Page 180 of Collided

“What’s your first favorite thing about me?”

“The way you make me feel.”

“HowdoI make you feel?”

“Safe.”

I stiffen. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted her to feel when she’s with me.

Clearing her throat, she says, “So, um, when did you and Marie start this business?”

I take the hint. “We made it a little after Sebastian went to rehab. She was depressed and distraction is the antidote to sadness.”

Her mouth opens in shock. “Sebastian went to rehab?”

I go rigid as the memories play in my head.

“Last year,” I answer quietly, fighting to block that dark time out of my head.

“Is he okay now?” Hope asks in a concerned voice.

“He has his days, but now he can get through them.”

“That’s good for him.”

I inhale a deep breath. “It was difficult to see my best friend destroy himself, all because his mom didn’t know one thing about being a parent. She destroyed him in ways no one could heal him. But therapy and Marie have healed him.”

Hope stays motionless beside me, absorbing everything.

“Don’t mention any of this to Bash. He hates talking about it,” I warn her.

“I won’t,” she promises me. “So, the merchandise. Why didn’t Marie tell me?”

I rest my head against the hood of my car and set my forearms over my knees.

“I made her sign an NDA,” I tell her.

“Why?”

“So she wouldn’t tell anyone else. Sebastian knows. And now you.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Her phone pings and I see the name Elliot across the screen.

Picking up her phone she replies, then puts it down.

“Made a new friend?” I ask casually, when on the inside I can feel my chest burn at the name Elliot. What a stupid name it is.

“He’s that guy from the bowling alley.”

“So you texted him, then.”

“Yes.”

She fidgets with her fingers. “Actually, we’re going on a date.”

I sit upright. “What the fuck?”

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