Page 38 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)

MALLORY

I snag a table for four at Go Fork Yourself and ignore the dirty looks I garner for having prime real estate.

Thankfully, Daphne and Logan arrive right after I sit down so it no longer looks like I’m taking up a four top all by myself.

Logan goes to look at the pastry case and Daphne turns curious eyes on me.

“Shut up,” I tell her before she can get a word out.

“I didn’t even say anything!” she protests.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“He’s meeting us,” Daphne says.

“Who is?” I know she’s talking about Liam, so I don’t know why I’m even questioning it. Blargh. This is such a mess.

“Miller. I think he has a crush on you, and since nothing is going on with Liam, you should give him a chance. He’s a nice guy.”

“ What ?” Oh no, no, no. Miller is a nice guy, but he’s not the guy for me. That will be even more awkward. I don’t want to hurt Miller. I like him. But not the way I like Liam. If I’m being honest, I’ve never liked anyone the way I like Liam.

Daphne smirks. She’s been teasing me. Bitch.

Speaking of Liam, he walks in the door and joins Logan at the pastry case. After a moment, they walk to our table and sit down. Logan sits next to Daphne, who’s laughing at my panic at the thought of being matched with Miller, which leaves the chair next to me open for Liam to drop into.

“Hi, Daphne, what’s up?” Liam asks.

“Hey, Liam. It’s okay. We know,” Daphne says.

A beautiful smile appears on Liam’s face as he turns to face me, and my tummy flips in a way that has nothing to do with being hungry.

“You told her?” he asks, pleased surprise clear in his voice.

I give Daphne a death glare. “No, I didn’t.”

She smiles back serenely.

“Oh.” Liam’s smile fades. He picks up the coffee I ordered for him and takes a sip as he looks over the menu.

Damn it. Why does this have to be so complicated?

Our server arrives to take our order. I’m hungry, but I’ve lost my appetite for the decadent gourmet specialty pancakes they offer. I end up ordering a stack of regular plain pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and a side of ham. Everyone else gets omelets with toast and home fries.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” Logan asks.

“I think I’m going to go for a run,” Liam answers.

That could be fun. We haven’t run together yet.

“I’ll see if Dad feels like it. We haven’t shifted and run together in ages. Shame Andy isn’t here. Did you want to fly along?”

Oh. He wants to shift and run. I can’t keep up with that. I shouldn’t have hurt feelings over it, but I do. Is he excluding me because I don’t want to be public with our relationship?

Our meals arrive, and we dig in. The food is delicious, but I can’t enjoy it with the lump in my stomach.

“Trevor and Ethan are usually always in the mood to run if you’re okay with wolves,” I offer.

“Yeah, good idea. I’d love to explore the woods out your way.”

“You’re welcome anytime. Same as with the rink.” And my bed.

“You’re sure?” Liam asks.

I don’t know if he’s asking if I’m sure about Trevor and Ethan wanting to run or something else.

“I’ll text them and see.” I grab my phone and get to work, then relay the response after I get it. “My parents took the boys to the movies, and Ethan is dying for a run. Haven’t heard from Trevor.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“No problem.”

Daphne nudges Logan. “You should go fly with them. Mallory and I can hang out.” She turns to me. “We can catch up.”

She isn’t fooling me. She wants the scoop on me and Liam. There is no scoop.

“Sure.” I hold back my sigh.

We decide we’ll all head to my house after breakfast. I hope they puke from running after eating.

I look around the café to keep my gaze from straying to Liam.

I love the country cottage charm of the place.

The blue gingham plastic tablecloths and pale-yellow walls set off the white chairs and tables.

The blue vases filled with daisies on every table remind me of my bedroom and bathroom.

The red lighthouse accents all around add a nautical touch. It’s a cheerful space.

The bell above the door dings to signal a new arrival, and my gaze drifts there.

“Shit,” I say.

Liam looks up and groans.

Daphne and Logan have their backs to the door and turn around at the same time.

“No! Don’t turn around!” I whisper hiss.

“We have to stop meeting like this, Mallory!” Janet says with a fake-ass laugh.

“We do, Janet!” My tone is similarly fake, but I mean every word.

Janet leans in conspiratorially. “I ran into Mallory as she was leaving her room at Devil’s Den. I was so surprised!”

“I bet,” Daphne says. “What were you doing there? I must have just missed you. Mallory and I had a girls’ night since Logan and his cousins were watching college football all day long.”

I love Daphne.

“Oh! Have you met my boyfriend, Logan? Honey, this is Janet. She works with me and Mallory. Janet, this is Logan Morris, my boyfriend.”

“Morris? Are you related to Mike Morris?” Janet asks. She knows damn well he is.

