by Amanda Abram
No, thank you. Mark and Rachel would probably be home soon, anyway.
With a sigh, I plopped onto the couch, grabbed the TV remote, and began flipping through the channels to see if there was anything good on. I settled on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—probably not the wisest choice for someone who had nearly just given herself a heart attack over two cats and a tree branch, but I did love a good slasher flick once in a while.
Not that I was paying much attention to it, though. As I curled up on my side and rested my head against the arm of the couch, I found my train of thought beginning to steer toward Logan and his date with Riley.
What did he see in her, anyway? Sure, she was gorgeous. And she had an amazing figure. And was very flirtatious and—
Never mind. I answered my own question.
I frowned as the movie faded to a commercial. Girls like Riley had it so good. They never had to work to make a guy interested in them. They didn’t need to change their appearance or their personalities. They just showed up and had their pick of whatever guy they wanted. They never had to take compatibility quizzes to find a soulmate. They were compatible with everyone.
And I, apparently, was compatible with no one.
I just hoped Logan realized he was nothing but a rebound for her. But of course, he knew, and he didn’t care. He wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. He wasn’t looking for a serious relationship. That was the reason he and Grace broke up, after all. But maybe Riley would be the girl who made him feel differently about the whole girlfriend thing. Maybe she would be the one who could finally crack the code to his heart, and she’d go home at the end of the summer and they’d embark on a long-distance relationship, much like my parents did when they were teens, and someday they’d get married and have kids and…
…And why was I even giving this any thought? I sat up, hugged my knees to my chest and told myself to get a grip.
Once the movie was back on, I focused on that for a few minutes until I heard another sound coming from outside. This one sounded like a car door slamming. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It could have been Mark and Rachel arriving home, but I’d only heard one door shut.
The irrational part of my brain kicked in and alerted me that this could be an intruder. On the off chance it was, I quickly scanned the room looking for anything I could use as a weapon. It was my only option since I couldn’t even call the cops if I had to.
I bolted into the kitchen and was grabbing the first object I could find when I heard the front door fly open and crash against the wall.
“Emma?” a frantic voice called out.
I recognized the voice immediately and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Logan?” I said, stepping out of the kitchen.
I saw him before he saw me. He was standing in the foyer, peering into the living room with wild eyes. When he heard my voice, he turned to look at me. His tight expression softened as he raked a hand through his hair, stalked over toward me…and threw his arms around me, pulling me close into a tight embrace.
For a moment, I stood there stunned. Five seconds ago, I thought somebody was going to break into the house, and now I was being bear-hugged by Logan. Not exactly the outcome I’d been expecting.
Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him and returned the gesture.
“Logan,” I said in a strained voice. He was holding me so tight I could barely breathe. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
He let go of me so quickly I nearly stumbled from the sudden lack of support. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? You tell me!”
I stared at him in confusion. He sounded angry, like he was mad at me. “I don’t—”
“You called me up and basically told me you thought someone was in the house,” he said, waving his phone around above his head. “And then you screamed—”
“It was more of a shriek,” I corrected him.
He didn’t even bat an eye before continuing like I hadn’t spoken. “And then nothing. Complete silence. I asked if you were okay, and you said nothing. I tried calling you back like three hundred times, but you didn’t pick up. I thought you were…” He let out a heavy sigh as his shoulders slumped forward. “I thought you were in danger.”
Oh…so apparently, my phone had cut out before he’d had a chance to hear me tell him about the cats. “I-I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I thought you might have heard me tell you it was nothing before my phone died.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t.” He dragged a hand down his face and leaned against the wall behind him.
“And I couldn’t find a charging cable, so I didn’t even know you were trying to call,” I added weakly. “I thought of going next door to get mine, but then I’d have to wake up Abby and—”
“It’s fine,” he said softly. “I’m just glad you guys are okay.” His gaze flickered down to my hand. “Were you planning on baking something?”
“Huh?” I blinked and lifted my hand to reveal the object I’d randomly grabbed in the kitchen to use as a weapon.
A spatula.
“Oh,” I said with a giggle. “Um, no. I thought maybe you were going to be an intruder, so I just blindly grabbed something I could use to beat someone with if necessary.”
“That wouldn’t have worked very well,” he said with a small smile.
I returned his smile. “Yeah, probably not.” I paused for a moment before saying, “So, after you point me in the direction of a charging cable for my phone, you can feel free to return to your date.”
He pushed off the wall with a shrug. “Nah, it’s okay. Matt’s giving Riley a ride home later. And it wasn’t an official date, really. I might as well just stay here.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, assuring myself that the giddy feeling that suddenly came over me had to do with the fact I was going to have a big, strong male around for the rest of the night to keep me safe.
Not because of the fact he wasn’t going back to his date, which supposedly wasn’t even a date at all.
“I’m going to go return this to the kitchen,” I said, holding up the spatula.
