On the Plus Side

by Alison Bliss

  Sadness filled his mother’s eyes. “That’s too bad. I’ve always liked Brett a lot. I do, however, think you and Valerie would be perfect for one another. Maybe it’s not too late to salvage your relationship. And then maybe her brother would come around after some time passed.”

  He shook his head. “She deserves someone better than me. Someone who can give her what she needs.”

  “And you can’t do that?”

  “No.”

  His mother squinted at him. “Son, what is it that you think she needs?”

  “I…I guess I don’t really know. I just know that I can’t give it to her.”

  “Why not? You spent the last eight years keeping yourself out of trouble and on the right path. You grew up and matured into a fine, responsible young man. You’re good looking, honest, and caring. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

  Logan sighed. “I didn’t grow into a responsible person. It was my fear of becoming like my father that kept me on the right path. I was trying my hardest not to be like him.”

  “Who cares what put you there? The only thing that matters is that you found your way. You made it. And I couldn’t be happier for you.”

  “But that doesn’t mean I’m good enough for someone like Valerie, Mom.”

  His mother smirked. “Well, from what you’re telling me, it seems that Valerie disagrees with that statement.”

  “Doesn’t matter. After the way I spoke to her, I doubt she’ll ever want to see me again anyway. Even though she apologized for the little white lie she told, I was angry and said some pretty unforgivable things.”

  “Like what?”

  “I basically told her that I thought she was selfish and how it was all her fault that I lost my best friend, my business, and your house. At least that’s what I thought at the time.” Then Logan cringed. “And I, um, may have accused her of being like Dad.”

  His mother gasped. “Well, that was a rotten thing to do.”

  “I know.”

  Her lips pursed in annoyance, and then she sighed. “So what did Valerie do after that?”

  “She told me I wasn’t being fair and called me a jerk.”

  A smile flitted on his mother’s lips. “Good for her.”

  “Hey, whose side are you on here?”

  “I’m always on your side, son, you know that. But I didn’t raise you to talk to women like that. Brett has lorded over Valerie for years, always trying to control her. She has put up with a lot out of him, but she’s always treated him with nothing but love and respect. So if she had the mind to call you a jerk, then I have no doubt that you deserved it.”

  Logan grinned. “Yeah, I deserved it,” he admitted, leaning back in his chair. Then he realized something and cringed. “Honestly, I probably deserve much more than that. I hate to say it, but I haven’t treated her much differently than Brett has. I’ve been just as controlling and almost as overbearing. I’m not even sure why Valerie put up with me as long as she did.”

  His mother shook her head in disapproval. “Logan…”

  “You don’t have to say it. I know. I’ve been acting like an idiot.”

  She gave him a knowing smile. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you tried to talk to her since you split up?”

  “No.”

  The anger seemed to come out of nowhere. His mom stood up and fisted her hands on her hips. “Logan Mathis, I didn’t raise a dumbass for a son, nor did I raise a coward. If you’re not going to fight for that girl, then you know what? You’re absolutely right. You don’t deserve her.”

  Logan blinked in shock as his mother spun away from him and stalked across the room and back to her cookies. He couldn’t remember a time that his mother had ever cursed at him. At least until now. But that just showed how serious she was.

  But God, she was right.

  He’d stupidly screwed up the one good thing he had in his life—his relationship with Valerie. He knew he’d overreacted the day he broke up with her. The anger he’d unleashed on her that day had stemmed from his unresolved issues with his lying-ass dad, a man who never took responsibility for his actions. But Valerie wasn’t like that. She’d never been like that. Yet he’d treated her as if it had been his father standing in front of him.

  Okay, so maybe he wasn’t a perfect guy. He made mistakes. He screwed up. He was only human. But he could be enough for Valerie, couldn’t he? Hell, he’d be willing to be anything she wanted if he could just have her back in his life. He needed her. Felt empty without her. And he wanted to try to be the kind of man that she needed too.

  But would she be willing to take him back after he’d hurt her? That was the question. One he should figure out the answer to. “Um, I should probably get going.”

  His mother cleared her throat but said nothing.

  He was pretty sure she was still irritated with him, but he thought he might test the waters. “You think I can have a few cookies for the road?” God, he sounded like a four-year-old.

  Her gaze landed on him, and her brow arched. “Depends. Are you going to talk to Valerie?”

  “Yes. I’m going to apologize to her and see if she’ll give me another chance. And this time, I’ll show her the love and respect she deserves.”

  She smiled. “Then I guess you can take as many as you want.”

  He strolled over to his mother, grabbed a handful of sugar cookies, and then kissed her temple. “Love you, Mom. I’ll let you know how it goes with Val. Wish me luck.”

  “I love you too, son. And I do wish you lots of luck. Now go be the man I know you are and win back your woman.”

  He grinned. His mom would always be his biggest supporter. “You got it.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Although Logan had told his mother the truth because he did plan to go see Valerie and beg her forgiveness, he had something important he needed to deal with first.

  He banged hard on the front door with his fist.

