Page 11 of The Boyfriend Material Novellas

“Only six hundred? That’s less than last weekend, then.” Amy’s a junior editor at a publishing house and is working hard to move up the ladder.

“Look at you—always seeing the bright side.”

“Also, if you have so many pages to edit, why are you hanging out with me on a Friday night?”

“Because Peyton and Lola are busy,” she says matter-of-factly.

I huff indignantly and raise my game piece as if I’m going to bonk her with it. “And I love you too. Thanks for letting me know you’d rather be with your besties than me.”

“Just kidding. You were my third choice,” she says. “After my dog. But he had a hot date with a lady dog down the hall. I swear, he’s such a dog-whore.”

I roll my eyes. “At least I’m not your fourth choice after washing your socks.”

“I laundered them last night. And I have the entire day tomorrow and Sunday to discover the next great novel. So that means I get to hang out with you in between socks and the slush pile.”

“I feel so wanted. So loved.”

“And what are you up to after we save the world?”

I have to rein in a secret smile when I say, “Just seeing Vaughn tomorrow night. We’re planning a holiday party.”

Amy arches a brow, all the way over the top of her red glasses. “Josh’s business partner?”

“Yes.” I keep my voice as even as I can, doing my best to strip out any shred of excitement or anticipation.

“On a Saturday night?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with a Saturday night?”

She purses her lips then shrugs ever so innocently. “Gee. I don’t know. Except it’s a date night.”

“We’re simply checking out locations.”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

“It’s not a date,” I insist. She has it all wrong. She’s just Amy being Amy—crafting a story when there’s nothing there. “We’re scoping out venues for a party. That is all. We arranged it as a work thing.”

She wiggles her fingers. “Give me your phone.”

I scoff. “So you can text him and ask if he thinks it’s a date when I told you it’s not?”

“Who? Me? Never.”

“I know you, Amy. You’re a little stinker.”

She lifts her chin defiantly. “At least I didn’t open my presents before Christmas.”

I drop my jaw. “You knew about that?”

She stares me down pointedly. “We all did.”

I square my shoulders and draw another card in the game. “I just like to be prepared.”

“In that case, you should find out if he thinks it’s a date.”

I stare sharply at my sister. “I’mnotasking him if he thinks it’s a date when I know it’s not a date. I know it, and he knows it, and you should know it too.”

“You know Josh would never care that you were into his business partner,” Amy adds, like she’s laying a trail of breadcrumbs, yummy ones that lead to Vaughn.

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