“Please do, before somebody gets hurt,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes as he disappeared into the living room. After returning the cooking utensil, I joined him on the couch.
“What are you watching?” he inquired, glancing at the TV. He must have recognized the movie right away because he turned to me with a judgmental look. “Seriously, Emma? This is not the type of stuff you should be watching while all alone and hearing strange noises. Especially considering how paranoid you are.”
“I’m not paranoid,” I grumbled, even though he was right. “Besides, I wasn’t paying too much attention to it, anyway.” Because I was too busy wondering what you and Riley were doing on your date.
I pushed that thought away and cleared my throat. “You can change the channel if you’d like.”
Logan smirked. “No, I want to see how jumpy you are.”
“I’m not jumpy,” I lied.
“Riiiiight,” he said, drawing out the word slowly to emphasize how much he didn’t believe me.
I ignored him and focused on the movie instead. But thirty seconds later, a strong hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder. Startled, I let out a yelp as the jackass sitting next to me burst out laughing.
“Not jumpy, huh?”
I turned to smack his chest, but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist before I had a chance to make contact.
“That was too easy,” he said with a grin.
“You’re such a jerk,” I mumbled as I tried to no avail to remove myself from his grasp.
“It’s not my fault you’re so easily frightened.”
“Me? What about you? You’re the one who abandoned his hot date to rush home because you thought I was in danger.”
His grin faltered slightly. “I was worried.”
I stopped struggling against him. “You didn’t have to worry. No matter what, I would have made sure Abby was safe.”
He
sat up and leaned forward, closer to me. “I wasn’t just worried about Abby.”
“Right,” I said, nodding slowly. “You were also worried about the TV and the Playstation. Don’t worry, I would have protected them, too.” I flashed him my own grin.
But he didn’t seem amused by that. “Emma,” he said, his eyes darkening as they locked onto mine. “I’m serious. You scared the hell out of me.”
I stared down at my lap. “It wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry,” he said softly, letting go of my wrist and moving his hand to the side of my face, where his thumb lightly grazed my cheekbone, sending another set of chills cascading all over my body—only for a very different reason this time.
My breath hitched in my throat as I lifted my head to look at him.
Logan’s gaze lowered to my mouth and my heart began to race inside my chest. “Emma,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned closer.
“Logan,” I whispered back as I began to lean as well. Some sort of invisible force was pulling me toward him and I didn’t fight it. I didn’t even try.
I had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was, it ended as soon as it began, as the sound of the front door opening snapped us out of it and we quickly broke apart.
Mark and Rachel had arrived home.
Logan moved to the other side of the couch with impressive speed before they made it to the living room, making it look like we hadn’t just been about to…
To what? Kiss? No, that’s not what was going on. Was it? No, Logan would never kiss me. And I sure as heck would never kiss him. I was crushing on Matt, and Logan had girls like Riley throwing themselves at him everywhere he went. I’d be the last girl he’d ever want to kiss. And he’d be the last guy I’d ever want to kiss. We had mutual feelings of not wanting to kiss each other. It’s what made our non-relationship so special.
“Logan,” Mark said as he and Rachel entered the room. “I was surprised to see your car in the driveway. What are you doing home so early?”
“Uh…” For once, Logan seemed to be at a loss for words. The guy was usually the master of coming up with lies and excuses on the spot. “Um, I…”
Mark tilted his head and glanced at his son curiously. “Date didn’t go so well, I take it?”
Logan shook his head. “The party was kind of lame, so I figured I would just come home and help Emma out with Abby.”
“Well, that was nice of you.” Rachel smiled and then glanced over at me. “Emma, sweetie, are you feeling okay? You look a little flushed.”
Her inquiry made my face feel even hotter than it did before she’d asked. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, getting up from the couch.
Luckily, she didn’t press me any further on the subject. “So, how was the little one for you? Not too much trouble, I hope.”
“Not at all,” I assured her. “She cried for a bit after you left, but she’s been sleeping peacefully ever since.”
“Oh, good. I’m going to go check on her. Thank you again, Emma.” Rachel turned and left the room as Mark dug his wallet out of his pocket, presumably to pay me.
“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here,” he said, opening it and instantly frowning. “Hmm. Looks like I’ve left some of my cash in my office. I’ll go grab it.”
“No,” I said quickly. Mark leaving to go get money meant Logan and I would be left alone. “It’s okay, you don’t need to pay me.”
Mark chuckled. “Emma, don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, really. I barely had to do anything. Keep your money. I have to…go.”
Mark furrowed his brow as he put away his wallet. “Emma, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I just…” My gaze flickered over to Logan, who was watching me intently with a look on his face I’d never seen before. One I couldn’t quite place.
Tearing my eyes away from his, I awkwardly mumbled, “Have a good night,” before grabbing my laptop off the coffee table and practically running out of the house.
