Until Fountain Bridge: (InterMix) by Samantha Young Read Free Book Online Page B

heart from taking off. Adam was taking me out for a drink. He’d never taken me out for a drink just the two of us before. Sometimes he, Braden, and I would meet up for a drink or two, but it was never just Adam and I.
    As I walked down the street with him, arm in arm, I allowed myself the fantasy that we were a couple.
That’s what other people would see when they passed us.
My chest burned with utter longing.
    Unrequited love wasn’t nearly as romantic as the books made it seem.
    “Who don’t you know in this city?” I teased in an attempt to appear normal around him.
    Adam grinned. “There are a few people I’ve yet to meet.”
    I chuckled at that. Adam and Braden called Edinburgh “their city,” and they almost meant that literally. They had acquaintances everywhere, and whenever I was out with them, we spent half our time greeting people they knew. Some might say that Adam would never have had that kind of relationship with the city if he hadn’t grown up as Braden’s best friend.
    Unlike us, Adam didn’t come from a well-off family. His mum and dad were ordinary folks who never really gave the impression that they’d wanted to be parents. Adam had been an accident. Although they’d never been neglectful or cruel, his parents had been distant, and he’d spent most of his childhood hanging out at Braden’s and bemoaning the summers when Braden was off in Europe with his mother.
    As soon as Adam turned eighteen and moved into student housing that put him into a lot of debt, his parents had gotten on a plane and moved to Australia. He heard from them about once a month. Incidentally, Braden had paid off Adam’s student debt as a graduation present, something he proudly wouldn’t accept—until Braden had gotten him drunk and recorded his slurred acceptance on his iPhone. I’d heard the recording. He’d said, “Love you, mate, You’re beautiful” so many times to Braden, I’d almost peed my pants with laughter.
    Adam’s difference in background, however, didn’t mean anything. Even if he hadn’t had Braden there opening all these doors, I believed that with his charm and charisma, he’d still be a guy that a lot of people knew, liked, wanted to be, or wanted to sleep with.
    When we got to The Voodoo Rooms, dinner service was just finishing up and the place was crowded.
    “Adam!” a bartender called out as soon as we walked. “I’ll get you a table.”
    We followed him as he claimed a table and wiped it down with a wet dishrag. The guy eyed me as I slid into the booth and gave Adam a smile of approval that made me blush to my roots.
    “What can I get you?”
    “I’ll have a Macallan and ginger ale. Sweetheart, what do you want?”
    “I’ll have a mojito, please.”
    Adam settled into the booth with me, his arm sliding along the back of the seat behind my head. For some reason I felt incredibly awkward and I struggled to find something to say.
    “Sorry your date was rubbish.”
    Adam shrugged. “I’ll just celebrate with you.”
    “Celebrate?”
    He gave me a small grin, looking boyishly pleased about something. That look hit me between my legs. I needed help. “I’m now a registered architect.”
    My lips parted and I impulsively threw my arms around him. “Congratulations!”
    He chuckled against my ear and I shivered, loving the press of those strong, creative hands against my back. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
    “Does Braden know?” I asked, pulling away.
    “Yeah. He congratulated me by giving me a permanent contract.”
    I laughed. That was so Braden.
    Adam had gotten his practical experience to complete his qualification by working alongside Braden’s architect. This last year, however, he’d been doing the work himself and having now achieved all the qualifications and experience he required, he’d applied to the Architects Registration Board.
    “I’m really happy for you.”
    “I know. That’s why I’d much rather be here with you than with Megan.”
    “Meagan,”
I