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The hostility in his tone has me glaring at him.
Just who does he think he is?
Taking a step forward, I’m met by a baby face that’s so at odds with the rest of his hulking body, it’s almost comical.
“Penelope?” my old friend says, greeting me with a dazzling smile. “Oh man, it’s so good to see you again.”
Ignoring the brooding male at my back, I squeeze the big brute. “Koa, hey. It’s been a while.”
I haven’t seen him since that night we spent together at the T’slasta festival in Augustine last year. He’s asked me out twice since then, but something about us romantically never felt quite right.
It’s not that he isn’t attractive or fun to hang out with; it’s just that we’ve been friends since we were kids. And at the time, I’d been holed up at Dad’s ranch, getting over another disappointing breakup while watching Marcus and Heather pine after each other and… I don’t know. I guess I was desperate for a little intimacy.
“You were amazing up there.”
“Thanks. I’ve been practicing the ol’ air guitar for a while.” I strum a few pretend chords, sticking my tongue out, and scrunching one eye. Koa laughs like I’m the funniest woman on the planet, but when I peek back at Logan, he’s frowning, less than amused.
There was a time when he was the one laughing at all my antics. In fact, back then, he was the only person on the planet who understood me at all.
“Would you like to dance?” Koa asks at the same time Carrie appears at my side.
“Here, sis. I grabbed you a drink.” Her eyes bulge, switching between me and Logan, as if a bomb is about to detonate. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Normally, I’d be embarrassed by her overprotective nature, but tonight, I move behind her, eager to use any shield I can to protect myself against him.
“I’ll be in touch,” Logan says.
“The hell you will,” Carrie fires back, but he acts as though he doesn’t hear her, keeping his eyes trained on me as he slowly retreats.
The base thumps in time with my pounding heart. It’s hot in here with all these bodies, but I’m frozen to my core, watching him go.
Logan holds my gaze a moment longer before crossing the floor to where Declan sits in a booth with a woman kissing his neck.
Yeah, walk away.
Not that I’m surprised to see him go.
“I would love a dance, thank you,” I say, forcing a smile to Koa.
When I catch my sister’s worried gaze, I find a predictable slew of questions, but for once, she doesn’t utter a word.
CHAPTER FOUR
Logan
“Good morning, Mr. Anderson,” Margret greets me flatly.
Without pause, I cross the lobby and grab the stack of papers waiting for me on her desk.
“Morning,” I mutter after licking my thumb and sifting through the pages of new hires, expense reports, and other mundane tasks for me to delegate this week.
I hear a soft moan when I pass Declan’s office and stop to bang on the frosted glass. “Wrap it up. We’ve got a meeting in fifteen.”
There’s a moment of silence, then a feminine giggle precedes his cocky response. “You got it, boss.”
I swing my office door open before promptly slamming it shut. There’s no decor on the stark white walls, save for a set of shelves hung behind my desk. Declan’s always going on about ‘Feng Shui,’ and how important it is for balance, but my life is balanced enough between work and the occasional beer with my friend.
My shoulders twinge as I toss the papers onto my desk, my neck aching from pent-up anger, resentment, and most of all, confusion. I picked apart my conversation with Penelope at the bar all night long, tossing and turning with her cinnamon scent clinging to my skin and searing the forefront of my mind.
