Both guys looked to their fiancées, eyes pleading.
“I don’t mind,” Carly said, glancing at Logan. “It’ll give us some time for girl talk.”
Darren kissed her cheek. “Thanks, honey. We’ll be right back.” With that, he and Jacob both stood, talking animatedly about horsepower and torque.
How had she not known Jacob was into cars? She was going to marry the guy, for crying out loud. How much else did she still not know about him?
“Ow!” Logan yelled, her left hand jumping to her arm where Carly had just pinched her. “What was that for?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Carly whisper-shouted, though it sounded more like genuine curiosity than anger.
“Me? You’re the one going around pinching people for no reason.”
“Look me in the eye and tell me you were not late for dinner because you’ve been playing paintball with Cole Tucker.”
“What?” She eyed her best friend skeptically while simultaneously trying her damnedest not to rub the sensitive welt on her ass. “How could you possibly know about that?”
Carly rolled her eyes. “Well, for starters, I know for a fact that Cole’s monthly game of paintball with the boys was today because Darren has been playing with them for the last year but couldn’t go today because of the trip. And second,” she added with a laugh, pointing at Logan, “you’ve got red paint behind your ear.”
Logan’s hand automatically went to her ear. After Cole shot her, she’d passed Cowboy on the way to her truck and was forced to give him a hug. His shirt had been covered in red paint from, she assumed, being taken out Platoon style during the game. The camo shirt Cole lent her had been covered in red paint, and she’d clearly failed to get it all off her neck in the shower.
“I wasn’t off the plane even five minutes when Lyssa called me saying you and Cole have been at it again,” she went on.
Logan scowled at Carly’s sister’s gossip. “Look, it’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s just a bet to see who can win the most challenges. If I win, he has to leave me and Jacob alone. You should have seen him the night he met Jacob, going on about the tattoo parlor and Aunt Caroline.”
“Uh-huh,” Carly said. “And what does he get if you lose, Logan?”
“I—” She hesitated, her voice lowering considerably. “If he wins, I have to tell Jacob about the tattoo.”
“Oh, shit.” Carly’s hand jumped to cover her mouth. She closed her eyes. “Why in hell would you agree to something like that?”
“I may have already been drunk when we made that bet. But it doesn’t matter because I’m beating him…or at least I was. Technically, we tied after the paintball game. But it’s okay because I get to pick the next challenge, and I’ll make sure it’s one I win. Cole Tucker is going down. And then he’ll finally leave me alone.” Logan couldn’t help the grin on her face that popped up anytime she thought about beating him.
Carly glared until Logan began to squirm. Then her friend’s face transformed. She looked more like a doctor preparing to tell her she only had months to live. “I can’t believe you’re still doing this to him.”
“Doing what?” Logan asked. The last she checked, Cole was the one trying to ruin her life.
“Dragging him along like this. It’s not fair to him, Lo,” she said gently.
“What do you mean, not fair to him? I’m not dragging anybody along.”
Carly’s head tilted. “Are you trying to tell me that you still don’t see how crazy he is about you?”
Logan’s mouth fell open. Carly had to be joking. “Crazy about me? We hate each other!”
“God, you’re so blind. How can we all see it but you?” she asked. “He’s had a crush on you for over ten years, Logan. Everyone knows that.”
“No, he’s been making me miserable for ten years, ever since he fell trying to get my backpack out of that stupid tree. That doesn’t mean he likes me.”
“He was trying to get your attention.”
Logan shook her head. “What about when he pantsed me in eighth grade right in the middle of PE? Is that how guys treat girls they like?”
Carly sighed patiently. “In eighth grade, yes. Boys are idiots until they grow out of it.”
“Except that Cole kept pulling stuff like that ’til senior year.”
“Well, Cole was a bigger idiot than most. But he was also crazy protective of you. No one would even try to mess with you because they were afraid of what he’d do. Why else do you think he attacked Ryan Baker after the prom?”
“Prom was just an excuse. He hated Ryan long before that.”
“Because he was dating you. Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but take it easy on Cole. He’s a nice guy, and I rooted for you two for a long time. If you really don’t care about him like that, then cut ties and let him move on. But…”
“But?”
“But—and I say this with only love in my heart—if the reason you can’t stay away from him is that you really do like him, you should probably take some time to figure out what you want before you walk down the aisle to the wrong man.”
Logan sucked in a sharp breath. “The wrong man? You think Jacob’s the wrong man?”
Carly’s lips parted, her eyes growing wider. “Hold on a minute. That’s not what I meant.”
“I thought you liked Jacob.” What was happening? This was not how dinner with her best friend was supposed to go tonight.
“I do like Jacob. I mean, he can come off a bit self-centered sometimes and maybe a tad condescending, but he’s a nice guy, and you like who you are around him. I like him because you like him, and you were pretty certain that he was the one you wanted.”
“Then why did you say you’d rather I be with Cole—who, by the way, doesn’t even see me like that.” That much she knew for certain.
“That’s not what I said.” Carly reached for Logan’s hand. “I just want you to be with the person who makes you happy,” she explained. “No matter who it is. I admit, there was a time when I thought that person would be Cole. I knew how much he cared about you. Everyone did. The only person who needed to see it was you.”
