Page 12 of Paging Dr. Summers

“We had a system to choose where we ate out. If it was an odd day, I got to pick, and she picked on even days.”

I sat there, so confused. Half the time, I didn’t even know what I was in the mood for. Case in point: I’d bought three meals and dessert that night. What if it was my day to choose and I couldn’t, or what if my partner picked something I detested? Or what if I had PMS and was grumpy and maybe I said some things I didn’t really mean? It had happened before. I wasn’t proud of it, but hormones are no joke.

“You never disagreed?” I just couldn’t believe it.

“No. Not really. Our biggest disagreement, if you could call it that, was we didn’t necessarily like the same types of house decor, but I wanted her to be happy, so I always lether choose.”

This was too much for me to take in. I was so glad Logan hadn’t agreed to have a fling with me. There was no competing with the relationship he had with his wife. No wonder he was grieving so hard.

“Erica sounds perfect.”

“She was about as perfect as they come,” he said wistfully.

Back in my teen years, when I’d been super self-conscious about my body and had wanted to look like the models and actresses in magazines and on TV, Mom used to say,“Never try to compete against perfection, because even though it doesn’t exist, you’ll still lose.”

I’d taken that lesson to heart, which was why I would never, ever try to compete with the likes of Erica. I would for sure lose—from the sound of it, any woman would. And this summer was about winning. I wasn’t sure what I was going to win, but I knew Mom wanted this summer to be a gift. So, I was going to make the most of it and claim my prize in the end. A prize I knew now more than ever didn’t include my sexy neighbor.

“YOU CAME HOME LATE LAST night.” Eden looked up from her laptop while working on the couch and gave me a knowing look. “Did you have fun with Brooke?” she sang.

Admittedly, I’d had a good time. “Yeah,” I responded noncommittally, knowing what my kid sister was really after and that she was going to be disappointed.

Eden set her laptop to the side and peered over the back of the couch like a puppy waiting to be petted. “Come on, Logan, give a girl a little more than that.”

I walked into the kitchen in search of a protein shake after my workout in my home gym, trying to think of how to water down my night with Brooke Crawford. While it was maybe the strangest conversation I’d ever had with a woman, it was also the best evening I’d had in a long time. Brooke was right—grieving out loud was helpful, and I appreciated that she’d given me the opportunity. But Eden didn’t need that information.

“I showed her all the constellations I knew, and she told me the stories behind songs like ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ and ‘Mr. Blue Sky.’ She’s a walking classic rock encyclopedia.”

“I listened to some of her podcast episodes and they’re good. Like, amazing. She’s talented,” Eden chirped.

“I agree.” I opened the refrigerator.

“You listened to her podcast?” Eden unfortunately caught on to that.

“Just one episode,” I mumbled. “Where’s Sophie?” I hoped to change the subject.

“Don’t think we won’t be coming back to that.”

I knew she wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily, but at least she was dropping it for now.

“Sophie’s at dance class. Uh ... did you know ...?” Eden’s voice trembled, which was so unlike her.

I stood up straight, holding my premade shake. “What’s going on?”

She waved her hand in the air. “It’s nothing. It’s just, I didn’t know that Shane Wells moved back to Aspen Lake.” Shane was Eden’s high school and college boyfriend.

“I didn’t know that either. I’ve seen his parents around town. They’ve said hi and asked how you are, but they didn’t mention Shane had moved back.”

“I ran into him today. And as luck would have it, he has a daughter that’s Sophie’s age. She’s a beautiful girl, just like her mom,” she strained to say. Shane had left Eden for the woman he eventually married, and it had crushed her. She’d sworn for years she was going to marry Shane. “They go to the same dance school.”

I leaned on the counter. “Did he say anything?”

“Only hi. Obviously, I don’t care,” she tried to brush it off. “It was just awkward after all this time. I’m sure he and Angelina are just perfect.” Her voice hitched.

“Are you okay, sis?”

“I’m fine.” She plastered on a fake smile. “It was just a reminder there’s apparently always someone better than me.”

“There’s no one better than you. You’re the best mom and person I know. You just chose two pricks.”

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