Page 84 of Collision

“Shit.” Ben groans again and I glance back to him before looking back to Max.

“This isn’t -”

“Mik. I love you, you know that?” Max is wiping tears from his eyes as he laughs and I try not to smile. This is definitely not supposed to be funny. “Thank you for making a great day even better.”

“Max, you can’t say anything.”

“Oh don’t worry.” He glances to Ben, who’s now standing behind me with a look of pure terror plastered across his face. “Your secret is safe with me. I just wish I hadn’t heard like half of that.”

“Thank you,” I breathe out a sigh of relief and Ben’s hands find their way to my hips again.

“You’re early today, Kingford?” His voice is gruff but kind.

“Yeah, I wanted to get a head start on some admin so that we can leave on time today.” Max nods to me and grins. “And now we’re definitely leaving on time, because I have so many questions.” His attention drifts to the elevator as a green light illuminates the arrow above the doors and his eyes widen. “Oh and that’s your brother, so you two might want to find some distance.”

Ben’s hands drop from my waist immediately and he places a quick kiss on my cheek before turning towards his office. At the last minute he turns and smiles at Max; a warm, friendly kind of smile that melts me on the spot.

“Thanks, Kingford.”

“Ineeddetails.”Maxpulls his key from the door as he pushes it open and steps aside. He asked about Ben for the entire cab ride and I kept my lips sealed, unsure of what I could or couldn’t say. “Come on, Mik. Please. It’s Baby Blue!”

“What’s baby blue?” The woman on Max’s couch pushes herself up on her elbows and grins at us both as she throws her book to the side. Her smile is wide and spills with energy as she gets to her feet and opens her arms wide. It’s Max’s smile in a female face, and I feel like I know her in an instant. “You must be Mikaela. I’m Sephy. I can’t believe I finally get to meet you!”

She wraps me in a warm embrace and I find myself dropping my bag to hold her. She smells like cinnamon and apple, and a memory of Christmas with my mother stirs in my chest, squeezing my heart.

“Hi,” I breathe.

“Mik has a man.” Max practically shouts as he scoops up my bag and I glare at him over his sister’s shoulder. “And he’s gorgeous.”

“Oh,” Sephy laughs as she pulls out of our hug and holds onto my shoulders. “So Baby Blue’s a guy?”

I nod guiltily.

“Well he’s one lucky guy to get hold of a beauty like you!” She grins with a wink and I hear the nervousness of my laughter. “Max, make your guest a drink. Mikaela, I’m sure you’ve got something a little more comfortable than this dress - which I want by the way - so go get changed. The bathroom’s the second door on the left. And then, you’re telling us everything.”

I nod as I grab my bag from the couch and fish out my phone. I dial quickly as I step into the bathroom.

He answers on the second ring.

“What do I tell him?” The words spill from my lips as soon as I hear him breathing and Ben laughs.

“One second, J.” He emphasises the name and my heart spikes. “Yeah, it’s my girl.”

Jamie says something I can’t hear - something I don’t care about - because all I can hear are those words.

My girl... My girl. Mygirlmygirlmygirl.It’s like it’s on a loop in my head and my heart patters with the sound of it.

“No,” Ben laughs. “You’re not meeting her any time soon. I like this one. Don’t need you scaring her off.”

The chatter behind him disappears and I hear the distinct noise of traffic.

“What do you want to tell him?”

Is he amused? He sounds amused.

“Excuse me,” I counter, “my question can wait. Your girl?”

Ben laughs again and I can picture the way he pushes his hair back as he glances back to the group.

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