Page 138 of Terms of Exposure
I dropped my gaze from hers, watching the bubbles pop in my glass. "I hope he doesn't. He's a good man, Emma."
"Mmhmm." Emma's lips curved knowingly.
"Don't give me that look."
"What look? I'm not giving you any look."
"You're giving me a look."
"I'm simply drinking my champagne and listening to my best friend talk about agood man." She took a pointed sip. "No look whatsoever."
I rolled my eyes, but the blush crept back. "He's nice, okay? And it's been a good distraction. From… everything."
My phone lit up on the counter again. A cascade of buzzes.
Emma's gaze drifted toward the sound, her expression shifting. "That's him, isn't it?"
I took a too long sip, the champagne bright on my tongue.
"Candace," she said, voice firm. "It's been months. He's still doing this?"
"Every day." I drained the rest of my glass, setting it on the coffee table. "Sometimes every hour. But I haven't talked to him since we had dinner, so—"
The words were out before I could stop them.
Emma stared at me. "You had dinner with him?"
Shit.
"It was a while ago," I said quickly. "He called and I just—I needed closure, Em. I spent five years of my life with him. I thought if I saw him in person—"
"I understand," she cut in, tone softening.
Understand?
Garrett?
I opened my mouth, closed it.
"You understand?" I forced the words out.
She leaned forward, setting her glass down on the table beside mine. "I almost had a meltdown over Damien and we'd only been messaging for a couple of months by that point. I couldn't imagine how it would feel now after everything. Let alone five years from now."
I stared at her. "That's honestly impressive."
She shrugged, the movement stiff. "Sometimes I can be understanding."
She dropped her gaze, picking at her fingernails. "You aren't thinking of going—"
"No," I cut in, a laugh punching from my chest. "God no."
She blew out a breath. "Oh thank god. So the dinner helped then? With the closure and all?"
"Kind of." I shrugged. "It helped me a little bit, but I think it only gave him hope."
Her lips flattened into a line. "Do you think he would have stopped texting by now if you hadn't met?"
There's the judgement.
