Page 65 of Exes and O's

I try my best to keep a straight face while denying his natural charm. “You’re certainly not a wholesome type of charming.” I let my gaze flit over the intricate Celtic knot tattoo adorning his right arm.

Trevor mutters something unintelligible under his breath and starts slicing into the cardboard with his X-Acto knife as the soothing, instrumental melody from the lantern scene inTangledfills the room.

Suddenly, I’m hit with a momentary stroke of genius. “You’re going to be Flynn Rider.”

“I don’t even know who that is. Why do I have to be some off-brand prince?”

Before I can explain that Flynn Rider is anything butoff-brandand happens to be Angie’s favorite, Crystal bursts through the door with a hefty load of plastic bags on each arm.

“What took you so long?” I demand, popping up to inspect the bags.

“The roads are bad. I had to drive slow,” Crystal explains, kicking off her slushy leather booties in the entryway. She sets the bags on the floor and shuffles over to admire my Rapunzel tower, which will double as a photo shoot prop. “I was also busy with a little research.”

“What research?” I ask, smirking when Scott not-so-subtly checks out her backside.

“Found out where Daniel works,” she says nonchalantly, like it’s no big deal. Like he isn’t my very last hope.

I drop my Sharpie and lurch forward on my heels. “What? How did you find Daniel before me?” I ask, though it probably comes out more likeHOWDIDYOUFINDDANIELBEFOREME?I wait with bated breath as the rush of adrenaline plunges my body into all-out chaos.

For dramatic effect, Crystal waits a few seconds before revealing her findings. “He works at that big tech company downtown. Flopify. That one that took over the old Macy’s building.”

“How did you find him? I’ve looked everywhere.”

“I have my ways,” she says, her eyes glinting, keeping the mystery alive. “Just kidding. I found him on LinkedIn. It really wasn’t that hard. I texted you the link to his profile.”

“I’m forever indebted. Seriously, though. I would lick your gym shoes if you asked me to.” I throw my arms around my sister’s shoulders, only narrowly avoiding stepping on the hot-glue gun.

She inches away from my smothering hug. “Really not necessary.”

“Are you gonna DM him?” Trevor asks, not looking up from his latest attempt at a horse cutout.

I shudder at the thought. “Oh, no. I can’t reunite with him via DM. I only have a week and a half before the gala. It’s not enough time to reestablish our rapport. I need to run into him naturally.”

Trevor sighs. “You’re going to stake out the front of his workplace, aren’t you?”

“Correction:weare.”

chapter twenty

EVERY STATION ISrunning ads. Posturepedic mattresses. Car dealerships.

Trevor emits a tortured sigh as I fiddle with the radio dial, finally landing on an old Wilson Phillips song.

“I will turn this car around if you change the station one more time,” he warns, alarmed that I’m messing with his preset channels.

“Sheesh. You sound like my dad,” I say wryly. “It’s not my fault you don’t have Bluetooth. I’m just trying to enhance our experience. Now smile and wave to your fans,” I order, angling my phone to him.

When he sees it’s on Live video, he grumbles, promptly covering my phone with his free hand. “No. You’re distracting me while I’m driving.”

“Oh, come on. Give the people what they want. Just a quick hello,” I urge.

He rolls his eyes and gives a frosty hi before fixing his stare toward the slush-covered road. I take this as a sign to end the video.

Unsurprisingly, Trevor had to be bribed with Five Guys milkshakes to accompany me to Daniel’s workplace during a snowstorm. The windshield wipers are working overtime to clear the flurry of snow streaming off the SUV ahead. Trevor is aggrieved, muttering softly about the legalities of wiping the snow off one’s car. He’s driving turtle slow, simply to make the point.

He’s also taken to posing hypotheticals:

What if he works from home?

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