Yes and no.
I can do dinner at six, where we meeting? Tashia’s message appeared on the screen.
Me, too! Jackson’s? Katie’s appeared underneath.
No, not Jackson’s. I need to talk somewhere quiet. How about Giovani’s?
All the girls agreed, and a few minutes later a text came through from Lori. I’ll be there. Fingers crossed it is my turn to set you up!
Despite the appointment with her new client going really well, and the distraction of a lengthy team meeting, Harriet couldn’t keep her mind on the job, and the day seemed to drag by. She’d checked her messages so many times, that she’d had to recharge her phone, but by the time she left work, there was still nothing from L.J.
She enlarged the one photo he had on Tinder and sighed. If she could only make out his features clearer. Hmm, the more she looked at him, the more she felt like she knew this man. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks! Logan! Oh, my God, it couldn’t be, could it?
She scrutinized the photo again. The profile of L.J. was very similar to Logan’s and if he cut his hair, shaved off that beard…
Harriet sat back, stunned. Had she really been talking to Logan all this time? She searched through the messages they had exchanged, and one by one, all the pieces fell into place. It was him.
Instead of feeling angry, her belly and her heart simultaneously got the jitters. Excitement and nerves flooded her system. Logan was cute—actually, he was damn hot, and their friendship over the last eight years meant she already admired and loved the guy. But could that transfer to something more romantic?
Good Lord, what should she do now? She really hadn’t expected this. No wonder L.J. hadn’t replied to her messages. Logan was probably wondering how he was going to explain himself to her. She giggled. Maybe she should have some fun with him, too.
When the clock read five, Harriet was out of the office in a flash and heading back to the subway. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Logan, or whether she should tell her friends about her theory that he was masquerading as L.J. The only thing she did know was that it had filled her with excitement, and she most definitely wanted to find a way to kiss Logan again.
“Okay, so the date with Wesley was perfect, but you aren’t going to see him again! Why not?” RoryLynn looked exasperated with Harriet.
“I just don’t think it will work out between us.”
“Harriet! You have to give it a chance. You can’t just go on one date. You said yourself, he was a gentleman, that you had loads in common, and you kissed him. Honestly, I think I should win the purse. Wesley was obviously way better than that guy Tashia set you up with, and that loser from Tinder.”
“Wait, why do you win?” Lori interrupted.
“Because she just said Wesley was perfect!” RoryLynn said, emphatically.
“But she said she isn’t seeing him again. You’re out, RoryLynn, it is my turn to find Harriet a man.”
Harriet shook her head. “Actually, I think Katie might win the purse.”
“What? Tinder was a complete disaster!” Tashia laughed and almost choked on her rigatoni.
Harriet bit her lip. “Yes, Reece was, but, I’ve been talking to someone else on Tinder, and I want to meet him. I have a really good feeling about this guy.”
“Yes!” Katie jumped up and began a victory dance, but RoryLynn pulled her back down.
“Hang on, she can’t win if you haven’t dated him yet. Talking doesn’t count. Whereas Wesley kissed…”
The others groaned at RoryLynn.
“Give it up, already. Harriet isn’t interested.” Katie was having none of it.
Harriet pushed her bowl of pasta aside. RoryLynn would not let this go unless she told them the real reason why she couldn’t see Wesley again. “Okay, I need you all to promise this goes no further than this table.”
The women all nodded back to her.
Harriet took a deep breath. “I can’t see Wesley again, because… Logan kissed me two minutes after I said goodbye to Wesley.”
Not only did the table go quiet, but Harriet could have sworn the whole restaurant did, too.
“Our Logan? The guy that owns Jackson’s?” Tashia finally said.
“The guy you are currently living with?” RoryLynn’s eyes widened.
“How many Logans do we know? Yes, that Logan.”
“What did you do?” Tashia whispered across the table, and everyone fell silent, waiting for Harriet to answer.
Harriet wrinkled up her nose. “I kissed him back.”
Four jaws fell open, and for once, her girlfriends were speechless.
“He was pretty drunk and was acting a bit weird. I got the impression he’d seen me kissing Wesley, and then…” She looked around at her friends’ expectant faces. Most of the girls had known Logan almost as long as she had. “…Logan said some stuff about how he shouldn’t have waited, and then he kissed me. But after he stopped, he just walked away. This morning, when he came into the kitchen, he didn’t mention it.”
“Seriously?” Lori frowned at her. “Did you call him out on it?”
Harriet shook her head. “I didn’t know what to do. He was drunk, and I… well, I had no excuse. It’s probably best to forget it. But that’s why I can’t date Wesley. I mean how can I when two minutes after we kissed, I kissed someone else?”
“Hmm. Technically, Logan kissed you, but I see where you are coming from. Wesley is definitely out. Zip it, RoryLynn, it wouldn’t be fair to the guy.” Tashia held her hand up to silence her friend.
“But that doesn’t rule out the guy on Tinder. You should definitely meet him.” Katie shouted over the others as they began to argue again. “So, who is he? How long have you been talking to him?”
“His name is L.J. You remember, I showed you a picture of him?”
They all nodded.
“Um, bear with me. This is
