Page 70 of The Opposite of Romance
Relief floods her face. “Yes, please. It looks great, but I don’t think I’m built right for it.”
I’m not even sure they had the human body in mind while making it, but that’s beside the point. I point her to another extra chair I have in my office, the one Sandy typically sits in, patting myself on the back for this spurt of maturity.
“This is much better, thanks.” She smiles. “Let’s get to work. I don’t want to overtake your writing time.”
“That’s ok.” I chuckle. “I’m actually slightly ahead of schedule.”
Her eyes widen in shock. “Ahead? That’s amazing.”
After having mind blowing sex with Logan, writing has been a walk in the park, just like it was in the beginning of my career. I had to set alarms for me to eat, or I’d write right until I had to leave to pick the kids up. “Oh, you know. The muses have blessed me with their benevolence.”
“Well, I hope they continue doing that.”
We go through our to-do lists, checking things off and putting new things on it. It’s actually … nice. And it’s much easier to brainstorm in person than over the phone. I don’t know why I’ve avoided this for so long. Abby’s no Sandy, but she’s capable and competent. I was the difficult one in this relationship.
“Now that we have all that settled, how about we do the shoot?”
I nod my approval, and she unpacks her makeup bag. She works hard, and she cares. I’m a bitch for being mean to her.
She applies a natural-looking makeup look on my face using more products than I know how to name.
“So, what’s the deal with Logan? Is he single?” she asks while applying nude lip gloss on my lips and my audible gulp makes her smear my face with the gloss.
“Sorry,” I mumble, and she cleans it up with a Q-Tip. “I think he is single, yes. But I know little about his private life.” And it’s the truth. Even though I have an intimate knowledge of how his bare cock feels inside of me, I know pretty much nothing about his actual life. “You like him?”
“I mean, have you looked at him?”
“Huh-huh.” My laughter is strained and awkward. Boy, have I looked at him.
Luckily, we start the photoshoot, which means talking time is done. She makes me pose in my gorgeous new office, holdingmy books. I don’t know what it is about her generation, but they know how to take a damn good picture.
“These will be great,” she says, scrolling through them. “I will edit them and send you my favorites. You can pick the ones you like most.”
“Sounds great.”
“Do you mind if I…?” She points to the backyard, and I shrug.
Before I know what’s going on, she’s already out talking to Logan. I can’t hear what they’re talking about, but by the way she hands him a small card, I’m pretty sure she gave him her number. He greets her with a smile.
“We should do this more often,” she whispers, taking her stuff, and I walk her out.
Walking back, I notice him slipping the card into a trash bag. I take a deep breath, and step outside. “Why did you do that?”
“What?”
“Throw away her number.” I cross my arms in front of my chest. The feelings building inside of me are ridiculous. I’m mad at him for throwing the number. I’m mad at her for giving him the number. And I’m mad at myself for what I’m about to do.
“I don’t plan on contacting her.” He shrugs.
“Why not? She’s young. She’s beautiful. She’s appropriate.”
“I have my sights set on someone else.”
“Please,” I scoff. “We’re hardly exclusive.”
“Do youwantme to call her, Sadie?” His forearm flexes around the drill he’s holding. “Do you want me to take that young, beautiful, appropriate girl on a date? Would that make you feel better?”
His words burn me like poison. “I don’t think so.”