  Chances were good that, the moment Brett opened it, a hard fist would fly toward Logan’s face and pummel him into the ground. But he didn’t care. He was going to say what he came here to say whether his buddy liked it or not. And if Brett even dared to slam the door shut on him, Logan planned to use the key under the mailbox to let himself in and finish what he had to say.

  Because enough was enough, damn it.

  When the door opened, Logan braced himself for a punch. But Brett just stood there staring at him with his mouth hanging wide open. He looked like an idiot. “We need to talk. Now.” His tone was firm and demanding, making it clear that Brett didn’t have a choice in the matter. They were going to talk even if Logan had to sit on him and hold him down to do so.

  “And just what the hell is it you think we have to talk about?”

  “Valerie.” Logan moved forward to go inside.

  Brett blocked the doorway with his body and crossed his bulky arms before raising one suspicious eyebrow. “What about her?”

  “I just came by to tell you that, even though she’s your little sister, you’re going to have to share. Valerie is my woman…whether you like it or not.”

  Brett chuckled under his breath. “Really? Because I heard you dumped her…and from my experience, when you dump a girl, that pretty much is the equivalent of her not being yours.”

  Logan sighed heavily. “I wasn’t in the right mind-set that day. I was upset and hurt and angry. But I didn’t mean for things to go that far.”

  “Then they shouldn’t have.”

  Logan shook his head. “Really, Brett?”

  “What?”

  “You caught us together and went ballistic,” Logan said, glaring at him. “But whether you like hearing it or not, there was way more to us than just having sex. I wasn’t ‘fucking your sister’ as you so sweetly put it. I was falling in love with her, you jackass.”

  “Are you trying to make me sick?”

  “If that’s what it takes to make y
ou back off of Valerie, then yes. Neither of us have treated her with the respect she deserves. She doesn’t have to answer to either of us and doesn’t need our permission to live her life the way she sees fit. And that includes being able to choose who she wants to be with. Got it?”

  Brett grinned maliciously. “And what makes you so goddamn sure that you’re the one she wants? You aren’t the only stallion in the pasture, buddy. She has other options, you know.”

  Logan frowned. “What other options?”

  “Well, there’s always Max, for one. After seeing how much he flirted with her at the wedding reception, I’m sure he would love a shot at her now that you’re out of the picture.”

  Anger swept through his veins. “I’m not out of the picture, dickhead. And Max is not getting a shot at Valerie. Not if I have anything to say about it.” God. I’m sounding like a demanding prick again.

  “But you don’t. You broke up with her, remember? Pretty harshly from what I hear. I should kick your ass just for that alone.”

  Logan’s hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. “You want to take another swing at me? Fine, go ahead. But I’m warning you. I’m not just going to stand here. I will hit you back this time.”

  Brett laughed. “Got tired of being a couch pillow, huh?”

  Couch pillow? “I don’t even know what the hell that means.”

  “Because you’re an idiot.”

  Logan grinned. Yeah, Brett knew how to push his buttons. But he also knew how to push his buttons right back. “Yeah? Well, you’re a dipshit mechanic who wouldn’t be able to put an alternator on, much less a tire.”

  Heat flashed in Brett’s eyes. “Take that back, asshole.”

  Logan smiled and said, “Make me.” Then he cringed at the words. Sonofabitch. Not me too. What the hell is wrong with us men?

  Brett chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll make you all right.” Then he grinned. “Ya know, it took you long enough to finally grow a pair.”

  Keep pushing those buttons, jerk. “Though I’d love to sit here and argue with you, I don’t have time for this shit. I need to go find your sister and rectify this situation between us. But before I go, I have one last thing you might want to know.”

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “I plan on asking your sister to marry me…no matter what you have to say about it. So deal with it.”

  Brett grinned and nodded with approval. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Logan’s head spun. “That’s not quite the reaction I expected. So you mean you’re all right with me being your brother-in-law?”

  Brett shrugged. “Why not? Better you than Max. Besides, we’ve been practically like brothers since we were kids. Now you’re just making it official. But if you hurt my sister, asshole…”

  “I’m not going to hurt her. I just need to go find her and tell her what an idiot I am.”

  Brett chuckled. “Don’t bother. She already knows.”

  Logan stared at him, confusion eating at his brain. What the hell was he talking about? Then Brett stepped aside to reveal Valerie standing behind him in the living room with a stunned expression on her face.

  * * *

  Valerie sat there in stunned silence, her heart galloping in her chest at the sight of Logan standing in the doorway. Her throat was tight, her stomach jittery. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke. “Did you mean that?”

  Logan shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if he was nervous. “Which part?”

  “All of it.”

  His eyes pierced into hers. “Yes. I meant every last word.”

  She searched his dark eyes and found nothing but sincerity and warmth. “You want to be with me again?”

  “I never stopped wanting to be with you, princess. I was just mad and didn’t handle any of it well. I’m sorry for everything. I should never have spoken to you like I did. There was no excuse for it, and it won’t ever happen again. Please forgive me and say you’ll give me a chance to prove it to you.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I deserved what you said. Most of it anyway.”