Logan shook her head. No way they were having this conversation when her fiancé was standing just outside the restaurant. “If you thought Cole liked me and was so great for me, why are you only just now telling me?”
Carly shrugged. “I guess I thought that you’d figure it out when you were ready, that it would be because you felt the same way about him. The night of the bonfire, I assumed everything that happened was because you realized he had feelings for you and maybe you’d realized you felt it, too. But then you left town and never came back.”
“What happened that night was not because Cole had feelings for me.”
“How can you know that? You said you barely even remembered what happened.”
“Well, I lied.” She remembered the events of that night and the next morning all too well, and she had no plans to rehash the details now. “Trust me, he’d made it perfectly clear what happened that night. We both got drunk and made a stupid decision, one I will regret for the rest of my life. But that’s all it was,” she said pointedly. “And as soon as this bet is over, I am marrying Jacob because he makes me happy, and he is the one I want to be with.”
Logan was breathing quickly, and she refused to say anything more until she was sure that Carly believed her. Carly was silent for a moment before she finally nodded, her voice quiet and firm as she said, “Okay.”
Chapter Thirteen
Logan and Jacob waved as Darren and Carly drove away from the parking lot. All through dinner, Logan had tried to pretend that the argument between her and Carly had never happened. That was the good thing about best friends. Usually, they could fight one minute and be totally normal the next.
But this time was different. For the first time that Logan could remember, she found herself unable to let their argument go.
“I meant what I said,” Carly whispered as s
he hugged Logan goodbye. “I love you, and I’m here for you, no matter what happens. I just want you to be happy.”
Logan had hugged her back stiffly but said nothing in reply and, eventually, Carly released her and made her way to the Chevelle with Darren. Even as they drove away, Logan was still grinding her teeth.
What she needed was someone to take her mind off it. She turned to Jacob, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him in for a slow, seductive kiss.
“What do you think about getting a hotel room here for the night?” Her voice was low and husky. “We could finally spend some quality time together, just you and me”—she kissed him again—“and a bed.”
He grinned. “That sounds perfect,” he said, and Logan felt her worry easing already. She needed him desperately, needed to feel his skin on hers. Needed him to prove what she already knew, that he was the right man for her, that she’d made the right choice.
“Unfortunately, I have to get up early tomorrow for this shift I took on.”
“Another shift,” she groaned, pulling out of Jacob’s arms. “All you do is take on more work. And you and I never get time to spend with each other.”
He shook his head. “I know. But think how good all this overtime is going to look to the head of emergency over in San Francisco. When they see how much I’m willing to take on, they’ll be desperate to hire me. Then as soon as they do, we can have all the time together we want.”
“It’s been months, Jacob,” she said quietly. She placed a hand on her forehead, hardly believing they were having this conversation in a parking lot.
“I know, babe. But I can’t tonight. Next time we’re together, I promise. We’ll do dinner with your parents, and then the two of us can get a nice suite a few towns over.” He slowly took her in his arms, kissing her forehead gently. “Somewhere really special.”
“But I want you now,” she whined, not caring how awful it made her sound. Was it too much to ask to be with the man she was going to marry, as in actually be with him? “We could do it in the car.”
“You’re joking, right? You wouldn’t really make love to someone in a car in the middle of a parking lot, would you?”
Yes. “Of course not. I’m just messing with you,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ve just really missed you these two weeks, is all.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” He pulled away from her one last time, kissing her chastely on the lips before he opened the door to his Lexus. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said quietly, not bothering to hide how miserable she felt. She wanted him to feel guilty for not giving her the relief and assurance she really needed right then.
Jacob closed the door and started the car, backing out of his spot and pulling out onto the road. Logan just stood there, watching him go.
A drink. That was what she needed right now. As Logan made her way to the truck at the back of the parking lot, her mind was already made up. She would stop at Wade’s tonight on her way home.
Just one beer.
But as she drove, Logan rethought her plan. What if Cole was there when she got to the bar? She’d already admitted to him that they would never be one-drink people when they were together. They’d drink and drink until one of them came up with a bet or challenge and the other would automatically accept it.
Then they’d both do something stupid like in tenth grade when they woke up hungover in the middle of Mrs. Garrett’s yard after spending the night cleverly cutting dirty words out of the brand-new sod for all the neighbors to read as they passed by.
Or worse, she’d wake up in Cole Tucker’s bed again, like she had the last two times they’d been drinking together. Granted, the latest time she’d woken up with all her clothes on and the assurance that nothing had happened the night before.
She wished she could say the same for the first time she woke up in Cole’s bed. Her stomach twisted and her cheeks warmed as the memory tried to come crawling back.
No, she wouldn’t stop at Wade’s. Instead, she’d go home and take a nice, hot bubble bath before she climbed into bed for a long, desperately needed night of sleep, and try not to think about the man she hoped to wake up next to every day for the rest of her life. Or the man she swore never to wake up next to again.
