Rae flings the door open, a massive smile on her face.
“Is it what I think it is?” she squeals in a whisper, pulling me into a hug.
She’s the only person who knows about Noah.
I trust her to keep a secret more than pretty much anyone, and she doesn’t try to sway me in one direction or the other when we talk about him.
“Yes, it is!” I reply, grinning. “Both things.”
“I would scream with happiness, but Autumn just fell asleep twenty minutes ago, and if I wake her up, Logan is definitely going to divorce me.”
I always thought babies needed a lot of rest for their development, but Autumn doesn’t seem to.
According to her doctor, she’s fine and developing normally, especially for a preemie, but Rae and Logan are hot, exhausted messes.
“What’s up, Court?” Logan asks.
“Rae started doing a happy dance when you texted us, but she wouldn’t tell me why.”
Rae lets out one of her adorable giggles. “I’m a vault,” she says and then pauses. “Is that the saying? I don’t know. I keep secrets. You know what I mean.”
I don’t think “I’m a vault” is a saying, but I appreciate the sentiment. “You’re the best,” I tell her. “Mind if I sit?”
“Shit, sorry,” Rae mumbles. “Of course. Yeah. I’m so sleep-deprived I’ve forgotten how to not be rude.”
“You’re perfect,” Logan and I reassure her at the same time, prompting another giggle.
I sink into their plush armchair while Logan and Rae snuggle up on the couch. I’ve got to hand it to them. They’re the cutest couple I’ve ever seen.
“So…,” I start. I’m entirely unsure how Logan is going to react, which is stressing the hell out of me.
Rae will be able to set him straight if he’s upset that I didn’t tell him or that I’m probably moving. But I don’t want to start my news-sharing expedition on a bad note.
“You know how I’ve always been interested in fashion design?”
Logan nods while Rae grins.
“Well, I’ve been making handbags in my free time, and one of the executives at Dragon Brands liked the designs. I’m meeting with him on Monday to talk about a contract.”
“Damn, Court. That’s incredible,” Logan exclaims quietly.
“Thank you. I can’t believe it!”
“I can,” Rae replies. “Your designs are amazing.”
“I love you,” I sigh.
“There’s more.”
Logan narrows his eyes. “What aren’t you guys telling me?”
“She’s about to,” Rae points out, stifling a giggle.
He shakes his head lovingly. “So much sass, Mrs. Quincy.”
If Noah and I ever become like this, I’ll ask my friend Zoe to take us out with a shotgun.
Speaking of Noah, time to rip off the Band-Aid. “I’ve kind of been talking to…um…the son of my contact at Dragon.”
“What do you mean, ‘talking to’?” Logan asks, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice.
“We sort of have a long-distance thing going on.”
“Wait. Where’s Dragon Brands based out of?” he asks, still sounding suspicious.
“Boston.”
“If you become a Patriots fan, I’m disowning you as an honorary sister,” Logan practically snarls.
I roll my eyes.
We both know that I don’t know the first thing about football, except that Tom Brady is hot, and I don’t even know if he’s still in the Patriots.
“Would you have to move out there?” He narrows his eyes again. “How long have you been talking to this guy?”
“A couple of months, and I don’t know. I think it depends on what the contract is, but I can see myself with Noah down the line, so I’m considering it.”
“For a guy you’ve known a couple of months?!”
“For my career,” I correct him.
“I’m happy for you. You’re really talented, Court, and this has been your dream forever,” Rae interjected.
I think her comment is aimed at Logan more than me.
I barely have time to thank her before Logan launches into one of his older brother-ish speeches. “I’m happy for you too, Court. You deserve a career you enjoy. Hell, you tried so long to convince me to quit QV!”
He lets out a short laugh before carrying on. “What about this guy, th—”
“Noah,” I interrupt.
“Logan,” Rae says softly, “I know about him.”
A hint of anger flashes on Logan’s face.
I speak up before he continues with his tirade.
“I wanted to see where it went before I talked to anyone about him. No offense, Logan, but I’m not going to tell you about my phone sex.” Rae and I snort when he recoils.
“I want to meet him,” Logan growls.
I try to suppress my smile. Logan basically just conceded.
“Alright,” I sigh. “I’ll call him now, but you have to be nice.”
Noah answers on the first ring. “Hey, beautiful. That was quick.”
I blush. He loves complimenting me. It’s the sweetest thing. “I’m still with Logan and Rae. Logan wants to meet you,” I tell him.
“Why?”
