Free When Faults Collide (Faultlines #1) by Claire Granger Page B

her on the back.
    “Well you have to say yes first, silly!”
    She jumped up, knocking me back again with her abruptness.
    “Oh God, you’re right. Oh my...I’m going back to Tom’s! See ya!” she said, dashing towards the door.
    I laughed. “Haha. No problem, Lils.”
    She turned before she walked out. “Thanks, Asha. I don’t knowwhat I’d do without you.”
    Then she blew me a kiss and flounced away, curls bouncing as she went.
    I sat on the floor and shook my head before standing and making my latte.
    As I made my way upstairs I heard my phone ding.
    I walked into my office and checked my phone.
    ----
    Hey beautiful girl. I loved the mock up you sent me. Having my managers look at it for objective opinions, because I am obviously biased. ;) What are you doing?
----
    I grinned and texted back quickly.
    ----
    Hey handsome. Just saving Lily and Tom’s relationship is all.
----
    He immediately responded.
    ----
    ???
----
    I responded just as fast.
    ----
    Tom proposed. Lily freaked. I showed her the light. She’s on her way to accept. So, basically, I can be credited for all of their future success. I’m pretty awesome. ;)
----
    I set my phone down and walked over to my computer, playing roulette with my playlist and hitting “shuffle play.”
    Coldplay’s
Sparks
started playing softly through the speakers.
    My phone dinged.
    ----
    Well, I agree that you’re awesome. And that was cool of you.
----
    I swayed to the song playing and texted back.
    ----
    All I’m saying is they better name their first daughter after me. That’s all. So what are you getting into down there?
----
    He didn’t waste any time.
    ----
    Nothing fun. Paperwork and paying bills. Wishing I was with this girl I know. She’s pretty awesome.
----
    I grinned. This guy. Was that a butterfly in my stomach? What the heck was happening to me?
    ----
    Hmm. I would say that she is probably wishing she was with you too. If I had to guess.
----
    My playlist switched to Hawthorne Heights and I started dancing around.
    ----
    Well, she will be soon. And I’ll be counting down the minutes. ;)
----
    I smiled even wider, set my phone down to charge, and enjoyed the blissful feeling in my soul as I danced, waiting to see my guy.

Chapter Eleven

    Blake sat across from me at dinner, holding one hand while we talked.
    He had brought me to Addis, an amazing Ethiopian place in The Bottom. I ripped apart some of the injera so I could pick up my lamb stew. Similarly to most South Asian foods, you don’t use silverware when eating Ethiopian
(and many other African)
cuisine.
    During our dinner I had learned that Blake was twenty-five and had graduated with his MBA,
and
an undergrad minor in music, from the University of Virginia just last year. His foster parents had given him the money that he needed to start Shine, and he had moved back to Richmond just a few months earlier.
    He learned about my time at VCU, my love for all things art, and how graphic design had been a natural choice for me as a major because of my love for yearbook in high school.
    We talked about our families. He was fascinated with my dad and his business and also with Marcy and how she fell into thefamily and her role as stepmom so well.
    I learned that Amy was a stay-at-home mom and Dave was a chef at one of the larger country clubs outside of town. I was fascinated to hear about them.
    “I think they sound awesome. You know, foster parents aren’t painted with the best light in media. Do you think they are rare or do you think that foster parents get a bad rep?” I asked, genuinely curious.
    He swallowed the lentils and injera that he had just put in his mouth and then replied, “The media doesn’t report all of the good foster homes because it wouldn’t make good news. The truth is, there are way more good families than bad. Before coming to Amy and Dave I had been in eight homes, and only one of those eight was a bad home. Most foster parents are nice families who are either hoping