Page 44 of Tell Me Something True

Her words exactly.

“I don’t want a boyfriend. And even if I did, Reed sure wouldn’t be at the top of the list of potential candidates. I’m just… curious.”

Curious.

For someone like Verity, someone with a big heart and keen mind, curiosity was even worse than infatuation.

“Reed Walsh is not for you,” he told her, knowing that saying it could be exactly what pushed her into becoming even more curious about Walsh, but not able to stop himself.

“I don’t want to marry him. But I don’t see why we can’t be friends. God knows he could use one.”

And for some reason, that made him think of Tabitha. Again. Yes, his initial reaction to her had been attraction but he hadn’t asked her out all those years ago just because she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

It was because even when she’d been smiling at him, flirting with him, there’d been a sadness in her eyes. She’d seemed so fragile. So alone.

He’d thought he could save her from both.

He’d thought she needed him.

But he hadn’t been enough.

“Walsh isn’t a puppy,” he said, not wanting Verity to make the same mistakes he had. “Or a shy kid sitting alone in the cafeteria. He’s a loner because he wants to be one. So before you volunteer for the position, ask yourself why you want to be his new BFF.”

She looked at him as if out of all the idiotic things her brothers had said to her over the years, that statement took top spot. “You do realize the only motivation behind friendship is the friendship itself. Companionship. Fellowship. Time spent enjoying another’s company.”

“Not always.”

Sometimes, people were motivated to stay friends because they were too scared to go after what they really wanted.

Like Urban and Willow.

Sometimes, friendship was an excuse to get closer to someone in the hopes of it turning into something more.

And sometimes it wasn’t about the other person at all. It was selfish. Because being around that person made you feel better. Made it easier to pretend you were okay.

Once again, Tabitha’s words from last night whispered through his head.

I was pretty and malleable and convenient.

Fuck. Him. Raw.

“Care to expand on that?” Verity asked.

He would love nothing more than to list all the reasons why she shouldn’t be friends with Reed Walsh. But maybe, this one time, he could step back.

At least until he got his own shit together.

“No,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I will.”

“That’s a first.”

“This morning has been full of firsts. And Urban’s always bitching about how I need to let you make your own mistakes so you learn from them.” With a shrug, he got to his feet. “Thought we’d try that out.”

“That’s it?” she asked, following him into the mudroom off the kitchen. “You’re not going to tell me not to befriend Reed or forbid me from seeing or talking to him?”

“Is that why you told me?” he asked as he put on his sneaker. “So I’d forbid you from doing it?”

“Hardly.”

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