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Judy smiled. “I am, but she’d want to know why I’m there. And I’m pretty sure the building still has its no pets rule in effect.”

Uh-oh. She felt the blood drain from her face.

Judy chuckled, shaking her head. “Your secret’s safe with me. Now, go get your donut.”

“Thank you. I owe you.”

“Yes, you do.”

And I’m sure you’ll be collecting.

*

Imogene sipped her latte and stared down at the chocolate croissant on her plate. She hadn’t touched it. She had zero appetite after ten minutes with Logan. Hate was a strong word. She rarely used it. But…

Imogene had done her due diligence. She’d thought ahead this time, structuring this meeting. The hour session would be accounted for by staying strictly on course with all the programs offered and follow up.

Apparently, Logan had other plans.

“You doing anything tonight?”

Imogene cleared her throat. “Well, if you’d like to sign up for some of the programs, I can get the paperwork done this evening. Have any of them piqued your interest?”

He snorted, his gaze traveling over her body, lingering on her breasts. She was modestly dressed with purpose. A loose fitting top matched with a long, flowy skirt down to her ankles. Most days she’d wear sandals but today she chose sneakers with rubber soles. Minimal makeup and her hair loosely flowing down her back. Imogene put a lot of thought into her appearance and outfit for this meeting. It was society’s version of sensible and safe. And ironically? It didn’t stop him from gawking and making her uncomfortable. In a perfect world, she would’ve worn what she liked, whatever she was feeling or most comfortable in. But she didn’t live in a perfect world.

“It’s bullshit,” Imogene muttered, grabbing her coffee and taking a sip.

She’d been lost in her own thoughts and hadn’t even noted the silence until Logan cleared his throat. She glanced up, and he was scowling.

“What’s bullshit?”

Oh shoot!

She forced out a laugh and shrugged, playing it off. “Life, right?”

Initially, he eyed her suspiciously, but he slowly smiled, dropping his elbows to the table. “So tell me your plans for tonight.”

Imogene straightened in her seat, preparing her lie. “My boyfriend is coming over. We’re going to order in and binge watch a new series. Kind of boring.”

Was it? With the right boyfriend, and Jekyll popped up in her mind, it sounded amazing. Though she couldn’t imagine him nestled on a couch, under a blanket, settling in for a five hour television show.

“Fuck!” Logan snapped, staring down at his phone with his brows dipped in a severe scowl.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s almost six. I gotta get back to the house and check in.”

Thank you, Jesus!

“Oh, okay.” She forced a sympathetic tone while silently celebrating as if her favorite team had won the World Series. “Well, you have all the information. Please feel free to reach out to me by email if you’d like to sign up for something, and I can get that all squared away.”

Logan jerked his head. “I thought I got four meetings.”

Imogene sucked in a breath. Dammit!

“You do, but if you wanted to correspond through email, that’s completely fine too.”

He shook his head. “No, I want to see you again.”