And now that I see it, I want it.
A lot.
“There you go,” Scarlett says with a smile.
I shake off the thoughts. “But,still, what if it all blows up in my face, if he says he doesn’t have any feelings for me?”
“First of all, I have a feeling he would be lying, but that’s beside the point. You two are very dedicated to your friendship. Would you let it fall apart ifhehad feelings you wouldn’t reciprocate?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you think he would?”
“No.” I answer immediately.
“So, the friendship isn’t at risk.”
“But it might be awkward.”
“And then it’ll fade. The worst of things don’t stay as intense forever.”
I immediately think back to when both Nate and I lost people. Those had been the worst times of our lives, but lifedidgo on. Eventually, the gut-wrenching, terrible pain turned into something more manageable. And now, we’re living.
“You’re a genius. An emotionally secure genius.”
She laughs. “My work here is done.”
“Wait.”
“Need more eye-openers from me?”
I shake off the thoughts of Nate. “I’ll be honest, I can’t handle that. But we’ve spent all of our time together talking about me. You’ve barely said anything about you.”
She shrugs. “I love helping others. Don’t worry about it.”
“Is that by design?” I ask.
Scarlett goes stiff. “Wow.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I might seem emotionally constipated to a therapist, but I’m capable of picking up on things.”
“Us therapists aren’t immune from being dumb about emotions.” She sighs. “We’re just good at hiding it.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything, but I don’t even know where you live. That’s just not enough information about you.”
“Dallas,” she says. “I live in Dallas.”
“Are you from there?”
She shakes her head. “I move around a lot. Always have. My mom was broke and followed the money. I think I’m used to not settling down. Or I just get bored. I don’t mean to hide anything, but it changes day-to-day. Just last year, I lived in Chicago.”
“Moving around sounds . . . stressful.”
“You sound like someone who has a home. It’s not a bad thing to have.”
“Nashville’s not so bad. You could move there.”
She laughs. “Oh no. I’ve heard about the dating scene there, and let me tell you, it isnotmy thing.”
