Page 103 of Push

“Come here, you.” Marnie’s arm went around me. “I’m not happy about it, but I respect you need to make decisions on your own timetable.” She hugged me, her face wet against my hair. “I’m not here to judge. I’m justhere. I’m glad you told me about Ian, but I understand some secrets feel too big to share with other people straight away.”

“Thanks for understanding, Mar.”

She pulled away to give me a reassuring smile. “Our friendship is the best thing in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She wiped away the last tears crisscrossing her cheeks. “And even though you’re good at hiding your feelings, I think you kinda like me, too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah, kinda.”

“And I’ll always be hanging around if you want to talk. All I’ll say in my further unsolicited advice is that it’s okay for you to have problems, too.”

Those words were hard to hear. Exhausted, not wanting to confront those ghosts yet, I tried to ease the tension by cracking an uncertain smile and redirecting the conversation. “What if the problem is Toby’s latest obsession with the hardware store?”

Marnie loaded up a cracker with cheese and one of my teeny gherkins. “Babe, does he need an intervention?” Rolling her eyes, she passed me the snack. “How many times has he gone in the last three days?”

“Officially, five.”

“Unofficially?” Laughing, she shook her head and reached for her wine glass.

“Well…”

My problems weren’t buried anymore, just parked. Even that was a big step for me.

One day, I’d be ready to talk.

Soon.

33

He Had a Stalker

Toby

I stopped dead inmy tracks.

A piece of white paper flapped on the windshield of my car.

This is the last damn thing I need.

The corner tore off the note when I ripped it from the wiper. Who cared? I wasn’t going to bother reading it. The signature pink lips stamped at the bottom were all I needed to see.Love, Kayleigh.She always wrote that, too.

My hand fumbled in my pocket for the key fob. I unlocked the car, flung open the passenger door, and reached for the glove compartment. A flip of the catch, and an avalanche of white paper spilled out. Flustered, my hand shaking, I stuffed the notes back inside and snapped the glove compartment shut.

Kayleigh had a knack for popping up everywhere I went. I dragged my palms down my face.How? Noah’s fever wasn’t exactly breaking news. The paparazzi weren’t hiding in thebushes next to the pharmacy, waiting for me to pick up the medicine he needed. Yet Kayleigh was always on my tail.

“It means so much to me that you kept all my love letters.”

My eyes widened. The words were intimate, whispered too close. I steadied my hand on the roof of the car, sucked down a breath, and slowly turned.

I wasn’t surprised Kayleigh stood behind me. She looked down at her white sneakers, the belt of her yellow sundress twisted around her fingers.

“Leave me alone,” I snapped at her.

Defiant, she hiked up her chin. “I won’t give up on us.”

Us?I clenched my jaw so hard I could crack a molar. How many times did I have to tell her there was nous? I shoved past her, not sparing her another glance.

Get in the car. Drive home.

Kayleigh scurried behind me. “Why won’t you admit how you feel about me?”

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