Page 117 of Hearts Storm

“Seven?” I grab my towel from where it’s slung over one of the handlebars and step off the treadmill. “We’ll bring dinner. Right, Lo?”

Logan’s gaze, stuck on Reyna’s cleavage, flicks up. “Uh. Right. Dinner.”

Looks like someone is having a hard time taking his own advice.

Logan’s phone pings. When he pulls it out and checks the screen, he shakes his head and looks at me.

“What’s up?”

“Rowan. Says girls’ night has been relocated to his and Lizzy’s, so we’re invited to meet up with him and the other guys at The Brew.”

“Cool.” Reyna nods, and her small smile returns, not quite as bright as before. “Then I guess I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

And with those words, she turns and walks away.

“That you will, Pretty,” I call after her with a grin. Logan growls and shoves me, making me laugh as I stumble a couple of steps to the side. “That you will.”

forty-nine

Lizzy’s and Rowan’s house is gorgeous. Located on the outskirts of town, its style is more California mid-century modern than Oregon countryside. Its one-story façade is mostly floor to ceiling windows and clean lines that blend into the landscape almost as if it was always meant to be there.

I pull my truck into the long, winding driveway and park behind Sasha’s Mazda. The sun is just starting to dip below the tree line, painting the sky in cotton candy pinks and blues with a hint of orange stretching across the horizon.

Grabbing my overnight bag from the passenger seat, I make my way up the stone path. When I knock on the front door, a barefoot Lizzy answers wearing a pair of ripped jeans, tank top and an oversized flannel, black hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

“About time,” she says, grabbing my bag and pulling me inside. “Sasha’s already two glasses deep and Noia’s been talking my ear off for the last twenty minutes.”

“Sorry,” I laugh, kicking off my shoes at the door. “Got stuck behind a tractor-trailer.”

Lizzy rolls her eyes. “You’d think with it being a tourist town shit like that wouldn’t happen. But since we’re far enough out…”

Her voice fades into the background as I take a wide-eyed look around. The interior of the house is just as stunning as the outside. Open concept, with high ceilings and exposed beams, the living room flows into a chef’s kitchen.

But what really catches my eye is the wall of sliding glass doors that open onto a patio overlooking a sparkling pool. Beyond it, the lake stretches as far as the eye can see. Flanked by dense forest, the last rays of sunlight are turning everything to gold.

“Lizzy, this place is insane,” I breathe, spinning in a slow circle to take it all in. “When you said you and Rowan bought a house, I was picturing something cute and cozy. Not... this.”

She grins, dimples popping. “Rowan’s money finally came in handy for something other than adding to his crazy car collection back in Cali.”

“Where is everyone?”

“Media room.” She hooks a thumb over her shoulder toward a hallway off the kitchen. “Follow me.”

We pass by a library that makes me stop dead in my tracks. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line every wall, with a rolling ladder attached to a brass rail. Two leather armchairs flank a stone fireplace, with massive bay windows looking out over the pool.

“Okay, now you’re just showing off,” I mutter.

Lizzy snorts. “There’s plenty more where that came from.”

She leads me down another hallway and pushes open a heavy wooden door. The room that greets me is... well, it’s something else entirely.

Movie posters in sleek black frames line walls painted dark charcoal gray. Deep-seated couches and oversized armchairs are arranged in a loose semicircle around a massive TV, all of them piled high with throw pillows and soft blankets.

There’s even a mini concession stand built into the far wall. The smell of buttered popcorn coming from the vintage popcorn machine instantly perks me up. Glass jars line the shelves above the counter, filled with a variety of salty and sweet snacks. There’s even a mini-fridge stocked with soda. And, last but not least, a minibar.

“Holy shit,” I gasp. “You have a bar in your media room?”

“Rowan went a little overboard,” Lizzy chuckles. “But, come on. Would you expect anything less from People’s Sexiest Man Alive?”