I wasn’t sure if Logan and I had been about to kiss, but one thing I did know—but didn’t want to admit to myself—was that in some small way…I wished we had.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LOGAN
“Logan.” Matt waved his hand in front of my face. “Are you even listening to me?”
No, I wasn’t listening to him. I could see him. I could hear the words coming out of his mouth, but I wasn’t listening. He could have been speaking Greek for all I knew, and it wouldn’t have sounded any different to me. No, I wasn’t listening to him.
Because I couldn’t stop thinking about Emma.
When I’d gotten that phone call from her the other night, saying she was hearing things, I’d immediately brushed it off as just being her overactive imagination. Her paranoia. But, when I’d heard her shriek and the line went dead, something inside me snapped. Even though I knew there would be a logical explanation for what was going on, it didn’t stop me from going into panic mode. I had to leave that party and make sure she was safe.
So, that’s what I did. I informed Riley I had to leave. She offered to come with me, but I declined. I asked Matt to take her home and I bolted.
And then broke the law by driving about fifteen to twenty miles over the speed limit the whole way home.
For the entire ride, I tried convincing myself that the fear settling in the pit of my stomach had everything to do with the safety of my baby sister and nothing more. Not that I wanted anything bad to happen to Emma, but there was no way the blinding dread that had taken over me could have had anything to do with her. It had to just be Abby.
But when I burst into the house and heard Emma’s voice…saw her…I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Of course, everything was okay. In the back of my mind, I’d known it would be. But seeing for myself that she was safe and sound, it was too much for me to handle.
And without thinking, I’d walked over to her, wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her close. I held her so tight I was probably cutting off most of her oxygen, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t hold her for long. Because as relieved as I was that she was okay, I was also furious with her for scaring me. For making me think something had happened to her.
So, I scolded her and made fun of the fact she was prepared to protect herself with a spatula.
A spatula.
That was so typically Emma.
Then, on the couch, I’m not sure what had come over me. My mind was still cloudy from all the wild thoughts and scenarios that had been playing in my head the entire way home. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking at all.
And I’d almost kissed her.
I’d almost kissed Emma.
Emma.
I’d never been so relieved in my life to see my dad and Rachel. I wanted to leap off the couch and give each of them a kiss when they walked into the living room, interrupting what would have probably been the biggest mistake of my life.
I couldn’t kiss Emma. I didn’t want to kiss Emma.
I didn’t.
So why, after two days, couldn’t I get her off my mind?
“Sorry,” I muttered to Matt. I leaned forward and hid my face in my hands for a moment while I regained my composure and pushed all thoughts of Emma out of my brain. “What were you saying?”
It was the 4th of July and Matt and I were attending Justin’s annual Independence Day pool party/cookout—an all-day event that ended right after sunset, when everyone would get in their cars and drive into town to watch the fireworks.
If the events of the other night hadn’t taken place, I would have called Emma and forced her to go with me, but I was currently trying to avoid her. Much like Riley was trying to avoid me, apparently. She hadn’t spoken a word to me since I’d arrived.
“I was saying that—”
As soon as Matt started talking again, my attention was immediately drawn to something—or someone—on the other side of the pool
from us.
“What’s that all about?” I interrupted him, motioning over to Grace. She was talking to a girl while holding up a video camera pointed at her face.
Matt followed my line of vision and smirked. “Oh, you don’t know? Grace is trying to become an Internet star.”
I blinked at him. “A what-now?”
Matt chuckled. “She’s documenting her summer vacation and uploading the videos on some website that’s looking to turn someone into the next big Internet reality sensation.”
I groaned and facepalmed. Apparently, I’d gotten out of that relationship just in time.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nah, man,” Matt said with a grin. “I thought everyone knew.”
“Well, I didn’t,” I said. And then I made the mistake of glancing back over in her direction.
Her icy gaze met with mine and she immediately stopped talking to the girl in front of her and started making her way in my direction.
“Oh no,” I moaned. “She’s coming over here.” I contemplated getting up and leaving the deck. Or, better yet, leaving the party altogether. But she was too fast, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared before me, looming over me, encasing me in her shadow.
“And here is Logan Reynolds, my ex-boyfriend,” she explained bitterly to the camera. Her eyes flickered to me. “So, how have you been since you ripped my heart out of my chest and then stomped on it?”
I glowered at her and slouched back in my chair. “Grace, you broke up with me, remember?”
“I do remember. I broke up with you because you were cheating on me.”
“I wasn’t cheating on you,” I said through clenched teeth, and then stared directly into the camera and said, “I wasn’t cheating on her. She thought I had feelings for someone else, which I didn’t. She ripped my heart out and stomped on it.”
Grace forced a laugh and lowered the camera. “Nice try, Logan, but nobody’s going to buy that. You couldn’t have cared less that I dumped your sorry ass. If you had, you would have called. You would have tried to work things out with me. Instead, you moved on with your life like we’d never been together in the first place. Did you ever even love me?”