Free Crushed (Crystal Brook Billionaires) by Jessica Blake Page A

super accessible, and my apartment was undeniably cozy.
    And it came with memories. In fact, it was one of the few places Peter and I had spent time in that I could still go to. His Brooklyn apartment was off limits, of course. I didn’t even know what had become of it. Presumably, Peter’s brother had come and cleaned it out, keeping select objects and throwing others away.
    That familiar iron fist gripped my heart. Anything I’d left there was probably gone now, laying in a trash bag in a landfill at the edge of Queens. My extra toothbrush in his bathroom. The paperback copy of The Bell Jar I’d been reading on evenings spent there. I’d left it on his bedside table, right next to the reading lamp and the wooden coaster. Peter had always put a glass of water on that coaster for me. He knew I drank water like a fish during the night. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent the night at his place and he hadn’t set a full glass there for me.
    And he’d never even asked. He’d just done it after noticing how much I got up to get water.
    I would never walk past that building again. I didn’t want to see its sad, curtain-less windows. I didn’t want to see children’s tricycles laying behind the gate, didn’t want to see a new person’s trash thrown out on the curb.
    On top of that, I had already promised myself I would never go to Prospect Park again. Those were stomping grounds I’d never even strayed close to before meeting Peter. That neighborhood was our place.
    And some days it was easier to pretend it had died right along with him. The toothbrush too. The book. The coaster. They were all gone, just like Peter.
    “Okay, now you’re not listening.”
    “Huh?” I stared at Radha. “Sorry. I just got a little… um…”
    “It’s all right,” she murmured. “So. Is he legit?”
    I sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you asking if he actually has tickets to the gala?”
    “Yeah, exactly. Or is he just going to lure you into a black limo and then abduct you?” She raised her eyebrows, absolutely serious.
    “No!”
    “Are you sure? You can’t be entirely sure who’s a pervert and who’s not.”
    “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I could always meet him there. Although I really think he’s pretty normal.”
    Other than the whole supermodel mom and billions of dollars thing.
    Radha crossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap, looking like a princess in the middle of tea. “If he’s telling the truth, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
    “I know. Trust me.”
    “I mean, it’s the Met Gala, for God’s sake. Beyonce is on the chair this year.”
    “Seriously?”
    She nodded. “Seriously. I heard that all of the attendees get greeted by the chair members. That means you’re going to get to air kiss Queen B.”
    “Cool,” I listlessly said, suddenly not feeling as into the whole affair as I had a minute ago. Not only was the thought of the gala slightly intimidating, it scared me in a profound way I couldn’t explain.
    Or maybe it was just the prospect of going out with a man that terrified me. The only people I’d spent real time with the last month and a half were my family and Radha. Anything other than that I really couldn’t handle.
    “I’m impressed with you,” Radha said. “Really.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You’re getting yourself out there.”
    Snakes twisted in my stomach. “It’s not a date.”
    “I know,” she softly replied. “Don’t worry. I know it’s not. I just meant that you’re going out and having a good time. That’s all.”
    “Yeah,” I said, grabbing hold of my bracelet and twirling it around. “I don’t know. Maybe I won’t go.”
    “You have to.”
    “You just told me this guy might be a weirdo and that I have to be careful!”
    “Yes,” she sternly said. “Be careful. But, damn girl, go. Did you not hear the other part about this being a once in a lifetime thing?”
    I kicked my heels against the carpet. “All right.