Free Bittersweet by Noelle Adams Page A

“Lala!”
    Adam
reached down to help Logan up from his tumble.  “It’s Adam,” he corrected
gently, “Uncle Adam.”
    “Cla
Lala!”
    Zoe
couldn’t help but chuckle at Adam’s longsuffering expression. “We were just
about to eat dinner. Did you want anything?”
    “Sure.”
    They
all trooped into the kitchen, where Adam put Logan into the highchair while Zoe
split the salad into two servings and warmed up more soup.
    “How
was your trip?” Adam asked, taking two bottles of sparkling water out of the
refrigerator and putting them down at the table, and then finding a bread knife
to cut off a few pieces from the loaf Zoe had bought before she left.
    “It
was good. It was nice to see them. They’re doing really well.”
    Adam
glanced over his shoulder with that sharp, observant look that always seemed to
see more than it should. “You look tired.”
    “I
am,” Zoe admitted, leaning against the counter and pushing her hair back behind
her ears. “It felt like a really long weekend.”
    “What
happened?”
    “Nothing
happened—not really. Aside from a little car trouble on the way there. But it
just felt really long.”
    Helping
her carry the soup and salad to the table, Adam asked, “What car trouble?”
    Zoe
sighed, resigning herself to telling the whole story—since he wouldn’t give it
up otherwise. So she explained her engine overheating and what the mechanics
had repaired.
    “Nice
job,” Adam said, an appreciative smile on his face, when she finished telling
her tale. “Not everyone would have known the rest of the estimate wasn’t
necessary.”
    She
felt like preening a little, but that inclination made her feel silly. So she
arched her eyebrows instead. “Well, I might not have known it either. I always
feel intimidated by car mechanics, and all of what they say just sounds like
gibberish. I even tried to call Dan, but he didn’t have his phone with him.
Fortunately, I happened to have recognized enough to make me wonder.”
    She
recognized her mistake a little too late.
    “When
you couldn’t reach Dan, why didn’t you call me?” Adam asked, his expression
changing.
    Zoe
tried to sound nonchalant. “Right—I was going to drag you out of an important
meeting to give me car advice.” When he started to object, she spoke over it.
“I was fine, Adam. I appreciate your willingness to help, though.”
    To
her relief, he let it go with just another sharp look. "You should
probably sell the SUV, since you don't like it. You don't need a car in the
city, and you can always borrow one of my cars if you need to take another road
trip."
    Zoe
started to argue—but she recognized she'd be arguing merely for the sake of
arguing, since she was already considering selling the SUV. "I'll think
about it."
    That
seemed to have completed the car conversation. As they ate, they spoke idly
when Logan wasn’t insisting on making himself heard.
    When
he’d finished his avocado and crackers, he demanded, “Mo! Mo!”
    “Do
you want something else to eat?” Zoe asked mildly.
    “Yesss.”
    He
stretched out the last sound for a long time, obviously pleased when Adam
chuckled.
    Zoe
got some soft peach cubes for him to eat.
    When
they finished dinner, Adam helped her clean up and then they went into the
living area. Zoe put Logan's big blocks on the floor for him to play with, and
then she collapsed on the couch.
    “Why
was the weekend so hard?” Adam asked, lowering himself into the leather chair.
His eyes rested on her face, and there was an obvious question there.
    “I
don’t know. It wasn’t bad. I mean, they were great, and it was really nice to
see them. It’s just…it’s just kind of hard to know that I missed out on that
kind of life.
    Adam’s
lips parted slightly as he thought about what she’d said. “Yeah. I can see
that.”
    “But
I’m not whining. I really try not to whine.”
    “Zoe,
don’t be ridiculous. You’re the least whiny person I know.”
    “Thanks.
I