by SJ McCoy
The front door opened as she got out of the car, and he stood there in the warm light from the hallway and held his arms out to her. She trotted up the steps and leaned against him.
“Hey, honey. You’re home,” he said with a grin.
Her heart thudded to a halt. She knew he was only making a play on the words, but still. It pulled her up short. The thought of this being home—of him being the person she shared a home with? She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. That was silly, and she knew it.
She made herself smile as she looked up at him and played along. “Did you have a nice day at the office, dear?”
He nodded and dropped a kiss on her lips. Something in his eyes told her that he’d had the same feeling that she did. Though he didn’t acknowledge it. Poor guy. If it had freaked her out, it must have been ten times worse for him. “I did. I missed you, though.”
She laughed. “You haven’t had time to miss me. I said goodnight to you right here less than …” She looked at her watch. She’d left here at just after eleven last night, and it was now almost seven. “Twenty hours ago.”
He nodded. “But that’s such a long time. You know, if you’d stayed with me, it would only have been twelve hours ago. In fact, we could have ridden to work together—and back, and that would make it more like eleven.”
She laughed. “Exactly. I reckon you’re going to tire of me sooner or later. And I’d rather the time that we spend together before you do is quality time.”
His eyes widened, and he tightened his arms around her. “I’m never going to tire of you; are you crazy?”
Her heart raced. He couldn’t really mean that, could he? He smirked and let go of her, taking her hand to lead her into the house. “It’s okay. You don’t need to answer that. I know you must be crazy to go out with me in the first place. Forget I asked.”
She followed him inside and let it go, but she didn’t think she’d be able to forget about what he’d said. That he’d never tire of her? She liked that idea a whole lot more than she should, but she couldn’t allow herself to believe it. She had to enjoy what they had while it lasted—and be realistic about the fact that it probably wouldn’t last too long. She believed that he was sincere in his interest in her. They were having a lot of fun—and great sex. But she didn’t believe that a guy like him would be happy being tied to just one woman for the long term. He might want to. She believed him when he said that he did. But he’d get bored, restless. There were so many beautiful women that came up here, attractive women who considered sleeping with a sexy local to be the highlight of their vacation. He might stick with her through the winter, but she fully expected that by the time the summer season rolled around, he’d be back to his old ways—if not before.
Chapter Thirteen
Logan looked himself over in the mirror and smiled. He looked good, even if he did say so himself. He usually made an effort on a Friday night, but tonight was especially important. It was the first time that he and Roxy were going out with their friends as an official couple. He was also hoping that it would be the first time that she spent the night with him. They’d spent every evening together this last week, but she hadn’t wanted to stay over. He’d gone over to her place last night, but she’d shooed him out of there just after eleven. It wasn’t like they weren’t spending any time in bed—and he was loving that. A wave of desire rushed through him at the thought of it—but he wanted to sleep with her in the more literal sense. There was something about it that felt important to him.
He picked his phone up off the counter when it rang.
“Hey, Colt. What’s up?”
“Hey. I just wanted to check if you’re coming out tonight.”
“Of course, I am. It’s Friday, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know if you and Roxy would have other plans.”
“Nope. We’ll be there.”
“So, the two of you are officially a we now, then?”
“That’s right. And I have to tell you. I’m liking it.”
“Good for you.”
“You should try it. Find yourself a nice girl and couple up.”
Colt laughed. “I would if I could find a nice girl. I’ve been open to the idea for a long time. But between my job and my apparent inability to attract a nice girl, it hasn’t happened for me.”
“Aww. We should find you someone. What about Amber or Jade?”
Colt laughed. “No, thanks. They’re nice girls, but I don’t see them that way. Even if I did, I think Austin has his eye on Amber, and Jade’s too scary.”
Logan laughed with him. “Yeah, she’s not exactly meek and mild. She’s feisty. She’s good people, though.”
“Oh, they both are, but I’m not interested in either of them that way.”
“Well, I’m not the best one to help you find a girl, but I can steer you toward another single guy who’s new in town and looking for buddies. Maybe the two of you can hunt together, be each other’s wingman.”
“I don’t need a wingman. I’m not even looking really. I’m just kind of in shock that you’re settling down before me.”
“I think everyone is—especially me.”
“Who are you talking about, anyway? Who’s the new arrival?”
“Well, he’s been here a little while now, but he’s not been venturing out much. You know Ivan?”
“He’s the guy who works for Seymour Davenport, right?”
“That’s him.”
“Yeah. I’ve run into him a couple of times. Seems like a good guy.”
“He is. He’s coming out tonight.”
“Cool. I’ll buy him a beer.”
“And maybe introduce him to some of the local ladies?”
“I may as well. I know everyone in town, and there’s no one here for me. Maybe Ivan will have better luck.”
Logan frowned. “You make it sound like you wish there was someone here for you.”
