“What?” she asked innocently. “You like Drew.”
“IlikedDrew,” I corrected. “Past tense. As in, that ship has sailed. It sailed, it sank, it was found years later at the bottom of the emotional ocean.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, unconvinced. “Funny, because every time you visit, you somehow end up at the bar. Alone. At closing time.”
“I like bars,” I said flatly.
“You likehim,” she said.
I kept my eyes on the road. “I likeSeattle.”
She snorted. “You like Drew Benedict’s arms.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “I’m a grown woman. I don’t base attraction on arms.”
Lydia arched a brow. “Melanie, you once described his biceps as a public safety hazard because they were so strong. You even said it with a purr.”
“I did not… and completely out of context!”
“You said it while touching them, outlining his tattoos.”
I did love his tattoos.
I slumped in my seat. “Why are you like this?”
“Because I love you,” she said sweetly, taking another sip of her latte. “And because you still blush every time someone mentions his name.”
I could feel the heat creeping up my neck.
It wasn’t fair. The woman had gone full Zen since moving to Reckless River, a mix of small-town peace and regular makeouts with her lumberjack fiancé. Meanwhile, I was the single city girl still getting parking tickets and emotional whiplash.
Yes, I’d flirted with Drew. Yes, I’d gone home with him. Once. Or twice.
Fine. Six times.
But who was counting?
Oh, right.
Lydia was.
“I am,” she said suddenly, like some kind of smug psychic.
I blinked. “What?”
“You just said, ‘Who’s counting?’ under your breath,” she said. “And the answer is me. I’m counting. Six times, right?”
I groaned into my scarf. “You need a hobby.”
“I have one,” she said cheerfully. “It’s watching my best friend emotionally combust over my brother-in-law.”
“He’snotyour brother-in-law yet.”
“Give it a few weeks,” she said, smiling. “You know, for someone who claims she’s over him, you talk about him a lot.”
“That’s because he keeps existing, and you keep bringing him up,” I said.
He liked being single. He liked women. Plural.