“He thinks he’s my protective older brother.” I roll my eyes. “Do you mind talking to him for a couple of minutes?”
“Uh, sure. If you want me to.”
I hand the phone to Logan, who immediately darts downstairs, easily slipping out of Rae’s grasp on his shirt.
“And he wonders why I didn’t tell him before,” I grumble.
Rae giggles. “Want me to get him?”
I shake my head. “It’s fine. He’ll just get angrier.”
She sighs, but I can tell she’s suppressing a smile. Everything Logan does is perfect in her book. “So, what will you be doing in Boston?” she asks. “Like, fashion meetings and stuff or designing more bags?”
I don’t really know much about my Dragon Brands’ itinerary, but I fill Rae in on what Linda said.
A piercing scream interrupts as I tell her about Sebastian.
“I don’t understand what she has against sleep,” Rae mutters, standing up to grab Autumn. “I’ll be back.”
Not even a second later, Logan jogs up the stairs.
He drops my phone in my lap, not bothering to stop while he rushes to help Rae with their daughter.
I peek at the screen and breathe a sigh of relief. The call’s over. I decide an apology text is in order.
The crying stops.
A minute later, Rae returns to the couch, rubbing her eyes, followed by Logan holding Autumn, who’s happily sucking away at a bottle.
I know Logan has a kid, which is literal evidence that they’ve done the deed, but he’s basically my brother.
I push the thought out of my head, but I can’t rid myself of the pang in my chest—the one telling me I want to look at someone that way.
“I should get going,” I say, standing up. “I told my parents I’d be over at around eight.”
Rae’s eyes fill with tears. “Are you moving there? Will I see you again before you do?”
“No plans to move yet. Not any time soon,” I say quickly.
She nods. “Okay. Sorry. Hormones. Still emotional.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I reassure her. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“Wait, Rae, can you take Autumn for a minute?” Logan asks.
Rae sticks out her arms.
“Hi, lovebug,” she coos, giving Autumn a tiny boop on the nose.
“I’ll walk you out, Court,” Logan says.
I eye him warily. “Alright, but no lectures.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The second the front door closes, Logan’s tone changes.
“I don’t like him,” he states firmly.
I groan. “Why don’t you like him?”
“I’m serious, Court. I don’t like the way he was talking about you.”
“Is this because I told you about the phone—”
“No. I mean, that’s more than I ever needed to know, but no, that’s not why. He was talking about you as if you’ve, I don’t know, been together for years.”
I roll my eyes.
“Logan, you texted me that you were going to marry Rae after your first date,” I remind him.
“It was the second, but that’s different. You haven’t even met in person.”
“Well, good thing we will in three days.”
I don’t know what else to say. Noah’s always been a little forward, but I kind of like that. He makes me feel wanted, as if he might look at me the way Logan and Rae look at each other.
“That doesn’t change—”
But then I snap.
“Is it so bad for me to see how things go with someone who lives in the city where I might finally accomplish my dreams? Salt Lake’s fashion scene is smaller than its pool of eligible bachelors, and that’s pretty damn small. It’s not even a pool. It’s a freaking puddle.
“I’m not going to stay in Utah just to work in HR and die a crazy cat lady while my friends get married and have kids and do what they like for a living.” I glare at him. “I don’t even like cats.”
Logan huffs.
“Meet someone else out there then. He gives me a bad feeling.”
“I’m an adult. I can make those decisions for myself, and I think I know him a little better than you do.”
“Yeah, alright.”
That’s the best I’ll get with Logan.
“See you later,” I say, pulling him into a bro hug.
“Good luck with Brady,” he replies.
I know he’s taunting me, but I’ll need all the luck I can get when it comes to telling my brother about this sort-of relationship.
Actually, come to think of it…
“Logan!” I yell.
He turns around. “Don’t even—”
“Please don’t tell him. Please, Logan. Let me see if it works out first.”
“Are you going to keep it from your parents too?” he asks, unimpressed.
“I’m just going to neglect to share that specific piece of information.”
“No. Court, you have to tell your fa—”
“I won’t babysit till Autumn turns two,” I threaten.
He scoffs.
“You love babysitting, but it’s not like you can do it from Boston anyway.”
“I might not be moving there. Even if I do, I’ll resist the urge when I visit. I’ll do it, Logan. You know I will.”
I’m not lying. And he does know that I will.
“Alright. Fine. If you promise to keep me updated, I won’t tell Brady.”
“Deal.”
We shake on it, and my best friend returns to his happy little sleep-deprived family.
