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Every prom party Everly had attended had taken place in one of these rooms. Half her high school friends had lost their virginity on the creaky queen-sized beds. And for the first month after their father had moved out, Everly and Ellis used to spend Saturday nights sitting at one of these chipped Formica tables, eating vending machine snacks while their father sat on the bed silently watching TV.
Now Everly stood in the doorway of Logan’s hotel room, admiring the movement of his muscles as he cleaned his equipment off the beds. The steam from the bag of fried shrimp and French fries clutched in her hand coaxed perspiration to her palm.
“Wow. The studio got you a hotel right next to Monmouth Coveroyalty,” she said as she set the bag on the bureau beside the TV. “No one fries sea creatures like Ollie’s.”
Logan was head-deep in the closet arranging his bags and boxes and his voice wafted, muffled, from the floor. “I’m honored to partake in his wares.”
Okay. Seriously. The man consumed too many period pieces.
“As you should be.” Everly spread out the to-go containers and organized the piles of ketchup packets and cups of tartar and cocktail sauce. Then she pulled the bottle of malt vinegar from her purse and set it next to the other condiments.
Logan snorted. “Do you have a whole grocery store in there?”
“Just a live lobster and a family-size lasagna.”
That earned her another snort.
“Fries and malt vinegar are OTP,” she told him.
Logan folded his arms, his head shaking slowly. “Does Jazzy know she needs to get you purses big enough for a complete mis en place?”
“Shut up. I grabbed it on the way out because I knew we were getting Ollie’s.” The moment he tasted one of those salty, starchy fries drizzled with a bit of tangy vinegar, he’d be eating his words. To prove it, Everly shoveled a few on a plate and topped them with a small shake of vinegar. “Try it.”
He gingerly picked one up. “What’s wrong with ketchup?”
“This is better.” Everly hoped he wasn’t a finicky eater. She already had more than enough of that with Becca.
Eyeing her like she was Snow White’s evil queen offering him a poisoned apple, he nibbled the smallest bite off the end of a fry. “Shit.” A second later, he was scooping them all in his mouth. “That’s so good.”
Everly pumped her hand in the air before dousing the rest of their fries and bringing them over to the bed. “Tell me one of your food things.”
“I don’t have any. I eat whatever.”
“Then give me a food opinion. Iknowyou have those.” She grinned.
His brow furrowed, his lips dipping in a thoughtful frown. She loved how he took every question she asked him seriously, regardless of how silly it was. It made their conversations feel precious. Like something he didn’t want to squander.
“Ice cream shouldn’t have stuff in it,” he declared.
“Stuff?”
“Cookies, candy, dough, all those lumps. It should be smooth. Creamy. You shouldn’t have to chew it.”
She gaped at him for a moment, then stood up. What was this nonsense coming out of his mouth? “I don’t think I can see you anymore.” Her hand reached down to grab her tote bag from the floor.
“Wait. Are you serious?” Logan jumped to his feet.
Everly laughed loudly. The worry on his face was adorable.
Excavating a folder overflowing with sketches and printouts from her bag, she dropped it back beside the bed. “I mean, I’m pretty horrified by that ice-cream hot take, but no. I wanted to show you these.”
She gently eased open the folder. Technically, she was here to watch the fifth episode ofOn the Plus Side,but with the Cape Cod Collective just over two weeks away, she wanted Logan’s thoughts on the pieces she and Stanton had selected.
“What’s this?” He moved behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder so he could see the contents.
The press of his body against hers was so relaxed, so natural that a shot of adrenaline bulleted through her veins. She hoped his touch never stopped feeling like electricity.
Pausing on each one so he could see them, she flipped through the prints. “Stanton and I were thinking I should focus my booth at the Collective on book covers and marketing mock-ups, since I don’t have a tattoo portfolio yet.” After working on theOTPSlogo with Alex and James, and mulling over branding for Logan’s dog shelter in her free time, Everly was ready to say she wanted to give a job in marketing a try. But she’d still do book covers, and hopefully someday tattoos, on the side.
