Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(82)

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Adam followed me toward the back of the house to the kitchen. “Shane, this is Adam. Adam, Shane,” I said.

“Hey, Adam,” Amanda said, a wide grin across her face. “Glad you could come.”

Adam nodded toward Amanda and smiled politely.

“Good to meet you, Adam,” Shane said, wiping off his hands with a towel and extending one toward him. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“Likewise. The girls talk about you all the time.”

“Not too much, I hope.” Shane shot a glance at Amanda. He knew as well as I did that she had no filter. I knew more about their sex life than Shane probably did, and I guessed he was hoping that Adam hadn’t been present for any of those conversations.

“They told me a lot about CrossFit. Lily’s been dying for me to go. I guess I have you to thank for getting her in such great shape.”

Shane’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Adam’s remark. “Um, yeah, I guess. Lily was always in great shape, though. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“Um, yeah, thanks. A beer would be great if you have one. And I didn’t mean Lily wasn’t in great shape before. I mean, she always looks beautiful. I just meant . . . I know CrossFit’s different than a regular gym.”

Shane laughed as he handed Adam a beer from the fridge, and I could see in his eyes that he was gearing up for a CrossFit explanation. Adam listened silently as Shane explained the origins of CrossFit and why people preferred it to a traditional gym. “You should really take Lily up on her offer and come by sometime,” Shane suggested. “You look like you’re in great shape. I’m sure you could handle it.”

“I’m sure I could too,” Adam countered. “I’m just not sure it’s for me. Too much structure or something. And Lily mentioned that sometimes you do workouts as teams . . . I don’t think I want other people depending on me like that. I kinda just like to do my own thing.”

I sensed Shane debating whether or not to continue the conversation any further. “Well, the invitation stands if you’d like to come by sometime. You should give everything a shot at least once,” he said. “And I think you might be surprised. Don’t be so quick to think other people will be relying on you. It might be the other way around, you know. Okay, who’s hungry?” he asked quickly, allowing Adam no time to respond.

***

Thankfully, the battle of the gyms had ceased as soon as we’d sat down. And strangely enough, so had the conversation. I wasn’t even sure Amanda and I were this quiet in our sleep.

“More wine?” Shane asked Amanda and me, presumably in an effort to break the noticeable silence that had settled over the table.

“Please,” we both said at the same time as we raised our glasses toward Shane.

“You good, Adam?” Shane asked, still holding the wine bottle.

Adam glanced at his half-full glass, and nodded. “I’m good for now. Thanks”

Shane placed the bottle back on the table and silence descended again. It was deafening.

“The food is really excellent, Shane. You’re quite a cook,” Adam said between bites.

“Thanks. It helps in my business to be able to cook well. Sort of like practicing what you preach.”

“Do a lot of the people at the gym ask your advice on their diets?” Adam asked.

“Some do. But I’m a nutritionist by day, so that’s when I give most of my advice.”

Amanda snorted. “By day? What are you, a superhero?”

Adam’s face contorted slightly at Amanda’s comment. He hadn’t been around her enough to understand that she showed love through sarcasm.

“Ignore her, Adam. I do,” Shane said simply.

“You couldn’t ignore me if you tried,” Amanda balked.

Shane sat up straighter in his chair.

Challenge accepted. I grabbed my glass of wine and sat back in my chair, awaiting the fireworks.

Poor Adam looked like he had just stumbled upon a den of rattlesnakes. He clearly knew that a war had been waged, and he didn’t want to give allegiance to one side and risk pissing off the other. And I didn’t blame him. He’d get verbally bulldozed by either of them.

“Lily told us you’re an architect?” Shane was trying to get the conversation rolling again. He couldn’t make a show of actively ignoring Amanda if she didn’t have an opportunity to speak.

“Uh, yeah.” Adam’s eyes were darting between Shane and Amanda. He may not have known either of them well, but he knew enough to understand that this was far from over.

“That’s interesting. What do you build?”

“Houses mostly. My crew is currently putting up a housing development about an hour from here.”

Shane nodded. “Guess we have that in common.” Adam looked perplexed so Shane continued, “Building. You build houses, and I build muscles. I imagine both are equally gratifying.” Shane’s lips twitched, and I wondered if anyone else noticed. His response sounded fairly douchey, and I guessed from his attempt to suppress a smile that it was intentional.

Well played, Shane. Amanda wouldn’t be able to resist a smartass comment after that pompous display.