Page 7 of I Can't Help It

And I’m an expert at playing it safe.

THIS IS A HORRIBLE IDEA

Luke

I doubt Wy would want me to “keep an eye” on Ava if he knew what happens when I look at her.

Spoiler alert: I turn into a human volcano.

Every part of my body becomes flooded with a red-hot, burning sensation whenever I look at Ava. And those dark mauve, wide-leg pants she’s wearing? They’re not helping. They’ve got these sneaky little slits on the sides, and even though I only catch a glimpse or two of her ankles and lower calves, the darn pants have a chokehold on me.

Ava looks good in everything.

Yep, and that deserves recognition. So, I make a note of it.

Meanwhile, she’s oblivious to my almost Edward Cullen-level staring (no, I haven’t watched the movies or read the books, but I’ve seen enough memes to know the guy was more creeper than anything). It’s a good thing she doesn’t notice because I’m—OH CRAP. She’s looking at me. She caught me watching her.

Don’t panic, Luke. Just play it cool.

She arches a curious eyebrow at me, and I scramble to focus my attention on something else. ANYTHING else.

Wow! Look at that carpet! It’s nice. And gray. And clean.

Good stuff.

“Hey, Luke?”

My head shoots up at the sound of Colton’s voice. “Yes, sir?”

Addressing Colton as “sir” might seem odd since he’s only like, eleven years older than me…but I can’t exactly call him “bro.”

He pushes his glasses up and nods toward his office. “Can we chat for a quick sec?”

Suddenly, I feel like I’m back in high school and getting called to the principal’s office.

Oh wait, that wasn’t my personal experience, it was Wyatt’s.

I pop my black notebook into the top drawer of my desk before standing up. “Yeah, of course.”

Did he see me ogling Ava? Is he going to lecture me about being unprofessional?

Dang it, I need to be more careful. I’m still so new here, and it’d be easy as heck to replace me.

I can’t let that happen. Mom would never let me hear the end of it, especially since she’s still upset that I chose corporate event planning instead of becoming a veterinarian like Dad, so I could take over at the animal clinic and he’d be able to retire early.

I almost went that route—just to keep the peace—but then Dad and I had a long talk about it. The conversation ended with him telling me: “You need to go after what you want, life’s too short not to. Besides, I’m not ready for retirement anyway.”

But we both agreed that when the time comes, I’ll make sure he has the best retirement party out of all his friends and colleagues.

“Luke? You okay?”

Right. I followed Colton to his office.

“Sorry. Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good,” he says, sitting behind his desk. “So, I know you’re going to the lodge soon, and I came up with something that I think will benefit you.”

Oh, so this convo isn’t about Ava. What a relief…

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