Chapter 54

Paul sits on the edge of the oval coffee table directly in front of Adam. He wants to take Adam’s hands in his but doesn’t. Instead he runs a finger across Adam’s knee, smoothing down the fabric of his jeans, and frowns at the path his finger leaves in the material’s nap. Everything he had hoped to say is gone now that it’s just the two of them alone again. “Okay, you know what?” He looks up at Adam, who’s staring at the spot where his hand touches his knee. “You want this album, right? So do I. So you have to talk to Trace—”

“I did,” Adam growls. “He isn’t listening to me.”

“You didn’t,” Paul tells him.

“I talked to him outside.” Adam frowns at Paul as if he’s pissed and doesn’t quite know why. “You heard me saying—”

Paul shakes his head. “Not like that. He was mad and wasn’t hearing you out there. You need to find him and apologize.”

“I didthat already,” Adam says. Nowhe throws himself back against the mattress and glares up at the ceiling with a dramatic sigh.