Page 137 of Forgiving Fate

“Eww! Put some clothes on Landon.”

Landon turns the phone to face Grayson, who’s dipping his tattoo machine into black ink.

“Hey Pretty Girl.”

“Hi Bear!”

Landon turns the phone back to him, and I stare into his deep blues.

“So, are you going to tell me what you are getting? Or is this going to be some twisted guessing game?”

He moves his phone down, but at the last second, flips it back up to his face with a devious smirk on his face.

“Asshole,” I say, trying to hide the smirk on my face but failing.

Proving that he is a pain in the ass but also my missing link that I refuse to live without, he winks and says, “See you later, Bluebird. Have fun. Text me when you are on your way back.”

“I’ll think about it.”

His eyes narrow at me and I blow a kiss at the phone. “Bye. Don’t be too mean to him, Grayson. I don’t want to be kissing his boo-boos all night.”

Grayson laughs in the background and Landon stares straight into my soul with a sexy as hell grin on his face. “Oh, you will be kissing something tonight, but not my chest.”

My mouth drops open. Holy crap. He just said that in front of his brother and my best friend. I should feel embarrassed, but I don’t. I’m just shocked. That man has a dirty as sin mouth behind closed doors, but never in a public setting.

“God dammit Landon. Keep that shit to yourself. Noah is bad enough. I don’t need to hear it from you too,” Grayson says, causing all of us to burst out laughing.

“We really need to work on those pickup lines, babe.” I try to break the heated tension between us, but Landon knows he did something to me by the simple raise of his eyebrows.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart. We will see who loses that battle later. Now go.”

We say our final goodbyes and I slump back into the seat, only to be distracted by Logan’s heated stare.

Turning to her, “May I help you?”

Logan shakes her head and pulls her crossbody purse over her body, “Oh nothing, just loving the fact that I am not the only one who’s been sucked into the intoxicating vortex that is the Hayes men.”

“Happy to be here.” We get out of the car and head into the coffee shop, big smiles on both of our faces.

“My girls!!!” Harrison exclaims as soon as we step onto the second floor of the cafe that doubles as a bookstore.

He jumps up from his seat, pulls us both into a group hug and I am shocked at the sight of him.

Harrison looks completely different from the last time I saw him. His entire body looks like he could be an Olympic swimmer doubling as a night shift ER nurse. Gone is the smaller man that only worked day shift and drank Martinis on the beach and here stands a man that could knock you out in one punch, but also still only sleeps two days a week judging by the dark circles under his eyes.

“I am so excited to see both of you! Tell me your coffee orders and take a seat! Today is on me and don’t even try to argue because I will win!”

Logan and I glance at each other for a moment before telling the still very hyperactive Harrison our orders as we take our seats in the chairs surrounding a small table that looks out at Washington Lake.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Logan says, adjusting her Sleep Token tee beneath her black cardigan.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have recognized him if it wasn’t for the same surfer boy haircut and puppy dog energy.”

Chuckling, she nods her head in agreement. “Yeah, that’s for sure, but I’m happy to see him. I’ve really missed all three of us hanging out. It was one of the few things that kept me going in nursing school.”

“Me too. It was never the same after you moved away, but it was still a blast when he would meet Mom, Dad, and I at the beach house.”

Logan’s face drops at the mention of my parents and I immediately know what she’s feeling, because I feel it, too.

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