  “No, baby. You didn’t deserve any of it. I know I upset you, and I plan on making it up to you. Every day if you’ll let me. I don’t want to see that pained look on your face ever again. And to know I’m the one who put it there only makes me feel worse.”

  She stepped past Brett and joined him on the porch. “I’m sorry. I know I hurt you by lying to you, but I didn’t mean to. You had every right to be upset with me.”

  “But that didn’t give me the right to take out my frustrations on you. My irritation stemmed from issues with my father. It was a gut reaction, one that didn’t have anything to do with you. I’m not perfect, and maybe I’m not even the right man for you. But I want to try and be the kind of man you need. One that you’ll be proud to call yours.”

  “You already are that guy, Logan. You’ve been that person for years.”

  He placed one hand on her cheek, and his eyes softened. “There’s something else you should hear. I know you don’t like it when I call you princess. But you’re just going to have to get used to me getting on your nerves. Because you are a princess. My princess. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Oh my God. Dude. That’s pure cheese.” Brett rolled his eyes. “You two are seriously grossing me out right now.”

  Valerie giggled. “Shut up and go inside, Brett.”

  Thankfully, he did. Definitely an improvement over the old Brett. Maybe there was some hope for the guy after all. The moment her brother closed the door on them, Valerie sighed. “Logan, there’s something you need to know before this goes any further. I was dishonest about something else, and although my intentions were good, it might change your mind about wanting to be with me.”

  He looked a little worried, but said, “Nothing is ever going to change my mind about wanting to be with you.”

  She pulled the bar napkin from the front pocket of her jeans and held it up for Logan to see. “Do you recognize this?”

  His eyes focused on the napkin and then widened. “Where did you get that?”

  “Max gave it to me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the money he gave you for the bar wasn’t his. It was mine.”

  Confusion filled his eyes, and he shook his head. “You bought my bar for Max?”

  “No. The bar doesn’t belong to Max.”

  “It does now. I wrote up that agreement, and we both signed it. It’s legally binding.”

  She grinned. “I take it you didn’t check his signature?”

  He grasped the napkin, glanced down at the bottom, and burst out laughing. “The fucker signed his name as Snow White?”

  “Yeah, Max has sort of a weird sense of humor.” She released a hard breath. “I’m sorry I deceived you again. I wanted to help you save your bar and your mom’s house, but I knew you would never accept the money if you knew it came from me. So I asked Max to give it to you.”

  “That was a lot of cash to trust in someone else’s hands. He could’ve taken you to the cleaners.”

  “Max isn’t like that. I know you probably won’t believe this, but Max is a good guy. Sure, he’s mischievous and a bit of an instigator, but he really is a great friend.”

  “I trust your opinion, Valerie. If you say he’s golden, then that’s good enough for me.” He smiled at her. “So I guess since the money was yours, then you were the one who bought my bar.”

  She shook her head. “Actually, I was hoping we could look at it more like an investment or a buy-in. I was going to come talk to you about it once you stopped being so mad. I love working in the bar industry and thought maybe we could be business partners.”

  Logan shook his head. “I hate to tell you this, Val, but the last thing I want is to be business partners with you.”

  Her heart sank, and her head lowered. “Oh.” She ne
ver considered for one second that he would turn her offer down.

  He lifted her chin and smiled. “I’d much rather make you my wife.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “Really? You mean that?”

  “With everything I am,” he said, taking her into his arms. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes!”

  Logan bent his head and took her mouth. But this wasn’t a slow burn. The hot, openmouthed kiss lifted her onto her toes as fire blasted through her system, rushing straight to her core. A strong erection pressed against the seam of his jeans, and she rubbed herself against him, wanting to feel that hard ridge pressing between the apex of her legs. “Logan,” she whispered, her voice filled with need.

  He pulled back from her and took a gasping breath. “I know, baby. I want to be inside you. I’ve been going crazy not having you. You want to get out of here?” he asked, hope blooming in his eyes.

  God, she missed this. Missed him. “Hell yeah, I thought you’d never ask.”

  He led her out to his truck. “One more thing though. We’ll need to make a quick stop before we get to my place.”

  “Okay. Where are we going?”

  “We need to stop by the bakery and see Leah and Sam.”

  She bounced in place with excitement. “Oh, you want to tell them that we’re getting married?”

  “Sure, but that’s not the only reason we’re stopping there.”

  “What’s the other reason?”

  Logan grinned. “I want to borrow a drill so I can put a hole in my bedroom wall. There’s still one more thing on your naughty list that we haven’t gotten around to doing yet.”

  Valerie tossed her head back and laughed. “You’re so dirty.”

  He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I know. And you love every second of it, princess.”

  She smiled up at him. “You’re damn straight I do.”

  Did you miss Leah and Sam’s love story?

  An excerpt from Size Matters follows.

  Chapter One

  Leah Martin nearly choked on her beer.

  “What do you mean just pick one?” Her eyes scanned the entire bar before settling back on her friend. “Pick one what?”