unlike me to open up, but the words won’t remain unspoken. This whole day has turned my world
upside down. Why not spew every thought and fear I have on a sort of friend?
“Woah,” she mutters, staring blankly through the windshield.
“Exactly. So you see, it was nothing. It meant nothing.”
Her lips twist as she turns to me. “Um, no. A man doesn’t run after a woman if it meant nothing.”
“He really did that?” I ask quietly, maybe a little…thrilled. Who would have imagined frumpy me
getting chased by a man? I mean, chased in a good way, not a creepy serial killer way.
“Yeah, he did. And obviously, it meant something.”
“Maybe he wanted to fire me,” I mumble. “I’ve stepped so far over the line, I can’t even see it
anymore. I’ve been to a family dinner. I yelled at him. I hit him. And then the kissing.” My voice is
rising with each word, and I can’t stop it. “I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”
Bree’s hand covers mine, and I freeze, staring at it. Her skin is tanned compared to mine, her hand
clearly strong. Her nails are bare like mine, and there is a little cluster of freckles at the base of her
thumb. “Hey,” she says gently. “It’s all ok. It’ll be ok.”
I search her gaze desperately. “How can you say that?”
“Because you’re still breathing. As long as you’re breathing, the rest of it will work itself out.”
Becca’s words from last night rush back into my head. Here I am, freaking out about a kiss, and this
woman was nearly killed a few months ago.
“You’ve been hurt.”
Her hand trembles slightly, and I grip her tightly, covering her hand with mine, making a hand
sandwich. I can’t remember the last time I held hands with anyone.
“Yes,” she says softly. “It was bad. It took a long time to come out of it.”
“Was he punished?” I’m not sure I could do anything, but I’d happily plan his murder and help pay
for someone else to do it.
“Yes,” she murmurs, staring down at her lap. She sits in silence for a moment, then raises her head
and locks shining eyes on mine. “Cara killed him and saved our lives.”
I slam my mouth shut when I feel it drop open. What do you say to that? I have nothing, so I just
squeeze a little tighter. Her shoulders relax as we sit there and breathe together. Finally, with a smile,
she draws her hand back to her lap.
“There’s no rulebook, you know,” she says, staring out the windshield. “We just come onto this
