Page 26 of Cop Blocked

I can hear the sound of footsteps heading our way. The moment the door opens, my breath hitches.

“Logan?”

“Rachel?” It’s clear he is shocked to see me standing here.

“Move asshole,” Dylan’s voice booms, and the door opens wider. He looks down at Piper then grimaces. “Sorry about that, Piper. Bad word.”

“I’m here to see Gabby! It’s her birthday!” Piper squeals and pushes past the two men standing in the doorway.

“Come on in, Rachel.” Dylan shoves Logan out of the way and makes room for me to squeeze inside.

“You made it!” Zoey rushes toward me and wraps me in a hug with baby Chelsea snuggled on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you made it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” On instinct, Chelsea reaches for me, and I smile. “And how is my little princess today?” I tickle her stomach and listen to her giggle.

Dylan is still brooding in the entryway as Zoey turns and introduces me to Logan, knowing damn well we already know each other.

“Ah, we’ve already met.” Logan squeezes the back of his neck.

Dylan grumbles under his breath. “You two, know each other?”

“We do. It’s a funny story actually, one we can talk about some other time.” Logan quickly goes on the defense.

Zoey grabs Dylan’s arm and tugs.“Right. Yes. For now, I need to get food on the table, and you, Mister, can help.”

Alone with Logan, I offer an apologetic smile. “You asked if I had plans, I didn’t realize we had the same plans.”

He huffs. “I had no idea you knew them too. And, Piper, she’s…” his voice trails off.

“She’s my daughter. She goes to the same preschool as Gabby, and I was this little doll’s NICU nurse.” I poke Chelsea’s belly again just to hear her laughter.

“Small world.”

“It is.” Chelsea wiggles in my arms, so I set her down to crawl and play, as we follow slowly behind her. “Logan, listen, we should probably talk.”

“I guess this might explain why you’ve been putting space between us when everything seemed to be going right.”

Before I can say anything back to him, he walks away, and I’m swept into the kitchen by Kelsey.

“You look like you need this.” Kelsey hands me a margarita, and I take a sip.

“Holy shit. Zoey had to have made the drinks.” I wince, swallowing nearly nothing but alcohol.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last two years or so, it’s that Zoey likes her drinks strong. I can’t count how many times Piper and I have crashed here when a playdate turned into a drink or two with friends, and I knew there was no way I could drive home.”

“I’m hoping the tequila will loosen you up. And maybe give you some courage to talk to the brooding asshole that’s eyeing you from the other room.” Zoey squeals and claps her hands together. “You should totally hit that. Seriously. He would be so perfect for you.”

“No. No, you shouldn’t,” Dylan chimes in as Zoey hands him another tray of food from the refrigerator.

“No one asked you. Go put those burgers and hot dogs on the grill and let us ladies talk.” She gives him a quick kiss and a shove out of the way.

“I was really hoping that he’d show up today,” Zoey smirks.

I stare into the half-empty margarita glass and sigh. “Why is everyone always trying to set me up? Even Nana seems hell-bent on Logan and me getting together.”

Kelsey gasps. “Nana knows about you two?”

“No. Nana doesn’t. Nevermind the fact that you know about us.” I eye Zoey, who shrugs innocently.

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