“Ignore me. I’m happy the way I am. I wouldn’t have time for a girl anyway. The job makes sure of that. I suppose I’m just a little bit envious of you and Roxy. I hope it works for you. Maybe part of it is that I can see our group of single friends dwindling. The group of couples is getting bigger, and I know we’re all still buddies, but hanging with couples isn’t the same … Like I said, just ignore me. I don’t mean anything by it.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Yeah. It’s just part of life. We’re at that age where things change.” He laughed. “Next step is that you’ll all start having babies. I won’t be envious about that, though.”
“Yeah.” Logan couldn’t help but smile. He loved kids. With three older sisters, he had lots of nieces and nephews, and he loved them all. The idea of having kids of his own someday made him happy. But it wasn’t anything he needed to get excited about just yet. First, he had to get the hang of being in a real relationship.
“I’ll see you in a while, then.”
“Okay. Is everyone else coming?”
“As far as I know. I talked to Austin this morning, and he said he is.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there.”
~ ~ ~
When they arrived at the Boathouse, Logan slung his arm around Roxy’s shoulders and smiled at her.
She smiled back. “Is this weird for you?”
“No. Different. But good different, not weird different. How about you?”
“If I’m honest, it is weird. I’ve been coming out by myself ever since I came to live here. I mean, it’s nice to be part of a couple. But …” she hesitated, not sure what he’d think if she told him the truth, but she had to be honest. “You’re not someone I expected to see as part of a couple, let alone to be with.”
“I know.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Don’t look so worried. I’m not offended. How could I be? I get it. I’m just happy that I’m getting to prove you wrong. I won’t let you down, Rox.”
“I know you don’t plan to, but I want you to promise me that when you’ve
had enough, when you get bored of this and want to go back to … being you, you’ll just tell me. No hard feelings.”
He tightened his arm around her. “Thanks. But I don’t see that happening.”
She pressed her lips together. She liked the idea that it might not happen, but what would that mean? If he never got tired of being part of a couple with her, then they wouldn’t break up. She searched his face. He was serious; he wasn’t joking or bullshitting her, she could tell.
“Hey, guys.” She turned to Austin, coming in just behind them. He made a point of eyeing Logan’s arm around her shoulders, then raised an eyebrow. “It’s true then? You two are together?”
Logan grinned. “We are. For as long as she’ll have me.”
Austin laughed and looked at Roxy. “What have you done to him?”
“I have no idea. I’m as surprised as you are.”
“Well, good luck to you both.”
“Thanks, but I’m already feeling lucky enough,” said Logan. “Shall we go join the others?”
They made their way over to a big table where Angel and Luke and Maria and Zack were sitting with Colt, Amber, and Jade.
Maria greeted them with a smile. “Hi. You’re just in time. Are you guys free the weekend after next?”
“I can be,” said Austin. “Why? What’s happening?”
“We’re talking about renting a cabin in the mountains. With all this cold weather, they’ve had early snow. I haven’t seen snow in years. And we’re thinking it’d be a fun weekend away as a group.” She caught Roxy’s eye. “What do you say? Do you two want to come?”
Roxy looked at Angel. “I don’t know. I’d have to see what the schedule is at work.” It was safer to voice her doubt about being able to get the time off than to say she wasn’t sure about how she and Logan would stand on it.
Angel grinned at her. “I already checked with Ben. He doesn’t mind being on call for Kallen if we both want to go.”
Logan grinned at her. “Great. We can go then, right.”
Roxy nodded, surprised at his enthusiasm. “It looks like it.”
“Who all’s going then?” asked Austin.
“Us,” said Maria, nodding at Zack. “Angel and Luke. Colt if can get the whole weekend off.”
“And us,” added Jade. “Grandma’s almost back to normal now. She practically begged us to go when I mentioned it. I think she’s getting sick of us still trying to babysit her.”
Amber laughed. “She is. And I can’t say I blame her. She’s been so independent for so many years. She appreciated our help after her heart attack, but she wants to get back to normal now. I think she hopes that sending us away for the weekend will somehow prove to us that she doesn’t need us anymore.”
“Does that mean the two of you don’t plan to stay here?” asked Austin.
Roxy tried to hide a smile. She knew that he would hate the idea of them moving away—especially Amber.
Jade shrugged. “I don’t know.” She looked at her sister. “We’re going to have to talk about that at some point.”
Amber nodded but didn’t say anything. Roxy didn’t know her too well, but she’d guess that she wasn’t any more eager to leave than Austin was to see her go.
“How would you guys feel about asking Ivan?” asked Logan.
Roxy looked up at him.
“I ran into him earlier in the week. I think he’s at a bit of a loose end. It’d be good for him to get to know more people. He might be coming tonight, too.”
Jade waggled her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t have any complaints.”
Amber gave her a stern look but didn’t say anything.
“Really?” asked Logan. “I should introduce the two of you properly.”
Angel laughed. “What’s with you? Now that you’re with Roxy, you think you can start fixing other people up, too?”
Logan grinned at her. “Why not? Now that I know how good being in a relationship is, I want everyone to know the joy.”
The others laughed. Roxy did, too, but part of her had to wonder if he was just joking—surely, he didn’t mean that. They’d only been seeing each other a week.
