“This is so good,” I repeat, taking another sip. “And you wouldn’t have been a bother, but thank you. I haven’t gotten in the zone like that in years, must be the new laptop I got this morning.”
“Ahh so Levi finally gave you the laptop I see,” she says.
“You knew he was going to get me a laptop?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, who do you think went to the store with him?”
“You seem to spend a lot of time with him,” I remark, raising an eyebrow. I might not have been the best of friends over the years, but it didn’t take the best of friends to notice that Levi and Lacey were interested in each other as more than friends.
“Not any more than I do with my brother. Since he shacked up with my best friend I need someone to hang out with,” she sayswith a slight blush on her cheek. Changing the subject she asks, “What had you so mesmerized in here?”
“That lady sitting there with the baby,” I say with a look to where she apparently isn’t sitting anymore. I hadn’t even noticed she was gone.
“Oh Lizzie? She’s—”
“No! Don’t tell me! I’ve already given her a name, an age, and some hot ex-military cowboy to sweep her off her feet! I don’t want to know who she actually is!” I almost scream, cutting her off.
“Okay, okay,” she says laughing. “I’m happy to see you’re taking your writing seriously. Now, is your book gonna have any smut? That’s the real important question,” she says with a big smile on her face.
“Is a book really worth reading without any smut?” I ask with a serious face.
“A girl after my own heart,” she says with her own serious face, making us break out in an uncontrollable laugh.
“Oh good, you’re both here!” Ellie says, walking towards us with a big smile.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Lacey asks.
“Two Things! One,” she says, turning to me. “We’re going hiking slash camping this weekend; we leave Thursday.”
Before she can continue, I ask, “What? Where?”
“JJ bought his parents a cabin a few years ago and there’s a bunch of trails around, or we can go hiking in the actual Rockies—the cabin is pretty much in the mountains.”
“And his parents don’t mind?” I ask.
“Of course not, they’re just happy that everyone likes to use it and that it rarely sees an empty weekend,” she says.
“What’s two?” Lacey asks impatiently.
“Two is,” she starts and takes a dramatic pause. “Two, is JJ told me that Ian asked about you.”
“Yeah so? Why is that so dramatic? He just met me, probably wanted to know what my deal was,” I say defensively, when what I really want to do is ask what he wanted to know about me? Is he interested? Why was he asking about me? Am I interested? Why does him asking about me make butterflies appear in my low stomach? I shouldn’t be reacting like this. I met the guy once. Is he good looking? That’s an understatement. Do I want to know what it would feel like to have his fingers grip my hair as he . . . No, no, no.
Oh my god, why do I care what a twenty-three-year-old is wondering about me? And why am I thinking it’s good?He was probably wondering why a thirty-year-old moved in with his best friend.
Wiggling her eyebrows, Lacey says, “I think you protest too much. I wonder what he was asking.”
“JJ didn’t tell me, just said that Ian had asked about you,” Ellie answers, pointing at me.
“What are you gonna do with that information?” Lacey asks.
“Nothing. There’s nothing to do. It’s not like I’m interested,” I answer, taking the last drink of my coffee. I should admit that I shouldn’t be interested, but I am.
“Sure you’re not,” Lacey says with an eye roll. “I saw you with him, and you liked what you were getting from him,” she says matter-of-factly.
“She’s right,” Ellie adds on. “At the very least he could definitely help you with some of the naughty stuff on your list.”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “Not gonna happen.”
