“You know where I live.”
She snorted and retreated to the living room. I probably needed to make more effort with my roommates, too. They were kind enough to still give me the time of day even though I blew them off to be attached to Maddie and Shar’s hips the last couple of years.
Which reminded me . . . Tash. She would probably kill for an opportunity like this. I chewed on my lower lip. It wasn’t my invitation to make, but if it went well and something came of this meeting, then I could find a way to introduce her. Right? It was the best I could do at the moment.
I put on my coat and slung the case over my shoulder. Outside, Calgary had that early-winter blue where the cold punched straight through you, making you cough. Frost rimmed the fourplex steps, and my breath plumed in clouds as I half-walked, half-jogged the twenty minutes to Rob and Sharla’s.
I finagled the keys out from the wheel well, and the truck started up without much complaint. I’d printed out a map at some point during the night, and the directions weren’t hard. Still, my nerves did the wave during red lights.
Hi, I’m Crystal. Thank you for meeting me.Too formal.
Norman—too familiar.
Mr. Marcus, it’s an honour—too grovelly.
By the time I hit 17th Avenue, I’d landed on flattery. Full and complete butt kissing. That’s what he was surely used to.
Downtown rose up in front of me, all glass and steel with the Bow doing its quiet loop-the-loop under bridges. The sky was the colour of pencil shavings. Even with the heat on, I couldsmell snow coming. It always smelled like cow manure when a storm was blowing in.
Logan told me to meet at a warehouse near the turnoff to Stampede Park, down a side street with loading docks and dumpsters. A little murder-y, but I turned in, parked, and killed the engine.
That’s when I saw him.
Logan was leaning against the brick near an unmarked metal door, hands in the pockets of a charcoal coat, hair damp. With his fogging breath, he looked like he was posing for a magazine shoot.
I was the teensiest bit curious about him. About what he looked like under his clothes. Up close. Sure, I’d seen him strip off his shirt now and then, but I wasn’tlooking.Shar always used to talk about his abs or his shoulders. It wasn’t his appearance that soured the relationship. That was for damn sure.
I shook my head and pulled out the keys. He straightened when he clocked the truck. Rob’s truck. It hit him, and he flinched just a little, his shoulders lifting and dropping, his hands shoving deeper into his pockets.
I would’ve felt a little guilty for bringing it, but Logan didn’t once mention that he’d be meeting me here. I thought I was showing up for a meeting with Norman Marcus solo, which was terrifying. If Logan had said he was coming, I might’ve been able to get some shut-eye.
I climbed out, portfolio banging the door on the way. “What the hell?”
“Good morning to you, too.”
I locked the door. “You didn’t say you were coming.”
Logan strode toward me with lazy steps. “You thought I’d make you come here by yourself?” He motioned to the dirty alley.
“Well, it is before noon.”
He scoffed. “Once again. Didn’t know I was that big of a dick.”
I stopped in front of him. “This self-deprecating thing isn’t a good look.”
Logan’s expression hardened. “It’s a good thing I don’t have to rely on my sense of humour then.”
Heat flashed in my middle. The fact that he was pulling me a solid at the moment flew out the window. “Hm. Still a big hit with the ladies?”
He wet his lips and nodded. “All they need to hear is NHL.”
“Nice.” I stalked past him before I could say something else I’d regret later. I didn’t need to get into this with him. Obviously, he hadn’t learned much from everything that happened, or maybe he realized he didn’t want a serious relationship. That was an improvement, wasn’t it? Still, the way he said it. Logan was excellent at pressing my rage button.
He jogged to catch up. “I was kidding.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I’m not—I don’t sleep around.”
