“You think?” I glance over at them skeptically. “Reed and Willow? Nah. She’s like one of the guys to him.”
“She’s still a woman,” Ginger says, sipping her martini. “And he’s still a man. They’ve got chemistry. It may be a slow burn, but I can see it.”
“Hmm.” My gaze bounces between the two of them. “You really think they’re gonna happen?”
Ginger nods slowly. “One hundred percent. I’ll remind you of this conversation when it does.”
“Maybe it already has,” I say, testing the waters.
Her eyebrows lowering, she shakes her head. “Nah, my girl would’ve told me if it did.”
I lean in, my arm brushing hers. “Do you tell each other everything?”
Her amused green eyes meet mine. “Only the important stuff.”
“And who you have sex with qualifies as important?” I ask.
“Duh. Of course.”
I chuckle. “You say that so emphatically, but would you tell Willow if you and I slept together?”
She flinches just enough to catch it. Her eyes squint, as if she’s trying to figure out if I’m messing with her. “I would never sleep with you.”
“Harsh,” I say with a grin, but I don’t back off. “So you say.”
Her face twists into a full-fledged scowl. “I wouldn’t.”
I hold up a hand. “Okay. For argument’s sake only, let’s say we had sex. Would you tell Willow?”
She hesitates to give an immediate answer, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth before she finally shakes her head. “I don’t know if I would. I’m leaning toward probably not.”
A sharp pang of disappointment hits me in the chest, fast and unexpected. The idea of her keeping me a secret bothers me. A lot. I have to remind myself this is a hypothetical situation we’re discussing.
I press my thigh against Ginger’s, and she doesn’t move away. That shouldn’t feel like a win, but it does since she often acts like a skittish kitten around me. I lower my voice so only she can hear. “Want to have sex and find out for sure?”
Her head snaps toward me, eyes wide like saucers. “Oh, totally.”
“When?” I press, smiling.
She whacks my upper arm with the back of her hand. “I was joking.”
I laugh. “Well, it wasn’t a no.”
She bites her lip again, but this time there’s a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “It wasn’t a yes either.”
I enter Laugh A Latte a little before five o’clock. The smell of coffee and baked goods greets me as soon as the door swingsopen. Ginger’s at the counter with her back to me, and when she hears the door close, she spins around, her eyes going wide.
“We’re about to—” she starts, her mouth falling open with surprise before she can say the word “close.” Her gaze flicks down to the toolbox in my hand. “I take it Travis couldn’t make it?”
I flash her a grin, walking farther into the shop. “Yeah, he asked me to fill in. I hope that’s okay.”
She quirks a brow, then shrugs one shoulder. “It’s fine, as long as you don’t mind getting dirty.”
“Not at all.” I set the toolbox on a nearby table and meet her gaze. “Tell me your vision, and I’ll make it happen.”
She steps out from behind the counter, purposefully walking toward the center of the floor. Her hands gesture around the space as she speaks. “I’m thinking this wall would work best for the shelves.”
I look at the spot she’s pointed to and nod, mentally measuring the dimensions. “How many shelves are we talking?”