*
August—Morning After the Farewell Bonfire
Cole blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the early morning light pouring in through the window blinds. He was lying on his back with his hand splayed low on his abdomen, cool air stroking his bare chest. He stretched and felt the soft, thin fabric of a bedsheet draped over his naked hips.
A hushed sigh filled the room.
His eyes shot open and flew to the other side of the bed. She was there, curled up on her side. The bedsheet sat low on her hip, exposing the smooth, tan skin of her back pulled tight over curves of muscle and bone. A tiny freckle on the back of her right shoulder rose and fell with each breath.
Logan Kase was in his bed. The space beneath his ribs constricted. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He ran his hand through the ends of her hair, torn between letting her sleep and the desire to take her in his arms again and relive the most incredible night of his life. He compromised by gently tracing a finger down the line of her spine. She shuddered and moaned in her sleep, and the sound flooded his body with waves of need.
He kissed the freckle on her shoulder and slid out of bed. He grabbed some fresh clothes from his dresser and headed to the bathroom down the hall, closing the bedroom door behind him.
Memory after memory resurfaced as hot water rained down over him, washing away years of doubt and missteps and leaving behind a blank page on which they could write their future. The bonfire. Red Solo cups. The buzz of a tattoo needle. The dark look in her eyes when he drove them back to his place. The feel of her in his arms. The way she clung to him. The cry of his name on her tongue as his lips trailed over her skin.
He couldn’t stop grinning. It was as if he’d won the lottery, only he doubted that would come close to the euphoria of the night he’d spent with her, the girl of his dreams. His Logan.
Cole dressed and returned to the hall, stopping outside his bedroom door.
“Carly, thank God,” a voice hissed inside.
His hand froze inches from the doorknob. He leaned closer. “Carly, this is serious! I’m at Cole and Cowboy’s new place, and I need you to come get me, fast. I…I made a huge mistake.”
Cole’s hand fell.
“I’ll tell you later. Could you please just hurry up?”
He couldn’t breathe. He felt like he’d taken a heavy blow to the gut and his lungs refused to suck in air. How? How could he have been so wrong about last night?
The room went quiet except for the sounds of hurried movement. Not knowing what else to do, he inched the door open. Lo sat on the edge of his bed, pulling on one of her boots. Her hair was in wild disarray, her shirt and jean shorts wrinkled. She stared up at him through wide eyes.
She was unbelievably gorgeous, only now it felt like a slap in the face.
Mistake. That one word was like a knife carving out his insides, but he refused to let her see it. He pushed everything down and forced himself to smile. He leaned against the doorframe.
“Leaving so soon?”
“I have to go home. My plane leaves this afternoon,” she said quietly. She finished pulling on her boot and stood. She pointed to the bed. “About last night—”
“That was fun, huh?” he rushed out before he had to hear her say the M word again. “I’ve got to say, Lo, I didn’t know just how wild you really were ’til last night.”
“Yeah.” She glanced back at the mess of sheets behind her and rubbed her hands over her arms. “Right, fun.”
“And don’t forget the tattoo. I still can’t believe you actually went through with it.”
Her brow creased. “Tattoo?” Her gaze fell to her wrist. “Oh, God.” Her
fingers worked to tug off the bandage, revealing the three etched letters surrounded by angry red skin.
CET. “That,” he said, forcing a grin, “was our wager. And as you can probably tell, you lost the bet.”
Her face blanched, and he could practically see her own voice echoing inside her head.
I made a huge mistake.
“As for this,” he said, indicating the bed, “don’t beat yourself up about it. Girls throw themselves at me all the time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Consider it your going-away present.”
She flinched. He’d wanted to hurt her, make her feel even a fraction of the pain he was burying, and judging by the moisture pooling in her eyes, he’d hit his mark. So why did it only make him feel worse?
Logan crossed the small space between them. She shoved her finger hard into his chest. “This never happened,” she told him through clenched teeth. “And if you ever tell anyone that it did, I will find you and kill you myself.”
Cole’s grin slipped. Did she really hate the thought of being with him that much? “Jesus, Lo, lighten up. What’s the big deal? It was just sex.”
“Fuck you,” she muttered before shoving him out of the way. She escaped through the door and down the hall. The front door slammed, and all the anger and pain he’d pushed away came bubbling up at full force. It was drowning him, suffocating him from the inside.
He couldn’t take it. It was too much.
His fists clenched at his sides and before he knew what he was doing, he turned and lashed out at the wall with his fist.
Chapter Fourteen
Logan’s stomach grumbled as she pulled into a parking spot at the Willow Creek Police Department. It had been hours since she ate thanks to the excruciatingly long fitting she and the other members of the wedding party had to go to that morning, and her body was taking its frustrations out on her in the form of embarrassingly loud growling.
She’d been running errands and getting everything ready for Carly’s wedding for several days now—all while avoiding any direct contact with the bride herself since she still wasn’t talking to her after their fight at dinner—and had barely found any time to sit down and relax. So that morning when Daddy mentioned meeting him for lunch at Wade’s, she’d eagerly accepted his invitation. And right now, she could think of nothing better than a giant plate of fries.
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