I sighed. I loved my friends. “Thanks, but yeah, we slept together, and it was magical.”
Natalie clapped. “I can’t believe it! Lukas Farren, Mr. Cold as Ice himself! You thawed him.”
Ben snorted. “Dramatic, Nat.”
“Are you seeing him again in an intimate way?” Natalie waggled her brows.
“As a matter of fact, he’s picking me up after work.”
Ben reached out and patted my arm. “That’s great, Sam. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you.”
“Truth.” Natalie beamed.
“Okay, now I gotta work.” I shooed them away with my hands.
They laughed but left me to it. It was a slow day—a few fun creations, but it was a low tourist time, so the flow of people wasn’t as great. I didn’t mind; I spent spare moments scrolling through the photos from the New York trip or daydreaming about Lukas.
At around one, I took a lunch break. I walked to the corner deli, got myself a turkey and provolone sub, and sat on the bench overlooking the water…and Lukas’s island.
It was getting colder, being December and all, but not bitter to the point I couldn’t sit outside for a half an hour. Soon enough, it would be impossible with the strong icy breeze.
I’d just finished my lunch and was walking back to the shop when I heard my name. I turned and saw Officer Reed. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he asked me out all the time, though not lately.
“Hey, Officer.”
He huffed and smiled. “You can call me Brad.”
I scrunched my nose. “Feels like that blurs the lines. I’ll make you a deal—whenever you’re off duty, I’ll call you Brad.”
“Fair enough. You working today?”
“Yep, was just taking a lunch break.”
He nodded. “Listen, I was wondering something.”
Shit, he was going to ask me out. “What’s up?”
“Are you and Lukas Farren a thing?”
How…?Why would he ask me that? I’d only spoken with Natalie and Ben about it this morning. They wouldn’t dare gossip about me.
“What makes you ask me that?” I stopped in front of the shop.
“Well, I came into the shop a couple of days ago, and Mr. Johnson said you were on a trip with Mr. Farren.”
This fucking town. “Yeah, I was.”
“Right, so, like, are you dating?”
I believed that was what we were doing. I didn’t think I was comfortable calling him my boyfriend yet, but saying we were dating was safe.
“We just started seeing each other. It’s very new.”
He bit his lip, his eyes straying toward the island. “I see.”
“Look, Officer Reed. I like you, a lot.”
He chuckled. “It’s okay, Sam. You just don’t see me that way.” He shrugged. “I just wish you did.”
