Page 35 of The Lineman

Mateo smirked. “And this guy—he didn’t run for the hills?”

“No, but that’s not even the worst part.”

“Mio Dio.” Mateo grinned. “This gets better?”

“Better is a relative statement.” I dragged a hand down my face. “After dinner, we’re standing at the door, right? The moment is there. Like, full-blown rom-com-level tension.”

Mateo nodded. “And?”

“And we lean in. Like, full-on ‘this is about to happen’ levels of leaning. My lips are pooching, and my butt’s puckering . . .”

Mateo sat forward, entirely too invested now. “And?!”

I groaned. “And then Homer charged in and began humping his leg with the force of a thousand suns.”

Mateo froze.

Then he burst out laughing.

“No!” He wheezed, clutching his chest.

“Yes!” I dragged my hands through my hair. “And Elliot? He just stood there, casually accepting his fate.”

Mateo was fully losing it now. “Oh, my God. Your dog cockblocked you.”

“Aggressively.”

Mateo wiped tears from his eyes. “Dude, I don’t even know what to say. That’s . . . that’s beautiful.”

“It was mortifying.”

“It was iconic.”

I groaned. “I may never recover from this.”

Mateo shook his head, still grinning. “Nah. This is just chapter one of your romance, Mike. You gotta embrace it.”

I sighed, shaking my head, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

Because, yeah. It was ridiculous.

But . . . Elliot hadn’t run.

And something told me that lined up with what Mateo just said.

This was only the beginning.

Chapter eleven

Elliot

Iknowitsoundsnuts, but sitting atop a pole, staring out at the city, can be pretty cool, especially when said pole borders Piedmont Park, granting me one of the most majestic views in all of Atlanta.

I should’ve been focused on my work, paying attention to the cables or other vital doodads that kept power flowing to this part of town, but I caught myself lost in thought—specifically, lost in thoughts about a certain messy-haired redhead who should never be allowed near a kitchen, any kitchen, even if his only goal was ordering takeout.

That made me smile.

Like a fucking idiot, strapped to the top of a power pole, I grinned the goofiest grin Disney ever set to music.

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