“Yeah, I do.” Kurt smirked. “As I’ve pointed out, you have been pretty useless lately.”

Adam grinned. “You’ve been helping me make this business a success from the beginning, and I appreciate it.”

Kurt squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, Adam. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Adam said with a nod. “And honestly, I know I need to pull myself together. I can’t make Preslee forgive me. I know that. I don’t want to lose her, but it doesn’t look like I have much of a choice in the matter. It’s something I’m going to have to deal with. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s not fair for me to lay everything at your feet and shut down like I’ve been doing. I’ll try to be better, okay?”

Adam was telling the truth. He couldn’t keep doing this. It was just tough though. He missed Preslee. Her smile. Her sense of humor. Her playfulness. Every day, he was held captive by memories of her. Or of them together. There wasn’t a place in town he could go that didn’t somehow remind him of her. His apartment. The gym. The park. Hell, even the bar. That was how he knew he’d never get her out of his head…or his heart.

She had been it for him. The one. And he’d let her slip away.

Preslee didn’t want anything to do with him. He’d given her space for the first few weeks, but the moment he felt like she might be slipping away for good, he’d immediately renewed his efforts in getting her back. But she’d never returned any of his calls, and every time he’d gone by the antique store, her dad had covered for her by saying she wasn’t available.

It didn’t matter though. Adam didn’t have any other option but to go along with Preslee’s decision not to see him anymore. Even if it did suck. She didn’t want anything to do with him, and it hurt on levels that he hadn’t been emotionally prepared to deal with. Which was why he looked like a bum at the moment.

He’d been so depressed about losing her that he hadn’t had it in him to do anything other than mope around on a daily basis. A full month of not exercising while lying around and eating unhealthy comfort foods had not done good things to his body. Or his mindset. And that only made him feel worse.