“Fine.” Brooke bit into her sandwich and chewed.
He beamed. “Great.” Logan grinned and tossed a chip into his mouth. Then he waved a hand. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, tell me about your day. Anything interesting happen? Weird cases?”
She ate a few chips as she contemplated her dilemma of being cautious or optimistic about her future with Logan. Logan waited. Brooke brushed some loosened strands of hair out of her eyes.
“I had a patient who came into the ER with a pencil struck right dab,” she tapped the middle of her forehead, “in his forehead.”
Logan laughed. “What happened?”
“Apparently, he and a kid had had a fight at school. The kid threw the pencil at him, and it landed in his forehead.”
Her shoulders relaxed. The tension in her neck dissipated. She ate some of her sandwich.
Logan shook his head. “They’re lucky it didn’t take out an eye.”
“Oh, for sure.”
“I’m surprised,” Logan popped a chip into his mouth, “I didn’t hear about it.”
A dab of mayo from her sandwich dribbled onto her chin, she used a napkin to wipe her face. “The plastic surgeon removed it, but luckily the kid only needed a few stitches. How about you? How was your day?”
“Decent.” Logan drank his soda then set it back down. “But it’s much better now.” His shimmery gaze made warmth flood her stomach.
“Mine too,” Brooke smiled then ate another bite of her sandwich.
They finished eating then gathered up their trash and threw it away. When they exited the deli, the brutal icy temperature made her shiver. She dug a scarf out of her purse and wrapped it around her neck.
As they made their way to her apartment, Logan’s pinky finger wrapped around hers. She peered down at their fingers then back up at him. “Thanks for taking me to eat.” Then she squeezed. He shifted his fingers over and fully interlaced his hand through hers.
Her heart stopped.
This felt different.
New.
Real.
Even possible.
Logan brushed some loosened hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “Anytime.” He kissed her on her temple. “I hope you don’t make me wait until Sunday to see you again. My family will be there, and I won’t get to be alone with you.”
“I have a busy week. I’m helping Aubrey with some last-minute things for the wedding in the evenings. I don’t think I’ll have time before then.”
“Are you,” he cast her sideway glance, “playing hard to get?”
Brooke laughed. “I wish I even knew how to do that, but no, it’s the truth.”
“Then, I’ll have to enjoy whatever time I can get with you.”
Her apartment came into view. George wasn’t in his usual post outside the building. She wondered if he’d gone inside to the station behind the lobby desk. They arrived in front of her building. Brooke peered inside the glass door, but George wasn’t inside either. She turned back to face Logan.
He stepped closer to her, placing a hand at the dip in her waist. “Thanks for coming with me to dinner.”
Her breath hitched in her chest. The tangy smell of his aftershave filled her lungs making her head swim. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Logan might kiss her. And, she wanted it, bad. Her fear of Shelby and the future dissipated. She didn’t care, not now, when a kiss might be on her otherwise deserted wasteland of dead relationships horizon.
“Thanks for inviting me.” He moistened his lips.
Neither moved, almost as a dare. The first to move would lose, in this imaginary game she played with herself. Slowly, she placed a hand in the center of his chest, he tightened his hold at her waist.
