Page 20 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

Dylan’s eyes widened again. “Wait. This is the woman that got under your skin, isn’t it?” When Logan didn’t deny it, Dylan continued. “And you let a stranger watch Kaylie?”

“It’s not a big deal. They were right there where I could see them the whole time.” He recalled how Brooke had ignored her dressy clothes and sat on the floor near Kaylie. She’d shown a lot of patience as they colored together. Brooke was really good with Kaylie. “Kaylie immediately took to her.” He stopped himself. Why was he jumping to Brooke’s defense? It wasn’t like he knew her very well or anything. His thoughts rolled back to the events of the last few days. “She was good with Kaylie. She had her laughing. And she got Kaylie to eat all of her lunch.”

“You had lunch together too. Sounds like a date.” Dylan didn’t even bother to hide his smile.

“It wasn’t a date.” His response was quick and firm.

Dylan’s gaze poked at him. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m not that out of it not to realize when I’ve asked a woman out.”

“Fine.” Dylan’s gaze narrowed as he stared at him. “But you like her… Don’t you?”

“No.” Again with the quick denial. He withheld a frustrated sigh.

Dylan smiled. “You do. And don’t deny it. You want to know how I know this?” He didn’t wait for Logan to tell him that he had no interest in his observation. “Because you started to smile when you talked about her hanging out with Kaylie.”

He did? No. Not possible. He gave it a little thought. Well…maybe. So much for him having a poker face. Ever since his run-in with Brooke at the coffee shop, he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. He didn’t want to delve into the reason for his meandering thoughts.

“What does she look like?” Dylan paused as he grabbed another slice of pizza and stared expectantly at Logan.

“I don’t know.” Immediately, her beautiful image took shape in his mind. He could see her long brown hair with the strands of honey blond that shone in the sun, and her big green eyes he could get lost in. And then there was her pink glossy lips, which were plump and just perfect for kissing.

Whoa! He drew his thoughts up short. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone. The couple of blind dates his well-meaning friends had set him up with had been complete and total disasters.

And then there was Brooke, who was accident-prone—at least whenever she was in his vicinity. Although to be fair, there hadn’t been any incidents since the day they’d met.

“She’s beautiful,” Dylan stated as a matter of fact, pulling Logan from his meandering thoughts.

“How do you know?” Logan started to wonder if Dylan had a hand in him running into her. His gaze zeroed in on his best friend. “Was this some kind of set up or something?”

Dylan dropped the pizza onto the plate and held up his hands. “If it was, it wasn’t me.”

“Then how do you know she’s beautiful?”

Dylan lowered his arms as he continued to smile. “Because it was written all over your face. Every time you think of her, you get this happy look on your face.” Dylan’s brow arched. “And it sounds to me like you need to ask her out.”

Logan shook his head. “It wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” He wasn’t about to tell Dylan about his disastrous first and second meeting with Brooke. Nope. He wasn’t going there.

Dylan’s eyes widened. “You’re afraid to ask her?”

“No. Besides, she might have a boyfriend.”

“Have you asked her?”

“Of course not. And before you say it, I’m not asking her.”

“But if she’s beautiful and gets along with Kaylie, what’s the problem?”

Logan mentally listed all of the reasons it wouldn’t work: she was too distracting, too irritating, too bossy, too everything. When he noticed Dylan studying him, he said the next thought that came to mind. “She’s too accident-prone.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Accident-prone. Hmm… How so?”

Seriously, he was going to make him recount actual instances? But the intent look on Dylan’s face said that was exactly what he expected. “Fine. If you must know, she dumped a cup of coffee all over me.”

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