Page 29 of Bought and Broken

I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. I love this girl.

“Okay, here goes. And do not interrupt me, Dev, or else—” It’s not an empty threat with her. She doesn’t know what the or else will be, but if I interrupt her, she’ll certainly figure it out.

“Got it,” I say.

“Tatum has been in love with you since forever. Things got too serious too quickly. At only nineteen, he got scared. So, he did what he could to keep you at arm’s length. Far enough away you wouldn’t cramp his style, but close enough he could keep an eye on you. He’s since realized his mistake. I mean, you’re a damn catch, how could he not? Now he’s trying to make up for it.”

I wait a few beats to see if she’s done, and when she doesn’t say anything, I add, “You forgot to tell me why I should forgive him.”

“Because you’re lying to yourself if you say you don’t have feelings for him too.”

“I don’t,” I add sharply.

“You do. It’s why he rankles you so easily.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I’m never wrong, sweetie. I—Astrid, if you even think of touching that plant, you’ll go in time out!” There’s a short pause. “This girl has been testing my patience with this orchid since I bought the damn thing.”

“So why don’t you move it somewhere she can’t get it?”

“Because she needs to learn to listen, Devon,” she says condescendingly.

Right. That makes sense.

“Anyway,” she continues. “Tell me about this morning. What did he do?”

“If I tell you, you’re only going to throw it in my face that you’re right,” I argue.

“Which is the point!”

I tell her about the morning. The clothes he bought me. Making breakfast. The pool. The fact he isn’t being a jerk…

I hate supporting her theory because there’s no way she’s right. Tatum doesn’t have feelings for me—not like that, not anymore.

We end the call after I promise to keep her updated over the weekend, then I spend some time swimming.

I’ve always loved being in the water, and I have faint memories of my mother laughing and calling me a fish. Dane never liked the water, not like me. He always complained about being cold. I was always cold too, but it was worth it to be in the water. Swimming is freeing. I lose myself when I’m in a pool. The feeling relaxes me in a way nothing else can. I’d considered joining the swim team in high school but thought turning it into something competitive would make me hate it, so I didn’t join. Or maybe I knew my father wouldn’t support it the way my mother would have, and I didn’t want to be disappointed… who knows?

Mom died when Dane and I were ten. It sucked, but I also feel like we bounced back quickly because of how young we were. I hated not having her through my teen years. There were so many things she could have helped me with. Health class taught me everything I needed to know, but nothing quite prepares you for all that stuff the way a mother can. Not even the internet helped me. My father definitely didn’t, and Dane was clueless. He probably still doesn’t know what menstruating is.

I had a rough year in school after Mom died, but then my life settled into a new normal and I moved on. Yes, I miss her all the time and wish she was still here, but I can’t waste my life dwelling on things I can’t change. I’ve missed out on enough things in my life, and I don’t want to regret anything when I’m old and no longer have the ability to do what I want. Life is short, and I don’t want to be on my deathbed wishing I’d done things differently.

What was my mother thinking as she lay in the road dying? Her death wasn’t quick, so she must’ve been thinking about something. Her family and her regrets. When I die, I want nothing but happy thoughts. I’m not sure it’s possible, but I plan on trying like hell to make it happen.

“I bring food.”

I close my eyes on Tate’s voice—how sweet he sounds. How nice would it be if he talked to me like that all the time? If he never would have screwed us up, things could be so different…

It was less than two days ago that he was choking me against my fridge because I called him Tato, the nickname I gave him when we were kids. Now he’s making me food? Buying a weekend with me for three and a half million dollars? It doesn’t make sense.

It doesn’t have to make sense. Just go with it.

Just go with it…

I turn around with a smile, which seems to throw him off guard if the look on his face is any indication. My smile was forced at first, but when I see him holding a pizza box, it turns very real. I swim to the edge of the pool, grip onto the ledge, and look up at him.

“You got pizza?” I ask.

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