From the Damage 1 - Opposites Attract by Jasmine Denton, Genna Page A

blame me.”
    “Kay, I’m sure that’s not—”
    “You don’t know her,” Kay interrupted, her frustration pouring out. “She sees what she wants, and she’s oblivious to everything else. I’m telling you, she wouldn’t understand that I haven’t done anything wrong.”

    “Okay, I believe you,” Daphne said quickly, and Kay could tell that she did. “But whether you’re still a patient of mine or not, I want you to know that you can always call me when you need me, okay? Anytime—day or night.”
    ≈≈≈
    When Kelly knocked on Gage’s door with the pizza, he opened it, cradling a crying Lizzie against his shoulder. He looked tired, with purplish bags under his eyes, and his skin looked pale. “Hey,” he said, stepping aside to let her in. “It looks like Lizzie doesn’t want to go to bed yet. Third night this week she’s been up late. I think she’s catching a cold.”
    “As clean as you keep this place?” Kelly asked as she walked into the living room. “It’s surprising any germs could live in here.”
    “Well, I try to keep this house sanitary, but when we walk out that door, it’s out of my hands.”
    Kelly smiled as she set the pizza on the coffee table. “Do you mind?” She held her arms out, reaching for Lizzie.
    “Uh...sure.” Gage carefully handed the baby over to Kelly, and she balanced her on her hip, bringing her eye level with the little girl. When Kelly held Lizzie, the baby immediately started to quiet down, going from a whaling cry to small, quiet sniffles.
    Tickled at being able to calm Lizzie down, Kelly looked up at Gage. “Isn’t she just the cutest ?”
    “Sure is,” Gage said, but when Kelly looked up, he was wearing an expression that made her think he’d been talking to her. Giving her a small smile, he picked up the remote and turned the television on. “It looks like our movie tonight is going to have to be the Spongebob marathon. That okay with you?”
    “Yeah, I like Spongebob,” Kelly said, watching as Gage laid a blanket on the floor a few feet away from the TV.
    After placing a few throw pillows around the outside, he dropped Lizzie’s teddy bear and a few other toys onto the blanket and motioned for Kelly to put her down.
    After Lizzie was happily watching the animated sponge’s hi-jinks on TV, Kelly grabbed a piece of pizza and offered one to Gage.
    “So, how was the dinner last night?” Gage asked.
    “Brutal torture,” Kelly said, covering her mouth with one hand so she could talk politely around a mouthful of pizza. “My mom hates me. It’s the only explanation.”
    “She doesn’t hate you,” Gage said. “She just doesn’t understand why you and Alex broke up...because you’ve never told her.”
    “Last night’s dinner was a pathetically see-through attempt for her to get us back together. And what’s worse, when I tried to leave, the asshole kissed me.”
    “He kissed you?” Gage asked, almost choking on a piece of pepperoni as he tried to swallow. “In front of your parents?”
    “No,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes. “That was after he followed me to my room and barged in.”
    “You want me to take him out? I know people.” Gage gave her a wink, and she had no choice but to giggle in response.

    “Don’t tempt me,” she warned.
    “So, what’d you do when he kissed you?”
    She laughed. “I slapped him.”
    Gage burst into laughter and then slapped his hand down on her knee. “That’s my girl.”
    She felt a jolt when his fingers brushed her kneecap. The butterflies in her stomach and the fuzzy warmth were all signs she was crushing on Gage. She was ready to give in and flirt a little with him to let him know she was definitely interested, but then he quickly withdrew his hand, keeping his gaze on the TV set.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him absentmindedly smooth his left thumb over the wedding band he still wore, and she knew he was thinking about Peyton.
    Anybody who looked at him and really saw him at