Page 104 of Mine to Love

A pity friendship. Bastard.

Calling her up on the Bluetooth, I lay into her the second she picks up. “Did your brother tell you to meet with me?”

“Um... Hi, Reese. It’s nice to talk to you too.”

“Did you have lunch with me because Logan told you to?”

“What? You asked me to lunch. I thought it was for my birthday. You ordered me cake and everything.”

“Did you tell him where I work?”

“I haven’t talked to Logan in over a week. What’s going on?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry. I’m... I overreacted.”

“What are you overreacting about?”

The last person I want to get in the middle of Logan’s and my mess is his sister, or any of his family members.

“Nothing. Sorry.”

“It’s not nothing or you wouldn’t have ripped my head off. What did my dickhead brother do now?”

Now? Does that mean she’s siding with me? Knowing Logan, he didn’t say much of anything to anyone, except maybe his brothers. Definitely not Cami.

“I’m sorry, Cami. I... I haven’t talked to your brother in a long time and somehow, he learned where I worked. I thought maybe you told him.”

“I didn’t, but trust me, Logan would’ve known the second you got your new job.”

“That doesn’t sound stalkerish.” My attempt at humor falls flat.

“He loves you.”

“What?” I slam on the brakes a little too hard at the stop sign. “I don’t think so. You’re a romantic at heart and are looking a little too far into our relationship. Or what was our...our friendship.”

“Please, Reese. I’ve known him my entire life. I can tell.”

“You only saw us together one time as a...sort of couple.”

“You can deny it all you want.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway. We broke up. We’ve been apart almost as long as we were together.”

“Mmhm. You keep telling yourself that.”

“Okay. I’m officially giving you the same friend contract as Emerson. You bring up Logan and we don’t hang out anymore.”

“I don’t mean to sound bitchy, but you’re the one who brought him up.”

“I’ll let you off the hook this time.” I pull into my driveway. “No more Logan, okay?”

“Who?”

I smile and disconnect. I reach for my purse on the passenger seat and see the rose and the card. As tempting as it is to leave them in the car, I’ll just have to face them in the morning.

I bring them inside and hold the rose over the trash. It’s a pretty rose, and it isn’t like he actually grew it or anything. He bought it from a store and tossed it on my car. It doesn’t mean anything to him, and it would be a shame to throw it away.

Taking down a tall glass, I fill it with water and put the rose in it. The card, I can toss. Or maybe I’ll keep it. My head says burn it and my heart says hold it close.

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