Page 79 of Plays Well With Others

She drains the rest of her cup when there’s a knock on the door. Her brow knits. “You get visitors at this hour?”

I groan. “Just Monroe. Want me to not answer it?” I ask. I hadn’t thought about what our friends would say if they found out we were messing around. “I can ignore him.”

“I don’t mind,” she says, mostly upbeat, but I can’t quite read the meaning behind her tone. Does it mean something that she doesn’t mind? Or does it mean nothing? Then she adds, with a wince. “Juliet and Elodie know. Is that okay? I told them you made me, um, see stars.”

Way to win over my dirty heart. “Next time it’ll be galaxies.”

“Think big, Carter. How about a parallel universe?”

I wink at her. “Done. And it’s more than okay that they know,” I say as Monroe raps again.

Rachel laughs. “He’s persistent.”

“And addicted to my brew,” I say as she heads over to open the door for him.

On the other side, Monroe’s fist is raised, and I swear he’s about to saywhat took you so long. But in a second he rearranges his expression, nods to Rachel, and says, “That tracks.”

She laughs and pats his shoulder. “Good to see you again too.”

Ah, I get it now. She doesn’t mind her friends or my friends knowing because…we’re just friends who are fucking. Because there’s nothing more to this. Because she’s probably not up in her head, thinking about how nice it is to have a cup of coffee with me in the morning.

As Monroe strides up to the counter, I give him a chin nod in greeting. “The usual?”

“Yes, please.”

As Rachel grabs the bouquet of wildflowers from the glass of water where she left them, Monroe parks himself on the stool and then turns to study Rachel. From the crease on his brow, something is ticking in that brain of his. “You two would make a really interesting case study for this new podcast I’m launching.”

Rachel arches a brow as she waits by the door. “You’re doing a podcast?”

Monroe has told me about it, but not many others. I wait for him to explain.

“It launches in a couple of weeks. ‘The Matchmakers and The Heartbreakers.’ It’s about every stage of relationships, from cradle to grave. This whole how-to-date thing you’re doing would be fascinating. Do you two want to come on and talk about it?”

She tilts her head, curious but clearly skeptical. “What exactly do you want us to discuss?”

Monroe’s mind is a locomotive, and his answer is instantaneous. “What you learned during your five dates. Everyone wants to hear about the rules of dating because they’re constantly changing. You’re exploring them in an almost scientific way.”

“So, we’re a science experiment?” she asks, but her smile says she’s clearly amused. It’s herfriendlysmile.

“Yes.”

She looks to me. “Do you want to, Carter?”

No reason not to help a friend. “I’m in.”

“Me too, then,” she says, but then she lifts a finger, staring sternly at Monroe. “But we’re not going to talk about yourthat trackscomment.”

He nods, resolute. “Fair enough.”

When she shifts her gaze to me, her expression softens. Does she even realize how she’s looking at me? What it’s doing to me? “Bye,” she says, quiet and personal.

There’s a moment when I almost think she’ll come over and give me a goodbye kiss to match her tone, her look.

But she doesn’t. Maybe because Monroe’s here. Or maybe because that’s beyond girlfriend lessons.

“See ya,” I say, in my most casual voice. The one that masks the thrumming in my heart.

“Bye, Rachel,” Monroe adds, his eyes drifting to the flowers.

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