Page 75 of Sort of Seeing Someone

Oof. I did say that, didn’t I?

My face instantly flushes as I drop eye contact down to the small remaining schmear of lingonberry on my plate.

“It’s okay, Moonie. In fact, while we’re exchanging pleasantries, you should know that I think you’re a very attractive American woman.”

A very attractive American woman.

It’s been a while since a guy has complimented me. And even though this one sounds like the first sentence of a report-spam email persuading me to transfer money into an account overseas, it feels good. I smile.

“Hard to take me seriously?” he asks when I accidentally don’t say anything back.

“Even harder with the lingonberry stain on your shirt.”

Ollie drops his gaze to his white tee.

“Well, that’s embarrassing.”

Ollie peels his shirt off as he stands up from the breakfast table, bringing the rest of that arm tattoo into full frame. Rose petals and leaves on the bottom lead into the face of a directional compass. Suffice to say,embarrassinghas never looked so good.

“I’m going to toss this in the laundry. I’ll be right back.”

As Ollie steps out of frame, I reach into my bag and pull out my smudge spray. Something about seeing my crush shirtless in his apartment while I’m drunk on egg coffee and Swedish pancakes creates an immediate urge to inconspicuously spritz my palms once more under the table for good measure.

I also grab my phone for a quick time check. When I do, I see a text from Nora.

Liv’s pregnant.

I resist the urge to say back,I know.She’ll lose her ever-loving shit if she finds out that Liv confided in me first this time.

Are you thinking it’s from the spell?I ask.

It’s ABSOLUTELY from the spell,she fires back.

I send her the emoji of the face with the zipped lips and she gives it a thumbs-up.

Oh, and one more thing…

I can see Nora is still typing when Ollie returns to the dining area.

“Sorry, it’s my other sister. They’re very needy today,” I explain, showing him the phone in my hand.

“Oh yeah? What’s she want?”

Just then, her text finally populates my screen and I summarize it for Ollie.

“Well, apparently, for me to take her boys trick-or-treating tomorrow. She and her husband got a last-minute reservation at Tre Dita at The St. Regis and want to ‘make a kid-free moment of it’.”

“That’s right. It’s Halloween tomorrow. The American thing.”

“Gimme a sec. I just need to text her back that it’s a hard-no.”

“Why not?”

“Because. She and Esteban can forgo eating at a fancy restaurant just this one time. It’s like parental fine print. If you have kids, you take them trick-or-treating on Halloween—plain and simple.”

“Wait,” he says, putting his hand over my phone, preventing me from typing anymore. “What ifwetake them?”

“You want to go trick-or-treating with two kids who are best known for peeing all over the toilet seat?”

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