Page 38 of Misfortune and Mr. Right

“My severe macaw. He’s a bit of a chatterbox in the daytime. I hope he doesn’t bother you too much. He’s quiet overnight, once I put him to bed.”

“He’s fine,” I say. “I’ll get some bags.”

I duck into my apartment, and Megan follows me.

I whisper-scold her. “Fish, Megan? Really? How much did that cost you?”

“They were expired,” she whispers back. “I asked the monger what they do with expired fish. When he told me they just toss them, I asked for all the expired fish to be delivered for me. I got them at a steal.” She shrugs. “You’ve got to admit, this would have been an amazing prank if those stinkers had gone to the right apartment. How hard can it be to find 2B?”

“I can’t believe you did this!” I whisper. I grab two grocery bags and hand one to her. “Let’s go clean up the mess.”

Megan takes the bag and whispers, “It would have been awesome, right?”

I step into the hallway and stoop down to load the fish into the grocery bags. They smell. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely giving a sea-voyage vibe.

Megan joins me, and between the two of us, we’ve got the packages bagged in no time.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Frank says.

“Oh, yes, we did,” I say without thinking. “I mean, we’re glad to. That’s what neighbors are for.”

“Olivia’s very neighborly,” Logan chimes in. “She’s also full of surprises. Maybe one day you’ll get a cookie on your doorstep instead of fish.”

I shoot Logan a look that would fry him on the spot if only I could turn my eyes into lasers.

“Olivia didn’t put these here,” Megan defends. “We were eating take out when the parrot started squawking about fish.”

She’s the picture of innocence. It’s a bit scary how convincing Megan can be.

“I wasn’t saying …” Logan doesn’t finish his sentence. He does look me dead in the eyes. He holds my gaze, and I stare back at him without flinching.

His look says,I don’t know how you did this, but I know you meant for me to walk out into a pile of fish.

The image of Logan, ankles deep in cod and flounder, brings a smile to my face.

I’ve got to hand it to Megan. When it comes to best friends, she’s the best of the best. Not everyone would go to the lengths she does to defend my honor. The fish may have missed their intended target, but I still feel vindicated. At least for tonight.

The next morning, as I leave for work, I find a paper coffee cup sitting just to the left of my doorway. The logo on the sleeve says Serendipi-Tea. I inhale a whiff of the drink.No way. It’s a wildflower coffee lemonade.

I take a sip and hum as the warm, soothing drink passes over my lips.

I look across the lounge in the direction of apartment 2B.

I don’t know what his angle is, but Logan Alexander is definitely up to something.

Chapter Eleven

Olivia

Praise from an enemy

is the most pleasing of all commendations.

~ Richard Steele

I’m pouringmyself a much-needed cup of coffee—from my own pot. I love the specialty brew at Serendipi-Tea, but I can’t make it a daily habit. Besides, I saw Logan there two other times this week. I need a little distance from him. Or a lot.

What is that?

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