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Sydney Marlowe liked him enough to want a relationship with him, and he’d had to turn her down. Not only that, but she wanted to get married and have kids. And soon. Her dream was his dream.

Adam was not only the world’s biggest idiot, but he was also the world’s saddest man.

What made it worse was that he couldn’t even be honest with her. Not about the job in Chicago; he could tell her that. What he couldn’t explain was that he was not human, that he was a supernatural creature. If he could, it would make sense to her.

Of course, if he could explain that he was a gargoyle, the whole issue of telling her wouldn’t be an issue, because then she’d know.

What a miserable catch-22.

He thought about telling her anyway. He came up with every possible scenario, worked out all sorts of ways to explain, even contemplated the idea of her finding out accidentally.

None of them ended well. He’d either get into trouble, or she’d get so freaked out that she wouldn’t even want to be friends.

And if friends was the best he could do, he’d take it.

Now, he had to sit here for the next forty-five minutes or however long and pretend like this was what he wanted. That he was genuinely sorry for kissing her, which he was not , and that he wasn’t dying inside.

Could he renounce being a gargoyle? Could he promise never to shift again? The harsh reality was that even if he could do that, it was a promise he’d eventually break. He couldn’t stop being a gargoyle any more than Syd could stop being beautiful. That was just who he was.

He’d always loved that side of himself, too. Until this moment. Right now, he could have traded it for an ordinary human existence if it meant being with her.

“You look miles away,” Sydney said. “Something else on your mind?”

“Sorry. There is, but it’s nothing I can do anything about. And it’s rude of me. You deserve my attention. Forgive me. You are definitely not getting your money’s worth.”

She let out an amused snort. “It’s okay. I contemplated letting Birdie come and just not telling you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the auction? I helped you shop for a suit for it, after all.”

“Yeah, you did.” He shrugged. “I was afraid you’d come.”

That earned him another snort. “Fat lot of good that did you. I came anyway.”

“Yeah, but it worked out.”

“You think?” She fell quiet as Elberto returned with their salads. “Thank you,” she said to him.

“You’re welcome, miss. Your main course will be out shortly. Is there anything else I can get you?”

Adam shook his head. “I think we’re good. Thanks.”

“Enjoy.” With a little bow, Elberto was gone.

They both picked up their forks. He wasn’t much of a salad guy, but it was better than doing nothing while she ate.

“Did you paint the stepstool?”

“I did.” He was glad for the change of subject. “Haven’t tried it out yet. I gave it two coats of paint, so I thought I should let it dry as long as possible before bringing it into the house.”

“Probably a good idea,” Sydney said, half a cherry tomato on the end of her fork. “Sugarbelle’s smart. She’ll figure it out. Poodles are very intelligent.”

“I’m sure she’s smarter than me.” He said it jokingly, but he half meant it. He wasn’t feeling great about this whole situation, and he had no idea how to fix it. Or if it was fixable.

He could always ask Nick. Maybe he’d have an idea. Worth a call.

He ate a black olive. “Do you still want to take the dogs up to that park?”

She nodded without looking at him, her eyes on the salad. “I’d like to. Be good for them to experience something new. Although I’ll definitely be keeping Mackie on his leash. The long one. He’s a little squirrel-crazy.”

Adam smiled. “For all I know, Sugarbelle is, too. I don’t think she’s seen a squirrel yet.”

Syd finally looked up. “What made you adopt her? Were you planning to adopt?”

“Not really. I always thought about getting a dog, but Ver—my ex never wanted one. The shelter people gave her to me at the auction because they thought it would be funny for the biggest guy to have the smallest dog.”

“It was definitely a memorable visual.”

“She seemed scared to me. She was kind of trembling, you know? I picked her up, and she relaxed into me. Licked my face. And after a bit, the trembling stopped. She looked at me like, I don’t know, I’d rescued her.

” He sighed. “I couldn’t imagine handing her over to someone else and not knowing what became of her after that. ”

Syd was smiling, her eyes lit up. “That’s honestly the sweetest thing. She still looks at you that way.”

“She’s good company. Better than I expected. But I suppose you know that about dogs already.”

“Yep. Dogs are great. They just love so unconditionally.”

“Which is why I am already wrapped around her little paw.”

“No doubt.” She sipped her wine. “Your place in Chicago all right with you having a dog?”

“I don’t have a place in Chicago. Not anymore. Obviously, wherever I end up will have to be.”

“Obviously.”

A busboy came to take their salad plates, and Elberto was right behind him with their meals.

Adam got a whiff of garlic off Sydney’s plate as it was placed in front of her. Good thing he wasn’t a movie vampire, or one kiss and he’d be—well, that wasn’t something he was going to have to worry about, was it.

“Looks good,” he said to Elberto.

“Wonderful. Would either of you like cheese?”

“Sure,” Adam said.

“None for me,” Sydney answered.

“I’ll be right back.” He returned with a hand-cranked grater and showered Adam’s lasagna with fresh Parmesan. “Good?”

“Good,” Adam confirmed.

Elberto gave them a nod and departed. Adam dug in. Sydney was already twirling noodles around her fork.

He used the edge of his fork to cut off a piece. “I’m surprised you eat carbs.”

“Why do you think I run? I like food. Which is part of the reason I want to learn to cook, so I can make what I like. And also to eventually take care of my family.”

The last word hung in the air, like a wisp of smoke he’d never be able to catch.

“You’ll meet someone great,” he said quietly, not wanting to think about that but needing her to be okay all the same. “You’re … a real catch.”

He couldn’t look at her. Didn’t want to see pity in her eyes. But he had the sense she wasn’t looking at him either.

“Thanks,” she said just as quietly. “I hope you meet someone, too. Someone who treats you the way you should be treated. Not like … what happened to you in the past.”

Her kindness almost broke him. Almost made him confess right then and there the real reason they couldn’t be together. He had a burning desire to tell her the truth.

He didn’t. He just sat there and let her think it was because his stay in Nocturne Falls had an expiration date.

He did his best to shift the conversation to her, asking about her life growing up, how she became a model, her favorite job, her favorite place to travel to, anything that wasn’t about him. It wasn’t hard to do. He loved learning about her.

She’d had a lot of experiences in life. How he’d love to take her flying. He knew, without question, that she’d love it. She had a fearlessness about her that made him crave her company.

But she wasn’t for him.

Whoever she did end up with had better be good to her. He’d better know what a gem she was. How lucky he was.

Adam might be moving back to Chicago, but the distance would do nothing to erase Sydney from his memories. He knew that for the rest of his life, he would always wonder what if.

Every time he made bread. Every time he put on a suit. Every time he looked at Sugarbelle.

The thought of what might have been would haunt him for the rest of his days.