The Liar's Wife (Adam Levine Dark Romance)

Chapter 21: Daylight

Adam turned his head to sneak another glance at the woman sitting on the couch beside him. He had one arm thrown around her shoulders to support her, and her head was resting gently against his upper arm. She tilted her head to look up and meet his eyes, and he felt his stomach flip over inside of him as her mouth curved into a smile.

“I love you,” he whispered so softly it was almost inaudible.

Jane reached up with one hand and cupped the side of his face. “I love you too,” she whispered back.

“Pow!”

Adele had been standing on the couch cushion beside her father, but she chose that moment to fling herself headfirst across both of their laps. Jane just barely caught her daughter with one hand before Adele did a face plant into the arm of the couch.

“Adele, cut it out!” The smile on Adam’s face was replaced by a frown of concern, but the little girl had already squirmed free of her mother’s grasp and was scampering back to Adam’s side of the couch to launch herself again. “You need to be gentle,” he told his daughter firmly, blocking her from climbing back onto the couch cushion. “You’re supposed to be helping me take care of your mother, remember? We talked about this.”

“I’m fine!” Jane interjected, laughing. “Come here, Adele.” She reached out one arm toward her daughter. “Come sit on my lap.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Adam said, watching nervously as Adele ran to Jane.

“It’s fine,” Jane said, placing one hand on his knee and squeezing gently to reassure him. “Really. I’m fine.”

Adele was climbing into Jane’s lap now and Adam put his arm back around Jane’s shoulder to help steady her. He pressed his mouth to side of her head and kissed her softly on the temple. “Just tell me if you start to get tired.”

“Watch the movie, blabbermouth,” Adele said, reaching over to poke her father in the chest.

“Yeah,” Jane chimed in, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “Watch the movie, blabbermouth!”

One corner of Adam’s mouth quirked up into a half-smile as he turned his attention back toward the television screen. They were just at the part where little orphan Annie found the stray dog, and he tried his best to focus on the plot, but he couldn’t get his mind past the thoughts that kept whirring though it. Jane was home. She was here. And she could walk and talk and smile and laugh and squeeze his leg and hold her daughter in her arms. He felt his chest tighten again, and he held his breath and pressed his lips together firmly for a moment as he struggled to get ahold of himself.

He had been concerned how Adele would react – having her mother, a total stranger, back in her life so abruptly – but Adele had taken it all in stride as a perfectly natural turn of events. She wanted nothing but to be in her mother’s presence, and Jane returned the sentiment. Adam had been struggling with both of them to set limits. The doctors had told him not to let Jane get overtired. It had only been a week since she’d even opened her eyes for the first time. The doctors were optimistic – a full spontaneous recovery, they called it. But still, they had warned him, she should take it easy. Don’t let her push herself too far too fast.

Of course, there was no telling that to Jane. She wanted to do everything, all at once. He felt like he was doing nothing but fighting her ever since she’d been home, trying to convince her to pace herself. She’d wanted them all to go out for a walk after dinner this evening, but he’d put his foot down. “Maybe you should lie down,” he’d suggested instead.

“I’m fine!” she’d laughed. “I don’t need to lie down.”

Adele had been the one to suggest watching a movie, and Adam had been forced to accept it as the best compromise he was likely to get. His daughter had chosen Annie from her DVD collection, and Adam had looked at her curiously when he saw what she’d selected. It had only been a few short weeks since he and Adele and a different Jane had sat on this same couch and watched this same movie together. Had Adele been thinking of that when she picked it? If she had, she didn’t give any indication.