Page 47 of The Love Hoax

And swallow hard, trying to keep the tears from falling. The weight of being fired is hitting home.

Adam puts his arm around me. “It’s going to be okay, Evie. I promise.”

Something in the way he speaks gives me a sense of comfort. I rest my head on his shoulder, our breath the only sounds in the room. My heart flutters in my chest.

Adam whispers my name. I lift my head, meet his eyes.

He’s going to kiss me. My breath comes faster with anticipation.

With all that’s happening, I want nothing more than to be consoled by this man.

He leans his head down.

“Adam!”

I nearly fall off the bed.

Adam jumps up. “Don’t move a muscle.” He opens the bedroom door and calls out. “Yeah, Mom?”

“Where are the martini olives?”

“In the fridge.”

We hear some movement, things banging in the kitchen. “Found them!”

Adam shuts the door. This time he remains standing.

"You were saying?" I ask, trying hard to recalibrate.

“Right.” He too picks up on the mood shift. “After my appsold, I founded several startups. I’ve been planning to hire in-house counsel to handle all the legal aspects of the business.”

“Okay. . .”

“How would you like the job?”

It’s the last thing I expect him to say. I simply stare at him, waiting for the punch line. But Adam’s face is serious.

“You can start after the wedding. It will require a great deal of negotiation with potential investors and?—”

“That’s not my area of expertise. I’m a negligence lawyer.”

“I’m sure you can learn most of it on the job.”

It’s ludicrous. “I live in New York.”

“We have an office in Manhattan. You’ll work on our New York subsidiaries.”

“You havesubsidiaries?”

He shrugs. “You’ll be doing me a huge favor,” he says. “I can’t show up to my sister’s wedding without Ronna. I will never live it down.”

Having met Adam’s mother for only three minutes, it occurs to me he may not be exaggerating. It feels like being dropped into a scene fromMy Big Fat Greek Wedding. “That bad?”

“It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. They are wonderful people but . . . overly involved. Now that my mother has met you in person, Ronna has to be you.” He purses his lips, tilting his head. “Unless of course you have a twin sister.”

I can’t help but laugh. I shake my head. “No such luck.”

“That’s what I thought.”