Page 50 of Paging Dr. Summers

“Brooke, it’s not important.” He obviously didn’t want to say. It must have been bad.

“It is important if ... well ... if we want to kiss again. Do you want to kiss again?”

With the crook of his finger, he tilted my chin, making sure ourgazes locked. “More than you know.” He leaned in, his lips barely grazing mine as if he were afraid to do more. As if he were afraid of me.

I closed my eyes, trying to compose myself. His touch, even a minor one, was incredibly potent. “You are a ninja kisser.” I opened my eyes to find him smiling.

“You think so?” He sounded proud of himself.

“You definitely have some skills. But you still haven’t answered my question. Why wouldn’t your wife like me?”

Logan dropped his hand, and I rested my head on his shoulder, waiting for his reply.

“I don’t know that she wouldn’t like you on a personal level. She just wouldn’t like me dating someone like you. Someone who jumps into lakes naked in the middle of the night and who quits her job to spend her summer pushing the limits.”

“I mean, I don’t know. That person sounds like a fun girl.” I was doing my best not to be offended.

“That woman is a fun girl. Probably the most fun girl I’ve ever known.”

“So, you’re saying you like her?”

“A lot,” he admitted.

I likeda lot. A lot. But ... “Would Erica think I was a loser? Do you think that?” Just the thought of it made me feel sucker punched.

“No,” he was quick to say. “You’re not a loser. Not at all. You’re just different. But I need different right now, and that makes me feel guilty.”

“Yeah, that’s a tough one.” For him and me. “I don’t want you to spend time with me if it makes you feel guilty. Then I’ll feel guilty. But just so you know, I do like spending time with you.”

So much. Even at that moment, when I didn’t know how it would turn out, I treasured being close to him. It just felt right. I really didn’t want to give that up.

He pulled up my hand and kissed it. “I like spending time with you too.”

I loved the feel of his lips on my skin. “So, what do we do?”

“I was hoping you would have the answer,” he breathed out.

“Oh, I see. You’re going to pin this on me,” I teased.

“I wouldn’t do that to you. Whatever happens between us will be a mutual decision.”

I nestled closer to him. “Logan, when you say things like that, it only makes me like you more.”

We sat in silence, time stretching out between us like an unending road. But the thought that kept coming back to me was that I couldn’t imagine my summer without him. I couldn’t believe that it was an accident that our paths had crossed. It wouldn’t have surprised me if my mom had orchestrated it. Even that first awkward, cringey meeting in the ER. As cringey as it had been, maybe I’d had the right idea. Maybe we both needed a fling.

Swallowing my nerves, I steeled myself to speak. This was my summer of no regrets, of pushing boundaries. And this wasn’t just word vomiting like our first meeting. This was coming straight from my heart.

“Soooo,” I began, drawing out the word. “You might have heard that I’m on the lookout for a summer fling. I know you’re not typically a fling kind of guy, and I’m not a fling kind of girl, but what if we embraced this one summer together? No strings attached. It will be all fun and zero guilt because we know that come the end of August, it will be over.”

That way I knew I would for sure never have to be the second act to Erica. I would just be the woman who maybe mended a tiny piece of his broken heart. And I had a feeling that if Logan and I dated for the summer, it would be the magical fling Mom promised.

The only downside was that I knew I would have to walk away from our friendship at the end. That thought hurt, but at least I would have a summer full of memories to treasure.

I lifted my head from his shoulder, needing to see the truth in his eyes when he answered.

His gaze met mine, intensified by the flames reflecting in his eyes.

I held my breath, fearing and hoping.

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