She guffaws so hard she almost slams her head into the glass, and I cackle.

“Okay, that was good,” she says. “I like the way you think.”

“Maybe I’m turning into Garrett. I feel like that’s the exact kind of thing he would say, and I kind of can’t believe I said it.”

“We do have a tendency to turn into the people we’re around.”

“I’m not even around him that much. I mean, his schedule is pretty demanding.”

“Oh God. You’re not thinking about throwing in the towel, are you?” Her eyes go wide in panic. “I swear Garrett is worth the heartache of his career. From what Jake tells me, he’s probably the reason we’re together now. Besides, you know, our being madly in love with each other, Garrett’s the one who talked sense into Jake and got his head straight on his shoulders.”

“Really?”

She nods.

“Well, I’m not planning on leaving. In fact, it scares me how much I’m not planning on leaving.”

“Oh yay!” she says, clapping her hands. “You’re falling for him!”

“Whoa, now. I didn’t say that.”

She hums. “Sure, sure.”

“Holley.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s the way you didn’t say it.”

“How’s that?”

“Smugly. You were absolutely smug in your silence.”

“Don’t be offended. I’ve just been there.”

“I’ve only been dating him a month, Holley.”

She nods, licking a finger and pretending to make it sizzle in an imaginary air fire. “Been there too.”

“Holley, I couldn’t possibly be falling for him.”

She shakes her head, lifting her eyebrows to her hairline. “Yep. Also familiar.”

“Holley! You’re not helping me not freak out right now! Which I don’t think is a really smart move, considering I’m driving this car and you don’t accidentally want me to drive it off a bridge.”

“You’re not going to drive off a bridge. You’re going to keep your cool. And pretend we didn’t have this conversation until you really need it.”

“What do you mean until I really need it?”

She sighs and waves a hand in front of her face, blowing air out of her lips so they make a duck bill. “Yeah, I can’t really explain it right now, and you don’t want me to. It’ll just happen one day.”

“How will I know it’s happening?”

She snorts. “Oh man, you’ll know. Trust me, you’ll know.”

“I’m starting to feel like maybe you’re not good at the friendship thing in person either,” I say mockingly. It’s a little mean, but she seems to know I’m joking—mostly.

Her laughter is almost obnoxious it’s so loud, and I kind of love it. “I completely understand and validate your feelings, Lauren. I’m being a kick-ass friend, but I understand and appreciate why you don’t feel that right now.”

“Are you…are you shrink-talking me right now?”

“Is it working?” she asks casually.

“Frighteningly so. Did you go to medical school? Do a rotation in psych I don’t know about?”

“Nah.” She smiles. “I just went to therapy a lot when I was a kid after my mom died.”

My head whips to the side so quickly the car swerves, and Holley reaches out for the handle on the door. “Okay, wait, I’ll answer however you want. Don’t drive us off a bridge.”

I want to laugh, but I’m a little busy trying to force a swallow down my throat. It’s not that I haven’t known people whose moms have already passed, but I had no idea Holley was one of them.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize quickly, thankfully coming up on the parking lot for the gym and pulling into a spot before I can be any more of a hazard on the roads.

“I just had no idea your mom wasn’t alive.”

“Really? I expect all of my new friends to know.”

I shake my head, but I also laugh. Holley really is fun to be around. “No, sorry. It’s just that…well, my mom is dead too.”

“Are we gonna start a dead moms club? Because if we are, I’m gonna need to invite Chloe.”

“Jake’s a widower?” I say staggeringly. Jesus, I feel like I’ve been living under a freaking rock for my whole life. How did I not know any of this?

Holley laughs. “Sorry, but your face is hilarious right now.”

I shake my head.

“But no, he’s not a widower. Not technically. He and Wendy weren’t married.”

“Wendy?”

Holley laughs. “Chloe’s mom. Jake’s girlfriend at the time. He was deployed as a Navy SEAL when she went into labor and died in childbirth. Jake came home from the wilderness to a brand-new baby girl to raise on his own.”

“Holy shit.”

She nods. “It’s pretty intense. But it’s been so long at this point, I don’t think he even really thinks about it. It just is what it is.”

“Wow.”

“What else can I tell you to rock your world?”

“I don’t know. I just hope I get to have some soup first. Settle my stomach.”

“Then I guess we’d better get class over with, huh?”

She laughs, and we climb out of the car to head inside the gym. I have Georgio’s, one of the best American-style home-cooking restaurants in California, and their cream of turkey soup on my mind. There aren’t many locations, what with everyone’s fascination with fancy food, but I think I’m willing to single-handedly keep the lights on at that place if I have to.

Tags: Max Monroe Romance
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