligation to display any emotion to you,” he began, the chilliness of his eyes matching his voice as he lifted them to lock with hers again. “I don’t owe you anything.”
    â€œYou’re right.