Page 23 of Claiming Her Cougar
“Delivered,” Daphne states.“What did you do, Logan?”
Well, I tried.
“I may have gotten a new building for the village, Sunshine,” Logan says with a charming grin.
My heart melts when he calls her Sunshine.I’ve never had a pet name from a boyfriend.I get called Mal sometimes, but that’s not cute or sweet.That’s just being too lazy to say a couple extra syllables.
“If you got a strip club for my Christmas village, I will hurt you, Logan Morris,” Daphne promises.
“Ooh, stripper elves dancing on a candy cane pole!”I bounce on my toes in excitement at the thought.“That would be so awesome!”
“Marry me,” Liam says.
I know he’s joking, but my heart skips a beat at his words.I wish.Wait.No, I don’t.No marriage.Casual, Mallory.Remember, you want casual.
Daphne and Logan look at me, her in horror, him in admiration.
Logan takes his phone out of his pocket.“I didn’t get a strip club for the Christmas village, but I really want one now.”
“You better not be googling a paint-your-own-ceramics shop, Logan,” Daphne warns.
“That sounds fun.Let me know if you find one,” I say.
“There’s one across from the Municipal Complex,” he informs me.
“Text me the link, please?”My phone buzzes in my pocket.“Thanks!”
Logan leaves and comes back carrying a box.
Daphne opens it and pulls out a ceramic Home Depot store for their Christmas village.I love it.Apparently, Daphne does too because she’s clapping and bouncing, and appears to be about two seconds from squeeing.
A car pulls in the driveway, and the driver grabs a collection of bags before hustling to the door.Logan is there waiting, ready to accept our food.
“Where do you want to sit?”Daphne asks.“Island, table, living room?”
“I’m good with living room,” Liam says.“That good with you, Mallory?”
“Yeah, that works,” I say.
“What do you want to drink, Mallory?”Logan asks after he sets the bags on the coffee table.He hands Liam a beer.
“Diet Pepsi, please.”
We end up sharing our entrees.Taking bites from Liam’s beef and broccoli feels so personal.Couples share food.When we shared lunch today, it felt like we were maybe building something.Now I know the only thing I should be building is a wall around my heart.
“We’ve done lunch and dinner together,” I blurt out.“All that’s left is breakfast.”I wish I could call back my words because it sounds way more suggestive than I meant it to.
“I just mean to…to complete the set.I…I wasn’t propositioning you,” I stammer.Where’s a sinkhole opening beneath you when you need it?I’m probably as red as the Christmas lights lining Daphne’s roofline.
Liam laughs kindly.“I know what you meant.I’d be happy to have breakfast with you in whatever context.”He winks.
It’s a mix of playful and flirtatious, and I wish I could just plant a kiss on his full lips and remind myself if his well-groomed brown beard is soft or scratchy.I don’t remember from Vegas, and that makes me sad.I was so caught up in the moment and the thrill of it, I didn’t note the details.
Stop it, Mallory.You can’t be thinking those kinds of thoughts about a man you can’t have.You work with him.He’s the son of your boss, the nephew of your supervisor, the cousin of your good friend’s boyfriend, and probably your future boss if he takes over for his father one day.In no way is getting involved with this man a good idea, and fantasizing about him is an even worse one.
Liam turns to Logan and Daphne, who are sitting on the living room floor across from us, around the coffee table.“We ran into each other at Francisco’s and had lunch together the other day and then again today.Now we’re having dinner.All that’s left is breakfast.”
“Uh-huh.”Daphne looks at us wide-eyed.I don’t know what she’s thinking, but she needs to stop.