“Yes, he’s my father. Will is my uncle, and Liam’s my cousin.”

Liam coughs to hide his snort-laugh. I’m pretty sure if we had crayons at our table, Logan would have offered to draw Janet a family tree.

“Well, it was so nice to meet you, Logan. Great to see you, Liam. Daphne, Mallory, I’ll see you in the office.” With another fake smile, Janet walks away to peruse the pastry case.

“Not if I see you first,” I mutter.

Janet gets her Danish and coffee and leaves, giving our table a lingering glance as she walks out the door. Good riddance.

We decide Daphne’s going to ride with me. Liam is going to drop his Bronco off at his house, and he’ll ride with Logan to my house to go run with Ethan. I’d rather get the interrogation over with on the ride so we aren’t overheard by Valerie if she’s around.

No sooner have I pulled out of the parking lot when Daphne turns in her seat to look at me directly and asks the dreaded question.

“So, you were at Devil’s Den with Liam last night?”

I take a deep breath and release it slowly. “Yes.”

She bounces up and down in her seat and squeals. “I knew it! How was it? How long have you guys been dating?”

May as well get this over with.

“We’re not dating. It’s just a friends-with-benefits thing. We met and hooked up in Vegas when I went for that bachelorette party. It was a one-night stand.”

“What? I thought you just met at Thanksgiving!”

“We didn’t know each other when we hooked up in Vegas.” I’m embarrassed to admit this. Daphne is such an innocent. “We only exchanged first names, and it was a quickie in a dark corner of the club. We weren’t going to ever see each other again. Scratch an itch and all that.”

“So, you hooked up there and then randomly find each other here and have all these connections in common?”

I glance over to see Daphne sitting there with a dreamy look on her face and her hand pressed to her heart. Uh-oh.

“That’s so romantic! It’s fate that brought you back together!” She sighs. I bet she’s picturing her bridesmaid dress…or maybe a double wedding. Not happening.

“Vermin brought us together. It’s not fate, and it’s not romantic. It’s nothing. We both like sex, and it’s convenient. I don’t want people knowing our business because I don’t want anyone thinking I get anything at work because I’m sleeping with the boss’s son.”

“I understand that, but everyone knows how good you are at your job. You don’t need to sleep with anyone to get ahead.”

“Thanks. But you know how Janet and her crew of mean girls are. I don’t want to deal with it.”

“Yeah,” Daphne agrees.

I remember something. “Oh! You’ll probably meet my sister, Valerie.

Do not say anything about Liam in front of her.

She made me swear to never date a coworker, and even though what Liam and I are doing isn’t dating, she’ll freak out.

She just got out of a bad arrangement with a coworker, and it’s messed her up. ”

“Oh no! Is she okay?” Daphne is so sweet.

“I hope so. She’s normally so strong, but this has really shaken her.” I grimace. “One more thing. I told my family I was hanging out with you last night. They think we were watching chick flicks and drinking wine because you had an argument with Logan.” I glance over apologetically. “Sorry.”

“Whatever. All good.”

I park in the driveway and chuckle as Daphne stares up at my house with her mouth hanging open.

“This is your house? You grew up here?” she asks in awe.

“You didn’t see it when you came to the rink?”

“No, we came from the tree farm, so we didn’t pass it, and I was focused on the barn. I didn’t look around.”

“Yep. It’s been in the family for generations.”

“Wow…”

It’s a beautiful house. It’s big and white with green shutters, which always makes me think of Anne of Green Gables . It’s mainly colonial in style, but my ancestors have added on through the centuries, so while it’s an architectural mishmash, it works somehow.

Walking through the butler’s pantry into the kitchen, I see Valerie sitting at the counter with a bottle of wine in front of her. Normally she’s perfectly groomed, but today, she’s still in her pajama pants, and there’s a glob of dried yogurt on her T-shirt. Uh-oh. This does not bode well.

“Hey, Valerie. This is my friend Daphne. Daphne, my sister Valerie.”

“Hi, Valerie. Nice to meet you.”

“Hello,” Valerie responds. But she’s not paying attention to Daphne. Her attention is focused on me. “I kinda sorta accidentally-on- purpose gave my notice this morning. Via text.” With that pronouncement, she drains her wine glass and promptly refills it.

“Wow. I bet that was unexpected,” Daphne says.

“I don’t see how it was. My cheating ex is a sleazoid. No way was I going to work for him. Especially since he took my promotion.” She takes another deep sip of her wine. “Never get involved with a coworker. It’s a clusterfuck waiting to happen.”

Oh boy. This isn’t good.

“Do you have something else lined up?” I ask. Please let her have something else lined up.

“Nope.” Valerie pops the P .