tried to imagine the corner with a parking lot or a sleek office building. He might not like small towns, but he could fully understand her concern. And he admired her devotion. “What do you plan to do with it?”
“A senior center. A place for them to gather, share their experiences and their life skills with others.”
“Interesting.”
She shrugged, a small smile on her lips. “I like older people. They are so wise and knowledgeable about life. They have so much to teach us. But most people today are too busy to listen, let alone pay attention.” She took another piece of pizza from the box. “As long as we’re sharing, it’s my turn to ask a question. Why do you do the crazy, risky stunts you do? I don’t understand.”
“For the thrill. You never feel more alive than in that moment when you plunge down a hillside.” He looked into her eyes and the skepticism and disapproval in them pierced his spirit. She’d just told him about wanting to save an old building for senior citizens and he talked about jumping off a cliff. Suddenly his lifestyle felt petty and insignificant.
“Is that the only time you feel alive?”
He didn’t know how to answer that, so he fell silent, and took another bite of his pizza, hoping she would move on to another topic.
“Is that all you do? Drift from one adventure to another? You don’t have a real job of any kind?”
Adam grew uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going. He didn’t like talking about his personal life and Laura Durrant had a way of making his love of extreme sports seem trivial. “I have a few endorsement deals.”
“So, people pay you to wear their clothes or use their gear?”
“That’s the general idea behind endorsements.”
Laura wiped her hands and took the last swig of her drink. “I thought so. I recognized your type right off.”
“Oh, really? What type would that be?”
She counted them off on her fingers. “Never done an honest day’s work in your life. Only concerned with your own life. No thought of anyone else. No idea how to love anyone but yourself.”
The fierce tightness in his chest made it difficult to breathe. She’d seen through his shield with the precision of a surgeon. When had he become so transparent? He’d have to be more careful. Keep his guard up. He couldn’t give her a chance to see any more. “You don’t pull your punches, do you?”
“Let me ask you, do you have one close friend? Someone who would stick by you no matter what?”
Adam ran down the list of people he knew, the guys who followed him around. Could he count any of them as a true friend? The truth hit him like a shard of ice in his heart. “No.”
“I rest my case.” Laura slid off the tailgate and closed the box of pizza. “Time to get back to work. We can’t rebuild until we take it all apart.”
Sucking in a breath, Adam tried to ignore the sting of his new realization. He had no real friends because he’d never wanted any. Casual friendships were easy to walk away from. Anything more was messy and complicated. But now he wondered what his lack of relationships had really cost him.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
