The What If Guy - Lauren Blakely Page 0,55

Mom and me against the world. It worked for us. She was mom and dad and friend and warrior.

Logan: Warrior. I like that. No wonder you miss her so much.

Bryn: I do miss her, but I’m grateful for good friends like Teagan and Amy. So now I have to ask—has the band turned out terrible? Is that why you’re talking to me?

Logan: Um, they’re still good, and I hate them for it.

Bryn: Are you ignoring your friends?

Logan: No, they ditched me! My buddy Fitz is talking to some guy at the bar. Probably someone who wants to go home with him. My sister and Oliver are dancing. I’m by my lonesome, texting you.

Bryn: Are you lonely?

Logan: No. Not at all. Not in the least.

Bryn: Me neither.

In fact, I’m having such a good time I’m thinking that, no matter how hard it is to come clean at work, I might seriously need to do it.

The choice I should make is becoming more obvious with each text.

Double bath bombs, wine, and a great guy I want to get to know have a way of making things crystal clear.

23

Queen LaTofu

The man was singing a happy tune. Heck, he was whistling. Clearly, all her plans to help him become savvier about the fairer sex were working.

As he clambered under the covers with her, she purred, her way of telling him that she was pleased with his progress.

“The cat’s not the only one succumbing to her charms,” he said. “I should probably stop texting her so much, but . . .”

She heard something new in his voice. A touch of hope? Hope for a little something special in his life? He deserved it. She stretched a paw and placed it on his arm, reassuring him.

“What do you think? I mean, it’s crazy. Because it’s only been a short time. But it feels like . . . it feels like there could be something there. Something special.”

She flipped onto her back, wiggling her front paws.

He laughed.

He hadn’t laughed like that in ages. She’d have to do everything she could to make sure he made that sound again.

She had that power, of course. She was a cat.

“You agree, Queen?”

She thumped her tail.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

24

Logan

The message makes no sense.

One word.

One terrible word.

Bryn: Liar.

Rubbing my eyes, I sit up, grab my reading glasses, and read her text again. It’s the first of many.

I scroll down, trying to understand what she’s getting at.

Bryn: I know I only had a few drinks last night.

Bryn: But the evidence on my phone points to only one thing.

Bryn: You have a foot fetish.

Bryn: Or possibly I do. Because last night . . . I sent you THREE PICS OF MY FEET.

Bryn: Can we pretend that didn’t happen?

I sink back into the pillows, laughing out loud, my chest warm, a smile spreading across my face, and it’s barely eight. Queen LaTofu pads across the bed, curling up next to my head.

Logan: Nope. I have the pics. And it definitely happened.

Bryn: *groans*

Logan: But feel free to even things out by sending pics of other body parts.

Logan: Also, I did NOT just say that. I’m trying to behave.

Logan: Ignore that. Ignore that wholly inappropriate request.

Bryn: Ha! I can’t ignore it. I have the evidence. Also, here you go.

An image lands on my screen. Of her ear. The edge of it, a few locks of her chestnut strands curling over it. And fuck me, but it makes me smile. And I’m not grinning because I can recall how her hair felt in my hands. I am grinning because it’s such a random, unexpected shot.

Logan: I can honestly say that’s the first ear shot I’ve ever received.

Bryn: Well. Where’s mine? *waiting*

I do something I never thought I’d do. I snap a picture of my ear. And I send it to the woman I’m definitely falling for.

Bryn: Do you have glasses???? I see one of the arms, I think.

Logan: Um. Yeah. Reading glasses.

Bryn: I NEED A PICTURE. OF YOUR FACE. IN GLASSES.

Logan: Right now?

Bryn: No, tomorrow.

Bryn: Yes, right now.

I do as the woman asks, my chest flipping in a funny way. But as I snap a photo of myself, this feeling becomes clear. It’s warm and bubbly, like that first sip of champagne. It’s . . . infatuation. And hell, do I ever like it. It’s something I haven’t felt in a long time.

All at once, I’m a man who’s been in the dark for years, and the light’s suddenly turned on. I want to see everything