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“Logan. And it’sfakedating. It’s a whole stupid thing.” I briefly explain and try not to scream when she and Mia exchange a look when I’m done. That look says something like,Suuuure it’s fake. Suuuuure, you’re not really interested in Logan.
Mia sips her wine. “We were trying to figure out why the guys aren’t giving Logan a hard time about it. Those guys treat her like royalty. I’m kind of disappointed no punches are being thrown.”
“Oooh, I want to see punches thrown!” Hazel says. “I need the distraction.”
Peeking over my shoulder, I see that Mia’s right—everything looks totally fine and normal over there, like nothing’s out of the ordinary.
And that’s enough to have me worried.
CHAPTER8
Logan
“Eyes up here, Barnes.”
Eli elbows me under the table. I elbow him right back, then glance away from Parker’s table. I thought after I came back to the table, they’d give me a hard time. Surprisingly, they didn’t. Other than now. But Eli’s comment is nothing.
I’m still trying to decide how I walked over there and said yes to a date I know is a bad idea waiting to happen. I glance over there again. The three women are laughing. I find myself fascinated by the way Parker’s hair moves when she laughs. Make this—a bad idea already happening.
I turn my attention to Eli. I need to stop thinking about Parker. “You’re one to talk,” I tell him. “I saw you got that woman’s number. Parker’s friend.”
“Her name is Hazel.” Eli grins and takes a sip of beer. “Too soon to text her?”
Alec snorts, then reaches out his hand and snaps his fingers. “Yes. Give me your phone.”
I reach out to stop Eli, and the protective reaction shocks me so much, my hands clench. It’s a small thing, trying to save Eli from doing something dumb. But I usually don’t connect like this with my teammates. I don’t get involved. I don’t play around. I don’t go out with them.
Alec grabs the phone and, muttering and shaking his head, starts tapping away. Yep. Definitely dumb.
“You trust him with that?” I ask Eli, taking a sip of my water. Most of the guys are nursing beers, but I don’t like drinking during the season.
Eli shrugs. “He’s the captain.”
Though he doesn’t look up from the phone, I see Alec’s lip’s quirk. “Thank you.”
“But letting him have free reign over your phone is not a requirement,” Felix says, then deftly plucks the phone from Alec’s hands and hands it back to Eli.
“Hey!” Alec says.
“What did you do?” Nathan asks. The big guy hasn’t said more than two sentences tonight—that being one of them.
“I deleted her number,” Alec says casually.
“What?” Eli scrolls through his contacts frantically, down, then back up.
“Actually,” Alec amends, “I kept it in there, but changed it to another woman’s name. Figured I’d toss that needle right into your very plentiful haystack.”
“That sounds way worse than what you mean,” Felix says.
“I don’t have that many women’s numbers in here,” Eli says, but he’s still scrolling. “I’ll just go get her number again …” Eli trails off when he glances over.
My gaze follows. Parker is gone. The others too. I’m disappointed. And instantly concerned. Did they walk to their cars together? Did they ride together or alone? Has the crime rate increased in Harvest Hollow? Does Parker know self-defense? Should I go out there?
I get to my feet. “I should call it a night too.”
The guys exchange glances, then Alec grabs my shoulder. “Come talk to me first,” he says. He starts toward the bathrooms.
I glance toward the door, which I really want to be walking through right now. “Fine.”
