Page 49 of Promise Me

I groan.

“Your brother would kill me if he knew you’re playing on that thing.”

She leans in close. “Well then, I guess we won’t tell him, will we?” she whispers.

A feeling that I haven’t felt in years sprints through me. It reminds me of when I tested my dad's dog's shock collar with my finger. A zap of electricity brings me back to life. My heart pounds and my dick stirs at the feel of her warm breath against my ear.

“Besides, all I did was look this up and order it.”

She holds her phone out in front of me.

“Why are you showing me a picture of a couch?”

“Because,” she says proudly, “I bought it for you.”

“You bought me a couch?”

I grab the phone from her and examine it, swiping through the pictures. It’s longer than the one I have now, and it pulls out to double the size. It looks easy to switch back and forth from bed to couch. It could totally work if—oh shit.

“How long do you plan on staying with me?”

“That”—she holds her finger up as she sets her phone face down on the counter—“is a very good question. We should talk about that, but that isn’t why I did it. It’s twofold, really. One, your couch sucks, and two, this morning was … it was … really meaningful to me.”

Her eyes start to gloss over just as Luca says, “What did you two do this morning?”

“Yes, do tell,” Miles adds.

Fuck. I’d forgotten they were here.

That anyone was here, really.

“Hudson took me to visit my mom's grave. He knew my brain said today was her funeral, so he took me there to say goodbye. Again, I guess.”

“No shit,” Luca says.

I take another bite as both brothers watch me.

“Anyway, I’ve been down here long enough. When you're done eating, we can talk about our plan for the next few weeks.”

She hugs Luca and then Miles and heads for the back.

Not one second after the door closes, my brothers start in on me.

“You took her to see her mom?” Luca asks first.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is though,” Miles says.

“It’s not.”

“Hud, look, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you’ve been a selfish prick since you came back.”

Jesus.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Um, yes, you have. We invite you to do things all the time, and the only time you come is if Dad asks. You don’t do anything but work here, work out, and sit in your apartment. You just take care of yourself. Only you.”

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