Page 12 of Cluelessly Yours

I point at Seth sternly. “You better be on your best behavior.”

“Yes!” Seth cheers, jumping up and doing a spin, and even going so far as to high-five Noah.

I close my eyes briefly, only to open them at the feel of Noah’s hand on the small of my back. It’s so freaking warm and comforting. I don’t know if he keeps a space heater in that thing or what the deal is. “It’ll be fine, Sam. I promise. Just text me when you’re ready to find us.”

A few seconds later, before I’ve even given confirmation of permission, my little troublemaker and Noah are out the door together, destination unknown.

“Are you sure you don’t want to date him?” Brooke asks straightaway. “That hug between the two of you looked mighty cozy…” My head swivels faster than the girl inThe Exorcist.

“Brooke!”

“What? I’m just saying. He’s hot. He’s smart. He’s successful. He’s thoughtful. And the fact that he’s not afraid of your eldest son should be enough to earn him a little heavy petting, you know?” She jerks her head toward my special place without shame. “The old coo-coo-cachoo could use a touch or two.”

My head falls back on an exhale. “Do we really have to go through this right now?”

“Of course we do!” Brooke affirms. “Because if not now, when? I mean, let’s be real, Sammy. You’re into each other. And don’t give me some bullshit excuse that you’re not because I see the way your face turns red when he touches you.”

“Into each other?Ha.” I suppress a laugh. “I think you’re seeing things, Ms. Romance Writer. He’s never even asked me out.”

“Well, no freaking kidding, Sam!” She slaps both of her palms down onto the bed hard enough to startle Benji’s eyes to open for a brief moment, but as soon as he takes stock of the normal drama, he drifts back to sleep. “You’re about as open to that kind of invitation as I am to a quick trip on an airplane.”

The last time Brooke was on a plane, they had to make an emergency landing in Buffalobecause of her. Thanks to a twenty-thousand-dollar medical bill, she still can’t stand the sight of the friendly skies.

“Look at my life,” I counter on a sigh. “You think I have time to be seductiveand sexy? To worry about getting myself ready and flirting and showing avid interest in someone else’s life? I’m barely afloat, Brookie. I don’t have the energy for sex on top of it. Falling into bed at night to go to sleep is the only escape I have.”

“But you could be on the bottom.”

“Brooke!”

I pointedly avoid telling her about the Gavin situation that occurred on my way here. I can’t decide if that would fuel her constant push to get me to date Noah or make her mad that someone who isn’t Noah asked me out. Either way, I’d never hear the end of it.

Brooke frowns. “I know it seems like it’d be more work, I do. But Sam, the right guy helps your life…not the other way around.”

Almost as if on cue, her fiancé Chase Dawson comes strolling through the door, his head craned toward the haul of goodies in his arms. “Okay, I got pickles, ice cream, cookies, some animal crackers, and they even had those mini-Oreo snack packs you love, so I got some of—”

He looks up midsentence to see me standing there, and his face melts into a smile. “Oh. Hey, Sam.” He sets Brooke’s snacks down on her bedside table and, after a quick look around and a dust of his hands, looks back at me. “Where are the boys? Do you need me to watch them while you hang with Brooke for a bit?”

Brooke grins pointedly in her bestI told you so, but I ignore her and smile gratefully at Chase instead.

“Thanks for the offer, but Seth is with Noah, and Grant is at home sick with Zoe.”

“Oh shit. Is little G okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Probably just a twenty-four-hour bug.”I hope.

“How is Zoe, by the way?” Chase asks conversationally. “Did she get into that master’s program at Vanderbilt?”

Zoe is actually a friend of Chase’s family. When I started working at LaCroisette, his sister Mo put me in touch with twenty-three-year-old, money-needing, college student Zoe, and it’s been a match made in heaven ever since.

“Nope.” I frown. “Wait-listed.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Selfishly, though, I’m secretly a little—okay, a lot—grateful.

Zoe is in her senior year at NYU and currently figuring out her next big plan. One of which was to move to Nashville, Tennessee, and attend grad school at Vanderbilt. I swear I want the best for Zoe, but the mere idea of her not being in New York is terrifying for me. I don’t know what I’d do without her. Right now, she’s my lifeline. The sole foundation of how I keep things afloat.

Of course, I don’t dare say any of that out loud. It soundsawfully selfisheven inside my own head.

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