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“Yep.”
“She also told you this woman is his ex?” He gave the newspaper a shake and Ally secretly wished it could be that easy to dislodge the blonde from the page.
“Yes.”
“Ally, I’m sorry, but if I was away for the weekend and I lost my phone, I would find a way to contact the person I was dating.”
“I know. Me, too.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. Flynn, you’re the closest thing to a girlfriend I have, and I was counting on you to tell me what you think. You know I don’t have any experience here, right? Where men are concerned, I mean?”
He grinned. “Oddly, I’m honored to be your quasi-girlfriend. I just wish I had the wisdom of a woman to give you here.”
“I’ve never thought a lack of experience was a bad thing, until now.”
“It’s not a bad thing, Ally. Not at all. Does Tag know this? That you haven’t…dated much?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure he gets just how little I’ve dated. We’ve only been seeing each other a couple of weeks. Granted, we’ve managed to pack a lot in there if I add up the hours, but still… You know how I am about this girl stuff, sharing or whatever.”
“I love how you say it like it’s profanity. Sharing,” he repeated and chuckled.
The impersonation made her smile, and she appreciated the fact that he managed to bring it out in her. “Yeah, well, I’m not all girly like you are.”
“True. A lot of women like that, though.”
“Do they?” she asked skeptically.
He chuckled. “So glad I’ve always resisted falling for you. You’d be so bad for my self-esteem. You need to talk about this—to Tag, I mean.”
“Wouldn’t that seem needy and desperate? We’re supposed to be keeping it casual.”
“You can be casual and still communicate. In fact, you have to, so you know you’re on the same page, so one of you doesn’t end up more attached than the other.”
Too late, she thought, her stomach gripped with a new bout of despair. “What do I do about the photo?”
“He’ll have an explanation. You just have to decide whether you believe it. You don’t want him to think you’re jealous.”
“I don’t?”
“No way. Guys abhor jealousy.”
“Abhor? Really?”
“Yes. Trust me. On this one, I have experience.”
Huh. Ally had kind of enjoyed it when Tag was jealous. Wouldn’t a little jealousy show him that she liked him?
This was all so confusing.
“But—”
A knock sounded on the door. Ally jumped, her heart taking a tumble. “That’s him.”
They headed into the living room together. Ally opened the door to a smiling Tag, who didn’t look at all like he’d been cuddling with another woman all weekend. But what did that look like? Aside from the photographic evidence, she wasn’t sure.
“Hey.”
The sound of Flynn shuffling behind her drew his attention. His smile faltered. “Oh, hey, Flynn.”
“Tag,” Flynn answered flatly. “Looks like you had a good time in Juneau.”
Tag’s brow creased. “It was productive.”
“Ha. Yeah. No doubt.” Sarcasm dripped from his tone and Ally felt a surge of fondness for her good friend. It felt nice for someone to have her back. Stopping in front of her, Flynn brushed a kiss across her forehead and took a moment to look her in the eye. “See you later, Ally. Call me.”
“Bye, Flynn. Thanks. I will.”
He gave her hand a little squeeze and left.
Tag’s face wore a scowl as he came inside and shut the door behind him. “I want to say something smart-alecky about how touchy-feely he is with you. But I won’t. I know you’re just friends.”
Ally stared. Because you’re an expert on touchy-feely, huh? The sarcastic retort tickled the end of her tongue. He couldn’t possibly mean that, could he? Unless…? Was there a chance he hadn’t seen the photo? Or was she making a bigger deal out of this than it was?
Despite her efforts to remain unreadable, he must have seen something in her expression because he said, “Ally, what is it? What’s the matter?”
