Page 7 of Hot Response
“What do you mean?”
“Man, come on.” He chuckled and just my luck, right when I turned towards him, Logan walked up to us with a knowing grin.
“Let me guess…” he started to say with a cocky grin I wanted to wipe off his face.
“Shut it.” I pointed at him and shook my head. This was all his fault. Sometimes, I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or name my firstborn after him.
My head was a messy place to be. Heaviness filled my veins as I thought about what had happened. Showing up to the bakery destroyed and Evie pinned between a goddamn car and a wall. I swallowed hard.
“I saw her this morning.” Emotions and fear were hard to choke down. “I was going to ask her out. See if she wanted to go dinner or…” I scratched the back of my head and then frowned. “But I fucking chickened out. I didn’t. I thought I had more time, but… fuck.” I rubbed my jaw.
“Hey, man… she’s good. She’s just getting checked out,” Nate said, rubbing my shoulder, and Logan nodded.
“You don’t get it,” I rasped. “This… this is why I don’t fucking…” I shook my head. “I already… l lost too much.”
“Man, we know that.” Logan patted me on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s talk outside.” Nate and Logan led me out. When we took a seat on the empty benches, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“What do I do?” I asked, completely vulnerable.
I was in love.
Head over heels, dumbass in love. It wasn’t the same as it had been with Sara. It was different but not any less real. Shit. Somehow, what I felt about Evelyn was different. I hated saying it but maybe a little more.
“About?” Nate asked, and Logan rolled his eyes.
“About the baker!” Logan clarified. “You like her?” he asked, and I swallowed, shaking my head. He frowned, and then he saw it. He recognized what I felt because his own life had been swept up when he fell hard and fast himself while on duty. “You’re in love.”
“Wait… love?” Nate repeated, obviously trying to catch up. “He is not in love. They just met. Or wait, do you know her?”
“I met her the day of the engagement party.”
“That’s right. You went to pick up the cake,” Nate mumbled.
“I’ve… I’ve been going into her shop daily. Almost,” I confessed, and Logan whistled.
“Daily… to a bakery? You?” Nate asked. “You don’t do sugary stuff.”
“I know,” I muttered. “Let’s just say the office has loved and hated me these last couple of weeks.”
“There is nothing wrong with falling in love again,” Logan said quietly and without judgment.
“I know that,” I muttered, rolling my neck. “I… I thought I had time. I know better than that. I mean?—“
“Breathe, man,” Nate encouraged.
“I love her,” I said out loud.
I wasn’t big on lying to myself.
Not when I had first fallen in love in high school at seventeen and definitely not when Sara was diagnosed, nor when things had taken a turn for the worse and we both knew we wouldn’t e enjoy a long happily ever after. I knew firsthand just how short life was.
And I’d stupidly taken it for granted because I’d been scared.
Fear was a bitch and a waste of time.
“You don’t say?” Logan’s lips twitched. “Question is, what are you going to do about it?” I looked at him. My eyes bounced from Logan to Nate, wondering what the hell I could do.
“I… I’m not sure. All I know is I can’t keep sitting back. What if… what if that car hadn’t stopped when it did and—“ Nate’s hand touched my shoulder, and our eyes connected.
