“My tells?”
“The little things that give it away when you like a girl.”
“There are no tells.”
“Inviting her into your space.” He held up a finger. “Meghan had to bug you for a whole year to move in with her, and she was your long-term girlfriend.”
“Circumstances are extenuating with Hazel. It’s not like I thought it would be fun.”
Admittedly, I hadn’t minded having her in my space nearly as much as I thought I would. I wasn’t about to admit it toWest, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the day she’d have to leave.
“Two,” West continued, unfazed. “You’re checking your phone every five seconds to see if she’s texted you. You’re a notoriously bad texter. You get caught up in a book, or a project, or a conversation, and you forget to check your phone for hours. Now suddenly it’s glued to your hand?”
I shoved the lid to the game back on the box. “Again, extenuating circumstances. She’s out with her high school friends and one of them could be a suspect.”
“Three, you’ve hardly talked about her and if someone brings her up, you change the subject.”
“That isn’t new?—”
“Exactly,” he interrupted, smile smug. “Youhatetalking about girls you’re interested in. If you were truly just in this for the mystery of it all, you’d be begging to talk my ear off about it. You told me months ago that you wished the fam took more of an interest in your sleuthing hobby. You asked if we read the blog.”
Shit.
He’d walked me right into this corner, one that, to be honest, I hadn’t even thought about. But he wasn’t wrong. Sleuthing was the one subject I didn’t mind getting grilled about. I liked talking about new breaks in a case. I’d happily give anyone a rundown on new developments. But not with Hazel’s. I told myself it was because it was too personal. I knew her. I was living it with her. I saw the pain and the hurt in her eyes every time we ran into a dead end. That had to be it.
It had nothing to do with any developing feelings.
“You’re way off.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter next to him. “I feel bad for her.”
I winced as soon as I heard how that sounded. Ididfeel bad for her, but there was a hell of a lot more to it than that.
“Look,” I continued. “She’s literally a mess. I’ve never metsomeone who has their life together less than Hazel does. You should see her apartment.”
West snorted. “She’s living with youandshe’s messy? I’m shocked you haven’t killed her yet. I barely survived one year as your roommate in college.”
“She tries to be neat at my place,” I said, my heart snagging a little. Organization didn’t come naturally to Hazel, but I could tell she was making an effort. Every now and then, especially when she was in a rush, her stuff would end up scattered across the room—but she always tried to tidy it up afterward. Funny thing was, that should’ve pleased me. Normally, clutter drove me crazy. But with Hazel, it made me wonder if she wasn’t totally comfortable in my space. I didn’t like that thought.
“The point is, she and I are in no way compatible. I need someone more…”
“Polished,” West finished, nodding in agreement, seemingly convinced. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I can’t see you with someone so all over the place. If she really is that haphazard, I’m surprised you’re even calling her a friend.”
That made my blood boil, but I kept my cool. He was finally getting off my back. Exactly what I’d wanted.
“Sorry I keep bugging you, I just hate that Meghan moved on before you. You deserve someone who makes you happy.”
I snorted. “Says the guy who hasn’t had a serious girlfriend in almost a decade.”
“It’s different for me. I never wanted to settle down like you did.”
“And Iwassettled down,” I reminded him. “For years. If anything, I need a break from that. It’s nice being on my own.”
West gave me a look like he wanted to protest but must have thought better of it. “Whatever you want, man. It’s your life. Just don’t get too set in your own ways. You don’t want to make it impossible for someone else to join the picture at some point.”
Something stuck in my throat. Had I been too set in my ways? Too unwilling to change? I hadn’t thought so, but Hazel barging into my life was making me second guess a lot of things. It couldn’t be a coincidence that I’d been happier these couple of weeks with her than I had been in a while. Maybe I’d been mistaking complacency for contentment.
My phone dinged. I whipped it out of my back pocket and scanned the new text.
My heart dropped straight into my stomach.
