All I Ever Need Is You (The Sullivans #14)(34)

Because he cared.

* * *

Just like the previous week, despite the fight she put up getting into Adam’s car, Colleen was fast asleep by the time they got back to Kerry’s house. And after she finished cleaning her sister up and putting her to bed, this time Kerry wasn’t surprised to find Adam waiting in her kitchen.

“You can’t keep doing this,” he said the second she walked into the room.

She’d been hoping for comfort. But she’d known that he was going to confront her, hadn’t she? If only because she’d finally come to the point herself where even she had to admit that she couldn’t keep on like this forever.

Still, since she didn’t have any other answers yet, she couldn’t just let Colleen down. “How can I just turn my back on my sister? What if I don’t go pick her up next Friday night and she gets hurt?”

“You can’t stop your sister from getting hurt if that’s what she wants.”

“Why can’t I?”

Even though she knew she shouldn’t be taking it out on him, Kerry didn’t know what else to do with all of the anger that kept bubbling up inside her tonight. She felt as if it had been bottled up forever. Not just in the past three months, but long before that.

And not just anger bottled up, either. Her sensuality. Her passion.

Herself.

“You know why, Kerry.”

“But if I’m not there for her, she’ll think she’s all alone.”

Kerry knew she was being stubborn, knew he was making a good point, but she honestly couldn’t see any other path right now.

“I can’t stand listening to her talk to you—about you—the way she does.” He took her hand and drew her closer. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Kerry. Beyond perfect.” He tipped her chin up with his free hand so that she had to look him in the eyes. “Tell me you know that.”

When she opened her mouth, all that came out was a choked sob. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, for the second time that night.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew any other man would have kept arguing with her to try to force her to see things his way. But Adam was simply letting her rest her head on his shoulder for a little while and stroking her back while she let all of the stress, all of the strain of the evening drain slowly out of her.

Tired. She was so tired. But even though asking Adam to stay the night would be the easiest thing—and the most comforting by miles—she had just enough sense left to know that the lines between them had already been pushed way too far.

The last thing she wanted was for things to get blurry between them. Not when it was so lovely to have a man like him in her life. One with whom she could laugh and have hot sex, and not have to worry for one single second about anything more. About perfect. Or forever.

Or, most of all, about setting herself up to be hurt or let down by him like all the other women in her family had with the men they’d thought were their forevers.

“Thanks for tonight,” she said when she could finally force herself to move out of his arms. Arms that had given her more comfort—and pleasure—than she’d ever known before. “I know it’s probably pretty different from how you normally spend your Friday nights.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.”

She knew he never lied to her, but still, it was difficult to take his words at face value. “Star Wars is a pretty great movie,” she joked.

But he didn’t laugh. Just said, “Are we still on to see the house in your old neighborhood tomorrow?”

The cautious voice inside was telling her she should postpone their visit to the house. That the two of them needed space. That she needed some space, at the very least, to get her head back on straight about what she and Adam were. And more important, were not.

But just as she hadn’t been able to resist letting him hold her on the couch while they’d watched the movie, she couldn’t resist the thought of seeing him again tomorrow. Especially when it would be the perfect thing to look forward to while dealing with her sister’s Saturday morning hangover.

“I’ll text you after my midday wedding.”

She wasn’t surprised when he kissed her good-bye. At least, not by the kiss itself. But she was surprised by how gentle his kiss was.

And by how much she missed him after she shut the door behind him and he drove away.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Three nights in a row.

Adam couldn’t think of the last time he’d seen a woman he wasn’t related to that many consecutive nights. Sure, he’d dated plenty of women. And had enjoyed being with most of them in one way or another. But there’d never been anyone serious for him, no one he’d wanted to see more than once a week. It had always been easy to come up with excuses as to why he couldn’t be available more often, why they both should keep their personal space wide and open. And any woman who had pushed for more than that had been cut loose.

Only, Kerry wasn’t the one pushing for more. It was all him, over and over again.

He was the one who had texted her last night to check on how things were going with her sister. And he was the one who had made sure they were still going to meet here at the crumbling house in her old neighborhood.

The craziest thing of all? It wasn’t suffocating. It wasn’t boring. And he wasn’t regretting it. Probably, he figured, because none of their meet-ups had been dates. It was amazing how that took all the pressure off and made it so that he could actually be friends with a woman while having great sex, too.