Page 39 of Claiming Her Cougar
“Yeah, I am.Finish what you’re doing though.I’m good.”
“Nah, I’m done.”She lays down her pencil.“Let’s go.”
We walk into Francisco’s and hear Wham!’s “Last Christmas” playing.I groan because I’d successfully avoided it so far.
“Ugh, I just got Whammed,” I complain.
Daphne chuckles.“I lost Whammageddon in the car on December first.How did you make it so long?”
I shrug.“Dumb luck.This is the furthest I’ve made it.”
I order the baked ziti special, and Daphne gets a cheeseburger to eat here and two of the ziti specials to take home for dinner.
“Logan is trying to get shots of the snowy owl that’s been seen at the refuge.When he’s trying to get nature shots, he’ll be completely still in awkward positions for however long it takes, so I’m betting he won’t feel like cooking.”She takes a bite of her fry and continues after swallowing.“I know I don’t feel like cooking, so ziti specials it is!”
I ignore the pang of envy I feel knowing Daphne is going home to someone while I’m going to an empty house.
But I don’t want a relationship.At most, I want a friend with benefits, and I’m not even sure about that.The onlyfriendI want is Liam, and I don’t know how to have the benefits without risking my heart.
15
LIAM
“Hey, man.All good?”Logan asks as he enters my pool house.
I look up from my laptop where I’m typing up notes from the last outlets I visited in Virginia.
“Why?What have you heard?”
Did Mallory tell Daphne about us—about the us that can never be?
Logan’s eyes widen.
Crap.
“I haven’t heard anything,” he says.“What’s going on?”
Crappity crap crap.
“Nothing,” I assure him.“Just typing up my notes from the last centers I visited.Everything was in good shape.”
“Great.”He walks over to my fridge to grab a bottle of water.How nice that he feels he can make himself at home.“So, what’s going on?Don’t bother saying nothing.I can ask Daphne?—”
“What would asking Daphne do?”
“She could tell us if Mallory said anything that would shed light on why you’re in a mood.”
“No.”
“No, Mallory wouldn’t have anything to say?No, she wouldn’t say anything if she had something to say?No, Daphne wouldn’t tell me?”Logan chuckles.“It’s not the last one.Daph would tell me.”
“Why are you here?”I ask tiredly, pinching the bridge of my nose.I am not in the mood for this today.I got home a few hours ago, and I just want to finish these notes, open a beer, and sit on the couch, watching some hockey while moping.I could shift and go for a run, but I’m not in the mood for that either.
Settling next to me on the couch, Logan rests his ankle on his knee and takes a sip of water.“Daph and I are going Christmas tree shopping on Saturday.Mallory’s family has a Christmas tree farm.Did you want to go with us?”
“Is Mallory going?”I feel like a desperate teenager asking, but I want to know.
“Does it matter?”
