Page 17 of Ready or Knot

“Before we start down any more conversation, can I have your number so I can text you?” Logan asks as Jude is about to say something. Faedra smiles, just a bit, and my chest warms. She nods and rattles off a number, Logan putting it in his phone and then sending off a group text that includes Jude and me. We quickly respond with our names so she can tell which number is each of ours. She taps on her phone for a few more minutes before setting it face down next to her.

“So…” she says, letting her voice trail off. “I’m not all that great with this kind of thing.”

Logan gives a half smile, running his hand through his short hair. “That’s alright. Neither is Jude,” he says, chuckling, pointing at Jude. Jude grunts and rolls his eyes but doesn’t discredit Logan. Faedra smiles. “How did your finals go?”

She shrugs. “They went alright. I haven’t gotten my scores yet, but I did get the official notice saying I’ve passed well enough to graduate, and that’s most important right now.” She perches her chin on her open palm. “Would you be interested in coming to that?”

“Absolutely,” I answer for all of us without hesitation. “Send us the information, and we’ll make sure we’re there.”

She grabs her phone and taps a few times before setting it down again. My phone vibrates a moment later, and I take the opportunity to set a reminder to discuss the trip with Amanda on Monday. Two weeks is more than enough time for her to adjust whatever needs to change in my schedule.

“So you all live in Denver,” she says after another stilted pause. Jude blows out a breath and nods. She looks at Logan. “I understand better what you said about not being overly homesick. Everything I’ve seen of there looks gorgeous.”

“I love it,” Logan says. “There’s so many good hiking and camping options within an hour or two, and the backpacking choices are phenomenal as well. Anything outdoorsy, really. We try to get out every weekend, especially in the summer since Jude doesn’t have the same amount of workload as he does during the rest of the school year.”

Her head tilts a bit, eyes skating down Jude.

“I know,” he mutters, gruff. “It’s not what most people expect me to enjoy. But being out in nature with people I like is significantly better than being surrounded by people I don’t know.”

“Which is why my date to sporting events is always Carter,” Logan jokes, sighing dramatically. “Not that he really cares, but he’s good at amusing me.”

“I haven’t camped since I was a kid,” Faedra admits. “But Vi and I have been to a few hockey games since living in L.A. I’ve always enjoyed them.”

Logan grins, and I chuckle a bit.

“Maybe we can go camping this summer,” I offer. “Nothing too intense, just something far enough away to feel removed from everything.”

Faedra gives a soft agreement, and I tap my fingers on the desk. She looks over at me, eyebrows furrowed a bit.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, growing quiet. A low growl comes from Jude, and Logan raises an eyebrow, looking him over, the surprise evident in his dropped shoulders.

I shake my head, giving her a half smile. “Just trying to decide the best way to ask you about moving out here. Do you share a place with Violet?”

“We’re both R.A.s, so we share a dorm suite. Move out is the same weekend as graduation.”

Jude nods. “We’ll help get everything sorted while we’re out there, then. I can have a moving truck scheduled for the day after commencement, and then you can fly out when you’re ready later that week.”

She smiles, her countenance lighting up, and I can’t help but lean towards her, even knowing that a screen and a thousand miles separate us.

“That sounds perfect.” She pauses, and her cheeks darken with an intense blush, maroon against her pale complexion. “I’m excited to see you all again.”

Even Jude grins at that.

Seven

LOGAN

About the same time my eyes start blurring from staring at the two different spreadsheets the accountant sent me earlier in the week, my phone rings. I groan, rubbing my eyes as I dig it out of the drawers behind my desk, not bothering to look at the name as I swipe to answer the call.

“Bennett,” I say, setting the phone in front of me and looking at the spreadsheets again.

“Logan?” Faedra’s warm voice fills the office, and I curse, grabbing my phone.

Faedra’s sitting on the ground with her computer on her lap, her phone propped somewhere to give a view of her and a gray sofa that she leans against. Her hair is pulled back, and she’s wearing the necklace she wore at the gala, the opal nestled in the hollow of her throat.

Hell, I never thought I’d be jealous of a piece of jewelry, but here we are.

She smiles as I say hello and lean my phone against the computer monitor.

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