Page 108 of Every Broken Promise
My mom gave methatlook. Theyou better not be rude because I raised you better than thatlook.
“Sure,” I mumbled, letting her think she strong-armed me.
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Ty’s truck as he took us away from Oakhill Creek.
“Where are we going?”
Ty held on to the steering wheel with one hand while he brought the other to his head and messed with his hair. He only did that when he was feeling nervous.
Maybe it was us? The situation? Maybe I was the only one who seemed to feel like this was familiar.
“I have to go sign some papers before the bank closes,” he said. And since the sun had not fully set yet, I could see the red twinge in his cheeks. “I got approved for a business loan.”
That made me sit straighter.
“You’re starting your own business?”
He immediately shook his head.
“You know how the shop belonged to my grandad. Then he gave it to my dad. He was the one who added the towing, and that made it grow. Well, I wanted to add to our legacy, and I played with the idea for a while.”
At this point, I had leaned into him, fully invested in what he had to say.
“…And.” My hand motioned him to keep going.
“After talking it over with my brothers, we decided we wanted to expand on it. We are adding an automatic car wash. I think it will be amazing, not only for us but for everyone nearby since the closest one is half an hour away on a good day.
“Ohmigod, Ty,” I praised him, feeding off his excitement. “That’s amazing.”
I wasn’t thinking clearly when I leaned in and kissed his cheek.
Before I could fully retreat, Ty reached out to cup the side of my face. I loved the way he touched me—and I wasn’t talking sexually. Those little touches were full of affection, the kind thatsaid more than words. The kind of touches that spoke of words only your soul could understand.
“It’s the first time you’ve initiated contact,” he told me.
His words weren’t malicious or said with any venom, quite the opposite. He said them with the hope that I might keep doing it. Yet what he said made me feel like I wasn’t trying as hard as he was.
I needed to talk to Rachel ASAP.
Luna gave me her advice, but I wanted the words of someone wise and more experienced than I was.
It was hard not to fall head over heels for someone who knew you better than you knew yourself. I knew I had loved Tyler, and I knew a part of me would always love him, but now that I was spending more time with him, I felt like I couldn’t hit the brakes on my feelings, which was scary.
People lied when they said falling in love with your best friend was easy. Sure, it was easy to do, but if that kind of love ended then it would be a bitch. It would be like losing two people at once: your lover and a friend.
I had already experienced that, and I was sure I couldn’t survive it a second time.
When we got to the bank, I stayed put since his financial affairs didn’t involve me. Except Ty went around and opened my door.
“Come on, beautiful.” He spoke the words lightheartedly as he wrapped one hand around my waist so he could bring me down. “You’ve always held my hand when I needed you. You’re not stopping now.”
And that’s how we walked into the bank hand in hand. He didn’t let me go, not even when he signed the papers. Once we were outside, I threw myself in his arms.
“I’m so excited for you,” I let him know.
Ty instantly wrapped both hands around me and began to twirl me around. When he put me down, we stared at one another, our breathing getting heavier. I could see desire in his eyes, and I was sure it mirrored my own.
“Fuck,” he whispered as he leaned in closer.
