Page 164 of Revenge Puck

No new messages.

I open our text thread, thumbs hovering.

Don’t be needy, Juliette.

“What’s needy about texting a guy I’m dating?” I say to no one. “He brought me coffee in bed this morning.”

Juliette: What are you up to later?

Juliette: I would love to see you.

I hit send before I can overanalyze it.

Immediately, I set my phone face down on my desk, so I’m not tempted to compulsively check it, forcing my eyes back to my computer screen.

My brain refuses to process the spreadsheet in front of me. The numbers blur into meaningless columns while my entire nervous system waits for one small vibration.

As I’m about to flip my phone over?—

“Boo.”

I shriek.

Like, actually shriek at my desk, several papers that were on the counter fluttering to the carpet. My phone flies out of my hand, hits the edge of my desk, and joins them.

“Oh my god!” I gasp, clutching my chest dramatically. “You scared me.”

Garrett Storm stands in the entrance of my cubicle, grinning smugly—as if he scored in overtime.

“That reaction was so satisfying,” he says, leaning against the frame.

I glare at him while scrambling to retrieve my phone and pick up the papers. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“In my defense…” He laughs. “I stood here watching you for at least ten seconds before I decided to scare you.”

My heart goes back to its normal rate, but I press a hand to my chest regardless.

“You’re a turd,” I tell him, and he grins, stepping closer into my space.

“It’s so adorable that you don’t swear.”

I gaze up at him. “I swear.”

Sometimes.

Okay, fine—rarely.

Garrett’s grin widens. “I have literally never heard you swear.”

“We’ve spent five minutes together.”

“No, you don’t swear because you’re wholesome.”

Wholesome?

Wholesome?!

I would clutch my pearls, but I’m not wearing them today. “I amnotwholesome.”