“Never had any complaints before.”
“Then they’re lying to you.” I shake my head irritably. “Either way, I don’t care. If you want to give yourself lung cancer, go for it. If you want to be the living embodiment of the drunk rock star cliché, knock yourself out.”
Sliding off the breakfast stool, I pick up my empty plate and march toward him.
“Move,” I snap.
He stiffens for a beat before stepping out of the way to let me use the sink.
“Here’s the thing,” I tell him as I rinse my plate. “I’ve officially reached the point of not caring what you do or why you do it. So as of right now, we’re going back to the ground rules we established when I first got here. You stay the hell out of my way, and I stay the hell out of yours.”
“But it was a good kiss?”
I glare at Annaliese from across the booth. We’re at a sports bar in Tahoe City, and I just told her everything that happened last night, including how Wyatt blamed our kiss on being drunk and insisted it was a huge mistake, and all she’s taken away from this is that the kiss was good?
“It was a great kiss,” I grumble. “Amagnificentkiss. But apparently it was a mistake.”
She brushes that off. “Bullshit. That’s just a cope.”
“My cope or his cope?”
“His cope. Listen, Logan. A man doesn’t passionately kiss you on a roof at midnight because he’s had a few beers. Hewantedto kiss you. The only reason he’s backpedaling now is because that’s what fuckboys do. They feel something deeper than just their dick twitching, and suddenly the commitment apocalypse is looming over them, and they run.”
“And, what, I’m supposed to chase him?”
“Fuck no. We don’t chase. We attract.” Shrugging, Annaliese grabs the last couple french fries on her plate and pops them into her mouth. “If we want them, we do things to make them chaseus.”
“I don’t like playing games.”
She grins. “Games are fun.”
I sigh and pick up the vodka cranberry I’m still shocked the bartender served me without asking for ID. I have my fake one if needed, but it’s rare I don’t get carded, especially in a family town like Tahoe.
“No, they’re not fun,” I finally answer. “I don’t want these weird mind games. I don’t want to chase or be chased. All I want is someone who makes their intentions clear.”
Not someone who kisses me and then cries about it afterward.
And certainly not someone who stays with me for almostthree yearswhile secretly thinking I’m the most boring, least passionate woman on the planet.
Isaac’s words continue to prickle at me. To sting. But deep down, I know there’s some truth to them. I loved him, but I didn’tcravehim. And he didn’t crave me. Maybe he did at first, with all the love bombing, but once he won me over, his enthusiasm waned. When we were in bed together, Isaac never looked at me like…like he mightdieif he couldn’t have me.
“Okay, then let’s find that someone,” Annaliese declares. She twists in the booth and surveys the bar. “Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but… It’s like a firefighter porn in here.”
I did not notice, but now I do. I realize the counter is littered with young men and several women in navy-blue fire department shirts and sweats. I see a lot of roped forearms and defined biceps, probably honed from long days at the academy, and all the guys are loud and boisterous, shouting and laughing as they loiter at the bar and pool tables.
“Why are they all so young?” I ask Annaliese.
“Oh, it’s the recruit class. My brother’s there too.” She nods toward the end of the bar, where a cute guy with big dimples chats with two other fire cadets.
“Eddie wants to be a firefighter?” I say in surprise.
“Yup, and don’t even get me started. This fool was incollege. Didtwoyears and then boom—drops out and enrolls in the fire academy. My parents almost had simultaneous cardiac arrests when he told them.” Annaliese waves at the group. “Edward!” she calls. “Come say hi to your sister!”
Breaking away from the group, Eddie strides over to our booth. Last time I saw him, he had a wild head of hair, but it’s all been shavedoff, giving him a clean-cut, professional air now. He greets us with a broad smile, slinging his arm around his sister in a side hug.
“Do you remember Blake?” Annaliese asks him.
His brown eyes brighten when they meet mine. “Oh, hey. Yes. Beau’s cousin.”
