Page 134 of Ignite

Chapter 45

HALLIE

Day one of Conan being away. Five more to go.

I miss him.

Holding back a yawn, I glance down at my phone, my heart softening the second I see his name lighting up my screen. Just a text, but it’s enough to make me smile like a fool.

Beastie:I can’t stop thinking about you.

I reply quickly, feeling Lily’s stare at the side of my head.

Me:Same goes to you, beastie.

When I look up again, Lily’s quiet. Not because she has nothing to say—but because she’s watching me. Studying me like she already knows the truth before I do.

“You’re really falling for him fast,” she says, a small smile playing at her lips. “It looks good on you.”

I nod.

She’s not wrong. I haven’t felt like this in... God, I don’t even know how long.

That kind of dangerous, all-consuming happy—the kind that makes you start bracing for impact, waiting for it all to fall apart.

“Yeah,” I murmur, voice light but real. “I guess Conan’s been able to show me in just a few weeks how I should be treated…when others couldn’t manage that in a year.”

I set my coffee down, the ceramic clinking softly against the table, and turn toward her, crossing my legs.

There’s a tension in my chest I didn’t realize I’d been holding until I speak again.

“So you don’t think I’m crazy? For dating him? After everything that happened with Ben?”

Lily doesn’t even flinch.

“Hallie, sweetie. You are—and always have been—a little crazy.”

She grins. “But Conan seems like the same kind of crazy. And you’re good for each other. That’s all that matters.”

And that right there? That’s why she’s my best friend.

She loves my chaos, even when it drives her to the edge.

She leans back and lifts her coffee, dramatic as ever.

“And fuck Ben. Not literally. I mean, I hope he dives headfirst out of a plane and his parachute fails.”

She presses a hand to her chest like she’s making a vow.

“And I say this with every ounce of hatred I possess in my tiny, furious body—Fuck. Ben. If I ever see that bastard again, I swear to God, I’ll go full crazy and drive my stiletto through his eye.”

And that right there? Is the other joy of having Lily as a best friend.

She hates my exes more than I do.

“Ugh. I don’t want to talk about that asshole ever again.” A shiver runs down my spine; I will never forget how wild Ben was when he attacked me.

Bertie jumps up between us and rolls onto his belly.

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