Most of all, Logan really,reallydidn’t want to stare into those incredible, soul-stealing eyes of hers while he confessed his deepest, darkest secret. So rather than hurting the most important person in his life, Logan continued doing what he did best these days…
He pretended he wasn’t head over boots in love with a woman who’d could never be his.
“I was just giving you shit,” he teased. “Although it does sound like you may have another rogue appliance on your hands.”
She’d had three go out in the last five months. First the dishwasher, followed by her water heater. After that, it was the garbage disposal.
“I swear, it’s like they’ve become possessed and decided to form a coup.”
Logan chuckled again. “One of the downsides of buying all new, all at the same time. It’s great when they’re all shiny right out of the box, but then—”
“When one starts to go bad, the rest seem to follow,” Natalie finished for him with a sigh. “You know anything about dryers?”
As a matter of fact…
“I do.” Thanks to a summer job at a major home improvement chain store while he was in high school. “Tell me the symptoms.”
“It still dries the clothes and everything, but when I close the door, the drum starts spinning and the motor keeps going, even though I’ve pressed the power button off.”
“So it won’t shut off at all?”
“Yes and no. The digital display shuts off like normal, but even after that, the drum continues spinning and the motor keeps going. The only thing to stop it is to either leave the door open or unplug it completely.”
Her deep, almost defeated exhale was all he needed to hear.
“I’m ten minutes from my place. Let me run in for a quick shower, then I’ll be over.”
The woman would need a gas mask if she got anywhere near him in his current, sweaty state.
“Oh, I didn’t mean for you to come overtonight,” Natalie responded with a rush. “I was just hoping maybe you’d have some time in the next few days to stop by and take a look.”
Typical. No matter how many times he told her she wasn’t a bother, the woman still worried about being an inconvenience or putting him out.
“It’s no big deal, Nat. Really. I’ll wash up and be right over.”
“You’ve been working all day, and I can tell you’re tired. I should’ve just waited and called the repair places in the morning.”
“Wrong. The deal was, something breaks or stops working right, you call me first. Remember?”
“That deal was made a long time ago, Logan,” she offered a reminder of her own. “You know, before every freaking appliance in my house decided to join the We Hate Natalie Club.”
She wasn’t wrong, but something the adorable woman still didn’t seem to get…
“The offer to help with stuff like this didn’t come with an expiration date, Nat.”
A long, silent pause ensued before her sweet voice filled his ear once more. But rather than folding to his insistence, she countered with, “Are you hungry?”
Logan frowned. “What does my being hungry have to do with—”
“You agree to stay for dinner, and I’ll let you drive all the way over here to look at the Devil’s dryer.”
He barked out a laugh at the disagreeable appliance’s new nickname. God, he loved that about her.
Didn’t matter how shitty the day was, or how pissed he’d gotten at Ronnie or some other random asshole who’d been…well…an asshole… No matter what was going on in his life or inside his head, Natalie always managed to make him laugh.
Laugh.
Smile.