Page 57 of Guys Can't Write Romance
“Yes, books! Actual books that need actual work because there’s an actual deadline.”
As Daisy gathered her things, Ava caught her arm. “Just be careful, okay? Don’t let this contest distract you from what’s important.”
“Like spreadsheets and colored pill containers?” Chloe said.
Daisy gave Ava a reassuring smile. “Relax, Ava. Everything’s fine. Chloe is just being... Chloe.”
Daisy headed off. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ava turned to Chloe. “You’re encouraging this, aren’t you?”
“You better believe it, girl.” Chloe raised her glass. “Team Chad all the way.”
“I suppose that makes me Team Ethan.”
“Hey. You want to be on the side of the human screensaver, be my guest. But when was the last time you heard her laugh out loud? Or smile, like she really meant it?”
Ava didn’t answer, her silence more telling than any protest could have been. She took a deliberate sip of her wine, her expression thoughtful.
“Exactly.” Chloe finished her drink. “Well, I just saw it Saturday at the sports bar. Now, want to bet on how long it takes them to figure out they’re writing their own romance novel?”
“I assure you, they’re not.”
“My money’s on it happening by chapter three.”
After escaping the wine bar crossfire between Chloe and Ava, Daisy was surprised to feel her shoulders relax as she approached Chad’s apartment. A light mist was rolling in off the ocean, carrying with it the distant sound of waves and someone playing an acoustic guitar on the boardwalk. Who knew that watching sports and laughing until beer came out your nose could become a point of ethical debate? But that was Ava for you, treating fun like it was a gateway drug to chaos.
When Chad opened the door, the familiar scent of pizza and sea air greeted her. “No Mary Poppins bag today?” he asked, noting the distinct absence of her usual arsenal of color-coded supplies.
“Nope.” Daisy dropped her simple notebook on the coffee table, purposefully not straightening the stack of magazines it landed on. “I’m going rogue.”
Chad took a quick look around the room, as if expecting to spot a hidden camera. “Am I being punked?”
“Shut up,” she said, her lips curling in a grin. “I can be spontaneous.”
“Says the girl who alphabetized my spice rack last week.”
“You had paprika filed under ‘red stuff,’ Chad. That’s basically a crime against culinary organization.”
“I knew what it was!”
“You were using it as potpourri.”
“It made the living room smell festive.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her smile. “You’re hopeless.”
“And yet, you’re still here.” He headed for the kitchen. “Beer?”
“Definitely,” she said, plopping down on the couch with total exhaustion from mediating Chloe and Ava.
“Rough day at the office?”
“Rough day at happy hour.”
“Let me guess. Chloe was involved.”
Daisy chuckled. “The ‘rough’ part gave it away, didn’t it.”
Chad laughed. “She does make things interesting.”
