Page 10 of My Secret to Protect

‘You good?’ my brother says, now standing next to me, and I nod, yes.

‘Just some assh…’ I pause and inhale, then turn in my spot. That scent.Thatscent.Nolan. I shake my head. It can’t be him—he would say hi. Plenty of people must wear that cologne.Right?

‘Bree?’

I turn to Doug who is eyeing me curiously, so I smile.

‘Sorry, I’m good. Some jerk bumped into me and kept walking, but I’m fine. I’m going to hit the showers.’

‘Okay, I’ll meet you out front.’

‘Ineedtostopat the store,’ Doug says as he pulls out of the gym parking lot, but my thoughts are tied up. Nolan. I can’t get the scent of his cologne out of my head or my throat.

I don’t know what the cologne he wears is called, and it stands to reason he’s not the only man in the world, or even the state, who wears it, but something feels off.

I’ve never smelled it on anyone but him, and we were at the gym. Why would some random guy be wearing cologne to work out? If it were him, he would have said hello. He certainly wouldn’t have walked into me and left, but my mind keeps coming back to the texts. The person sending me the messages knows me and knows exactly where I live. Nolan knows where I live.

‘You okay?’ Doug’s voice stops my downward spiral, and I turn to offer him a small smile.

‘Yeah, good. Sorry.’

He nods as though he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t push as he pulls into the grocery store parking lot.

‘You staying here or coming in?’

‘I’ll come.’

We head inside the store, and I decide to pick up a bottle of wine while Doug grabs the list Cara texted him. As I meet him in the snack aisle, I laugh at the confusion on his face and wrap my arm around his waist as he drapes his across my shoulders.

‘She wants chocolate, but she didn’t say which type.’ He sounds so worried, and I laugh again.

‘Why are you overthinking chocolate? Just get her favorite.’

‘She doesn’t have a favorite, Bree, and she just pushed my child out of her body.’

‘So, get her a selection and chips too.’

‘She didn’t ask for chips.’

He steps forward to grab the chocolate, and I walk away toward the potato chips.

‘Trust me, baby brother. Cara’s savory tooth is as strong as her sweet one. Get her the chips.’

As we make our way toward the cashiers to pay, the hairs on the back of my neck stand when that sickly sweet scent I’ve been trying to forget gets stuck in my throat once more, and I turn to meet Nolan’s gaze.

‘Bree,’ he says, colder than he ever has before, and I find myself stepping closer to Doug.

‘Nolan, hi.’ My voice trembles as I feel Doug’s arm press against mine, and I know he senses my uncomfortableness when he closes any gaps between us. ‘What are you doing out here?’

Nolan’s home is in the city, almost an hour from this back road store.

‘Um, grocery shopping.’ His tone is off as he looks my brother up and down, and Doug clears his throat as he steps forward, holding out his hand.

‘Nolan, was it?’ I see the reluctance as his hand raises up to my brother’s. ‘Doug, Bree’s brother. How do you two know each other?’

‘We used to date,’ Nolan says, holding my brother’s gaze.

‘This store is a way from your house, Nolan. Why are you grocery shopping so far from home?’

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