“No matter how good your intentions might be,” said Angel, “you still have a lot to learn when it comes to being a matchmaker. It’s not Jade you should be introducing Ivan to.” She smiled at Jade. “You’re only interested in looking, right?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah. He’s eye candy, that’s all. I’m not interested.”
Roxy wondered what Jade’s story was. She was beautiful. She turned heads everywhere she went, but she was prickly toward guys, toward most people, really.
Logan shrugged. “Yeah. I’m not an expert.”
“It sounds like you are, though.” Luke looked at Angel. “The way you said it’s not Jade he should introduce Ivan to, made it sound like there’s someone else.”
Angel smirked. “Maybe there is, but it’s not my place to say.”
Roxy had an idea she knew who Angel was talking about.
“Why not invite her to come away—whoever she is?” asked Logan.
Maria shook her head. “It’s a big cabin, but it’s not that big. It has five bedrooms. I reckon three couples, and then the singles can figure out how to share the other two rooms. I wouldn’t want anyone to have to share with people they don’t know.”
The conversation moved on, as they talked about who could go and how they’d get there. But Roxy was caught up in thinking about how quickly and easily Maria was including her and Logan as one of the couples. She liked the idea, but it felt a little bit like tempting fate. She’d rather take things slowly. If they were going to get serious, then it made sense to build a solid foundation. And if Logan was going to get bored, as she assumed he would, she’d rather not have rushed in too deep before it ended.
~ ~ ~
Roxy was quiet as they walked home. She’d been quieter than usual for most of the evening.
Logan took hold of her hand and tugged on it. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
She smiled. “Nothing, why?”
“I get the feeling that you’re noodling something through in that brain of yours.” He tapped on the side of her head. “Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong tonight?”
“No! You didn’t do anything wrong at all. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed your company.”
“But?”
“There really isn’t a but.”
He frowned. “Would you tell me if there was?”
She smiled. “Probably.”
“Why do I get the feeling that that’s a probably leaning toward no?”
She sighed. “Because that’s likely the truth.”
He was starting to feel edgy. He’d thought that it was a great evening—that they’d enjoyed it together. Now he felt like he was missing something. “Come on, Rox. You made me promise you that I’d be honest with you about how I feel. Can’t you do the same?”
“Yeah. I should. I’m sorry. Aren’t you worried that this is going a little too fast?”
He frowned. “No! Are you?”
She shrugged, and his heart sank. “What are you saying?”
“That maybe you don’t need the pressure of people assuming that we’re one of the couples now. I mean, we’ve only been seeing each other a week.”
“It doesn’t feel like pressure to me. It feels like acceptance. If I’m honest. When Maria said that, it felt like the rest of them had known for a long time that we’d be one of the couples, and it was just me who was slow to realize it.”
“You weren’t the only one.”
“Are you saying you don’t want it to be that way?”
“No. Honestly, Logan, I’m not. I like the idea. But I know what you’re like. I don’t want this to feel like you’re getting locked into something with me. I don’t want it to be too hard for you to get out of when you’ve had enough.”
He stopped walking and put his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have any faith in me, do you?”
> “It’s not like that. I do have faith in you. I know you’re being as straightforward with me as you can be, and I appreciate it. But I know who you are, and this isn’t you. I want to make the most of it while it lasts, but I don’t want you to feel trapped.”
He frowned. “I don’t. I feel happy and excited about what the future might hold for us. I feel hopeful—or at least I did. Now you’re making me wonder if I’m just kidding myself. Are you saying that this doesn’t mean anything to you? That you don’t want to be tied down to me?”
She laughed. “No. All I’m doing is trying to be realistic about the fact that it probably won’t happen.”
“Because you don’t want it to?”
“Because I don’t think you will.”
“So, you don’t believe anything I say?” He tried not to sound hurt.
She blew out a sigh. “I’m not saying I don’t trust you. I guess if anything, I don’t trust myself. I’m trying not to let myself feel too excited or too hopeful—because I’m preparing myself for when you don’t want to keep seeing me.”
He closed his arms around her and hugged her tight to his chest. “I’m sorry I make you feel that way. I’m doing my best here.”
She buried her face in his chest. “And you’re doing great. You’re doing everything you can. You couldn’t do anything more. It’s my fault. I’m judging you on how you were, not how you’re being with me. I know it’s not fair, but I have years of evidence that says you only see women one way. I only have a week’s experience with this new you. I like it. I want it to last, but can you see what I mean?”
He nodded sadly. “Of course, I can, Rox. I’m surprised at myself that I feel the way I do about you. That I’ve changed so much, so fast. I know in my heart that I’m not going to change back. This is it. You’re it for me. You’re what I want. But just because I know it doesn’t mean that you can. It’ll take time for me to convince you—to prove to you. And I’m prepared to do that. I want to ask you not to doubt me, but that wouldn’t be fair. You have every right to, but can I ask you to at least let me keep showing you?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks.”
They started walking again, and instead of taking her home, he turned when he came to his street.