AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s an admirable trait.” He was starting to think she might have several of those. “Not many people can say that, including me. That’s why it’s a good thing I’m rarely wrong.”
She snorted good-naturedly, and he chuckled.
A commercial about the Chiefs flashed across the television nearby, and a thought occurred to him. “I almost forgot. I got two tickets to the Chiefs-Broncos game for you.”
Her face lit up. “You did? Thanks!”
“Happy to do it.”
“Can you come too? Sit with me?”
Logan was pleased at the request. “I can’t. I have to work during the game. Bring whoever you want. I don’t suppose I can persuade you not to wear a Broncos shirt?”
“Hell no. I’ll be decked out in blue and orange.”
“I figured as much.” He chuckled. “Have fun, drink beer, and eat as much junk as you want.”
They eventually decided to order more than chips for dinner, and as they ate, their conversation covered a multitude of topics—music, books, hobbies. Favorite foods, movies they’d recently seen. Actors and actresses they found attractive. Seeming to come to an unspoken agreement to get along, they avoided talking about football and family, with the exception of Andrew. They each had entertaining stories that included him in some way or another, and it kind of felt like they’d broken through a barrier, forming a real friendship.
At the end of the meal, they landed on the subject of Andrew’s diagnosis, and as they finished their drinks, the air surrounding them turned somber.
“What if it’s bad, Logan?” Jeni wiped her hands on a napkin and folded them in her lap. She pushed her beer bottle to the side, her gold eyes fearful.
Logan thought again how beautiful she was but tried to focus on the subject at hand.
He set his jaw and intentionally spoke in a steady, calm tone, despite the worry weighing on his own chest. “If it’s bad, we’ll face it head on. We’ll fight just as hard as if it’s the best stage it can be, okay? Andrew’s strong. So am I, and so are you. I’ve only known you for a few months, and I already know that for a fact. Between the three of us, plus the best oncologists in the state, he’ll beat it.”
Jeni swallowed and nodded, though the worry lines on her forehead didn’t abate. Logan almost reached across the table to cover her hand with his.
Almost.
“You’re right,” she said. “Thank you. For saying that and for hanging out with me tonight.”
They stood to leave, and as they walked to the door, an attractive redhead smiled at him. He gave her a friendly smile in return then opened the door for Jeni and gestured for her to precede him.
“You never have trouble with women, do you?” she asked when they reached his truck. She didn’t say it rudely, just as a curious statement of fact. Or question, rather.
Logan gripped the back of his neck. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
“That’s answer enough,” she said with a light laugh.
His lips tipped up in a small smile, his vision filled with her symmetrical features, gold-brown eyes, and long, silky hair. “I bet you don’t have trouble either.”
She snorted. “Right.”
“I’m serious.” His tone confirmed his words. “You’re beautiful. If you’d take down the Fuck Off sign you wear around your neck, there’d be a line of men waiting to ask you out.”
“To date me or sleep with me?”
“Either. Both.”
Jeni dropped her gaze to the ground, her cheeks reddening. She looked strangely vulnerable in that moment, and he didn’t like it.
Without thinking, Logan put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, his eyes searching her face. “You know that’s true, right?”
She shrugged.
Did she really not know how tempting she was? “When’s the last time you went out with someone?”
