Page 4 of The Guy Who Fake Dated Me

Logan:Pathetic.

Three dots appeared, indicating she was typing. I waited for her rebuttal as I sipped my soda. I still had the dinner rush to get through, so no alcohol for me.

Victoria:Today I assisted one of the crowned princesses of the far away land of Texas with her quest in finding a prince.

Logan:Alas, poor Brooke.

Victoria:She suffers.

Logan:What are you toiling with now?

Victoria:A curious creature with varying moods and indecipherable motives.

I glared at my phone.

Victoria:In other words, an Alaskan.

Logan:Your words wound me.

Victoria:Is the creature more afraid of my words or a bite from a bear?

Heat tried to come up my neck, but I took a breath and held it back. I was, in fact, more terrified of Victoria than a bear. She made me feel things that love songs and romance movies talked about. Things I’d sworn off years before. She, however, would never know that.

Logan:You.

I’d spent years?and many, many bad dating experiences?assembling my list of requirements for a wife. Victoria Cooper checked off a lot of those boxes, but not all.

Not yet anyway.

I forced myself to push the wife word aside and focus on flirting. It’s what we did best.

Victoria:That wasn’t very dramatic.

Logan:It loses its umph in text form.

Victoria:You are such a dork.

“What are you laughing at?” Shane asked as he approached the bar.

I jumped at Shane’s words, not even realizing I’d been chuckling out loud.

Curse this woman, she was going to be the end of me. I typed a short message.

Logan:Shh…Shane’s here. More later.

I quickly swiped our text thread aside, slid my phone into my pocket, and shrugged at Shane. “Just a stupid meme.”

Shane wore his typical jeans, button-down shirt, and brown leather jacket.

The other patrons barely gave us a second glance. Shane and I had taken to meeting here a couple of times a week for a late lunch after school got out. I’d never pictured him teaching science to teenagers, but it suited him.

Shane studied me as he slid onto the stool next to mine. “You only get that look in your eye when you’re in love or you find something new to put on the walls in here.” Shane waved his hand indicating the eclectic antique decorations that covered the inside of the Crazy Moose Garage diner and bar combo.

“Maybe that’s exactly what I was looking at.”

My best friend leaned his forearms on the bar and gave me a piercing stare with his annoyingly blue eyes. “How’s Victoria?”

I gritted my teeth but kept my expression serene. “How would I know?”

---