Chapter 259
Irene hugged her knees to her est, fresh from the shower and wrapped in a hotel bathrobe. Three wager faces eroded her tables screen, jostling for position until they settled into a chaotic frame.
“Is that a chandelier? Lucas squished his face closer, eyes wide.
*Personal space, Lucas!” Alex yanked his brother back by the collar, adjusting his glasses with practiced precision.
Irene laughed, the familiar chaos instantly washing away het travel fatigue, “So, have my little monsters behaved themselves?
“We’ve been angels, Lucas declared, crossing his heart dramatically
Alex cut in before his brother could embellish further, Katherine finished Brandon and Wesley’s treatments. Complete success. He emphasized those last words with such deliberate care that Irene bit back a smile. Her little man, always trying to lift burdens from
her shoulders.
Tension she hadn’t realized she was carrying melted away. “And Joseph?;
“Teaching me chess,” Lucas puffed his chest. “Says I’m already better than Uncle Wesley,”
Lily, clutching her well–loved teddy bear, pressed her nose to the screen. “Miss you, Mommy. Her eyes suddenly sparked with mischief. “Where’s Uncle Adam? Isn’t he with you?”
Irene’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me? I call to see my babies and you’re asking about Adam instead of your poor abandoned
mother?”
The triplets dissolved into giggles, exchanging not–so–subtle glances that made Irene wonder exactly what they’d been plotting in
her absence.
“We love you most!” they chorused with the practiced timing of conspirators.
After hanging up, Irene drifted to the window. City lights winked back at her, unfamiliar constellations against the night. Her thoughts wandered to Adam in the neighboring room–so close, yet carefully separated by a door that felt increasingly arbitrary.
Morning found them in the hotel restaurant. Adam commanded attention without effort, his tailored suit and quiet authority drawing glances despite the wheelchair. Natalie spent breakfast peppering him with questions that received polite but brief answers, like a tennis player returning serves without ever engaging in the game.
As Adam prepared to leave, his eyes lingered on Irene. “Plans for today?”
“Rare luxury of absolutely nothing,” she replied, savoring the words. “Just me, a book, and blessed silence.”
His mouth quirked. “I’ll call you at noon.”
The subtle shift in his voice–softer, almost intimate–wasn’t lost on Natalie, whose smile calcified as she watched the exchange.
After Adam’s departure, Natalie made a show of gathering her things. “Going to explore the city,” she announced brightly, though her eyes calculated rather than sparkled.
Instead of sightseeing, Natalie marched straight to Haven Enterprise’s local office, her heels clicking with purpose across marble floors. She breezed past reception with the confidence of someone who belonged, despite the receptionist’s questioning glance.
Adam’s frown deepened when she appeared in his doorway. With that persistence, the Snow family business might actually turn around if she bothered to show up there instead, he thought.
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After thirty minutes of waiting on the office sots while Adam tackled paperwork, Natalie finally caught him between signatures
“Found this amazing local restaurant, she offered with practiced enthusiasm. Perfect for lunch.
Adam glanced up, then at his watch. ‘Got plans already. Thanks though.
Something flickered behind Natalie’s eyes–frustration, quick thinking, then a fake smile. ‘No problem.” She stood, keeping her head high. “Won’t keep you.“
She’d learned that persistence had its limits with Adam Haven. Better a strategic retreat than pushing him further away. That didn’t stop anger from simmering under her smile as she left the building
The second she was gone, Adam grabbed his phone.
“Lunch plans?” he asked Irene without preamble.-
Irene looked up from her book, curled in the corner of a hotel sofa. The wild adventure of room service, probably.”
Thomas is coming to get you.” It wasn’t quite a question.
Irene found herself smiling at his directness. “Is that so?”
“Found a place you’ll like. His voice had that hint of warmth he saved just for her.
“Guess I should change, then.”
In Adam’s office, Thomas entered with files, spotted his boss’s rare smile, and wisely kept his observations to himself.
Thirty minutes later, Irene slid into a seat across from Adam at a secluded corner table, the city unfurled below them through floor- to–ceiling windows.
“No Natalie?” she asked, glancing around.
Adam’s brow furrowed slightly, as if the question made no sense. “Why would she be here?”
Thomas, standing discreetly nearby, kept his face carefully blank while mentally rolling his eyes at his boss’s transparent double standard.
“That blue,” Adam said suddenly, his gaze resting on her blouse. “Brings out your eyes.”
Heat crawled up Irene’s neck. The compliment caught her off guard–direct, without agenda or expectation.
“Just grabbed whatever wasn’t wrinkled,” she mumbled, fiddling with her napkin.
Over lunch, Adam opened up in a way he rarely did–laughing about his father’s tough business lessons, the thrill of his first big
deal, his excitement about where tech was going next. For once, Irene wasn’t seeing the buttoned–up CEO. This was just Adam- smart, passionate, and surprisingly easy to talk to.
Meanwhile, Natalie paced in her hotel room before finally heading to Adam’s suite. She jabbed the doorbell repeatedly, listening to its echo in the empty rooms. The silence confirmed her suspicion–they were together. The knowledge twisted in her chest like a
knife.
After lunch, Irene expected to head back to the hotel. She’d enjoyed the rare pleasure of adult conversation without interruption
from children or crisis.
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Instead, Adam turned to Thomas. “Global Golf Club.”
Irene blinked. “Golf club?”
“Meeting a client,” Adam explained, watching her reaction. “Nothing formal.”
Thomas had already started the engine. Irene shifted in her seat, suddenly self–conscious.
“Won’t I be in the way? I don’t even play golf.”
The corner of Adam’s mouth lifted–not quite a smile, but close. “Themas handles the actual playing. This client’s practically an old friend.” He paused, his voice dropping slightly. “I could show you the basics, if you want.”
The offer hung between them–simple words that meant so much more. Adam wasn’t just talking about golf. He was inviting her into his world, letting her see the parts of his life he usually kept private.
“Fair warning–I’m completely hopeless at sports,” she said, her voice lighter than she felt.
Adam’s eyes lingered on her face, reading every microexpression. “Everyone starts somewhere.”
Irene fiddled with her purse strap, suddenly nervous for no good reason. Then it hit her–Adam was slowly, carefully pulling her into his life, one small step at a time. The thought sent her heart racing in a way no one had made it race in years.
Thomas caught Adam’s eye in the rearview mirror, his expression carefully neutral even as he noted how his boss’s hand had somehow moved closer to Irene’s on the seat between them—not touching, but close enough that the possibility hummed in the narrow space between their fingers.
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