“What about this plate set? I think it matches your kitchen nicely,” Alyssa said.

“Oh, look! A matching Dutch oven.”

“When the hell do you use a Dutch oven?” she asked.

“I could find recipes that use one. You know, whole chickens and stuff.”

“Who are you cooking this whole chicken for? Yourself? I’d love to see you try to eat half a chicken, much less an entire one.”

“I could cook it for someone,” I said with a shrug.

Alyssa’s eyes panned slowly over to me.

“Uh-huh. And who would we be cooking this chicken for?” she asked.

My cheeks flamed in the middle of the store and Alyssa leaped straight to my side.

“Spill all the details,” she said giddily.

“I slept with Ryan,” I said in a whisper, like a dirty secret I kept locked away in some deep, dark dungeon.

“No you did not!” she exclaimed. She swatted at my arm as her squeals filled the store.

“Can you tuck that back in?” I asked. “You’ll startle the damn fire department.”

“When did this happen? How did this happen? What happened when it happened?”

“Friday night. A lot of wine and permission-granting from me. And so much more than I could’ve ever thought to experience.”

Alyssa grabbed my arm and pulled me to the end of the aisle away from the crowd.

“First off, are you two together now?” she asked.

“What? No,” I said. “This was my rebound, remember? You said I needed one. So, I got one.”

“Oh, this isn’t a rebound.”

“What isn’t?”

“I see that grin on your cheeks. I see the sparkle in your eye. You want to do it again, don’t you?”

“Alyssa, stop. We’re in public.”

“You're not getting out of this. You want to talk about this. You and your Dutch oven weirdness over there. So, we’re talking,” she said.

“In the middle of the store?”

“Oh yeah. I want all the details. All the juicy, beautiful details.”

“Well, it started when he asked me out to lunch this past week.”

“Oh, a lunch date. I’m pissed I don’t know about this yet, but go on,” she said.

“He took me to this quaint little café, a place I would’ve never associated with him. And it was nice. The conversation was easy and the food was delicious. But on the way out, we ran into Adam.”

“Fucker,” she said flatly.

“Then I ran into him again sitting at a stoplight Saturday morning.”

“Are you telling me you slept over at Ryan’s place?!”

I clamped my hand down over her mouth and put my finger to my lips.

“Shut. Up,” I said. “Yes, I stayed over Friday night. I woke up with him. He was cooking breakfast, and in the middle of cooking, Adam called and announced he was already on his way over.”

“At least he didn’t catch you in his father’s home,” she said.

I sighed. “I was angry with him, Alyssa. I snapped.”

“Okay, I love you, but when you snap, it’s like a baby sheep getting angry. I’m sure you looked just fine.”

“No, I mean…deep down. I was angry that I had to leave because Adam was already on his way over.”

“What did you think was going to happen?”

I sighed and Alyssa nodded her head.

“What did you want to happen?” she asked.

“I wanted him to tell Adam he had company. He didn’t have to say who, but just—you know, deem me important enough to at least eat breakfast with me first. I mean, I came downstairs in his shirt and everything, hoping to, you know, rile him up a little bit.”

“You little minx. You wanted more.”

“Of course I wanted more. Alyssa, the things he made me feel…the things we did… His sounds were just…all of it was just…breathtaking.”

I sighed and closed my eyes as I leaned against the shelving in the cookware store.

“Everything from the dinner to the wine to the conversation Friday night was incredible. And waking up in his bed, smelling breakfast, putting on his clothes and finding him shirtless in his kitchen…”

“Shit. I need a fan,” Alyssa said.

“Then imagine how I felt. It was all so beautiful and romantic and desperate. Raw, passionate.”

“No, really. Fan please.”

“And then Adam called, and instead of telling him he was busy and he couldn't come over, I was tossed out. I knew it the second he looked at me with panic in his eyes. I went from being this beautiful thing to this…this dirty thing. This thing to be ashamed of.”

“Or maybe the man needed to talk to his son without having him walk in on his ex in his dad’s fucking shirt.”

“Thanks,” I said flatly.

“But Adam’s presence and these interactions do bring about a fair question.”

“What is that?”

“Do you think he wants you back?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think so. And even if he did, I’m not sure I’d want to take him back. But I do know it’s been awkward for him to see me with his father.”

“Of course it would be, but that doesn’t give him the right to continue stomping on your parade like a spoiled brat.”

“I just don’t know. I don’t know what to make of Friday night.”

“It was good, beautiful. You said breathtaking. Keep it at that and don’t read too much into it. Adam’s issue is with his father, not with you. He dumped you. If anything, you have the issue with him.”

She had a point, and that point settled my mind for the moment. We finished our shopping and went our separate ways, and I drove all my new kitchenware back to my apartment. I hauled it into the elevator, my arms screaming in agony as I rode all the way up to my floor.

But the second the doors opened, I froze.

Adam was standing outside my apartment.

His head turned to take me in, and I debated on letting the doors close. What was he doing there? Why was he at my place? I swallowed thickly and stepped off the elevator, carrying my things to the door.

The door he was standing in front of.

“Kylie.”

“Adam.”

“Looks like you and Alyssa have been out.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I have a question for you, and I want a straight answer,” he said.

“How long have you been outside my door?” I asked.

“About an hour.”

I set the heavy bags down and began digging around for my keys.

“What is it?” I asked. “I need to get these things inside.”

“Were you with my father again?”

My hand wrapped around my keys and pulled them out as I took the time to gather my thoughts.

“First off, some ground rules. You don’t come by this apartment without notifying me first. You have nothing else here and we’re no longer dating. Your name isn’t on the lease, so that makes you a guest. And guests announce their want to come over before the owner confirms or denies,” I said.

“You going to answer my question?” he asked.

I stuck my key into my lock and opened my front door.

“No, I’m not,” I said.

“Then where were you?”

“I just got back in from shopping with Alyssa, like you said earlier.”

“I’m not talking about now.”

“Then you need to specify,” I said.

I picked up all the bags and carried them into my apartment. I turned around and watched Adam step in before I held out my hand. He put his palms up in mock surrender before he stepped back out, and I stood there, steeling myself for an argument.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I want to know what’s going on with you and my father.”

“Then I don’t have an answer for you, because I’m not sure of it myself.”

“So there is something going on.”

“Yes,” I said, “there is.”

“At least you gave me more of an answer than my own fucking dad.”

Wait. Ryan hadn’t told him there was something going on with us? Had I just ruined something? Was he ashamed of me?

“Do you have feelings for him?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know,” I said plainly.

“Is he a rebound?”

“I don’t know.”

“A one-night stand?”

“I said I don’t know, Adam.”

“So you’ve slept with him.”

“Get out,” I said.

“What the fuck. Are you serious? You slept with my damn father, Kylie?”

“Out!” I exclaimed.

Adam scoffed and shook his head, then stalked down the hallway without another word. I reached out and slammed the door, locking it to make sure he couldn't barge back in on me. I raked my hands down my face as a thousand different questions filled my mind.

But I didn't know which one to focus on first.