Brodie looks at me like he loves me. He’s so happy to see me. I may have just concussed him, but he’sthrilled.
I put my phone face down and stuff my face in my pillow at the final realization.
It’s something I already knew, but shoved to the side to spare my feelings.
Brodie Campbell is gorgeous, and I hate it.
EIGHT
BRODIE
“What’s gotyour panties in a twist?” Sue asks, then cracks herself up. “You should smile more.”
I narrow my eyes at her and scowl harder when she laughs so hard, she slaps her knee. I don’t know exactly what my face looks like, but it’s probably the frowniest frown emoji. “Nothing.”
We’re sitting at the edge of the garage in the station. She’s whittling a stick and I’m scrolling through Aria’s videos for the umpteenth time. Maybe if I scroll a little longer, I’ll find some secret to making her not mad at me.
“Uh huh,” she says. “Try again.”
“I have to work tomorrow during the auction.”
“Was there someone you wanted me to bid on for you?”
“No,” I rush to say.
Sue’s smile turns sinister, her voice sing-songy. “I know who I’m bidding on. I’m saving all my pennies for her.”
I lift a brow. “Oh yeah? Who?”
Sue lets out a dreamy sigh. “Mindy. We hit it off during the tornado cleanup, but I could tell she wasn’t ready yet. I’ve been working on my long game. Gotta get me some of that cake.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to ask which kind of cake you mean.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “You already know which type.”
I sit, debating whether to tell Sue that I know for a fact that Mindy thinks she’s hot. Better not. Leave a little mystery in this world.
Sue studies me for a moment. “Are you actually trying to score a real date from the date auction?”
I shrug and sit up from my slouched position, leaning my forearms on my thighs. “Well, you are. Why can’t I?”
“Who? Is Shannon coming back to town?” Again, Sue laughs at her own joke.
“You and my sister with the Shannon jokes.”
“The funniest part is, I have no idea who Shannon is. She’s just this mythical creature to me who tortured you with her love and affection. It’s so easy to annoy you with it.” Sue uses the tip of the knife to clean under her fingernails. We’re both EMS trained. I don’t need to tell her that it’s neither the safest nor most sanitary way to do that. “Okay, so not Shannon. Who, then?”
“My friend Aria. Or well, used to be friend.”
Sue looks at me like it’s obvious. “Can’t you just ask her out?”
“Ha! No. Our friendship crashed and burned over a decade ago. She reminded me of it yesterday.”
“What did you do?” she asks, taking on a scolding parent role.
I gasp, scandalized. “Why do you assume it was me?”
She levels me with a look and I cave.
