Between Breaths (The Seattle Sound Series Book 2) by Alexa Padgett Page B

artist and tatted photographer. I’d even dated a documentarian during my sophomore year at U-Dub. He’d been too stuffy for me, using words like lexicon and patristic . No one talked that way at nineteen. Even then, he wasn’t exactly what I craved, which was why I’d spent my entire sophomore year with him—either bored out of my mind or annoyed he didn’t seem into our relationship.
    Hayden maneuvered down the hall toward Rosie’s room. “So I’ll see you later?” he asked outside her door.
    “You’re staying?” I asked, surprised.
    He puckered his mouth like he’d just smelled the worst scent. “Didn’t you say that was the best gift I could give both her and myself?”
    I rocked back on my heels, surprised those were the words he’d latched on to. “I’m sure your schedule’s tight,” I hedged.
    “So it is. Give me your number and I’ll give you mine. That way you can text me when you’re on your way out. You can take me to some other place I should eat tonight on my whirlwind tour of Seattle.”
    After exchanging numbers, he gave me a small smile. “See you later, Briar. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.”
    Bemused, I shoved my phone back into my purse. “Yeah. See you.”
    Sitting in Rosie’s room, in a whisper I told her about my new, strange relationship.
    “Divine accent on that one,” Rosie said, her voice raspy from the oxygen forced into her nasal passages.
    I smiled a little as I settled into the only chair in the room. I dropped my purse at my feet and leaned forward. “I’m really sorry I didn’t come see you earlier. Or call. I was worried you’d be upset. You know, that I broke up with Ken.” I grabbed her hand, fighting the building emotions.
    “Stop.” She squeezed my fingers to gentle the rebuke. “You’ve already said that. Lots of times. You’re here now.”
    “If I’d known the cancer was back—”
    “None of that, honey. You needed some time, and I didn’t call you. I knew you’d be here in a flash if I did, and I wanted you to see you’d made the right decision. Ken’s sure he knows how to run everyone’s life better than they do. My sister’s just like him. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I know firsthand how terrible a trait that is in a person.”
    I mashed my lips together, gathering my emotions. “Of course I would’ve come. I love you, Rosie.” And I did. Deeply. A rarity I’d saved for just Lia and Abbi—until I met this incredible woman.
    She smiled and nodded a little. “And I love you, honey. You’re the daughter I never had. And thank God you’re not actually becoming a niece by marriage.”
    I shook my head. “I want us to be family,” I said. So much so, I’d almost married Ken.
    “We are. The best kind of all. The kind we chose for ourselves.”
    I opened my mouth, needing to say something, but Rosie released my hand.
    “Have you thought any more about what you’re going to do next?”
    “I actually told Hayden journalism isn’t my thing. That’s been hard to accept. Especially because Ken always said so.”
    Rosie wrinkled her nose. “I almost agree with you just to oppose Ken. But in this case, he was right. Just don’t tell him I said so. His ego doesn’t need any stroking.”
    I couldn’t help but giggle at her. Ken was her blood relative, but that didn’t mean she didn’t see his faults. She’d finally pried the story of our sordid breakup out of me, unsurprised by Ken’s actions.
    “Appalling,” she’d murmured. She cocked her head, appraising me. “He had the sense to see how great you were. Maybe there’s hope for him yet.”
    We sat for a few minutes while I held her hand and tried to figure out how I’d gotten to my thirties without any real direction.
    “You’re good at what you do,” Rosie said. “But you never loved it.”
    “I love being here with you. Helping people.” I sucked on my lower lip. “I’d thought to be a doctor. I was in the premed department